Genesis 21:8-21
You can sponsor this page of The Text This Week
- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- The Bible Gateway: NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Hebrew text with concordance, commentaries.
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
- Bereshit 21: Massoretic, Hebrew, Aramaic, JPS.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- Navigating the Bible: Text/Rabbinic commentary and Divrei Torah.
- Chapter LVI, Dialogue With Trypho, Justin Martyr. (c 160)
- I.11, Stromata, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
- XII.31, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Origen. (c.247)
- Rashi's Commentary, c. 1075. chabad.org.
- From
Calvin's
Commentary on Genesis.
- "It seems, indeed, at first sight, something frivolous, that Sarah, being angry about a mere nothing, should have stirred up strife in the family. But Paul teaches, that a sublime mystery is here proposed to us, concerning the perpetual state of the Church."
- From the Geneva Notes.
- "True faith renounces all natural affections to obey God's commandment."
- From
Matthew Henry's
Commentary.
- "Let us not overlook the manner in which this family matter instructs us not to rest in outward privileges, or in our own doings."
- From
Wesley's
Notes.
- "It is presumption to say, that all these who are left out of the external dispensation of God's covenant are excluded from all his mercies."
- "The
Allegories of Sarah and Hagar," C.H. Spurgeon, 1856.
- "Whosoever amongst you will cast all his good works away, and will come to Jesus, with this 'Nothing, nothing, NOTHING, Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to the cross I cling'."
- From the
Commentary on the Whole Bible
(Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
- "Ishmael was a lad of seventeen years, and it is quite customary for Arab chiefs to send out their sons at such an age to do for themselves: often with nothing but a few days' provisions in a bag."
- Contemporary References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
-
-
- "This continuation of Genesis 21:1-7 describes the conflict in Abraham's family caused by Isaac's birth."
-
-
- "God is not deaf, dumb or blind. He is not implacable, impersonal, or impassible, without feeling or emotion. He is not an absentee landlord deity. No, Christians believe that He sees every human misery, and that He hears every painful sob."
-
-
Parashat Va-yera, Rabbi David Ackerman, Jewish Theological Seminary
Commentary, 2008.
- "We, like Abraham, don't always know where we're headed. And like Abraham, we walk in order to learn, in Aviva Zornberg's rich words, 'what it means not (yet) to be shown, to be told.'"
-
- "Christian preachers need also to consider whether Paul?s treatment of Hagar in Galatians 4 does justice to the Genesis accounts..."
-
- "Hagar comes to represent many people who are cast out from family, home or country: a runaway child from abuse, a refugee, the abused wife, the homeless and the list of those represented by the figure of Hagar is very long."
-
Desert Scribblings, Genesis 21:8-21, Geoff McElroy.
- "While we don?t exclude on basis of labels and prejudice as much as the past, even though we still have some ways to go in issues like race and gender and other areas, and while our most fervent exclusions these days revolve around matters of opinion and thought, our tendency to exclude others not like us is still holding strong."
-
"A Great
Partner for a Great Endeavor," Torah Commentary by Wendy Amsellem.
BeliefNet.
- "Along the way, Abraham learns that no one person has a monopoly on God's covenant, and that great endeavors require great partners."
- "I: The Sacrifice of Sarah, II: The Non-sacrifice of Isaac: Perashat Vayera," Mark H. Kirschbaum, M.D., Tikkun.
- Parshah Vayeira, text, commentary & articles from Chassidic Masters, sermons, etc from Chabad Lubavitch.
- Parshas Vayera from The Project Genesis Torah Study. Index to numerous articles and studies on Genesis 18:1-22:24.
- Parshat Vayeira, articles and commentary by the Jewish Community of Atlanta, at The Torah From Dixie.
-
"Commentary
on Genesis 21:8-21: Fourth Sunday After Pentecost (Year A)," by
Dennis Bratcher at the Christian Resource Institute.
- "Juxtaposed with the first half of the reading in which God?s people are the oppressors, God?s actions in the world for liberation and freedom raises ominous implications for those who do the oppressing."
