Comentario sobre Génesis 16:18

שפחה מצרית A HANDMAID, AN EGYPTIAN — She was a daughter of Pharaoh; when he saw the miracles which had been performed for Sarah’s take he said, “It is better for my daughter to be a handmaid in this man’s house than be mistress in another man’s house” (Genesis Rabbah 45:1).

ושרי אשת אברם לא ילדה לו, as mentioned already in Genesis 11,30 ותהי שרי עקרה , "Sarai was barren." Now when Sarai realized that her husband was already 85 years old, and she still had not been able to bear a child for him, while she herself had already reached the age of 75, she thought that she had no longer any hope of conceiving herself. She therefore reasoned to herself, that seeing G'd had promised Avram that he would have children of his own who would inherit the land of Canaan, G'd must have referred to his siring children from another woman. She reasoned further that it would be in her own best interest that any children born to her husband should be born by a woman under her control so that she would experience the joy of motherhood at least vicariously.

ולה שפחת מצרית , “and she had an Egyptian slave-woman.” The Torah emphasizes that this woman belonged to Sarai personally, not to Avram; hence the word לה “to her, or hers.” Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 45,1 describe her as part of Sarai’s נכסי מלוג, property the wife brings with her at marriage over which the husband has only limited control,” i.e. he cannot sell it.

She was Pharaoh’s daughter ... Rashi knows this because it is written לה שפחה, even though everything a woman acquires belongs to her husband, [so Hagar really belonged to Avraham]. It must be that Hagar was Pharaoh’s daughter and he gave her to Sarah. Therefore it is written ולה שפחה to hint to the miracles performed “לה” — for Sarah — which Pharaoh saw.

(1-2) Mit der klagenden Bitte: מה תתן לי, ich habe ja kein Kind und das Kind der Sehnsucht meines Hauses ist Eliesers Damaskus! haben wir Abraham vor Gott gesehen, und offenbart sich uns darin, wie tief Abrahams Gemüt um seiner Kinderlosigkeit willen betrübt gewesen sein muß. Wir können aber begreifen, wie diese Kinderlosigkeit am tiefsten Sara schmerzen musste. Sie war ja, wie es im Texte besonders hervorgehoben wird, אשת אברם, war in allen Beziehungen Abrahams Weib, war ihm auf allen seinen Gängen gefolgt, hatte sich seiner Lebensrichtung und Lebensaufgabe angeschlossen. War es von Abraham eine Größe, sich von Heimat und Verwandtschaft loszusagen, war es von Sara nicht minder; Abraham tat es um Gottes, Sara um Abrahams willen und zusammen lebten sie dem hohen Berufe, את הנפש אשר עשו בחרן. — Eines aber, was er durch sein Weib hätte erwarten können, was jeder erwartet, was aber Abraham eben um der Erreichung seiner Aufgabe willen doppelt bedeutsam war, Kinder hatte sie ihm nicht geboren. Nun hatte sie eine Sklavin, es war dies zunächst ihre Sklavin, deren Herrin sie war, — sie war nicht שפחת אברם, sondern שפחת שרי — und sprach zu Abraham: הנה נא עצרני וגוי; wir kennen bereits die feine Bedeutung dieses נא in Abrahams und Saras Gesprächen. Siehe, es ist doch an dem! wenn wir bisher kein Kind haben, so kann nur die Schuld an mir liegen, obgleich du wohlwollend mir dies immer streitig machst. אזר ,אסר ,אצר ,עצר ,עצרני, Zusammenhalten von Kräften. Nicht מנע, Wunsch versagen, sondern: Gott hat mich in der Erreichung der Bestimmung gehemmt, zu welcher Gott jedem Weibe Kräfte gegeben. — konnte sie ihm auch selbst kein Kind auf den Schoß setzen, so wollte sie ihm ,בא נא וגו׳ doch ein Kind geben, an dem Abraham allen, sie den möglichsten Anteil habe. Abraham widerstrebt dies. Das liegt in נא. Sara tut es nur um seinetwillen, weiß aber, dass er es um seinetwillen nicht tun würde, spricht daher אולי אבנה, vielleicht werde ich dadurch gebaut. Wolle er es nicht um seinetwillen tun, so möge er es um ihretwillen tun, weil sie es so dringend wünsche.

ושרי אשת אברם לא ילדה, “meanwhile, Sarai, Avram’s wife had failed to give birth;” this verse is intended to inform us that the covenant just concluded between G-d and Avram preceded the time when Avram was blessed with biological offspring. We should not assume that here too the principle that the Torah need not report events in their chronological sequence could be applied. As a reminder of this, the Torah reports that up until now Sarai had not conceived or given birth. “ולה שפחה מצרית,” and she had an Egyptian maidservant; she was a usufruct maidservant which he was obligated to provide her sustenance and could not sell her.

ולה שפחה מצרית, had Hagar been of Canaanite origin, Avram would not have agreed to sleep with her. Her name is mentioned out of respect for Avram, [whose sleeping with an anonymous woman would have place him in a bad light. Ed.]

ושמה הגר, “and her name was Hagar.” She had been given to Sarai when she was a prisoner in Pharaoh’s palace. As a reminder of that experience she was called “Hagar.” The word means “reward for your chasteness.” (based on the name being an acrostic i.e. הא אגריך “this is your reward”).

בנה ,אִבָנֶה, räumlich, Stein zu Stein fügen, einen Raum herzustellen, in welchem ein Mensch sein Leben entwickele und vollende. — בית lautverwandt mit בית .בגד: das erweiterte Gewand. Wie nun בית, das Haus räumlich der Bereich ist, in welchem der Mensch seine Tätigkeit vollendet, sein Leben auslebt, so gibt es im jüdischen Sprachgedanken auch ein zeitliches "Haus" die Zeitumspannung, innerhalb deren ein Mensch oder ein Volk, oder jedes zeitliche Menschengeschlecht seine Wirksamkeit alle Geschlechter hindurch auslebt. Jede Generation baut an diesem Zeiten-n^ weiter, und fügt Stein zum Steine. Jedes Kind ist בֵן, ist ein Baustein, durch welchen die Eltern den Menschheit- und Volksbau fortführen, und innerhalb desselben sich selber mit ihrem individuell besonders gearteten Sein und Wirken als einen eigenen Baubeitrag einfügen und fortbauen. בית אברהם, Abrahams Haus umfasst alle die Folgegeschlechter, in welchem sich die charakteristische Eigentümlichkeit des Ahns in immer reicherer und vollerer Mannigfaltigkeit ausprägt und hinauslebt. בית ישראל umfasst alle die Geschlechter, in deren Gesamtkomplex das vom Ahn überkommene Israelideal zur Verwirklichung kommt. Die ganze Geschichte der Menschheit ist die fortgesetzte Arbeit an einem großen Bau, dessen Baumeister Gott, dessen einzelne und zusammenwirkende Arbeiter und zugleich Bausteine Menschen und Geschlechter von Generation zu Generation sind. "In Seinem Ebenbilde hat Gott den Menschen geschaffen und Sich von ihm einen in die Ewigkeit reichenden Bau bereitet — והתקין לו ממנו בנין עדי עד —", lautet der tiefe Weihspruch bei unseren Eheschließungen. Kinderlose Eltern fallen aus dem Bau, mit ihnen bricht eine Baureihe ab, sie werden, auf ihnen wird nicht weiter gebaut. "Vielleicht werde ich von ihr gebaut werden —", spricht Sara, vielleicht wird Gott mir durch sie ein Kind gewähren. Indem ich dir meine Magd gebe, werde ich ein Recht haben, das Kind zu erziehen, werde, wenn auch nicht die physische Ursache, doch die möglichste moralische Veranlassung für das Dasein und die geistige Entwickelung des Kindes sein, werde damit mich einfügen in den Bau der Zeiten, und in dem Kinde und dessen Kindern werde ich fortleben.

ושמה הגר, “whose name was Hagar;” when Pharaoh handed over his daughter to Sarai (when the latter was a captive in his Palace) he had said to her: “my daughter is your compensation for my having wronged you. ”Here is your reward.” (Based on Matnot kehunah in Br’eshit Rabbah) As a result she was renamed: Hagar.

וישמע אברם לקול שרי, nicht לקול אשתו, nicht insofern sie sein Weib war, nicht in der Absicht, die in der Tat Sara dabei im Auge hatte; denn nicht von einer Hagar erwartete er das Kind seiner Zukunft. Er fügte sich ihrem Verlangen, soweit er darin eine Befriedigung ihres persönlichen Wunsches erblickte. Er tat es ihretwillen, wie sie es seinetwillen tat, Beziehungen, denen wir wiederholt zwischen Abraham und Sara begegnen, und die sich überall finden, wo Mann und Weib Mann und Weib einander sind.

אולי אבנה ממנה IT MAY BE THAT I SHALL BE BUILDED UP THROUGH HER — This statement of Sarah teaches that a person who has no children is not firmly established (literally, built up: his name and future are not perpetuated) but is unstable (lit, demolished) (Genesis Rabbah 45:2).

AND ABRAM HEARKENED TO THE VOICE OF SARAI. Scripture does not state, “And he did so.” Rather it says that he hearkened to the voice of Sarai, thus indicating that even though Abram was very desirous of having children, he did not do so without permission of Sarai. Even now it was not his intention to build up a family from Hagar, and that his children be from her. His intent was merely to do Sarai’s will so that she may build a family from Hagar for she will find satisfaction in her handmaid’s children, or that by the merit of this act she will become worthy to have children, as our Rabbis have said.³⁵¹Bereshith Rabbah 71:7.
Scripture further says, And Sarai took,³⁵²Verse 3 here. to inform us that Abram did not hurry the matter until Sarai took Hagar and gave her to him. Again, Scripture mentions Sarai Abram’s wife… to Abram her husband,³⁵²Verse 3 here. to allude that Sarah did not despair of Abraham and that she did not render herself distant from him as she was his wife and he her husband, but she wanted that Hagar also be his wife. This is why the verse states, And she gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife,³⁵²Verse 3 here. meaning that she was not to be as a concubine but as a woman married to him. All this reflects the ethical conduct of Sarah and her respect towards her husband.

