Isaac and Ishmael
With Questions and Proposed Answers
Background and Printed Text: Genesis 21:1-21
Genesis 21:1 And Yehovah visited Princess just as He said. And Yehovah did to Princess just as He spoke. 2And she conceived. And Princess childed a son to Avraham to his elderlinesses to the appointment that Elohim spoke him.
3And Avraham called the name of his son childed to him, whom Princess childed to him, Isaac.
4And Avraham circumcised Isaac his son, a son of eight days just as Elohim commanded him. 5And Avraham is a son of 100 year(s) via Isaac his son being childed to him.
6And Princess said, “Elohim did a laugh to me! Every hearkener will laugh to me!” 7And she said, “Who is wording to Avraham, ‘Princess is breastfeeding sons’? For I childed a son to his elderlinesses!”
8And the child got-big. And he was weaned. And Avraham made a big drinking-party in the day of the weaning with Isaac. 9And Princess saw the son of HaGar the Egyptian, who childed to Avraham, laughing. 10And she said to Avraham, “Expel this slave-woman and her son! For the son of this slave-woman will not inherit with my son—with Isaac!” 11And the saying was-very-bad in the eyes of Avraham concerning fire-brands of his son.
12And Elohim said unto Avraham, “He will not be bad in thine eyes concerning the youth and concerning thy slavewoman. All that Princess will say unto thee, hearken into her voice. For He will call seed to thee via Isaac. 13And I will also put him with the son of the slavewoman to a race. For he is thy seed.”
14And Avraham early-rose in the morning. And he took bread and heat of water [hot-water-bottle]. And he gave unto HaGar. He put upon her shoulder and with the child. And he sent her.
And she walked. And she wandered in the desert Well-Of-Oath. 15And the waters finished from the hot [-water-bottle]. And she cast the child under one of their meditation. 16And she walked. And she sat to her from straight-in-front of the distance as from shots of a bow. For she said, “I will not see during dying of the child.” And she sat straight-in-front. And she lifted her voice. And she wept.
17And Elohim hearkened-to the voice of the youth. And Messenger Elohim called unto HaGar from the heavens. And He said to her, “What is to thee, HaGar? Fear-thou not, for Elohim hearkened unto the voice of the youth via where he is there! 18Arise-thou! Lift-thou the youth! And grasp-thou thine hand into him! For I will put him to a big race!”
19And Elohim perspicated her eyes. And she saw a well of water. And she walked. And she filled the hot of water. And she watered the youth.
20And Elohim was with the youth. And he got-big. And he dwelt in the desert. And he was a great-one of bow. 21And he dwelt in the Paran desert. And his mother took a woman for him from the land of Egypt.
I. The Birth and Circumcision of Isaac (verses 1-7)
Yehovah kept His word. Everything happened just as He said. Princess (Sarah) became pregnant. This was impossible.
She childed a son to Avraham and to all the various forms of elderlinesses that he now had. This occurred exactly when Elohim had spoken.
The son was named He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) as Yehovah had commanded.
Avraham did what Yehovah commanded, and circumcised Isaac on the eighth day. Avraham is 100 years old!
Sarah rejoiced and laughed. She said, “Elohim did a laugh to me! Every hearkener will laugh to me!” It was humorous to all who heard. She also said, “Who is wording to Avraham, ‘Princess is breastfeeding sons’? For I childed a son to his elderlinesses!” This aged lady is breastfeeding a child! And Avraham has a son in his old age.
Questions
1. Why was Sarah’s pregnancy impossible?
- The miracle of the birth of Isaac is as great as the miracle of the virgin birth of Yeshua. The virgin birth required fertilization from God, but at least Mariam, Yeshua’s mother, was fertile. She later had other children.
- The birth of Isaac required equipment that had deteriorated in Sarah. Her womb was no longer able to house a child, and her eggs were dried.
- Sarah had been sterile when she could have carried children.
- Avraham was now very old, and producing semen would not have been so easy.
- Pregnancy is never guaranteed, and old age pregnancy is not as common as youth pregnancy.
- There is a 50% chance that a pregnancy will produce a son.
Every impossibility or unlikelihood was easily overcome by Yehovah.
2. What does “Princess childed a son to Avraham to his elderlinesses” mean? Avraham had many forms of elderliness. He was physically old; he was old in years; he was not as strong as he used to be; he was not as fast as he used to be; he would tire more quickly, etc. She still childed (brought to birth) a child to him.
