(Genesis 20:1 - 21:21)
Abraham journeyed south to the Negev and settled in between Kadesh and Shur. When he stopped for a time at Gerar, he presented his wife Sarah as his sister. Abimelech, the King of Gerar, had her sent for and brought her into his harem. In a dream Jehovah warned Abimelech "You are condemned to death, for the woman you have taken is another man's wife."
Abimelech, who had not yet touched Sarah, responded "Jehovah, will you exact retribution against a country that has committed no wrong save out of ignorance?. Did he not say to me 'She is my sister'? Even she said 'He is my brother'. I have acted only in good faith and with honorable intentions."
Jehovah, in the dream, said "Yes, I know you acted in good faith. It was I who restrained you from touching her, so that you would not commit a sin. Now you must restore her to her husband, for he is a prophet. If you do so, he will intervene for you and you shall live. But if you do not, you, your family, and your household will die."
Abimelech got up early in the morning and summoned members of his court to inform them of these developments. They were quite alarmed and distressed. He then sent for Abraham and inquired of him "What have you done to me? How have I so offended you that you inflict this wrong upon me and my kingdom? You have done to me what no man should do to another. What did you witness that caused you to do this?"
Abraham explained "It occurred to me that this might not be a God-fearing country and that I might be killed by someone desiring my wife. And the truth is, she really is my sister, my half sister. We have the same father, but different mothers, and we are husband and wife as well. After we departed our homeland to wander at Jehovah's behest, I asked her, as a favor to me, that where ever we might journey she should say of me 'He is my brother'."
Thus Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham and made gifts to him of sheep and oxen, maids and manservants. He told him "My land is at your disposal. You may settle where you wish."
To Sarah Abimelech said "I have given your husband a thousand pieces of silver. This will compensate you for any injury I may have done to you and will demonstrate to your people that you have been guilty of no wrong."
Abraham prayed to Jehovah to allow Abimelech and his wife and his female servants to be able to have children again, for, because of Sarah, Jehovah had made all the women in Abimelech's household temporarily barren.
True to his word, Jehovah visited Sarah and fulfilled the promise he had made to her. As was foretold by him, Sarah conceived and gave birth to a child at an advanced age. Abraham named the child that she bore Isaac [meaning "he laughs"]. According to Jehovah's instructions, Abraham circumcised him on the eighth day. (Abraham was a hundred years old at the time that Isaac was born.)
Sarah said "Jehovah has made me laugh because of this and all who will hear of it will laugh, too. Who would have said to Abraham that his wife Sarah would be nursing a child born to her in her old age?"
The child grew and on the day he was weaned, Abraham gave a big party to celebrate it. But when Sarah noticed Ishmael, Abraham's son by the servant Hagar the Egyptian, teasing her own son, she demanded of Abraham “Get rid of this serving woman and her child! This son of a slave will not share your inheritance with my son!"
Abraham was dismayed by this for the sake of his son Ishmael. Jehovah advised Abraham "Don't be distressed on account of your servant and her son. Listen to Sarah and follow her wishes, for it is through her son Isaac that your legacy will be fulfilled. But because he is still your offspring I will make the servant's son the father of a nation."
Abraham got up early in the morning and gave Hagar a loaf of bread and strapped a waterskin over her shoulder before he sent her and her son away. Hagar and Ishmael departed and aimlessly wandered in the desert of Beersheba until they were lost. After all the water was consumed, Hagar had her son lay down underneath one of the bushes. She left him there and moved a good distance away, saying "I don't want to see my child die." As she sat there, she wailed and wept.
Jehovah heard the cries of the boy, and his emissary called down to Hagar from the sky "What's the matter with you, Hagar? ... Don't worry. Jehovah has heard your boy cry out from where he lies." Jehovah spoke to her "Rise, pick up the boy, take him by the hand, for I will make him a great nation."
Jehovah opened her eyes and directed her to a well. She reached it and filled her waterskin, giving a drink to her son.