-
"Outcasts and Forebears," William L. Holladay,
The Christian Century,
1996.
- "Whom have we cast out of our cultural households? Who are the "others" whom we keep at a distance? Muslims? Gays? The homeless? We know the list by now."
-
"Death and Reconciliation: Chayye Sarach," Rabbi Arthur Waskow,
The Shalom Center.
- "Such a parallel! ? By the time their father Avraham has died, each has lived for many years with the knowledge that he ? their father! ? sent them to the brink of death."
- "What
happens when Christians Mess Up?" from the
Biblical
Studies Foundation.
- "While we cannot justify the motivation of Sarah for her ultimatum, I personally believe that such a move had to occur in order to force Abraham’s hand in setting aside his aspirations for this son."
-
- Articles & Background:
-
"Reinterpreting
Hagar's Story," Jessica Grimes, Lectio Difficilior, 2004.
- "Themes of excluding and choosing, privileging and denying are signs that the story of Hagar is not just about a surrogate mother whose desires are being denied. This story is about an enslaved woman who symbolizes the struggle for survival of colonized people because she experiences subjugation and freedom, twice."
-
"Gender,
Class, and Androcentric Compliance in the Rapes of Enslaved Women in the
Hebrew Bible," Susanne Scholz, Lectio
Difficilior, 2004.
- "This article began with the words of women enslaved in nineteenth-century America, which provided the perspective for the examination of the biblical stories. There are, however, remarkable differences between the two, and three differences shall be highlighted here..."
-
"Women
Quilting A Biblical Pattern," Letty M. Russell, 1992.
- "By discerning the patterns of oppression, we as women can begin to piece together a new pattern of sister choice as we wrestle with what the Bible has to teach us about God?s intention for our lives."
-
"Old Testament Perspectives on Divorce and Remarriage," Joe M. Sprinkle,
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 1997.
- "It will be observed that the OT permits divorce for a variety of fundamental violations of the marriage covenant. In addition I will attempt to show that the OT teaching on this topic is compatible with the NT teachings about divorce and that both together are required for a complete Biblical divorce ethic."
- "Ismael" from The (1913) Catholic Encyclopedia.
-
"Abraham, Sarah
and Hagar: A Family Affair: Did Sarah Sin Against Hagar?" by Rabbi Matis
Greenblatt, Literary Editor of Jewish Action Magazine.
- "We may be defending the most justifiable cause. And yet, the manner in which we pursue our objective is critical; so critical that if we pursue our goal too forcefully or with a measure of insensitivity the results may be disastrous."
-
"Muhammad in
the Bible," Dr. Jamal Badawi.
- "It should be noted that God does not subscribe to human attitudes of ethnic or racial superiority or exclusivism, much less the submergence of spiritual and human qualities of mankind because of a certain unfortunate state of bondage."
-
"Reinterpreting
Hagar's Story," Jessica Grimes, Lectio Difficilior, 2004.
- Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.
- Bailey, Wilma Ann, "Black and Jewish
Women Consider Hagar," Encounter, 2002.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Classens, L. Juliana M., "Laughter
and Tears: Carnivalistic Overtones in the Stories of Sarah and Hagar,"
Perspectives in Religious Studies, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Dozeman, Thomas B., "The Wilderness
and Salvation History in the Hagar Story," Journal of Biblical
Literature, 1998.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Dube, Musa W., "Toward a
Post-Colonial Feminist Interpretation of the Bible," Semeia,
1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Guenther, Allen,
"A Typology of Israelite Marriage: Kinship, Socio-Economic, and Religious
Factors," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2005.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Holladay, William L., "Outcasts and
Forebears," The Christian Century, 1996.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Kaminsky, Joel S.,
"Humor and the Theology of Hope: Isaac as a Humorous Figure,"
Interpretation, 2000.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Lyke, Larry L., "Where Does 'the Boy' Belong?