3. What does Isaac mean? It means He Will Laugh. This is a prophetic name that describes what will occur far into the future. Avraham will laugh, Isaac will laugh, and Jacob/Israel will laugh for the good things that Yehovah will do.
4. What was this appointment? See Genesis 18:14, especially from a literal rendering!
5. What does circumcise mean? It means to cut off the foreskin of the male’s penis. This was done on the eighth day after birth among sons of Avraham because Yehovah commanded it.
6. What does circumcision picture? It is a type—an event, person, place or thing that is important in itself, but pictures something far more important. Circumcision typifies cutting away the lust of the flesh, referring to any very, very strong desire that is wrong and sinful. (It doesn’t picture removing lusts that are beneficial and good; lust in the Bible can be good.) Since the male’s penis is associated with lust far more than any male or female body part, Yehovah determined to use the removal of the foreskin, which is not needed for functioning, as a picture of the cutting away of the lust of the flesh.
7. Does circumcision hurt? It definitely hurts an adult. I personally watched the circumcision of my own son. The gynecologist who birthed our son did the circumcision on the eighth day. She set the baby into a device to hold his hands and feet. That got him crying. She then set a clamp on his foreskin. That didn’t seem to bother him more than the device for holding him. She then applied a little antiseptic solution. She took a very sharp small scalpel and quickly cut off the foreskin that was beyond the clamp. That didn’t bother the child more than the device to hold him. She then opened the clamp. I was waiting for the blood. It never came. She bandaged him, and he quit crying when he was removed from the holding device. In other words, it didn’t seem to bother the child at all, in this case.
8. When Sarah said, “Elohim did a laugh to me! Every hearkener will laugh to me,” was she concerned that God had done a joke on her and that others would laugh at her? No. That is not what the Hebrew wording indicates. God had not done a joke on her, but had used her to cause others to laugh with joy. That is very different.
9. Explain what Sarah is saying by, “Who is wording to Avraham, ‘Princess is breastfeeding sons’?” She is expressing her delight and surprise by all who will be expressing to Avraham about her breastfeeding. Yet, she used the word sons (plural!). Therefore, she will have a continuing lineage, for she is breastfeeding not only Isaac, but all of Isaac’s offspring!
II. The Last Straw (verses 8-13)
Avraham celebrated the weaning of Isaac. The child could now eat without requiring breast milk. It was a time of great joy.
The other child (Ishmael, not named in this text), made fun of young Isaac. Sarah saw this. Her joy was gone. She responded, “Expel this slave-woman and her son! For the son of this slave-woman will not inherit with my son—with Isaac!”
Avraham was upset.
Elohim corrected Avraham’s perspective: “He will not be bad in thine eyes concerning the youth and concerning thy slavewoman. All that Princess will say unto thee, hearken into her voice. For He will call seed to thee via Isaac.”
Then Elohim told Avraham what he needed to hear in order for him to be at some peace: “And I will also put him with the son of the slavewoman to a race. For he is thy seed.”
Questions
1. What does HaGar mean, and who is she? HaGar means The Sojourner, referring to a person who is on a journey, usually a long journey, and who is therefore not at home. A sojourner usually has a destination.
HaGar was the slavewoman of Sarah. Avraham fathered a son with her, thinking that her son would be heir of the promise, but Yehovah explained to Avraham and Sarah that Sarah’s son would be the heir of the promise.
2. What was wrong with HaGar’s son Ishmael laughing? Her son was becoming uppity! Instead of participating in the joy, he was poking fun (in a bad way) at his half-brother Isaac.
3. How old was Ishmael, HaGar’s son at this time? According to Genesis 16:16, Avram (before his name change) was 86 when Ishmael was born. Avraham was 100 years old (Genesis 21:5) when Isaac was born. Thus, Ishmael was 14 years old when Isaac was born. Mothers breastfed for a much longer time in those days than they do today. Assuming that they breastfed for about five years, Ishmael would have been about 19 years old.
4. What does Ishmael’s behaviour (verse 9) show about HaGar’s rearing of the youth? HaGar had not taught him respect of his half-brother, and she had not reminded him that she (HaGar) was a slavewoman, and not a wife of Avraham. This was Isaac’s party; such behavior was wrong. Even if Isaac and Ishmael had been full brothers and HaGar had been another wife of Avraham, that behavior would have been very wrong and would have caused great problems. Respect for each other is vital in societies where folks depend on each other for survival.