Jehovah guided Ishmael as he grew to manhood in the wilderness and became an archer and hunter. He lived in the desert of Paran, but his mother found a wife for him in Egypt.
Notes
1. During his wanderings Abraham again tells everybody that Sarah is not his wife, but only his sister. Didn't he learn his lesson in Egypt? Apparently not. It is quite remarkable that he would persist in this error, also remarkable that Jehovah would not rebuke Abraham for his repeated dishonesty. Another curious aspect of this is the necessity for this subterfuge. Sarah is now in her nineties, aged, and, by her own admission, well past it. Why would she still be the object of men's lusts and why would a hundred-year old man fear that lascivious men are going to kill him to take possession of his old hag of a wife? It makes no sense, unless this story is out of place chronologically and occurred when Abraham and Sarah were still relatively young.
2. It almost seems as if Abraham is practicing a con game. He comes to town with his fetching wife, whom he claims is only his sister. He waits for the local potentate to hear of her beauty and then says and does nothing when she is inducted into the potentate's harem. When the error is discovered, the potentate apologizes, restores Abraham's wife, and then showers Abraham with rich gifts in compensation. Abraham, contrary to what an honorable man would do, does not refuse the gifts, in this case, a thousand pieces of silver (25 pounds). Abraham falls back on the excuse that the woman really is his sister, as well as his wife. (The reader first learns this here. Why didn't the writers inform us of this incest earlier when telling us of Sarah and the Pharaoh?) No matter what Abraham does, however cowardly, unjust, or duplicitous he may be, Jehovah will not only take his side, championing is patently unworthy favorite, but will use all the power at his disposal to punish his enemies. (Abraham continually feels fear for what may happen to him, inexplicably heedless of the promises of Jehovah, who has promised to protecting him.)
3. Jehovah makes it clear that taking another man's wife for your own is wrong. He expresses no such disapproval of a husband concealing his marriage or failing to defend his wife's honor. And as we have seen in the past, Jehovah has no qualms about punishing the innocent, even when, as in this case, he acknowledges that Abimelech has acted honorably and has sinned unwittingly. And his punishments always seem far too harsh for the crimes committed.
4. We find here and elsewhere that Jehovah has the power, not only to communicate with humans telepathically and, to some extent, read their minds, but to enter their dreams and speak to them in visions. Also, here we find him and his emissary speaking to Hagar from the sky, as if, one might imagine, through a loudspeaker on some aerial vehicle.
5. At the weaning party for Isaac, Sarah again reveals what a total bitch she is. She can't abide Hagar's son Ishmael (who is about 14 years old) playing with her son -- rather like a snobbish, prejudiced modern mother not wanting her child to play with the poor kid or the brown-skinned kid. Ishmael is, however, Abraham's son, whom he loves, and her husband's union with Hagar was sanctioned by Sarah herself. Hagar seems to epitomize the unhappy fate that so often befalls low-status women who consort with high-status men.
6. Instead of asking her husband to discipline Ishmael, if he was really out of line, Sarah insists that Hagar and her son must go -- kick them out, banish them to perish in the desert! Hen-pecked Abraham is reluctant to accede to his wife's wishes, but, lo and behold, Jehovah inserts himself into the family feud and takes Sarah's side. Abraham makes no provision at all for Hagar, like selling her to a neighboring nomad or arranging for her to live some place else, or even helping her to plan her journey. At least he has the grace to give Hagar some bread and water before booting her out of camp, even though he should have foreseen that the provisions would prove inadequate. Sarah obviously doesn't give a hoot if her former servant and her husband’s son die or not.
7. It seems inconsistent that Jehovah urged Abraham to get rid of the servant Hagar and her son and then rescues them when they are dying of thirst in the desert. Apparently the not-at-all-omniscient Jehovah was not very closely monitoring the situation. He seems surprised to find Hagar lost and forsaken. Why didn't he advise Abraham more specifically about what to do about Hagar, since he was committed to make Ishmael the father of a great nation?