הנה עצרני ה' מלדת, "even though G'd has promised to grant you offspring to whom I will give this land, (Genesis 12,7) He has not said that the mother of Avram's offspring would be I."

ותאמר ... עצרני ה' מלדת, she meant that seeing that G'd had prevented her from giving birth during all these years, she had now abandoned hope of ever bearing a child as she had aged in the interval.

וישמע אברהם לקול שרי, “Avraham agreed with Sarai’s suggestion.” The Torah does not simply write ויעש כן that Avraham acted in consonance with Sarai’s request, but is writes that Avraham, although very desirous of siring children, would not marry another woman unless Sarai had first approved it, or, as in this case, even suggested it. Even now, in fulfilling Sarai’s suggestion, he did not do so primarily to satisfy his own yearning, but to afford Sarai the satisfaction of being able to raise a child vicariously even though it had been born by her maidservant. It also possible, as our sages have remarked, that due to Sarai’s generosity in worrying that her husband should father a child, although not hers, she herself would be granted the satisfaction to have a child of her own. Sarai used the term לאישה, “as a wife,” to describe the union between Hagar and Avraham, in order to indicate that she did not want to raise a child who was the issue of a concubine. The Torah describes all these details to show the concern of Sarai for Avraham’s social standing.

Because of the merit of admitting my rival into my home. I.e., [Rashi is answering the question:] If Hagar gives birth, does this make Sarah built-up? Rashi answers: “Through her” means, “As a result of [what I do for] her.”

אבנה ממנה I SHALL BE BUILDED UP THROUGH HER— through the merit that I admit her as a rival into my house.

אולי אבנה ממנה, Sarah hoped that the jealousy which would develop within her when she saw that Hagar gave birth to a child for Avram would stimulate her own biological and sexual urges so that in due course she too would become pregnant by her husband. (based on Megillah 13)

אבנה, the son from this union would be called אבנה, "I shall be built up." All children are a building consisting of genetic input by father and mother. Sarai said that any son from this union with her husband would be accepted by her as if he were part of her biological family. She would treat him as her own son.

To the prophecy that was within her. Rashi knows this because it is written, “To the voice of Sarai,” rather than just, “To Sarai.” Thus it means [that Avraham listened] to the voice that came to Sarai, i.e., her prophecy.

לקול שרי TO THE VOICE OF SARAI— to the Holy (prophetic) Spirit that was in her (Genesis Rabbah 45:2).

שרי לקול, the Torah wants to make plain that Avram was not motivated by sexual lust to sleep with Hagar, but had only fallen in with Sarai's reasoning, hoping to assuage her feelings in the matter.

וישמע אברם, he agreed with Sarai's plan, preferring not to wait any longer for G'd to fulfill His promise in giving him children from Sarai as he had understood this promise up until now. He decided that since Sarai had stopped menstruating she would not be able to become pregnant. As a result, he reasoned that G'd's promise to him was to be fulfilled via Hagar who would become the mother of any children of his. Seeing that even Sarai had arrived as such an interpretation of G'd's promise, he had no reason to disagree with her. This is why Avram did not pray to G'd asking Him to make Sarai bear him a son, as opposed to his son Yitzchok later on who did pray to G'd for Rivkah to bear him a son. It is also possible that Avram did pray concerning this matter, but that he had concluded that G'd had seen fit to deny his request. In that event, we must understand G'd's delay in answering Avram's prayer as being designed to show that He could make even a ninety year old barren woman become pregnant and give birth to a healthy child.

ותקח שרי AND (SARAI TOOK [HAGAR] — She took (won her over) by kindly speech saying, “Happy are you in that you will be privileged to consort with so holy a person as this” (Genesis Rabbah 45:3).

AT THE END OF TEN YEARS. This is the established period for a woman who has lived with her husband for ten years without having given birth to children, after which he is bound to take another.

ותקח ... מקץ עשר שנים, ten years had elapsed since Avram and Sarai had moved to the land of Canaan. She had waited all these years thinking that G'd would give Avram a son from her in that land. After all, the instruction to Avram to go forth from his birthplace, etc. had been followed by the promise that there G'd would make him into a great nation. (Genesis 12,2). Our sages in Yevamot 64 state that if someone was married to a woman for 10 years during which she was unable to bear a child for him he is not allowed to simply forego the chance of having children, but should pay her out her marriage settlement (Ketuvah) and divorce her as it is possible that G'd only decreed that he should not have children from that particular woman. The Talmud, while admitting that there is no proof for the above, claims that Avram's example can serve as a guide for such conduct, seeing that he waited ten years after settling in the land of Israel, having discounted the earlier years during which Sarai had not conceived.

מקץ עשר שנים לשבת אברם בארץ כנען, “at the end of 10 years since Avraham had taken up residence in the land of Canaan.” Rashi writes that this teaches us that the years that Avraham and Sarai lived outside the land of Canaan are not relevant to the rule that when a woman fails to conceive after 10 years of marriage, her husband may or should divorce her and marry someone else. The reason that those years did not count was that while in Charan, G’d had not yet promised Avraham that He would make him into a great nation. Nachmanides writes that only in the case of Avraham did those years that he was in Charan or even before not count. For ordinary individuals the rule to divorce a wife after 10 years of marriage without children does apply in the Diaspora also. He continues that the commentators have made additional errors in writing on this subject when they said that the whole halachah requiring a husband to divorce a wife who fails to bear children for ten years does not apply outside the Holy Land. The correct interpretation of what is written on the subject is that if a childless married couple have moved to Israel they are given another ten years before the rule that the husband in order to fulfill the commandment to be fruitful has to either divorce his barren wife or marry another wife in addition. It is hoped that the merit of living in the Holy Land will result in the couple being blessed with children.

She took her with words ... [Rashi knows this] because the mind is the main part of a person, and one can “take” a person’s mind only with good words that draw his mind to what one wants.

Nach zehnjährigem Harren, also nicht leichtsinnig und ohne genügenden Grund. לאברם אישה, die Beziehungen zwischen Abraham und Sara wurden dadurch nicht im geringsten getrübt. Sara durfte fühlen, dass sie durch dieses Opfer Abraham noch mehr Weib wurde. לאשה zum Weib gab sie sie ihm, also zu einem reinen Verhältnisse, לו לאשה ihm zum Weibe. Ihr freilich mußte Hagar Sklavin bleiben, damit sie, Sara, allein über die Erziehung des Kindes disponieren könne. Dieses letztere war die Grundbedingung, an welche die Verwirklichung des von Sara mit dem Ganzen beabsichtigten Zweckes geknüpft war.

מקץ עשר שנים AFTER [ABRAM HAD DWELT] TEN YEARS — the period appointed for a woman who has lived with her husband for ten years without having borne children to him when he is bound to take another.

The time allotted to a woman ... Otherwise why does it say, “At the end of ten years”?

AFTER ABRAM DWELLED IN THE LAND OF CANAAN. This tells us that the period he dwelled outside of the Land is not to be included in the count of those ten years since he was not told And I will make of thee a great nation³⁵³Above, 12:2. until after he had come to the land of Israel. Thus the language of Rashi.
This reason is not proper since it is a clear-cut halachic decision that the time spent living outside the Land is not to be included in the ten year period for any person in the world.³⁵⁴Why then did Rashi add, “since the promise, And I will make of thee a great nation, was made to Abraham after he had come to the Land of Israel?” This language would make it appear that only in Abraham’s case was the time spent living outside the Land excluded from the ten year period, when it really applies to everyone. The Mishnah³⁵⁵Yebamoth 64a. The Mishnah is the collection of teachings by the Tannaim, compiled by Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi. containing this principle applies to all men. And if it were as Rashi stated it, i.e., on account of this promise made to Abram, then for other people [the years they dwelled outside the land of Israel] should be included in the ten years period!³⁵⁶But the law is not so. The years that husband and wife have lived together outside the Land of Israel are not included in the ten years total for anyone, and they begin to count the years after they arrive in the Land. Some Talmudic commentators³⁵⁷The forthcoming opinion which Ramban refutes is mentioned in Rabbeinu Asher, Yebamoth, Chapter 6, par. 12, in the name of “some scholars who wish to say.” Rabbeinu Asher also refutes their opinion. have already made another mistake concerning this rule, stating that the law does not require a person who dwells outside the Land to divorce a woman with whom he has lived for ten years without her giving birth, nor does the law require him to marry another woman.³⁵⁸Their reasoning being that childlessness may be a form of punishment for living outside the Land. Therefore he need not divorce her. This opinion, however, is refuted, for the law applies everywhere. Only in a case where, after having lived together outside the Land of Israel, husband and wife then move to the Land, the years they lived outside the Land are not included in the ten year period. But the matter is not so. Rather, the intent [of the law which excludes the period one dwells outside the land of Israel from the ten year total] is that if a man lived with his wife for five or ten years outside the Land and then they came to the land of Israel, we give them a period of ten years from the time they came to the Land, for perhaps due to the merit of the Land they will build up a family. And thus did Abraham and Sarah our mother do from the time they came there.

'לשבת אברם וגו [TEN YEARS] AFTER ABRAHAM HAD DWELT IN THE LAND OF CANAAN — As Abraham had been married to Sarah before he entered Canaan this statement virtually informs us that the period he dwelt outside the land was not to be included in the number of these ten years (Yevamot 64a), for the promise, “And I will make of thee a great nation” was made to him with the intention of being fulfilled only after he had come into the land of Israel.

ויבא אל הגר ותהר AND HE CAME UNTO HAGAR AND SHE CONCEIVED from the first union (Genesis Rabbah 45:4).

ויבא ... ותקל גבירתה, she thought that now that it was clear that Avram's seed would be from her she would become the top ranking wife of Avram. As a result, she refused to carry out instructions given to her by Sarai.