Compositional Strategy in Genesis 21:14," Catholic Biblical Quarterly,
1994.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Mbuwayesango, Dora R., "Childlessness
and Woman-To-Woman Relationships in Genesis and in African Patriarchal
Society: Sarah and Hagar from a Zimbabwean Woman's Perspective (Gen
16:1-16; 21:8-21)," Semeia, 1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Meyer, Lauree Hersch, "Hagar's
Holiness: Genesis 16 and 21," Brethren Life and Thought, 1992.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Moser, Barry, "Blood and Stone: Violence
in the Bible & the Eye of the Illustrator," Cross Currents, 2001.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Niehoff, Maren R., "Mother and Maiden, Sister and
Spouse, Sarah in Philonic Midrash," Harvard Theological Review,
2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Nikaido, S., "Hagar and Ishmael as Literary Figures:
An Intertextual Study," Vetus Testamentum, 2001.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - O'Connor, Kathleen, "Abraham's Unholy Family: Mirror,
Witness, Summons," Journal for Preachers, 1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Okoye, James C., "Sarah and Hagar: Genesis 16 and
21," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2007.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Reis, Pamela Tamarkin, "Hagar Requited," Journal
for the Study of the Old Testament, 2000.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Schwartz, Joshua, "Ishmael at Play: On Exegesis and
Jewish Society," Hebrew Union College Annual, 1995.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Sprinkle, Joe M., "Old Testament Perspectives on
Divorce and Remarriage," Journal of the Evangelical Theological
Society, 1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Stancil, David C., "Genesis 16:1-16;
21:8-21 -- The Uncherished Child: A 'Modern' Wilderness of the Heart,"
Review & Expositor, 1994.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Steinberg, Naomi, "The Genealogical
Framework of the Family Stories in Genesis," Semeia, 1989.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Thomas-Smith, Karen, "Seeing through the Eyes of Our
Sister, Hagar: An Expository Sermon on Genesis 16:1-16, 21:1-21 and John
4:5-14," Review & Expositor, 2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Thompson, John L.,
"Hagar, Victim or Villain? Three Sixteenth-Century Views," The
Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1997.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Wells, Samuel, "Casualties of Destiny," Journal
for Preachers, 2009. (Sermon)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Williams, James G., "The Beautiful and the Barren:
Conventions in Biblical Type-Scenes," Journal for the Study of the
Old Testament, 1980.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Bailey, Wilma Ann, "Black and Jewish
Women Consider Hagar," Encounter, 2002.
- Reviews:
- Review: Lothar Ruppert, Genesis, ein kritischer und theologischer Kommentar: 11,27 - 25, 18. Echter Verlag, 2002. Reviewed by David L. Petersen in SBL's Review of Biblical Literature. (Review is in English.)
- Review: Tammi J. Schneider, Sarah: Mother of Nations. Continuum, 2004. Review by Carol Dempsey, Review of Biblical Literature, 2005.
- Taylor, Marion Ann and Heather E. Weir, eds., Let Her Speak for Herself: Nineteenth-Century Women Writing on Women in Genesis, Baylor University Press, 2006. Review by Frances Klopper, Review of Biblical Literature, 2008.
- Sermons:
- "The Story of Hagar," Rev. Sara Buteux, First Congregational Church of Hadley, MA.
- With Children:
-
"Abraham -
Father of Many Nations,"
"Isaac," Illustrating the Story (lessons, children's sermons),
coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts.
- "The Birth of Isaac," online computer java-based coloring pages from Grace Baptist Church of Feeding Hill.
-
"Abraham -
Father of Many Nations,"
"Isaac," Illustrating the Story (lessons, children's sermons),
coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts.
- Drama:
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Hymns and Music:
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
- Literature and Literary References:
- "Voices from the Past," the Mental Health & Disabilities Program, Mennonite Central Committee, Canada.
- Poetry from The Public Peace Process: Resources and Inspiration:
- With Love to Isaac and Ishmael, by Gary F. Gordon
- Sarah and Hagar, recorded by Linda Hirschhorn on More Than Luck and a Prayer.
- "Sarah Was A Woman": A Modern Poem by Edna Aphek. Jewish Heritage On-Line Magazine
- Study links and resources for the Book of Genesis