8. The town of Gerar, near Beersheba in the northern Negev, was a Philistine town founded about 1200 B.C., hundreds of years after Abraham’s time. The Desert of Paran is probably located in the southern Sinai.
Showing posts with label Hagar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hagar. Show all posts
Monday, April 8, 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
The History of Abraham, Part Three
(Genesis 16:1 - 17:27)
Sarai, Abram's wife, who was barren, owned a maid, an Egyptian named Hagar. She advised Abram that since she was unable to bear any of his children he should try to conceive children with Hagar. Abram decided to take his wife's advice and so at the point when they had lived in Canaan for ten years, Sarai availed upon Abram to take Hagar as a second wife.
Abram consummated his marriage with Hagar. However, when Hagar learned she was pregnant with his child, she began to treat her mistress contemptuously. Sarai complained to Abram about this. "I'm being treated unfairly. I was the one who arranged the marriage between you and my servant and now that she is about to have your child, she despises me. God must decide between you and me."
Abram replied " Look, she is your servant. Do what you want with her!"
However, when Sarai treated her harshly, Hagar ran away. At a well in the desert oasis on the way to Sur, she was found by an emissary of Jehovah. The extraterrestrial questioned her "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where did you come from and where do you think you're going?"
She answered "I am running away from my mistress Sarai."
"Return to your mistress and submit yourself to her authority. ... I will make your descendants multiply so that they will be beyond number. You are pregnant and will soon give birth to a son whom you will call Ishmael (because Jehovah has been made aware of your hardship.) Yes, he will indeed be a wild ass of a man. He will be at odds with his fellows and they will ever be at odds with him. He will live on the outskirts of society."
Hagar spoke to the being that had addressed her, "Your god does see me! And I have truly glimpsed the back of him who sees me and have remained alive." Thus, the well where they met was called Beerlahaioi, meaning the well of he who sees me and lives. (It lies between Kadesh and Bered.)
Hagar bore a son to Abram, who called him Ishmael. At this time Abram was 86 years old.
When Abram was 99 years old, Jehovah visited him and told him "I am the Almighty God, follow me and be a righteous person, and I will make a pledge with you and your descendants, and I will multiply you greatly."
Abram bowed and fell on his face. Jehovah told him "As for me, my pledge is with you. You will be the father of many nations. Because you will be the father of nations, you will no longer be called Abram, but Abraham. Your progeny will be great and produce many nations and dynasties of kings. I establish this contract with you and your descendants for all time, that I will be a god to your and your descendants. I will give to you and your descendants as a possession forever the land of Canaan, in which you now reside as a foreign immigrant. You and every generation after will keep this pledge, and I will be a god to you and to them. The provision of the contract that you and your descendants will observe is this: every male child will be circumcised. This removal of the foreskin of the penis will be a sign of our mutual agreement. Every child eight days old shall be circumcised, this means every child of your descendants, every child born into your household, every purchased slave, including servants who are brought into the house and are not of your race. This everlasting agreement will be manifested literally in the flesh. Anyone not circumcised should be banished, for he has not abided by our contract."
"And as for Sarai, your wife," Jehovah continued, "she shall henceforth no longer be called Sarai, but Sarah. I will bless her so that she will bear you a son. She will be the mother of many peoples and kings will be descended from her."
Abram fell again on his face, but laughed, thinking to himself "Shall a man a hundred years old father a child? Shall Sarah, who is 90, be a mother?" He told Jehovah "Would that Ishmael find favor with you!"
Jehovah responded "Sarah will give birth to your son and you will call him Isaac; it is with him and with his descendants that I will establish an everlasting contract. And as for Ishmael, I have heard your wishes concerning him. I have blessed him as well. I will make him prosper, and he will have many descendants. He will father twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But my contract will be established with Isaac, whom Sarah will bring into the world at about this time next year."
When Jehovah had finished speaking with Abraham, he departed into the sky.
On that very day, as Jehovah had instructed him, Abraham, his son Ishmael, and all his male servants, including foreign slaves who had been purchased were duly circumcised. Abraham, who was 99 years old, and Ishmael, who was 13, were circumcised on that same day along with the rest of the males in his household.