From the first marital union. You might ask: How does Rashi know this? The answer is: Because it is written, “He came to Hagar and she conceived,” rather than simply, “He came to her and she conceived.” It says “Hagar” to indicate that she was still being called Hagar when she conceived. That is, she conceived from the very first union. But other women do not so conceive [from he first union], and Hagar’s conception from the first union was a miracle. This is preferable to Re’m’s explanation that she [previously had] taken action and deflowered herself [thus allowing her to conceive].

וַתֵקַל, sehr wahrscheinlich Kal von קלה, wovon der Hiphil, מַקְלֶה, geringschätzen, der Kal somit: Werth verlieren bedeutet.

ותקל גברתה בעיניה HER MISTRESS WAS SLIGHTED IN HER EYES — She said, “As regards this woman Sarai, her conduct in private can certainly not be like that in public: she pretends to be a righteous woman, but she cannot really be righteous since all these years she has not been privileged to have children, whilst I have had that blessing from the first union” (Genesis Rabbah 45:4).

I have become pregnant from the first union. You might ask: How does Rashi know that Sarai became slighted in her eyes because she conceived from the first union? Perhaps the very fact that she conceived was the reason! The answer is: Then it should say, “She conceived and her mistress became slighted in her eyes,” [without the intervening phrase, “When she realized she was pregnant”]. A further answer: If it was just because she conceived, Sarai would not be slighted in her eyes, as perhaps Sarai never became pregnant simply because she was barren. But if Hagar conceived [miraculously] from the first union, the verse is understandable. She reasoned: “Sarah surely is not righteous. For if she was, why did her merit not help [to bring a miracle]? If I conceived from the first union, unlike any other woman [and Sarah did not], it is clear that she has no merit.” (Maharshal)

חמסי עליך MY WRONG BE UPON THEE — The wrong done to me (חמסי)— the punishment for it I call down on you (עליך). “When you prayed to the Holy One, blessed be He, (15:2) ‘what wilt Thou give me, seeing that I go childless’, you prayed only on behalf of yourself whereas you should have prayed on behalf of both of us — then would I have been borne in mind (by God) together with you” (i.e. when you had the gift of a child it would have been “my” child also — not that of a strange woman). Besides this, you deprive me (חומס) of your protecting words since you hear how I am despised and yet you keep silent (Genesis Rabbah 45:5).

חמסי עליך, "you should have rebuked her for her conduct vis-à-vis me, seeing that she has become your wife [and you are now her boss instead of me. Ed.] She treats me as inconsequential after she has become pregnant from you."

ותאמר שדי אל אברם חמסי עליך. Sarai said to Abram: "The wrong done me boomerangs on you." Why does the Torah present Sarah's complaint as if it were directed at Abraham when clearly she was angry at Hagar as she spelled out when she said that she had been downgraded in Hagar's eyes? If, on the other hand, she really targeted Hagar with her complaint, she did not seem to address the right target. After all, it was Sarah who had been slighted, her honour had been impugned not Avraham's. Furthermore, we must understand Avraham's reply. He appeared to have accepted Sarah's complaint when he said: "do what you will with Hagar!" If Avraham had not felt that he had a share of guilt in what happened he should have denied wrongdoing and not simply told Sarah what she could do.

ותאמר חמסי עליך, Sarai referred to the insolent behavior she was being subjected to by Hagar as being due to her having had Avram's interest at heart instead of her own. She accused her husband of not disciplining Hagar for her insolent behavior toward her. She herself had been unwilling to treat Hagar harshly out of respect for Avram's dignity.

I call for you to be punished. [חמסי means “my wrong”] and does not mean, “The wrong that I am doing,” as the suffix י refers to the subject, who is Sarah. [When Rashi says,] “Furthermore: You have unrightfully withheld your words from me,” this is an alternate explanation.

ותאמר שרי אל אברם חמסי עליך, the meaning of the words חמסי עליך is revealed when the angel tells Hagar to go back to Sarai her mistress and to submit to her oppression (16,9). The Torah, at this stage, had covered up the change in Sarah's attitude toward Hagar. Sarai had become completely dependent on Hagar as a result of her having become pregnant. Previously, in the mistress-maid relationship it was the maid who had been dependent on her mistress. Avram had accused her of committing a criminal act by oppressing Hagar. By refusing her services as a maid, Hagar was further encouraged to treat her mistress as her inferior. As a result, Sarai now challenged Avram, blaming him for her reduction in status. She therefore demanded that G'd Himself intervene to show that it was really His will that she now be subordinate to Hagar. This is the reason for the dot on the word וביניך. The point is that Sarai did not want such Divine judgment to cause Avram harm. In the event, the angel told Hagar that Sarai had been correct in her treatment of her when he told her to go back and to submit to Sarai's harsh treatment of her.

חמס ,חמסי, (verwandt mit חמץ) immer fortgesetztes kleines Unrecht (פחות משוה פרוטה, das sich dem Gerichte entzieht) kleine Neckereien, Spöttereien, Nadelstiche, die das Leben verkümmern, in "Gährung" bringen, fortgesetzte Zersetzung der reinen Stimmung, bis sie "sauer" wird, Nadelstiche, die nicht töten, aber krank machen. עליך, ruht auf dir, es muss an dir liegen, wenn Hagar sich jetzt über mich erhebt, da sie Hoffnung hat Mutter zu werden; denn אנכי, denn eben dazu habe ich sie ja selbst dir in den Schoß gegeben, sie weiß ja, dass ich das Ganze veranlaßt, und eben nur in der Absicht veranlaßt, dass sie Mutter werde. Es muß also in deinem Benehmen und Verhalten liegen, dass ich in ihren Augen an Wert eingebüßt.

חמסי, “look at what reward I get that my own maidservant refuses to obey my commands, and acts rebelliously.

'אנכי נתתי שפחתי וגו ביני וביניך I HAVE GIVEN MY HANDMAID etc… [MAY THE LORD JUDGE] BETWEEN ME AND THEE — Wherever this word “between thee” (masc.) occurs in Scripture it is written defective (i.e. without the second yod) whilst here it is written plene, therefore read it as וּבֵינָיִךְ (the fem form that corresponds to ביניך in our text — as though Sarah turned to Hagar saying “May God judge between me and thee”). Thus she cast the evil eye on Hagar so that she miscarried on this occasion. This explains what the angel said to Hagar, (16:11) הנך הרה “behold, thou wilt conceive”; but had she not already conceived and yet he announces to her that she would conceive? This therefore informs us that she miscarried in this, her first conception (cf. verse 11) (Genesis Rabbah 45:5).

'ישפוט ה, our sages in Rosh Hashanah 16 say that if someone invokes Divine judgment on a fellow Jew, he or she will become subject to such judgment first. They derive this from Genesis 23,2 where Avraham mourned Sarah's death, i.e. she who was 10 years junior to him died first. The Talmud assumes that this rule applies in examples such as ours, when Sarai had no evidence that Avram had been aware of Hagar's insolence toward her. Had he become aware of this firsthand, there is no question that he would not have tolerated such behavior from Hagar against her. It is quite inconceivable that Avram should have remained silent when his wife was being insulted. This was so in spite of the fact that Hagar had been raised in status to be his wife instead of being merely Sarai's slave.

For you have heard my shame and remained silent. I.e., [you heard my shame] from Hagar, as the verse continues and states: “I gave my maid to you and ... I became slighted in her eyes.”

In order to understand what transpired we must refer to Bereshit Rabbah 45,1 where it is explained that the status of the servant Hagar was one which obligated Avraham to look after her economic needs, whereas he was not entitled to sell her. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish explains there that in return for supplying Hagar's needs, Avraham was entitled to consume (use, or own) the produce of her hands. This meant that wile Hagar was a bodily slave of Sarah, the proceeds of her labour belonged to Avraham. There is an argument in Ketuvot 79 whether the children born by women of such status belong to the mistress or to the husband. Those who hold that the infant belongs to the mistress base themselves on the principle that only one generation of "labour" belongs to the husband; when such "labours" have produced dividends in the form of children or animals, they certainly do not belong to the husband of the woman owning the slave. We have also learned in the name of Rav Ashi in Gittin 39 that when a male slave has married a free woman in the presence of his master, the master must free him. The Talmud explains that this is so when the master has arranged the marriage. The commentators there are at pains to explain that the master had presumably freed the male salve in question first, as it is unlikely that he would use force to marry somebody forbidden to him in Jewish law. The same ruling applies when the woman was the slave and the husband was a free man. In that case the master has to free the woman (first). Concerning this ruling the Maharik writes in Yoreh Deah item 246 in laws dealing with slaves, that if a master engages in sexual intercourse with his slave intending to marry her, this is equivalent to setting her free. If his intention was purely; carnal, however, this has no legal consequences, i.e. she is not freed. There is a disagreement between Rav Alfassi and Maimonides concerning the result of a master sleeping with his slave without declaring any intention either way. According to Rav Alfassi on Yevamot 82. such an encounter also brings in its wake the freeing of the slave, whereas Maimonides disagrees in chapter 9 of the laws about slaves. After having explained all this, we can now return to the issue at hand.

הרה verwandt mit אריתי מרי ורבשי ,ארה, Frucht abpflücken, Frucht in sich aufnehmen. הרה: einen Fruchtkeim in sich aufnehmen. In Hiphil הורה (wie הוליך von הלך) einen geistigen Keim in jemand legen: lehren, davon תורה, die Lehre.

עליך, “this is all on your account;” if you had protested her disrespecting me it would not have happened. I do not feel like punishing her as she has becoming your concubine.

וביניך, the word is written plene, i.e. with the letter י between the נ and the ך, something that occurs almost only here in connection with the word בין. For instance, we have such spellings of the word בינכם וביניו, in Joshua 3,4 where in the very same verse it occurs both spelled defectively בינכם and plene וביניו, "between you (pl) and between him." There is an allegorical explanation quoted by Rashi for the spelling which suggests that in her jealousy Sarai looked at Hagar's swollen belly with the evil eye, something which would have resulted in Hagar losing her fetus. This is why the angel told her that she was pregnant, a fact that Hagar had been well aware of; however the idea was that Hagar would give birth to a son, etc., i.e. that she need not fear to abort her fetus on account of Sarai having given her the "evil eye."

