The birth of Ishmael is recounted in chapter 16. Sarai and Abram tried to obtain the heir God had promised them by resorting to a culturally acceptable custom of their day even though it involved a failure to trust God. This fleshly act created serious complications for Abram and his household that included Hagar fleeing into the wilderness. Nevertheless God proved faithful to His promises and responded to Hagar's cries for help. He provided for her needs and promised her many descendants through Ishmael, since he was Abram's son. The account of Sarai's plan to have a son has not only been connected with the list of nations in chapter 15, but also appears to have been intentionally shaped with reference to the account of the Fall in Genesis 3. Each of the main verbs (wayyiqtol forms) and key expressions in 16:2 3 finds a parallel in Genesis 3. Alluding to the Fall suggests the writer's disapproval of what Sarai did (cf. 3:17). Moses continued to focus increasing attention on the problem of an heir. Sarai had borne Abram no children (v. 1). She therefore suggested a plan to obtain an heir from his own body (15:4). It looked as if everything would work out well until a conflict developed between Sarai and Hagar (v. 4). This conflict grew into a major crisis when Hagar fled the family encampment pregnant with Abram's unborn child (v. 6). Yahweh intervened again to resolve the crisis (v. 7). He instructed Hagar to return to Sarai (v. 9). Thus Hagar bore Ishmael in Abram's house, but later God revealed that Ishmael would not be the heir. Apart from God s leading, human assistance to the fulfillment of the divine promises only complicates things. 277
1 Now Sarai, Abram s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her. And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife (Gen. 16:1 3). 16:1 3 Using a woman other than one's wife (v. 2) was a method of providing an heir in the case of a childless marriage apart from adoption. Hagar was Sarai's personal servant, not a slave girl. Abram also had at least one personal servant (24:2). In the ancient world it was a serious matter for a man to be childless, for it left him without an heir. But it was even more calamitous for a woman: to have a great brood of children was the mark of success as a wife; to have none was ignominious failure. So throughout the ancient East polygamy was resorted to as a means of obviating childlessness. But wealthier wives preferred the practice of surrogate motherhood, whereby they allowed their husbands to go in to their maids, a euphemism for sexual intercourse (cf. 6:4; 30:3; 38:8, 9; 39:14). The mistress could then feel that her maid's child was her own and exert some control over it in a way that she could not if her husband simply took a second wife. People in Abram's culture regarded a concubine as a secondary wife with some, but not all, of the rights and privileges of the primary wife. In effect Hagar became Abram's concubine. One Nuzi tablet reads: Kelim-ninu has been given in marriage to Shennima. If Kelim-ninu does not bear children, Kelim-ninu shall acquire a woman of the land of Lulu (i.e., a slave girl) as wife for Shennima. Not only was using a concubine an option, but in Hurrian culture husbands sometimes required that if their wife could not bear children she had to provide a concubine for him. Any child of the bondslave would necessarily belong to the mistress, not the mother. 278
4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the LORD judge between you and me. 6 But Abram said to Sarai, Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight. So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence (Gen. 16:4 6). 16:4 6 This custom helps explain why Abram was willing to be a part of Sarai's plan a plan that seems unusual to us in the West. As Adam had followed Eve's lead (3:6), Abram agreed to his wife's faithless suggestion. Abram's passivity contrasts with his earlier valiant action to save Lot from his captors (ch. 14). Like Eve, Sarai also blamed someone else for the results of her act; namely, Abram (v. 5). Did Sarai mean that she would obtain children through Hagar by adopting them as her own or by becoming fertile herself as a result of Hagar's childbearing (v. 2)? Most interpreters have taken the first position, but some have preferred the second. The basis of the second view is the not infrequent phenomenon of a woman who has had trouble conceiving becoming pregnant after she has adopted a child. Though using a woman other than one's wife to bear one's children was a custom of the day, it was never God's desire (2:24; Matt. 19:4 5). Abram and Sarai here repeated the failure of Adam and Eve; namely, doubting God's word. This episode ended in total disaster for everyone involved. Hagar lost her home, Sarai her maid, and Abram his wife's servant and his child by Hagar. A thousand volumes written against polygamy would not lead to a clearer fuller conviction of the evils of that practice than this story. Sarai tried to control the will of God by seizing the initiative from God (cf. 3:17). She and Abram chose fleshly means of obtaining the promised heir rather than waiting for God in faith (cf. 25:21). They let their culture guide them rather than God. The way of faith patient waiting on God was abandoned, and the way of the flesh human calculations was engaged. It's a shame that Sarai hadn't comprehended the fact that her infertility could be used by the LORD to put her in a place of dependence on Him so that fruit could be born in her life. 279