Notes
1. Jehovah maintains a rather ambiguous moral stance on marriage. Abraham is his man, his favored human, but he is an incestuous bigamist, hardly exemplary, at least by modern standards. Plural marriages seem to have been common at that time, at least among those who could afford to support more than one wife. And marriages between those of close consanguinity seem also to have been favored. While Jehovah seemed to signal in Eden that marriage would be an unbreakable bond between one man and one woman, in practice it seems otherwise.
2. Sarah's scheme of having her husband Abraham father a child with her servant Hagar does not seem to have originated with Jehovah. One wonders why Jehovah, who was so involved in the lives of Abraham's family, did not have some input on this decision. There often is the impression that Jehovah is absent for long periods of time and comes to earth at intervals to check up on his favorite, make some promises, and demand animal sacrifices. This is consistent, of course, not with an omniscient God, but with an extraterrestrial visitor.
3 Jehovah had promised Abraham that he would be not only a father, but a patriarch. Abraham must have taken the promise with a grain of salt, or else lost faith in it over the passing of years when he did not see Jehovah. Why else would he have consented to take a second wife in order to have children? And when Jehovah does come down to see him, he questions his assertion that his wife, definitely passed it, could conceive. One marvels at Abraham actually had the cheek to laugh at his god. Would a man doubt and laugh in the face of God?
4. Abraham takes Hagar as a wife, but does not really treat her as such, for her status as a servant of Sarah seems to take precedence over status as Abraham's wife. When Hagar, now expecting, acts uppity with her mistress and Sarah complains to her husband about it, Abraham does not take charge of the situation as one would expect a man of the house (or tent) to do. He does not say that he will have a talk with Hagar, put her in her place, or punish her. No, he cops out and throws it all into Sarah's lap. Sarah, of course, acts like a shrew and drives pregnant Hagar to run away from home.
5. In her flight Hagar encounters an extraterrestrial who is an emissary (angel) of Jehovah, perhaps a companion of Jehovah, an associate, or employee, who can say? Hagar is amazed that she can see this being and live to tell about it. Perhaps she had heard tell of these beings and is surprised -- and privileged to actually see one -- a normal reaction even for a modern. One can surmise that the meeting was not accidental. It seems likely that Jehovah dispatched this being to send Hagar back to Abraham, either because it was in Abraham's interest or that it suited his, Jehovah's agenda.
6. It is 13 years after the birth of Ishmael that Abraham sees Jehovah again. Jehovah repeats his promise ad nauseum, but this time demands something more than a few charred animal carcasses in return. He demands that Abraham and all his people (male people, that is) get circumcised as a sign of their mutual contract. It seems likely that circumcision was a Hebrew custom established for hygienic reasons or for reasons of maintaining a cultural identity separate from that of uncircumcised neighbors. It was probably in force at some time in the distant past -- from the standpoint of the Biblical authors who saw the need to justify it. This story was concocted to lend the custom divine sanction. That is one possibility. The other is that Jehovah did indeed demand circumcision so that he could recognize the people he had promised to assist. This does not seem likely, however, since circumcision was broadly practiced in the Middle East and Egypt from remote antiquity, (even though the Greeks and the Romans frowned on the practice.)
7. The change of name from Sarai to Sarah, Abram to Abraham -- rather modest as name changes go ( a Hollywood agent might have been more imaginative)-- seems rather unnecessary, but reflects the characters' change of status and destiny. It also exhibits Jehovah's control over them.
8. Jehovah's contract with Abraham and his descendants is a simple quid pro quo. Jehovah will do certain things, make Abraham the father of a great nation, give his descendants the Holy Land to live in forever, and so forth and they are, in turn, to worship him as a god. Jehovah is quite obviously not God, but an extraterrestrial being who wishes to be regarded as a patron god to one people. He may at times claim exalted titles, like God Almighty, the way monarchs have always done, or make claims to being the Creator, but there is nothing to indicate that he is anything but a physical, mortal being, even if he be a humanoid more highly developed than earth men and from a society far more technologically advanced.