Every ביניך that appears in Scripture is lacking but, here, it is “full.” Meaning, [usually] it is written בֵּינְךָ, second-person masculine. But here it is written ביניך, which may be read בֵינֵיךְ, second-person feminine, addressing Hagar. I.e., Sarah was speaking to Hagar as well.

When Sarah noticed that Hagar exploited her pregnancy to belittle her she became angry at the very idea that a slave should belittle her mistress. There is every reason to believe that Abraham could not have been unaware of Hagar's conduct. Our verse need not be understood as if Sarah had only now brought this to her husband's attention. Our verse reflects Sarah's anger that her husband had not reacted sooner to the slights she experienced at the hands of Hagar. When Abraham slept with Hagar in order to establish a man-wife relationship, Hagar in effect had become a free woman legally, as we have demonstrated from the rulings quoted. When Hagar assumed haughty airs it was because she no longer viewed herself as a slave. Sarah blamed her husband for enabling Hagar to have attained the status of a free person. She did not express anger at Hagar, seeing that Hagar was correct in no longer viewing herself as subservient to Sarah.

ישפוט ה' ביני וביניך, “may the Lord judge which one of us is right.” I am concerned with your dignity, whereas you have not respected my dignity.

Sarah now challenged Hagar's new found legal status. She did this by emphasising that it was she who had initiated the union between Hagar and Abraham, not Abraham. She had given Hagar to Abraham inasmuch as she could dispose of the activities of her slave Hagar. Why would the Torah repeat ("I have given my slave to your bosom") something we knew already, except to stress the conditions under which Hagar had been given to Abraham? According to what we have explained earlier Abraham had no claim to the fruit of Hagar's womb. Any child of Hagar's would belong to Sarah, her mistress. Hagar had never been Abraham's slave so that he could have freed her. Hagar could only have been freed if her mistress had not given her to Abraham as a slave, or even specifically as a wife and we would fall back on the argument that Abraham would not consort with a harlot and that therefore even if he had not promised freedom to Hagar it was implied by his sleeping with her. All of this would apply only if Hagar had at that time been Abraham's slave, not when she was Sarah's slave. Sarah claimed that she had been very careful at the time she suggested that Abraham sleep with Hagar. She said (verse 2): "please sleep with my slave." She had given Abraham notice that Hagar would remain her slave also after he had slept with her. Had Sarah not had such an intention, she would simply have said to Abraham: "sleep with Hagar!"

וביניך, Rashi claims there is an extra “dot” on this word. What he means is that everywhere else the word ביניך is spelled with only one letter י, whereas here it is also spelled with a י before the last letter. It therefore ought to be read as ובניך. The Talmud reports that words which have dots placed there by Ezra who after the return of the exiled Jews had to decide from differing Torah scrolls which had the correct spelling, used these dots to remind readers that some doubt had existed concerning this spelling. (Avot וביניך, Rashi de Rabbi Nathan, chapter 34.) If he had found such dots in some scrolls he did not want to take the responsibility for removing them, (according to a Tossaphot in Rosh Hashanah 15.) At any rate, we have a rule that if someone calls upon G-d to determine if concerning an accusation leveled against a fellow human being he or she had been correct, the first thing the heavenly tribunal does is to examine if the accuser has led a blameless life himself or herself. If faults are found in the accuser’s life, he is judged, i.e. punished first, before the accusation is examined in greater detail. In the event, Avraham had to bury Sarah, i.e. on the one hand she died earlier than he, though younger than he, and on the other hand he lost her. According to Rashi, the substance of Sarai’s complaint was that if Avram had prayed not only to have children himself but had included her in his prayer, the whole subject of offering Hagar to him as a concubine would never have arisen. Her accusation is considered as “an evil eye” (Compare Mizrachi, super commentary on Rashi) concerning the fetus in Hagar’s womb.)

I have found an explanation of the words: "she (Sarah) gave her to her husband to become his wife." Bereshit Rabbah 45,3 states that the words "to Abraham as a wife" were meant as "to him exclusively, not to anyone else." Our sages also deal with the extraneous word אישה, "her husband," in verse three. Did we not know that Abraham was Sarah's husband? They say the word is an exclusion, i.e. Sarah insisted that in spite of Hagar sleeping with Abraham, he would remain a husband only to her! These words make excellent sense in the context of our approach to the whole episode. The Torah had to add this word so that we would understand that Hagar's status as a slave did not change as a result of her sleeping with Abraham. Abraham could neither release Hagar to someone else nor even free her.

Hearing Sarah's words, Abraham concurred with her. This can be understood on two levels. 1) Abraham had never intended that Hagar's status should change as a result of the new arrangements; nonetheless he did not consider himself as a קדש, male prostitute, when he slept with her. 2) Originally, Abraham thought that Hagar became free as a result of his sleeping with her as a legal arrangement. He had not paid attention to the finer nuances of Sarah's words when she offered, or pressed, Hagar on him as a sleeping partner. Had he understood Sarah correctly he might not have agreed to sleep with Hagar at all, worrying that his sleeping with her would stamp him as a קדש, male prostitute. This may well be the reason why during the fourteen years that elapsed between the birth of Ishmael and that of Isaac we never hear that Abraham slept with Hagar again.

The simplest approach to the whole problem is, of course, that as the Torah had not been given as yet, the various halachic wrinkles we have discussed did not enter the picture. The fact that Abraham and Sarah already observed the Torah's commandments of their own free will did not mean that on occasion, and in order to help fulfil some prophecy, they would not transgress laws temporarily. [Did not Jacob marry two sisters during their lifetime? Ed.] Maimonides already stated in chapter nine of Yesodey Torah in Sefer Hamada that when a properly accredited prophet asks the Jews to violate one of the 613 commandments on a temporary basis that one should obey him. He cites the example of the prophet Elijah who rebuilt a private altar at a time when such altars were prohibited (Kings 1 18). Seeing that Sarah was a greater prophetess than he (Shemot Rabbah 1, based on Genesis 21,12), Abraham complied with her suggestion. It was necessary for matters to develop in this manner so that the residue of the original serpent's poison, some of which was still lodged within Abraham, could be expelled with the sperm which impregnated Hagar. When Abraham would eventually father Isaac, this would be from sperm that was no longer contaminated by the זוהמה, spiritual poison, of the original serpent. Had Hagar become a free woman, not only would she not have absorbed the entire spiritual contamination that was still lodged within Abraham, but the fact that Isaac would have been born with some of it could have caused untold harm to the future of the Jewish people. Sarah insisted that Hagar remain a slave because of such considerations. How else could we explain that Sarah would allow Abraham to make a קדש, male prostitute, of himself by sleeping with her slave? The reason she invited G'd to judge between them was because only G'd knew her true motives.

As soon as Sarah heard that Abraham did not doubt her pure motives and that he did not say anything when she not only treated Hagar as a slave, but more demonstratively than previously, Hagar took the hint and fled that household. Hagar did not accept the decision that reduced her again to the status of a slave. She had never heard the condition Sarah made at the time she gave her to Abraham to cohabit with. When the angel called to Hagar (16,8), he addressed her as שפחת שרה, "the slave-woman of Sarah," to make it clear that she had not been entitled to leave Sarah and Abraham's household in what she thought of as her new status as a free woman. Hagar immediately accepted the angel's rebuke by saying "I flee from my mistress Sarah."

We must explore the legal status of Hagar's son Ishmael. Is he (and his offspring) subservient to us inasmuch as he was the son of a Jewish owned slave? There is a Beraitha in Torat Kohanim 87 on פרשת בהר on the subject: Whence do we know that if a Jewish male fathered a son with a Gentile slave that this son is a slave of his? The words אשר יהיו לך מאת הגוים אשר סביבותיכם in Leviticus 25,44 are considered as the source of this ruling. This verse only ruled out slaves who lived in the land of Canaan at the time the Jewish people conquered that land. The words "who will be yours" were quite unnecessary. Normally, the Torah would have used an expression such as "whom you will purchase," or something similar. For this reason the author of the Beraitha understands the words as referring to as yet unborn children of a Gentile slave sired by a Jewish male. The law that remaining Canaanites had to be killed applied only to those who were already alive and in the land of Canaan at the time the Torah was given (Deut. 20,17). As a result of this ruling it emerges that Ishmael and all his offspring are truly slaves of the Jewsih people (legally speaking). There is no need to enter into the discussion we have described on page 149. Regardless of whether we view ourselves as Sarah's or as Abraham's heirs, Ishmael and offspring are included in our inheritance. Abraham inherited Sarah upon her death. He made Isaac his sole heir. G'd renewed the covenant with us the Jewish people to give us the lands He promised to Abraham. That land includes all the parts inhabited by Edom as well as the part of Esau shared with Ishmael's offspring.

The most convincing proof that we are correct is found in Genesis 21,13 where G'd promises that the son of the slave-woman (Hagar) will develop into a nation. It is important to note that the Torah does not refer to Ishmael as Abraham's son but as Hagar's son. Thus the Torah emphasises that Ishmael remains a slave, seeing that he is the son of a slave. If you wanted to see further proof of this look at the way the Torah describes the sons of Zilpah i.e. Leah's slave-woman, and the sons of Bilhah, i.e. Rachel's slave-woman. You will observe that when the Torah described those women giving birth (Genesis 30,5) that the sons are attributed to Jacob, not to their respective mothers. This means that because Jacob slept with them in order to establish a legal bond they became free women. In the reports of the births of all the four sons of Zilpah and Bilhah the Torah was careful to emphasise this point, (compare 30,7; 30,10; 30,12) In our case the Torah empahasises the difference in status between Ishmael and Isaac once more when we read: "for through Isaac your seed will be known" (Genesis 21,12) i.e. not through Ishmael.

There was no need to promise to give us the lands of Ishmael since a slave does not own land and whatever land he lived on belonged to the Jewish people, his owner.