7 Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 He said, Hagar, Sarai s maid, where have you come from and where are you going? And she said, I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai. 9 Then the angel of the LORD said to her, Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority. 10 Moreover, the angel of the LORD said to her, I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count (Gen. 16:7 10). 16:7 10 This is the first of 48 references to "the angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament. Sometimes, as here, the Angel is deity, and in other places he appears to be an angelic messenger from the LORD. The spring on the way to Shur was located somewhere on the road from Beersheba to Egypt, Egypt being Hagar s homeland (v. 1). This prophecy was not an insult or a curse. Ishmael would enjoy the freedom his mother sought. The LORD named Ishmael (v. 11), whose name means "God hears," and Hagar named the LORD (v. 13) "the One who sees." These two names constitute a major revelation of God: He hears and He sees. This may be the only instance in Scripture of a human being conferring a name on God. Abram and Sarai's action proved to be a source of much difficulty for everyone involved (cf. Abram's error in going to Egypt, 12:11 13). God, however, took care of and blessed Ishmael even though he was the fruit of Abram's presumption. This is another occasion when Abram did not trust God as he should have (cf. 12:10 20). Both Hagar and Mary, the mother of Jesus, stand as examples of women who obediently accepted God's word and thereby brought blessing to descendants too many to count. Paul wrote that this story contains (not is) an allegory (Gal. 4:24). An "allegory" today means a story without factual basis. Paul did not deny the factuality of Genesis 16, but he used this story as the basis for a comparison. "Illustration" or "comparison" would be better words to use. Hagar represents the Mosaic Covenant, and Ishmael is its fruit (slaves). Sarai is the Abrahamic Covenant, and Isaac is its fruit (free sons). Children of the flesh persecute children of the promise (Gal. 4:29). 280
11 The angel of the LORD said to her further, Behold, you are with child, and you will bear a son; and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man, his hand will be against everyone, and everyone s hand will be against him; and he will live to the east of all his brothers. 13 Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You are a God who sees ; for she said, Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him? 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. 15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him (Gen. 16:11 16). 16:11 14 There is much irony in this story. Barren Sarai lived in a fertile land whereas fertile Hagar ended up living in a barren land. The Egyptians, to whom the attacked Hagar fled for freedom, later enslaved the attacker, Sarai's descendants. The prophetic description of Ishmael as a wild ass of a man (v. 12) (RSV) is rather intriguing. The animal referred to is the wild and untamable onager, which roams the desert at will. This figure of speech depicts very accurately the freedom-loving Bedouin moving across vast stretches of land. Resorting to fleshly means rather than waiting for God to provide what He has promised always creates problems. This story also shows that human failure does not frustrate God's plans ultimately. If we have made mistakes that have led us into sin, the primary condition of restoration is complete submission to the will of God, whatever that may involve. When in great distress, people should pray because God is aware of their needs and will fulfill His promises to them. 16:15 16 Abram gave the son by Hagar the name Ishmael ( God hears ). Ishmael was born in 2080 B.C. when Abram was 86 years of age. 281
There are several life lessons (applications) that derive from a study of Genesis 15 16: 1. Oppression may precede fulfillment of God s promises. 2. Believers are often impatient for God s fulfillment of His promises. 3. Children are a heritage from the Lord. 4. Faith in God s promises is credited to the believer as righteousness. 5. The Lord desires to reassure His people when they are in doubt about His promises. 6. Discipline to make one fit for the fulfillment of God s promises may be a necessary prerequisite for that fulfillment. 7. By His solemn covenant the Lord guarantees His people that His promises will be fulfilled, in spite of the prospects of their death and suffering. 8. Human assistance to the fulfillment of the divine promises only complicates the matter. It is foolish to overstep a boundary when faith would have taken one in a different way. Foolishly to adopt worldly customs and expedients will only complicate matters and bring in greater tensions. 9. God can repudiate social custom for His miraculous provision. 10. For the realization of His promises God expects patient hope and fervent prayer from His people. 11. In a time of great distress believers should pray to the Lord because He hears the afflicted, he sees them in their need, and He will miraculously fulfill His promises. 282