His name is Ishmael

Genesis 16. This is how the Notes describe this story: “This is an ethnographic story about the ancestry of the Arab peoples, collectively called the Ishmaelites”. Most of the text is from the J source.

Since Sarai is barren she tells Abram to “go in to” her Egyptian slave-girl Hagar, to see if she can “obtain children by her”. Abram does as Sarai requests, and Hagar falls pregnant. Unfortunately her pregnancy causes Hagar to view her mistress with contempt, and forgetting her station. Sarai promptly, and somewhat strangely, blames Abram for this shift in Hagar’s attitude: “May the wrong done to me be on you!” But Abram reminds her that since Hagar belongs to her, she can do with her as she pleases. What pleases Sarai is to treat Hagar “harshly”, to the point that Hagar flees.

Hagar meets an angel of the Lord by a spring. The angel wants to know where she came from and where she is going – shouldn’t he know? In any case, he tells her to return to Sarai and “submit” to her. On the up side, he also informs her that her descendants will be an uncountable multitude. She is to call the baby Ishmael – “God has heard” – because “the Lord has given heed to your afflictions”.

Note however, that Ishmael is described as follows by God’s angel:

… a wild ass of a man,
with his hand against everyone,
and everyone’s hand against him;
and so shall he live with all of his kin.

Although the Arabs and Hebrews are kin, and are both blessed by God (multitudes of descendants), they will forever be at odds. The Notes say that Ishmael’s character “describes the fierce independence and warrior ethos of the Arab people of antiquity”.

At the end of the chapter the P source takes over – there Abram names his son Ishmael, not Hagar.

Point to ponder

It does seem as though God’s blessings and covenants have a pretty dark side. Abram will have a great nation as descendants but they will live in exile for 400 years. Ishmael will be father of a great nation but they will be at loggerheads with their kin. Reminds me of that old saw – it’s like being loved by a bear.

Notes:

• “Hagar” means “city, province, region” in Old Arabic. (Notes)
• The promise of the multitudes of descendants there will be for Hagar mirrors that of God to Abram.
• Although Hagar’s divine visitor is described as an angel of the Lord, Hagar identifies him as God himself. More divine population confusion!

~ by tamfuwing on May 27, 2008.