ותענה שרי AND SARAI AFFLICTED HER — She compelled her to work hard (Genesis Rabbah 45:6).

AND SARAI DEALT HARSHLY WITH HER, AND SHE FLED FROM BEFORE HER FACE. Our mother did transgress by this affliction, and Abraham also by his permitting her to do so. And so, G-d heard her [Hagar’s] affliction and gave her a son who would be a wild-ass of a man,³⁵⁹Verse 12 here. to afflict the seed of Abraham and Sarah with all kinds of affliction.

שפחתך בידך, for she has not been given her freedom by you who are her mistress.

ויאמר ... שפחתך בידך, Avram meant that in spite of Hagar sleeping with him, i.e. being accorded wifely privileges from his side, she remained Sarai's slave and as such Sarai could determine how to treat her. He made it clear that his own dignity was not to be a consideration in Sarai's treatment of Hagar.

ותענה שרי, “Sarai made life miserable for her.” Both our matriarch Sarah and her husband were guilty of a sin here. Avraham’s sin was that he did not interfere on behalf of Hagar. As a result, G’d listened to her complaints and granted her a son, whose descendants in turn would oppress the descendants of Avraham and Sarah to this day.

ענה ,ותענה: Sein oder äußern was der andere veranlasst, antworten oder abhängig sein; ענֵה: jemanden seine Abhängigkeit fühlen lassen. Saras ganze Absicht war dadurch bedingt, dass Hagar, selbst als Abrahams Weib und Mutter seines Kindes, noch ihre Sklavin bleibe, das von ihr zu gebärende Kind dadurch völlig Saras Kind, und Hagars Einfluß auf dasselbe völlig ausgeschlossen werde. ותענה, sie brachte ihr daher dieses Abhängigkeitsverhältnis fortwährend zum Bewusstsein. Sie hatte aber vergessen, dass sie ein Unmögliches gewollt, dass ein Weib Abrahams und Mutter seines Kindes nicht Sklavin bleibt. Abrahams Nähe und Abrahams Geist bricht den Sklavensinn, weckt das Gefühl ebenbürtiger Menschenwürde, weckt den Freiheitsdrang und bricht die Fesseln. Hagar ertrug es nicht mehr, als Sklavin betrachtet zu werden.

ותענה שרי, Sarai's objective in maltreating Hagar was to remind her of the fact that she remained her slave. She was not to insult her mistress any more. She meant to make clear that any gentile who insults Israelites will experience similar harsh treatment. Compare Isaiah 60,14 והשתחוו על כפות רגליך כל מנאציך, "all those who reviled you shall prostrate themselves at your (Israel) feet."

ותענה שרי, Sarai overburdened her with work, and made her perform the work in an intolerably harsh manner. It is even possible that the word ותענה includes physical as well as verbal abuse of Hagar by Sarai. The Torah testifies that Sarai did not act morally and piously toward her. From a moral point of view, although Avram had given her a free hand when he said "do to her as appears fit in your eyes," she should have treated Hagar in a manner befitting her status as a wife or legal companion of Avram. From the point of view of practicing piously, חסידות, she should have treated a subordinate with all possible consideration. The scholar Ibn Gabirol said "how beautiful is the attribute of practicing forgiveness in circumstances when this is possible!" Sarai's actions as reported were not pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. This is reflected in the words of the angel to Hagar (verse 11) כי שמע ה' אל עניך, "for the Lord has listened to the oppression you have endured." This is why the angel gave her a blessing as compensation for the harsh treatment she had suffered. Avram did not prevent Sarai from acting as she did, even though it was displeasing in his eyes, because he was concerned primarily with preserving his relations with Sarai. The reason why this whole story is preserved for all future generations in our chapter is to teach moral-ethical lessons, and to warn us not to indulge in injustice.

וימצאה מלאך ה, the angel found her in a state of readiness to receive a Divine vision. As a result, he appeared o her. [after all it is not likely that an angel roamed the earth looking for Hagar. Ed.]

וימצאה על עין המים, after the Torah wrote the words על עין המים, it goes on to explain this term, i.e. על העין, "next to the fountain she had discovered."

וימצאה, vielleicht im Gegensatz zu ihrer Flucht. Sie war in die Wüste geflohen, hoffte dort von keinem, vor allem von keinen, die sie kennen, wieder gefunden zu werden. Es fand sie ein Engel. על עין, sie war dahin geflohen, weil es eine Quelle in der Wüste war. Es war aber dieser Quell, der durch die Erinnerung an dies Ereignis zu einem berühmten Quell geworden, der bekannte Quell, der umsomehr geeignet war, das Ereignis selbst in stetem Gedächtnis der Nachkommen zu erhalten, weil er auf dem Wege zur Wüste Schur, der schauerlichsten, ödesten, wasserärmsten, liegt, und darum für alle in die Wüste und aus derselben ziehenden Karavanen den willkommensten Ruheplatz zu bilden geeignet war.

במדבר, על העין בדרך שור, “in the desert, by a well, on the way to Shur.” This location is one that the Israelites traversed as mentioned in Exodus 15,22.

על עין המים, she was engaged in prayer. Compare Pessachim 11 where the words of the angel in verse 11 כי שמע ה' אל עניך "for the Lord has heard your affliction" are understood as referring to Hagar's prayer prior to her receiving this vision.

על העין, the definite article ה means that this well on the route to Shur was known. She was therefore on the way back to Egypt, the land from which she had originated.

על העין, at a junction of the roads. Whenever there is a juncture of two roads this is described as עינים. The place where these two roads commence is called פתח עינים. In Rabbinic parlance this is known as פרשת דרכים, "a parting of the ways." (Ketuvot 17)

בדרך שור, this is a place known as חגר, as interpreted by Onkelos. This is a town on the order of the land of Israel, or just beyond the border as mentioned in Gittin 2. The Torah informs us by mentioning this detail that it had been Hagar's intention to emigrate from the land of Israel (Canaan).

אי מזה באת WHENCE CAMEST THOU? — He knew it, but he asked this in order to give her a starting-point so that he might converse with her. The expression אי מזה is to be explained thus: Where is (אי) that place of which thou canst say, “From this (מזה) have I come”.

?אי מזה באת ואנה תלכי, the angel wanted Hagar to realise what kind of an unprofitable exchange she was about to make if she left the house of a man such as Avram and traded that holy environment in the land of Canaan, preferring the spiritually contaminated regions outside the Holy Land and the evil people residing there.

ויאמר, the vowel patach (instead of segol) under the letter מ is used as if there were a colon after the word. This is not unusual, seeing that words with the tone-sign revia occasionally signal that the word is meant to end with a colon or similar, meant to be followed by an explanation. Seeing that here the subject matter itself introduces an interruption, seeing that what follows is not connected to the word ויאמר, we need to understand the word as referring to what preceded it. This is so whenever the word ויאמר appears with the vowel patach.

Where is the place about which you can say ... Otherwise it should say מאיזה, and the מ at the beginning of the word would indicate a question, as in (Shoftim 17:9): מאין תבוא, “From where do you come?”

— אי מזה: wo ist der Ort, von dem —; אָנה, so viel wie אן, לאָן rad. אנה, die Richtung nach einem Orte hin, davon אניה das Schiff und אנֵה etwas irgend wohin gelangen lassen. מפני גברתי ich kann oder ich will nicht mehr Sklavin sein.

הגר שפחת שרי, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant maid!” The angel reminds her that her status as Sarai’s servant maid had not changed. She acknowledged this when she replied that she was fleeing from her mistress Sarai.

אנכי בורחת, "I am not going to a place I have chosen myself; I am simply escaping intolerable conditions."

הגר, the angel called her both by her name and by her station in life, i.e. the slave of Sarai. Seeing that she was supposed to be attending to Sarai's needs, he wanted to know what she was doing in this location. He continued with "where do you come from and where do you think you are headed?"

בורחת, Hagar confirmed that she had no idea, seeing that she was merely fleeing in order to escape the torment Sarai had subjected her to. The vowel patach in the word בורחת, at the end of a verse is most unusual. [the vowel kametz would have been expected. Ed.]

'ויאמר לה מלאך ה' וגו AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD SAID UNTO HER etc. (see also Genesis 16:10 & Genesis 16:11). For each statement (in these three verses) a different angel was sent to her, and this explains why in reference to each statement the phrase is used, “and an angel said to her” (Genesis Rabbah 45:7).

RETURN TO THY MISTRESS, AND SUBMIT THYSELF UNDER HER HANDS. The angel commanded her to return and accept upon herself the authority of her mistress. This implies that she will not go out free from her, as Sarah’s children will ever rule over her children.

והתעני, the additional comment after telling Hagar to return to her mistress, was an allusion to the future; it would be Hagar's destiny, as well as that of her offspring to submit to the authority of the Jewish people. Kings II 13,17 where the prophet Elisha instructs the king to shoot arrows [which are ostensibly not intended to hit anyone. Ed.] is similarly an allusion to the future, foreshadowing events yet to occur. The words כן כן יסד המלך in Esther 1,8 are also to be understood in a similar fashion. The king's decree to let everyone enjoy the feast according to the laws of his own religion was a cornerstone of the policy which enabled Achashverosh to rule over so many diverse cultures as existed in the 127 provinces of his empire.

ויאמר, the word ויאמר occurs here no fewer than three times. When we encounter such a phenomenon it is usually meant to underscore what will be the subject of the message about to be delivered. [the author refers to remarks he made on this subject in his book שער דקדוק הפועלים. Ed.] It is also possible to explain the threefold use of the word ויאמר as being justified because of the three messages the angel delivered to Hagar. There are other commentators who explain this phenomenon of three the word ויאמר in this short sequence as proof that Hagar was visited by three different angels, each with a single message. (Bereshit Rabbah 45,7) The author of that Midrash uses this incident to bemoan the fact that whereas the servant maid of the matriarch rated three messages by three angels, we the matriarch's descendants, do not even rate a single message from an angel.