5. Was Sarah right to insist that the slavewoman, HaGar and her son be thrown out? Is it right that both suffer for the silly behaviour of the child? Elohim agreed with Sarah! It was right! Ishmael, the son of a slavewoman will not inherit with Sarah’s son, Isaac! Yehovah confirmed this. Sometimes, things that appear wrong are right, and many times, things that appear right are wrong!
6. Does God show favoritism? Yes! He always has, and He always will! If you desire to experience His favoritism, fear Him and live righteously according to the Bible!
The Bible has many texts that show that Yehovah favored some folks over other folks. Anyone who does not like this about Yehovah will grow to hate Him. He favors for very good reasons. Folks around you will favor for very bad reasons in most cases. Yehovah favors those who will obey Him and who will believe His sayings. He does not favor according to how good-looking a person is or how wealthy or famous a person is. He is the one who set each person in rank, position and looks in this life. He favors on the basis of what is right. If you will be like Him, you must do the same.
7. Why was the expelling of Ishmael so bad in the eyes of Avraham, and what does that mean? If something is bad in the eyes of someone, that means that the person has a very bad view of what is occurring. Avraham saw this expulsion as very harmful to Ishmael.
8. Explain “The saying was-very-bad in the eyes of Avraham concerning fire-brands of his son”: The expression, firebrands describes a situation where embers of a fire are in danger of going out. A firebrand is a larger stick (like four to six inches in diamater) or a wrapped stick (with some substance that can burn for hours without going out) that has embers (like coals that are red, but have no obvious flame) on the end so that a fire can quickly be started from it. It was a convenient way to transport fire when traveling for long distances. Embers burn slowly, while a direct flame burns very quickly. A firebrand, then, is burning very slowly, but it also can go out if it isn’t tended.
A person who is described like a firebrand can easily die, whereas a person who is described like a flame is strong and hot.
Avraham saw Ishmael, his 19-year-old son as being like firebrands; he could easily be extinguished in life at this point by being thrust out, his hopes and dreams being ruined, and his life in danger in the very hot and dry climate where they were. He also had no social standing, and would potentially become someone else’s slave.
III. The Departure (verse 14)
Hagar could not carry much provision. Avraham took bread and a bottle skin, and he gave them to HaGar and Ishmael to carry. He then sent her.
Questions
1. Avraham fathered Ishmael. Did Avraham do right by sending this teenager away with his mother, leaving him to be reared in a broken home without a father, and abdicating (giving up his rightful place) his (Avraham’s) responsibility as a father, and abandoning his sons’ mother—all over a nasty comment of an immature youth? Avraham did right! Elohim told him to do this! He would have done wrong if he had not sent them away!
2. Why didn’t Avraham send them both on a pack animal so that they could go where they needed to go with transportation? Avraham had his reasons for not sending her by animal. The times were violent. Ishmael’s behaviour, and thus Hagar’s behaviour, were inappropriate and did not need to be rewarded. The slave woman belonged to Sarah, and it was up to her to determine what would go with her and what would not. Besides this, Hagar and her son could have controlled Ishmael’s mouth. A slave woman’s son is also a slave. There was no need to outrage their mistress. Hagar and her son could have left at any time if they felt mistreated. They had left once before. Even so, Avraham showed some affection for both of them, and sent them away personally. It must have been a difficult time for Avraham.
3. Was HaGar a weak woman? No. She was very strong.
IV. The Wandering and the Hopelessness (verses 14-16)
The wilderness of Beersheba is no friendly place. Water is rare, and the wells often must be very deep. Their water ran out, and soon their energy was drained. The teenager became faint, and she put him under a meditation (which I take to be a shade tree).
She walked on for a distance, about the distance of a bow shot. That way, the teenager was in sight, but not close enough to see the details of his dying. She sat straight in front of him. (A bowshot is probably in the range of 400 feet, or one city block.)
Her own death was not what brought her sorrow, but watching her son die was too much. She began to weep.
Questions
1. Why did the teenager’s strength fail before his mother’s strength? HaGar was a very strong woman! She was the slave! Slaves often far excelled their slavemasters in strength (and often in other abilities). Ishmael, on the other hand, was Avraham’s son. I suspect that he didn’t have the slave tasks to do because of this relationship.