Sarai, Abram's wife, who was barren, owned a maid, an Egyptian named Hagar. She advised Abram that since she was unable to bear any of his children he should try to conceive children with Hagar. Abram decided to take his wife's advice and so at the point when they had lived in Canaan for ten years, Sarai availed upon Abram to take Hagar as a second wife.
Abram consummated his marriage with Hagar. However, when Hagar learned she was pregnant with his child, she began to treat her mistress contemptuously. Sarai complained to Abram about this. "I'm being treated unfairly. I was the one who arranged the marriage between you and my servant and now that she is about to have your child, she despises me. God must decide between you and me."
Abram replied " Look, she is your servant. Do what you want with her!"
However, when Sarai treated her harshly, Hagar ran away. At a well in the desert oasis on the way to Sur, she was found by an emissary of Jehovah. The extraterrestrial questioned her "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where did you come from and where do you think you're going?"
She answered "I am running away from my mistress Sarai."
"Return to your mistress and submit yourself to her authority. ... I will make your descendants multiply so that they will be beyond number. You are pregnant and will soon give birth to a son whom you will call Ishmael (because Jehovah has been made aware of your hardship.) Yes, he will indeed be a wild ass of a man. He will be at odds with his fellows and they will ever be at odds with him. He will live on the outskirts of society."
Hagar spoke to the being that had addressed her, "Your god does see me! And I have truly glimpsed the back of him who sees me and have remained alive." Thus, the well where they met was called Beerlahaioi, meaning the well of he who sees me and lives. (It lies between Kadesh and Bered.)
Hagar bore a son to Abram, who called him Ishmael. At this time Abram was 86 years old.
When Abram was 99 years old, Jehovah visited him and told him "I am the Almighty God, follow me and be a righteous person, and I will make a pledge with you and your descendants, and I will multiply you greatly."
Abram bowed and fell on his face. Jehovah told him "As for me, my pledge is with you. You will be the father of many nations. Because you will be the father of nations, you will no longer be called Abram, but Abraham. Your progeny will be great and produce many nations and dynasties of kings. I establish this contract with you and your descendants for all time, that I will be a god to your and your descendants. I will give to you and your descendants as a possession forever the land of Canaan, in which you now reside as a foreign immigrant. You and every generation after will keep this pledge, and I will be a god to you and to them. The provision of the contract that you and your descendants will observe is this: every male child will be circumcised. This removal of the foreskin of the penis will be a sign of our mutual agreement. Every child eight days old shall be circumcised, this means every child of your descendants, every child born into your household, every purchased slave, including servants who are brought into the house and are not of your race. This everlasting agreement will be manifested literally in the flesh. Anyone not circumcised should be banished, for he has not abided by our contract."
"And as for Sarai, your wife," Jehovah continued, "she shall henceforth no longer be called Sarai, but Sarah. I will bless her so that she will bear you a son. She will be the mother of many peoples and kings will be descended from her."
Abram fell again on his face, but laughed, thinking to himself "Shall a man a hundred years old father a child? Shall Sarah, who is 90, be a mother?" He told Jehovah "Would that Ishmael find favor with you!"
Jehovah responded "Sarah will give birth to your son and you will call him Isaac; it is with him and with his descendants that I will establish an everlasting contract. And as for Ishmael, I have heard your wishes concerning him. I have blessed him as well. I will make him prosper, and he will have many descendants. He will father twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But my contract will be established with Isaac, whom Sarah will bring into the world at about this time next year."
When Jehovah had finished speaking with Abraham, he departed into the sky.
On that very day, as Jehovah had instructed him, Abraham, his son Ishmael, and all his male servants, including foreign slaves who had been purchased were duly circumcised. Abraham, who was 99 years old, and Ishmael, who was 13, were circumcised on that same day along with the rest of the males in his household.