שובי אל גברתך והתענו תחת ידיה, “go back to your mistress and submit to her oppression” The angel hinted to her that she would not regain her status as a free woman, and that the descendants of Sarai would rule over her descendants into the distant future.

10 u. 11. Drei getrennte Aussprüche; der erste ist die Bedingung, der zweite die Verheißung, der dritte die Aufgabe und der Erfolg.

והתעני, and subject yourself to harsh treatment seeing that ultimately it will be for your benefit. It is better for you to remain within the proximity of a man such as Avram, seeing that due to his many merits, your offspring will multiply greatly.

Kehre freiwillig zurück und ordne dich freiwillig Sara unter. Dieses Opfer ist die Bedingung. Unter dem Eindruck der freiwilligen Anerkennung der Überordnung Saras soll der Sohn reifen und geboren werden, unter Saras leitendem Einfluss heranwachsen. Hagar rührt sich nicht.

הרבה ארבה, the angel being G'd's messenger, may speak in the first person as if he were to do what he says, seeing that he delivers G'd's message. It is as if G'd Himself had spoken.

Um diesen Preis sollst du Stammmutter einer zahlreichen Nachkommenschaft werden. Hagar rührt sich nicht.

ולא יספר מרב, the words: "and it will not be capable of being counted due to its large number," are to be understood as an exaggeration, poetical license.

הנך הרה BEHOLD THOU WILT BE WITH CHILD — when you return you will conceive, just as the same phrase הנך הרה (Judges 13:7) spoken of the wife of Manoah (where it certainly appears to be thou wilt conceive in the future).

AND THOU SHALT CALL HIS NAME ISHMAEL. The angel informed Hagar that his name will be Ishmael — just as in the verse, Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David Josiah by name³⁶⁰I Kings 13:2. — and he told her that she should so call him, and thus remember that G-d heard her affliction.³⁶¹The name Ishmael (G-d heareth) is, as the angel explained to Hagar, “because the Eternal hath heard thy affliction.” (Verse 11.) Now Abraham either called him by this name on his own,³⁶²Verse 15: And Abraham called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. with the intent that G-d hear him and answer him, or the Holy Spirit rested upon him, as Rashi has it, and he called him Ishmael because G-d had heard his mother’s affliction, as the angel had said.
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the angel commanded Hagar that she call him so, but she, being a concubine,³⁶³Verse 3 above is no proof to the contrary, as it may express only Sarai’s desire. was afraid to give a name to her master’s son, so she revealed the matter to him, and Abram fulfilled the word of G-d. Scripture, however, did not need to delve at length into this matter.

ויאמר ... הנך הרה, the angel used these words as an introduction, seeing he was well aware that Hagar knew that she was pregnant as the Torah had reported in verse 4, as well as Hagar's reaction. The message that angel had come to deliver was וילדת בן, "you will give birth to a son." The word יולדת is a composite composed from the word וילדת, which is a verb in the past tense converted into the future tense by the letter ו at the front, the other component being the word ויולדת, the same root as a present participle. The meaning of the combined composite is that seeing that the birth was something that had not yet occurred, the verb must contain an allusion to the future, whereas seeing that Hagar knew that she was pregnant, i.e. that the process which would result in a birth had already begun, the formulation of the verb had to reflect this fact also. The angel's message was: "just as you are aware that you are pregnant you should be equally aware that you will bear a son as a result of this pregnancy." There are some grammarians who believe that the root of the word here is similar to a four-lettered verb.

וקראת שמו ישמעאל, “you are to call him Yishmael.” Avraham had not heard of this revelation of an angel to Hagar, but he still named him thus (on his own).” Nachmanides explains that the angel commanded Hagar to call the boy Yishmael. Hagar, however, was afraid to arrogate to herself the right to name the son of her master, so that she revealed to him that she had been given such instructions from the angel.

When you return you will conceive ... He did not tell her of the pregnancy that was, for she had already miscarried, as Rashi explained earlier (v. 5).

(11-12) Deine Nachkommen werden die freiesten unter den Menschen werden. Das war genug. Um diesen Preis ist sie bereit, sich unterzuordnen.

וְיֹלַדְתְּ בן AND THOU SHALT BEAR A SON — The word appears to be grammatically a combination of the perfect tense וְיָלַדְתְּ and the participle וְיֹלֶדֶת but it is similar in sense to וְיֹלֶדֶת (the participle); so, also, (Jeremiah 22:23) “O thou that dwellest יֹשַׁבְתְּ) in Lebanon, and art nestled (מְקֻנַּנְתְּ) in the cedars.”

וקראת שמו, the letter ת at the end is a feminine ending future tense, i.e. "you will call." On the other hand, in Deut. 31,29 the same word וקראת אתכם refers to a third person feminine construction where the letter ת substitutes for the letter ה, the expression meaning: "it will befall you." The reference is to the רעה, evil, a noun that is feminine which follows immediately after the word אתכם.

As if it were written ויולדת... I.e., יוֹלֶדֶת, which is present tense. [Rashi is saying:] Do not be surprised by the שוא under the ת, for it is similar to (Yirmeyahu 22:23):יושבת בלבנון מקוננת בארזים, which also are present tense, and have a שוא under the ת.

Der Grundgedanke aber, den sie in dem Sohne großziehen, und der ihn frei machen soll, heißt: שמעאל׳, das Bewusstsein von der den Menschen, den leidenden wie den handelnden, überwachenden Vorsehung, die nicht nur sieht, sondern hört, nicht nur Taten und Zustände, sondern auch Worte und Empfindungen wägt und richtet. כי שמע ד׳ אל עניך nie sonst kommt עני mit שמיעה, Hören, immer mit ראיה, Sehen in Verbindung vor. Der Leidenszustand wird gesehen. Hagar ward nicht misshandelt. Saras Worte erinnerten sie an ihre Abhängigkeit, ließen sie diese Abhängigkeit fühlen. Hagars Leiden war ein geistiges, das nur gehört und vernommen werden konnte. —

וקראת שמו AND THOU SHALT CALL — This is a command, just as one would say to a man (וְקָרָאתָ), as (Genesis 17:19) “And thou shalt call his name Isaac”.

אל עניך, "to your outcry [complaint instead of prayer, Ed.] concerning your plight." We are forced to explain the angel's words in this fashion, seeing he spoke of G'd having "heard," שמע, instead of ראה, "G'd has seen." It is also possible to explain the angel's words as does Onkelos, i.e. as צלותיך, "your prayer." There are precedents for the word ענה meaning a response to something, to wit Job 3,2 and Isaiah 13,22 as well as Deuteronomy 26,5 וענית ואמרת, and similar examples.

This is a command ... I.e., although it is written וְקָרָאת without a שוא under the ת, it still is a command, just as one would say וְקָרָאתָ when addressing a male.

Er wird, nicht אדם פרא, er wird פרא אדם, der פרא unter den Menschen sein. פרה ,פרא ,פרע ,פרח und so ברח ,ברה ברא, alles nur verschieden nuanzierte Ausdrücke des Grundbegriffes: Frei-, Ungebunden-sein und werden. Insbesondere bezeichnet פרא das von dem Joch der Menschen und dem Zwang der Städte ungebundene Freie; daher: das Waldtier, פרא למוד מדבר, das den Zwang der Städte nicht erträgt. Ein solcher nicht unter das Joch der Menschen und Städte sich beugender Menschenstamm wird dein Same unter den Menschen sein. Das einzige Wort פרא bezeichnet den sozialen Grundcharakter der Ismaeliten. — על פני כל אחיו, das על פני hat oft die Bedeutung des Widerwärtigen, im Wege stehenden, die Aussicht und Richtung des andern beschränkenden oder hindernden. Was man nicht gerne sieht, ist על פניו. So המכעיסים אותי על פני (Jes. 66, 2), אלהים אחרים על פני (M.20 .B 2. 3), שלח מעל פני (Jerem. 15, 1) usw. So auch hier: er wird trotz aller seiner Brüder seine Stelle einnehmen und ruhig behaupten. Es wird ihm keiner Freund sein und doch niemand wagen, ihm entgegenzutreten.

פרא אדם A WILD MAN — One who loves the open spaces to hunt wild animals, as it is written of him (Genesis 21:20) “And he dwelt in the wilderness and became an archer.”

‘PERE ADAM.’ Rashi comments: “One who loves the deserts³⁶⁴The word pere is thus, according to Rashi, synonymous with “desert,” as it says peraim bamidbar (Job 24:5). Pere adam is thus: “a man who loves the desert.” (Mizrachi.) [and] to hunt wild animals, as it is written, And he dwelt in the wilderness and became an archer.³⁶⁵Further, 21:20. His hand shall be against every man. This means that he will be a highway man. And every man’s hand against him. Everyone will hate him and attack him.”
The correct interpretation is that pere adam is a construct form, meaning that he will be a wild-ass man accustomed to the wilderness, going forth to his work, seeking for food, devouring all and being devoured by all. The subject pertains to his children who will increase, and they will have wars with all the nations.
Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said: “His hand shall be against every man in that he will be victorious at first over all nations, and afterwards, every man’s hand shall be against him, meaning that he will be vanquished in the end. And in the face of all his brethren, who are the sons of Keturah,³⁶⁶Further, 25:1-4. he should dwell, meaning that Ishmael’s children will outnumber those of Keturah.”

פרא אדם. The word פרא describes a wild donkey, an animal that has not been domesticated. The angel told Hagar that the son she would bear would be genetically very similar in his character to a wild donkey. This would be due to his having part of the genes of his Egyptian mother. The prophet Ezekiel already described the Egyptians as being physically not much different from wild donkeys (Ezekiel 23,20) These characteristics would manifest themselves in the fact that he would make his home in the desert, a region not imposing restrictions on him. The Torah testifies to this in Genesis 21,20. The reason that the word אדם is added by the angel in describing Ishmael, was that he would inherit any human traits from his father Avram. The fact that he did possess such traits is confirmed by the Midrash which claims that he became a penitent before his father Avraham's death. (Baba Batra 16).