2. If meditation refers to a shade tree, why would it be called that? It would be a good place for a local person or a traveler to meditate, to think about various topics, without having the full intensity of the sun.
3. Why did she cast Ishmael there? She had given up hope. She thought they were both about to die.
4. Why did she sit at a distance, but straight in front of him? While she didn’t want to see him go through the last stages of death, she also didn’t want to abandon him.
5. Why did she weep only after she went from the child? She was being strong until she was finally relieved of this terrible responsibility. She then broke.
V. Yehovah’s Rescue and Promise (verses 17-19)
Elohim hearkened to the voice of Ishmael. Messenger Elohim called unto HaGar from the heavens. He asked, “What is to thee, HaGar?”
He told her to not fear, telling her that Elohim hearkened unto the voice of Ishmael by means of his own location.
He then commanded her to do three things: “Arise!” “Lift the youth!” “Grasp- thine hand into him!” He made her a promise: “I will put him to a big race!”
At this point, Yehovah perspicated her eyes so that she saw the well. (This very rare word means to cause eyes to see what would otherwise be hidden.)
She walked over to it and filled the skin bottle. She ‘watered’ Ishmael.
Questions
1. Why did Elohim hearken to the voice of the youth (Ishmael) instead of the weeping of his mother? Had Yehovah only hearkened to HaGar, readers of the Bible would have thought that Yehovah was still angry at Ishmael for poking fun at Isaac. Yehovah turned this view around by hearkening specifically to him. This also shows the reader that Ishmael called out to Yehovah.
2. Who is Messenger Elohim? This will usually be translated as the angel of God, but that doesn’t explain who he is. The words messenger and angel are exactly the same in Hebrew, and they are exactly the same in Greek. There is no distinction between an angel and a messenger (human or otherwise) in the words used.
A reader might not know who this Messenger Elohim is, but a careful reader will be able to tell from verse 18: “For I will put him to a big race!” Therefore this Messenger must be God Himself. (A careful reader will later identify Him as Yeshua.)
3. Why did Messenger Elohim call unto HaGar instead of the youth to whom He hearkened? She needed to obtain the water for Ishmael, since Ishmael no longer had the strength to obtain it on his own.
4. Why did Messenger Elohim ask, “What is to thee, HaGar,” when He already knew? Elohim often asks such questions so that those being asked can learn, and those reading the Bible can also learn. HaGar thought her and her son’s ends had come, but what was to her? What did she have? Yehovah hearkened to Ishmael’s voice!
5. What do “Arise-thou! Lift-thou the youth! And grasp-thou thine hand into him!” imply? They imply that HaGar has the strength, not Ishmael.
6. Why did Messenger Elohim tell her, “I will put him to a big race,” at this time? That told her that he would live!
7. Had that well been there all the time? Yes!
8. What is a “hot of water”? It is a skin bottle that is also used for hot water. That type of bottle is made of animal skins preserved in such a way that water doesn’t break down the skins.
9. Why is the text worded, “she watered the youth”? This is the way the Hebrew states it. One person can water another person. Show how this works in a play.
VI. The Rest of the Story (verses 20-21)
Elohim was with Ishmael. He grew. He lived in the very environment that nearly killed his mother and him.
He became a great archer, and therefore was very good at obtaining animals for food.
He lived in the Paran desert.
His mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt, HaGar’s native land.
Questions
1. What occurs if Elohim is with someone? That person prospers in everything that person does, as long as those things are good. That person will be protected during that time. That person will grow in rank in the person’s surroundings. That person will also be favored by those around that person. Some others will desire to participate with that person, since that person will succeed.
2. Why would anyone want to live in a desert? Deserts are beautiful areas. They are usually hot, though some are cold. Deserts offer open spaces and great freedom of movement for those who learn to use them wisely. When water is available, crops can grow very well in deserts. Ishmael wanted to learn the bow (and arrow). That isn’t so easily done in cities.
3. What advantage could there be for a mother to obtain a wife for her son? She would be able to judge character in a woman far better than he would, and she would know if the two will work well together. Marriage is about work and the combining of two cultures. A mother is far more likely to tell a match than a son who sees a good-looking woman, and goes for her.