Notes
1. Jehovah maintains a rather ambiguous moral stance on marriage. Abraham is his man, his favored human, but he is an incestuous bigamist, hardly exemplary, at least by modern standards. Plural marriages seem to have been common at that time, at least among those who could afford to support more than one wife. And marriages between those of close consanguinity seem also to have been favored. While Jehovah seemed to signal in Eden that marriage would be an unbreakable bond between one man and one woman, in practice it seems otherwise.
2. Sarah's scheme of having her husband Abraham father a child with her servant Hagar does not seem to have originated with Jehovah. One wonders why Jehovah, who was so involved in the lives of Abraham's family, did not have some input on this decision. There often is the impression that Jehovah is absent for long periods of time and comes to earth at intervals to check up on his favorite, make some promises, and demand animal sacrifices. This is consistent, of course, not with an omniscient God, but with an extraterrestrial visitor.
3 Jehovah had promised Abraham that he would be not only a father, but a patriarch. Abraham must have taken the promise with a grain of salt, or else lost faith in it over the passing of years when he did not see Jehovah. Why else would he have consented to take a second wife in order to have children? And when Jehovah does come down to see him, he questions his assertion that his wife, definitely passed it, could conceive. One marvels at Abraham actually had the cheek to laugh at his god. Would a man doubt and laugh in the face of God?
4. Abraham takes Hagar as a wife, but does not really treat her as such, for her status as a servant of Sarah seems to take precedence over status as Abraham's wife. When Hagar, now expecting, acts uppity with her mistress and Sarah complains to her husband about it, Abraham does not take charge of the situation as one would expect a man of the house (or tent) to do. He does not say that he will have a talk with Hagar, put her in her place, or punish her. No, he cops out and throws it all into Sarah's lap. Sarah, of course, acts like a shrew and drives pregnant Hagar to run away from home.
5. In her flight Hagar encounters an extraterrestrial who is an emissary (angel) of Jehovah, perhaps a companion of Jehovah, an associate, or employee, who can say? Hagar is amazed that she can see this being and live to tell about it. Perhaps she had heard tell of these beings and is surprised -- and privileged to actually see one -- a normal reaction even for a modern. One can surmise that the meeting was not accidental. It seems likely that Jehovah dispatched this being to send Hagar back to Abraham, either because it was in Abraham's interest or that it suited his, Jehovah's agenda.
6. It is 13 years after the birth of Ishmael that Abraham sees Jehovah again. Jehovah repeats his promise ad nauseum, but this time demands something more than a few charred animal carcasses in return. He demands that Abraham and all his people (male people, that is) get circumcised as a sign of their mutual contract. It seems likely that circumcision was a Hebrew custom established for hygienic reasons or for reasons of maintaining a cultural identity separate from that of uncircumcised neighbors. It was probably in force at some time in the distant past -- from the standpoint of the Biblical authors who saw the need to justify it. This story was concocted to lend the custom divine sanction. That is one possibility. The other is that Jehovah did indeed demand circumcision so that he could recognize the people he had promised to assist. This does not seem likely, however, since circumcision was broadly practiced in the Middle East and Egypt from remote antiquity, (even though the Greeks and the Romans frowned on the practice.)
7. The change of name from Sarai to Sarah, Abram to Abraham -- rather modest as name changes go ( a Hollywood agent might have been more imaginative)-- seems rather unnecessary, but reflects the characters' change of status and destiny. It also exhibits Jehovah's control over them.
8. Jehovah's contract with Abraham and his descendants is a simple quid pro quo. Jehovah will do certain things, make Abraham the father of a great nation, give his descendants the Holy Land to live in forever, and so forth and they are, in turn, to worship him as a god. Jehovah is quite obviously not God, but an extraterrestrial being who wishes to be regarded as a patron god to one people. He may at times claim exalted titles, like God Almighty, the way monarchs have always done, or make claims to being the Creator, but there is nothing to indicate that he is anything but a physical, mortal being, even if he be a humanoid more highly developed than earth men and from a society far more technologically advanced.
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