The following entry represents my notes and observations as I read ‘Zondervan’s NASB Study Bible’. The text of the entry is my best attempt to summarize a large volume of text for easier reference in the future. As I go, I will compare and contrast the text of the NASB with ‘The Jewish Study Bible’ by Oxford University Press. If a passage is not specified as referring to either the Jewish or Christian version of the Bible then it can be assumed that it applies to both works. Passages specific to one or the other will be marked with either [NASB] or [JSB] as appropriate. Any person who differs with any detail of interpretation is invited to comment and include specifics and I’ll be happy to reexamine the passage(s) at issue.
Chapter 16
Another ten years pass and still Abram and Sarai do not have a child. As an act of desperation, Sarai suggests that Abram have relations with their Egyptian maid, Hagar, and perhaps through her they can have a child. Abram’s no fool and in no time Hagar is pregnant with Abram’s child. Both texts point out that this procedure is well rooted in Middle Eastern laws of the time.
Pregnant, Hagar takes on a less than respectful attitude towards Sarai and when Sarai complains to Abram about the maid’s behavior, he tells her to deal with it herself. Sarai responds by berating and abusing Hagar who runs away. Luckily for the line of Abram, an angel comes down and bids Hagar go back to Abram. In exchange for her obedience, the Lord promises her that offspring will be many, her child will be a male, that he shall be called Ishmael, that he will be “a wild ass of a man” who will always be at odds with everyone. Hagar returns to Abram and at the age of 86 Abram is born a son, Ishmael.
God is apparently fine with Abram and Sarai abusing their maid and using her for purely reproductive purposes. Is this because she’s a pagan? She seems to get little more respect than an animal in this chapter; she’s used to sire an entire nation of people when God could just as easily given Sarai a child. Alternatively, is God merely responding to local laws and customs when he allows this to take place? Either answer has interesting implications in today’s world.
Chapter 17
When Abram is 99, the Lord appears to him again and proceeds to make yet another covenant with him. Oddly, this covenant appears to be exactly the same as that he agreed to in Genesis 12 and Genesis 15. JSB attributes this to yet another change of authorship. God again promises Abram land for his own nation and again indicates that Sarai will be the mother of all these new people. This time, however, there is a price. All the males of his line must be circumcised on the 8th day of life. Any male who doesn’t get circumcised gets the boot. Abram is given a new name, Abraham and Sarai is renamed Sarah to symbolize their new positions in the world. Abraham questions God, “Can a child be born to a man a hundred years old, or can Sarah bear a child at ninety?” God reassures him and tells him that the son born to him will be named Isaac. Ishmael is not forgotten, despite his mixed heritage, he is to be the father of twelve chieftains who will beget a great nation.
After God exits, Abraham takes Ishmael and all his male servants to be circumcised. Ishmael is 13 at the time and interestingly, the NASB points out here that the ‘Arabs’ consider themselves descendants of Ishmael and therefore they also practice circumcision but at the age of 13. This actually makes good sense since you may recall that Ishmael’s mother was an Egyptian.
... In Progress ...
1 comment:
I've heard that Islam comes out of the descendants of Ishmael, while Judaism comes from the descendants of Isaac. If that's the case, then the animosity between the two groups has a long, long history indeed.
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