והוא יהיה; the letter ה at the beginning of the word והוא means that the angel's prophecy referred not only to Yishmael, but to his offspring as well. He foretold the characteristics of the Ishmaelites based on their founder's genes.

A wild, uncivilized man. That is, oblivious to decorum, status and the rules of society.

פרא אדם, “a man of the wild.” According to Rashi Yishmael would love the desert to hunt in.

Loves the wilderness to hunt wild animals ... He is called פרא as in the verse (Iyov 24:5): “פראים במדבר (wild donkeys in the desert).” This follows R. Yochanan’s view in Bereishis Rabbah 45:9. Accordingly, it makes sense that ידו בכל means: “a robber.” But according to Reish Lakish, who explains פרא אדם to mean “kidnapper,” ידו בכל will need to bear a different and far-fetched explanation.

פרא אדם, an anonymous trader who travels to distant places where he is not known; compare Genesis 37,25 where the Torah describes such a caravan of Ishmael’s descendants to whom Joseph was sold. The word פרא also occurs as the definition of a person in Job 11,12. ועיר פרא יולד, i.e. an infant born and not yet named is a פרא. A person who lacks the intelligence and senses of ordinary people is called there: עיר פרא, “a wild ass;”[I am not sure about the difference between פרא אדם and אדם פרא. What seems clear is that the adjective פרא appears to diminish the degree of צלם אלוקים, Divine image that ordinary people have been equipped with from birth. It may be noteworthy that both Kayin and Hevel when born, the first human beings to have been born by woman, were not described as possessing this Divine image as opposed to Sheth, Chavah’s third son. This may explain a great deal about both of these sons experiencing either premature death, or ongoing tragedy in their lives. Ed.]

ידו בכל HIS HAND SHALL BE AGAINST EVERY ONE — a highwayman.

פרא אדם, a desert Bedouin, known as such because most Bedouins live in tents instead of in permanent dwellings. Compare Jeremiah 3,2 כערבי במדבר, "as an Arab, at home in the desert." [the word describes people who do not impose the restrictions upon themselves that civilized people accept in the interest of forming communities. Ed.] The Arabs are the people descended from the Ishmaelites.

ידו בכול, “his hand will be against everyone;” a robber, a highwayman.

ידו בכל, “involved in all manner of wheeling and dealing;”

ויד כל בו AND EVERYONE’S HAND AGAINST HIM — everyone will hate him and attack him.

And in the presence of all his brothers. Only towards his companions and allies would he behave in a civilized manner.

ידו בכל, seeing that he will dwell in the desert, [a region in which there are no laws governing private property, Ed.] he will violate people's rights, and they in turn will outlaw him, putting a price on his head. In spite of living in constant friction with his neighbours he will not flee but will continue to dwell in their presence. When the angel concludes with the statement that he will ultimately die in the presence of כל אחיו, the word אחיו is used as a simile for the word שכניו, "his neighbours."

ויד כל בו, “and everyone’s hand will be against him.” They would hate him and provoke strife with him. Nachmanides writes that in the expression פרא אדם the word פרא is in the construct mode to the word אדם, meaning that he will be more like a mule than a human being in character. He will constantly look for someone or something to attack and destroy, whereas people, as a result, would constantly be looking for him to neutralize him. The prediction of the angel was to characterize not so much Yishmael himself but the descendants, the Muslim nations and their method of spreading their religion with the fire and the sword. Ibn Ezra understands the word פרא as an alternate for the word חפשי, “free,” in the sense of “unable to submit to anyone’s authority.” The words ועל פני כל אחיו ישכון, Ibn Ezra understands to mean that Yishmael will dwell wherever his brothers, the sons of Keturah will dwell. Some commentators understand the term פרא אדם to mean that Yishamel will be a merchant forever in search of merchandise to buy or sell. Indeed we find that most of the Ishmaelites during the period of Yaakov already engaged in long distance trade, traveling in caravans with camels etc. (compare Genesis 37,25-27).

ויד כל בו, “through interacting socially and commercially with all kinds of people;”

ועל פני כל אחיו ישכון AND HE SHALL DWELL IN THE PRESENCE OF ALL HIS BRETHREN — his descendants will be numerous, (so that his territory must extend over that which his brethren have; cf. Genesis 25:18).

ועל פני כל אחיו ישכון, “and his wealth will extend so far that he will be in contact with all kinds of people. A totally different exegesis: the expression פרא אדם describes an uncouth person, someone devoid of culture and what we call: דרך ארץ; initially, as a result of this, he will be victorious in all his violent encounters, ידו בכל, whereas eventually, when groups of people will make common cause against him, ויד כל בו, “he will be subdued and killed.”

אתה אל ראי THOU ART A GOD OF SEEING — The word is punctuated with a Chataph Kametz because it is a noun, and the meaning is “a God of seeing” — One who sees the humiliation to which people are subjected by others (Genesis Rabbah 45:10)

ותקרא שם ה, the meaning of the words ותקרא שם ה', is prayer. It refers to the kind of prayer in which one praises the Lord, or thanks Him. This prayer may be offered silently, in one's mind or with words. The source for this definition is found in Berachot 32: "as a rule a person should first address G'd by praising Him, before beginning to pray." [to tell G'd of his requests from Hi. Ed.] This thought is reflected in the inscription in most synagogues on the Holy Ark שויתי ה' לנגדי תמיד, "I am ever mindful of the Lord's presence" (Psalms 16,8) The word קרא for prayer is also found in Lamentations 3,55 קראתי שמך ה', "I have prayed to You o Lord," as well as in Psalms 79,6 ושמואל בקוראי שמו, "as well as the prophet Samuel who would pray (successfully) to Him." Also the well-known line כי שם ה' אקרא, (Deut. 32,3) is best translated as "for I will pray to the Lord," rather than as "I will proclaim the name of the Lord." Hagar's new insight, expressed by her saying אתה א-ל ראי, meant that whereas up until now she had assumed that revelations from G'd are confined to the house of Avram, she had now learned that G'd may reveal Himself in any location. This is in line with Baba Metzia 59 כל השערים ננעלו חוץ משערי דמעות, that although the gates of prayer have largely remained shut since the destruction of the Temple, the prayer of people complaining (shedding tears) of being dealt with unfairly by their fellow human beings have not been closed.

ותקרא, the reason why Hagar called G'd א-ל ראי, was that she oly realized in retrospect that she had been addressed by an angel, i.e. by an angel who brought her G'd's message. She had not previously believed that a human being could behold an angel with her physical eyes, a lesson also learned by Manoach in Judges 13,22. As soon as she notice how this messenger who had appeared to her in human garb disappeared in less time than it takes to blink an eye, she knew that that being had been an angel and she called out "you are the angel who manifests G'd's presence." She meant that she had seen a Divine being that is capable of being perceived as such by man. The construction "ro-i" is similar to the construction "o-ni" in Lamentation 3.1 or in "do-mi" in Psalms 83,2, or in Genesis 43,11, "tzo-ri."

הגם הלום ראיתי, “even here I have seen (a divine vision)“ Rabbi Joseph Kimchi explains this verse as meaning that “He who sees me is the One Who has appeared to me,” for she was unaware that it was an angel. When the angel took leave of her she did no longer see him, as people who look at departing human beings until they are out of sight normally do. In commenting on this strange phenomenon she said “the one who sees me,” meaning “although I cannot see him.” She did not realize that this was a divine apparition, and that is why she said: “I have even seen him here.”

He sees the humiliation of the humiliated. [Hagar was saying:] “Granted, I saw angels in the house of Avraham, due to Avraham and Sarah’s righteousness — but why in the wilderness? It must be that, ‘He sees the humiliation...’” (Gur Aryeh)

רְָאִי Substantivform wie חְָלִי, also: das Sehen, das Schauen; "du bist ein Gott des Schauens, dein ist das Schauen, du siehst". — אחרי ,כי אמרה וגו׳; a רואי ,רואִי kann nichts anderes heißen, als: einer, der mich sieht, es ist Präsenz mit Suff, wie רועִי, einer, der mich weidet. הְַלום heißt nie: hier, sondern: hierher, תקרב הלום (M.3.5 .2.B), מי הביאך הלום usw. wörtlich also (Richter 18, 3): "Habe ich denn auch bis hierher gesehen nach einem, der noch mich sieht?" Hagar war geflohen, auf der ganzen Flucht hatte sie sich umgeschaut, ob ihr niemand nachfolge. Sie war darauf in die Wüste geflohen, da hielt sie sich sicher, da brauchte sie nicht mehr zu erwarten, dass sie jemand sehen werde, und da — ward ihr zum Bewusstsein gebracht, dass man Menschen, aber nicht Gott entfliehen könne. "Bis hierher habe ich mich nicht mehr umgesehen nach einem, der mich sehen würde, du aber bist ein Gott des Sehens, dein Auge ist überall, dir kann man nicht entgehen". Der Engel hatte ihr אל שומע, ja, ישמע אל, den "Hörenden", den "in aller Zukunft, stets hörenden Gott" als Vermächtnis für ihr Kind gegeben, jenes Gottbewusstsein, welches nicht nur die äußeren Ereignisse, sondern selbst die nur dem Geiste offenbaren Regungen und Empfindungen des Menschengemütes Gott offen legt; dieses, den Menschen selbst in seinem Innern Gottes steter Obhut unterstellende Bewusstsein sollte ihren Sohn und ihre Nachkommen frei machen. Hagar war aber erst ein frei werdender Mensch. Ihr Gemüt hielt den Eindruck am stärksten fest, dass man von Menschen, aber von Gott nicht frei werden könne, dass Gott ein überall und alles Schauender sei. Sie nannte ihn nicht שמע, sondern nach dem Sehen, und zwar nicht א׳ רואִי der mich sieht, sondern א׳ רְָאי, der überhaupt sieht, dem das Sehen absolut zukommt. — הלום rad. הלם: Klopfen, Schlagen, ähnlich פעם: Schritt und פעמון: der Klöpfel in der Glocke, ,ותפעם רוחו נפעמתי, wiederholt "geklopft", beunruhigt, und הפעם: ein Schritt in der Zeit, ein Mal. הלום nur örtlich: ein einmaliger Hinschritt, bis hierher.

