Commentary on Genesis 21:8-21

Kathryn Schifferdecker
We are accustomed to talking about the sacrifice of Isaac, but this story could be called
the sacrifice of Ishmael.
The Isaac story is the topic for next week. This week, Ishmael is the focus and it is worth noting that
his story in many ways mirrors (or foreshadows) the other.
Abraham has two sons. The first, the son of a slave woman, is born out of Abrahams and Sarahs
understandable doubt that Gods promise will be fulfilled. (God helps those who help themselves
isnt a new concept.) The second, a miracle child, is born to them in their old age against all odds.
In Genesis 18, we hear the story of Gods impossible promise that Sarah would conceive a child in
her old age. She laughed till she cried when she heard the promise, but sure enough, she
conceived and bore a son and they named him Laughter. In this weeks reading, the miracle child
is now old enough to wean, and Abraham throws a party to celebrate the occasion.
But all is not well. Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham,
playing with her son Isaac (Genesis 21:9). In the Hebrew, the words, with her son Isaac dont
appear, though the Septuagint adds that phrase. The rabbis, perhaps to soften the blow of Sarahs
and Abrahams subsequent actions, ascribe sinister motives to Ishmael; he is jealous of his little
brother and torments him. The biblical phrase, however, has no such connotation. In fact, the word
translated playing is a pun on Isaacs name. Ishmael is simply laughing, enjoying himself at the
feast.
But Sarah does not want to see this son of a slave woman, this reminder of her own long sorrow, to
inherit along with her son. Her disdain for Hagar and Ishmael are apparent in the way she refers to
them: "Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit
along with my son Isaac" (21:10).
Abraham does not want to do it. Ishmael is, after all, his son. But God tells Abraham to do what
Sarah wants for through Isaac shall your descendants be named (21:12). And God reassures
Abraham that Ishmael, too, will be the father of a nation.
Then, in language that foreshadows the following chapter, Abraham rises early in the morning
(21:14; 22:3), puts food and a skin of water on Hagars shoulder (21:14; 22:6), and sends away his
son with the boys mother.

Its not the first time Hagar wanders in the wilderness. In chapter 16, pregnant, she flees a conflict
with Sarah and ends up speaking with the LORD and even naming God: A God of seeing (16:13).
This time, however, she has nowhere to turn. She has no option to return to Abraham and Sarah,
so she wanders into the wilderness, to almost certain death.
This story in chapter 21 does not seem to know the genealogical notes of 16:16 and 21:5, which
would make Ishmael a teenager when Isaac is born. A mother could not carry a teenager on her
shoulder (21:14), nor would she be able to cast him under a bush (21:15) when the water runs
out. Ishmael here is best understood as a young child, one who cries from thirst and fear as his
mother sits a distance off, unwilling to watch as her son dies.
But for the second time in her life, Hagar is visited by God (or an angel of God; often in Genesis the
line between the two is blurred). And God heard the voice of the lad (21:17). In Hebrew, the first
few syllables of this verse are the name Ishmael -- God heard. And it is the only time in the
whole story that Ishmaels name appears, as if to emphasize the meaning of that name -- God
hears. God hears the cries of the outcast and abandoned. God hears and has compassion.
The angel of the LORD speaks to Hagar and says what angels always say, Do not be afraid. Do
not be afraid, though things seem hopeless. Take the child in your arms. I have heard his cries. I
will save him and will make of him a great nation.
God opens Hagars eyes to see a well of water nearby, just as Abraham in the next chapter will see
the ram caught in the thicket (21:19; 22:13). And in both cases the seeing leads to new life for
Abrahams sons.
Ishmael grows up in the wilderness and becomes the father of a great nation, the Ishmaelites. He
also becomes the father-in-law of Esau, that other overlooked son (28:9). His descendants appear
a few other times in the biblical text. It is the Ishmaelites, for instance, who sell Joseph the beloved
son into slavery in Egypt (37:28; 39:1). Muslim tradition, of course, claims Ishmael as the father of
Islam.
But all of that will come later. For our purposes this Sunday, perhaps it is enough to note an easily
overlooked phrase in the story: and God was with the boy (21:20). God is with the boy, this
outcast son of Abraham. God is with his mother, too, an Egyptian slave woman cast out by the
father of her child. It is worth noting that Hagar sees God not once, but twice, and even names God.
It is a privilege not many have, not many even of the chosen people.
Gods choosing of one particular people, and one particular line of that people (Isaac, not Ishmael;
Jacob, not Esau) is a scandalous matter for many. The scandal of election is difficult for we who
value fairness and egalitarianism. And yet, that seems to be how God works in Genesis and in the
rest of the Old Testament. The chosen people are called to high standards and to difficult trials

(witness the story next week). They are blessed in order to be a blessing (Genesis 12:3). They are
to be a priestly kingdom and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6). It is not an easy thing to be chosen,
according to the biblical witness. It is both a privilege, and a great responsibility.
But it must also be noted that election, according to this story, does not entitle one to exclusive
claim on Gods care or on Gods presence. God was with the boy. Jon Levenson, a Jewish
scholar, puts it this way, Ishmael is read out of the covenant but emphatically included in the
promise that is larger than the covenant and preceded it.1 God cares about and provides for this
son of Abraham, too. God was with the boy.
It is easy to overlook this story of Ishmael, set as it is between the story of Isaacs miraculous birth
and the story of his (near) sacrifice. Yet, it is worth pausing and considering what Ishmaels story
tells us about Gods care and providence. As the old hymn reminds us, Theres a wideness in
Gods mercy like the wideness of the sea. We cannot limit Gods mercy. God hears the cry of the
abandoned. God hears the cry of the outcast, and God saves.

Notes:
1

Jon D. Levenson, The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transformation of Child

Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity (Yale University Press, 1993) 102. Levenson here refers
specifically to the promise in Gen. 12:2 that Abraham will be the father of a great nation, a promise
fulfilled in both his sons.