הגם הלום HAVE I ALSO [SEEN] HERE — This is an exclamation of surprise: “could I have ever imagined that here also — in the wilderness — I would see the messengers of the Omnipresent after I have seen them in Abraham’s house, where I saw them regularly!” You may know that she used to see them there regularly from this: That Manoah saw the angel only once and exclaimed, (Judges 13:22) “We shall surely die”, and she saw angels four times, one after the other, and she showed no fear (Genesis Rabbah 45:7).

כי אמרה, she had said in her heart "I recognize that he is an angel, for when a human being departs from the presence of another human being the one remaining behind can continue to see the one departing for a considerable time until he recedes into the distance. I, however, have been unable to see a trace of this being even הלום, when he was still close to me, ראי, had seen me, i.e. the being who had revealed himself to me. It is clear to me therefore, that this must have been an angel, i.e. a disembodied creature."

The word ראי means "the one who sees me."

באר לחי ראי As the Targum takes it: the well at which the living angel had appeared to her.

על כן קרא לבאר, this is why anyone who encounters the well where the angel had appeared to Hagar at the time the "באר לחי רואי" . Seeing that an angel lives eternally, the word לחי "to the living one," is an apt description for such a creature. The fountain mentioned in this verse is the same as the one that had been described previously in verse 7.

Abraham nahm die Erkenntnis, die dem ihm vermählten Sklavenweibe an dieser Stelle geworden, auf, vervollständigte aber den Begriff durch Beifügung des Wortes חי, rad. חיה .חי, die andere Wurzel vom Leben, das potenzierte הגה und היה, der Dasein und Leben gewordene Gedanke, bezeichnet nur das geschöpfliche Leben, dessen Ursprung und Halt im schaffenden Gottesgedanken liegt. חיה kommt nie von Gott vor. Wohl aber חיי, das potenzierte הגג, ein Leben, das seinen Mittelpunkt in sich hat, ein Begriff des Lebens, der dem Geschöpflichen nur relativ, zur charakterisierenden Unterscheidung von Mineral und Pflanze zukommt, absolut und in Wahrheit nur von Gott prädiziert werden kann. Er ist חי — .אלקים חיים ,א׳ חי ist somit das Wesen, das die Ursache seines Seins und Lebens in sich selber trägt, somit das Unbedingte in der Zeit und im Walten.

הנה בין קדש ובין ברד, The Torah gives an indication of where this fountain can be seen, so that when a person encounters it he will acknowledge G'd's greatness in revealing Himself by dispatching an angel even to the errant maid-servant of Sarai. The matter is all the more remarkable seeing that Hagar was not in the act of performing a mission on G'd's behalf at the time. Bared is the same as the previously mentioned Shur. The location had been known by two names. This is why the Torah mentioned both of these names. Ths is also why Onkelos translates both Shur and Bared as חגרא.

Diesen Quell, an dem Eingang der schreckendsten, ödesten Wüste, so ganz geeignet, der hervorragendste Sammelplatz eines Beduinenvolkes zu sein, sehen wir mit diesem Ereignis der Stammmutter für das arabische Volk zu einem Denkmal werden, an welches sich alles knüpfen dürfte, was dieser Stamm für die Menschheit geworden. Die Stammmutter hatte hier das Unbedingtsein Gottes von dem Raume kennen gelernt, der Stammvater fügte noch hinzu die Unbedingtheit Gottes von der Zeit, und umwandelte zugleich den allgemeinen Ausdruck der allgemeinen ראי ,השגחה in רואי: "den mich Sehenden", also in den Ausdruck der speziellsten Vorsehung, der השגחה פרטית. Nur wer Gott als den begreift, der den Epigonen der letzten Enkel noch ganz derselbe Gott ist, in derselben Kraft und Energie, morgen wie heute, der nimmer altert und nimmer seinen Sinn ändert, dem spätesten Epigonen noch mit derselben Treue nahe wie der alten Stammmutter vor Jahrtausenden, — nur wer sich noch unter demselben Auge fühlt, das auch die Stammmutter an diesem Brunnen in der Wüste geschaut, hat Gott als חי רואִי begriffen. Es sind aber eben diese beiden Gedanken: חי רואי, die Absolutheit Gottes von Raum und Zeit, und seine alles überwachende und leitende Vorsehung, dieses Geschenk der Stammmutter und des Stammvaters, eben dieחenigen Gedanken, in deren Entwicklung alle arabischen Denker und Philosophen für die Menschheit gearbeitet und die den höchsten Gedankenschatz des arabischen Volkes ausmachen. Überhaupt enthält diese Pflanzungsgeschichte der ismaelitischen Nation alle Keime, die so ausgeprägt in ihrer späteren Eigentümlichkeit hervortreten. Chamitische Sinnlichkeit, Hagars Freiheitsdrang und Abrahams Geist, das sind die Grundfäden, aus welchen der arabische Nationalcharakter sich webte. Das von Abraham und Hagar erzeugte arabische Volk ist ein- seitig jüdisch. Uns, dem jüdischen Volke, hat Gott eine Aufgabe gesetzt, die eine doppelte Seite hat: 1) אמונה, die geistigen Wahrheiten, die wir in uns aufzunehmen haben, und an denen sich unser Geist zu entwickeln hat, und 2) das Gesetz, die mit diesen Wahrheiten harmonische Gestaltung des ganzen Lebens nach dem Diktate des göttlichen Willens. Nach der einen Seite, der geistigen hin, ist die arabische Nation höchst bedeutsam im Reiche der Menschheit. Sie hat den abrahamitischen Gottesgedanken mit so großer Schärfe entwickelt, dass die Einheitsgedanken in den Schriften jüdischer Religionsphilosophen, soweit sie philosophisch entwickelt werden, vorzugsweise in der Gedankenarbeit arabischer Schriftsteller ruhen. Sie haben die אמונה, aber nicht die מצות. Es genüigt nicht, geistige Gedanken von Gottes Einheit zu haben, zu שמע gehört ואהבת, die praktische Unterordnung aller Kräfte und alles Strebens בכל לב נפש ומאור. Dazu genügt es nicht, von einem Abraham erzeugt und erzogen zu sein, dazu muß man von einer Sara geboren werden. Das spezifische Abrahamsvolk ist nicht bestimmt, bloß der theologischphilosophische Gott-Einheits-Herold zu sein, sondern: לשמור דרך ד׳ לעשות צדקה ומשפט, — dazu gehört die Unterordnung aller, und zuerst aller sinnlichen Kräfte, Triebe und Regungen, dazu die Weihe des Leibes. Erst mit der Hingebung des ganzen sinnlichen Leibes beginnt der Jude. Ismael hat die Weihe des Geistes von Abraham; aber ihm fehlt die Weihe des sinnlichen Daseins von Sara. Wo ein jüdi- sches Weib die Kinder gebiert, nährt und erzieht, da wird schon in der Wurzel das Sinnliche geweiht. Nicht umsonst steht die Geschichte von Sara und Hagar zwischen ברית בין הבתרים und מילה

'ויקרא אברם שם וגו AND ABRAM CALLED THE NAME [OF HIS SON] etc. — Although Abram had not heard the words of the angel when he said to Hagar “and thou shalt call his name Ishmael”, yet the Holy Spirit rested upon him and he called him Ishmael.

שם בנו אשר ילדה הגר ישמעאל, he was aptly called by that name both from Avram's point of view and from Hagar's point of view. Avraham prayed on behalf of his son Yishmael in 17,20, whereas Hagar's prayer had been heard as confirmed to her by the angel.

ויקרא אברם, even though the angel had instructed Hagar what name to give to the son she would bear, she conveyed this message to Avram, so that both she and Avram called her son Ishmael, in accordance with the angel's instructions. We find a similar situation in Genesis 4,25 and (Genesis 5,3) when Adam's third son was born, where the Torah tells us that both Chavah and Adam called him Sheth. On other occasions we find that father and mother named the same child differently, such as Rachel calling her youngest son בן אוני, whereas Yaakov call him .בנימין (Genesis 35,18)

The spirit of prophecy rested upon him. For if Avraham heard [the name] from Hagar [and then named him, this would be difficult to understand, for] she should have named him Yishmael, as she was commanded [regarding this name,] and not he. Perforce, the spirit of prophecy rested upon him, and he was as if commanded. (Gur Aryeh)

'ואברם בן שמנים שנה וגו AND ABRAM WAS FOURSCORE AND SIX YEARS OLD etc. — This is written to Ishmael’s credit, pointing out that he was thirteen years old when he was circumcised (see Genesis 17:25) and yet he raised no objection.

ואברם בן שמנים שנה ושש שנים, the reason why the Torah tells us Avram's age at the time Ishmael was born is to inform us that he was born in the same year Sarai had given Hagar to Avram in order to provide him with offspring. Avram was to rejoice over the prompt success of the arrangement. We know that Avram was 75 years old when he moved to the land of Canaan so that he must have been 85 years old at the end of the 10 years mentioned previously. (16,3). The word מקץ in that verse refers to the end of a period, i.e. the end of 10 years residence in the land of Canaan. We encounter the word מקץ as also meaning "at the end of" in Deut. 15,1 מקץ שבע שנים תעשה שמטה, "at the end of seven years (a cycle) you are to make a release," (forgive past due loans.)

To let us know that he was thirteen years old ... For Avraham was 99 when he circumcised Yishmael, and he was 86 when Yishmael was born. You might ask: [If the reason is as Rashi says,] why is it expressly written, “And his son Yishmael was 13 years old when he circumcised...” (17:25)? The answer is: Scripture repeats it to emphasize that Yishmael circumcised himself because of Hashem’s mitzvah, not from fear of his father who obliged him to do it. But the Mahara’i answers: We would not know from v. 17:25 that Yishmael was a full 13 years old, which is the age of attaining maturity, [for it could mean he was just over 12, and thus still a minor,] and that is why he did not resist. But the verse here makes the point clear.