Глава 21

Gen. 21:9–10. “And Sarah saw that the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she bore to Abraham, was playing” ; what follows—“with Isaac her son”—is not in the Hebrew text. Therefore, this verse is interpreted by Jews in two ways: either he made idols for playing, which is consistent with what is written elsewhere: “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play” (Ex. 32:6); or, in defiance of Isaac, with jokes and games, he demanded the birthright for himself, as the eldest. Therefore, Sarah could not bear to hear this. The second opinion is confirmed by her own words when she says: “Cast out this maidservant and her son. For the son of the maid will not be heir with my son Isaac.” Gen.21:14. “And he took the loaves and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, placing them on her shoulders, and to the lad, and sent her away.” When Isaac was born. Ishmael was 13 years old. And after Isaac is weaned, Ishmael and his mother are driven out of the house. But among the Jews there is a difference of opinion: some argue that the age of weaning was five years, while others insist on twelve. Therefore, we will assume that Ishmael was expelled along with his mother at the age of 18, so that we limit our choice to the youngest age. Then it looks absurd for Ishmael to sit on his mother’s neck when he is already a teenager. Thus, in fact, in the Hebrew language there is an unusual usage in which every son, in comparison with his parents, is called a child and an infant. Let us not be surprised that a foreign language has its own characteristics, since even today in Rome all sons are called “infantes” (Latin: “babies.” - Translator’s note). Consequently, Abraham put bread and fur on Hagar’s shoulders, and after that he gave the boy to the mother, that is, he handed it over into her hands, handed it over, and thus let him leave the house. And then follows: Verses 15–18. “And she left the lad under the fir tree, and went away and sat down at a distance, approximately at the distance of a bow shot. For she said: “I will not see the death of my child.” And she sat down opposite him.” And immediately after this: “The boy shouted and wept, and God heard the voice of the boy from the place where he was. And the Angel of God said to Hagar from heaven...”, and the rest cannot lead anyone into confusion. The fact is that in the Hebrew text, after it is written: “I will not see the death of my lad,” there is such a reading that Hagar sat down opposite the lad, raised her voice and began to cry, and God heard the lad’s voice. That is, when the mother cried, awaiting the death of her son in grief, God heard the boy. He promised Abraham about this, saying: “But I will also make the son of your maidservant a great nation” (Gen. 17:20). Moreover, the mother herself was not mourning her own death, but the death of her son. Consequently, God spared the one for whom there was lamentation. Finally, it further says: “Rise up and lift up the boy, and take him by the hand” (Gen. 21:18). From this it is obvious that the one whom the mother takes by the hand is not a burden for her, but a companion. And the fact that the mother pulls his hand serves as a sign of special tenderness. Gen.21:22. “And Abimelech, Ohazath his friend, and Phicol, the commander of his army, said.” Unlike the names "Abimelech" and "Phikol", the third name we read here is not found in the Hebrew text. Verse 30 - 31. “And he said: “Take these seven sheep from me as a testimony to me that I dug this well.” And he called that place “The Well of Oath” because that’s where they both swore an oath.” Where we read the Well of the Oath, the Hebrew text says bersabee ( שָׁ ֑ בַע־בְּאֵ ֣ ר ). And the reason why the place was so called [is given here] is twofold: either because Abimelech received seven lambs from the hands of Abraham (and “seven” in Hebrew is sabee ( שָׁ ֑ בַע )), or because they swore an oath there, since “oath” sounds something like sabee ( הפְּשָׁ ֑ בַ ) 41 . And if we read this name [in the Book of Genesis] before, before this explanation was given, then we should know that this was said ahead of the events (lit.: “through prolepsis.” - Transl. note); as in the case of Bethel and Gilgalah, which, at least until the time they received these names, were called differently. From both this and previous passages it should be noted that Isaac was not born at the oak of Mamre or, as the Hebrew text says, Aulone Mambre ( מַמְרֵ ֖ א אֵלֹנֵ ֥י ), but in Gerar, where Bathsheba is located down to the present day. (Not so long ago, this province, after the division of the governors of Palestine, was called Salutaris.) Scripture is a witness to this, which says: “And Abraham lived in the land of the Philistines” (Gen. 21:34). The point is that the three-letter root שָׁ ֑ בַע forms the basis of both the numeral “seven” ( שָׁ ֑ בַע ), and the verb “to swear” ( שָׁ ֑ בַענ ), as well as the noun derived from it “oath” ( השָׁ ֑ בַע or עה וּ שָׁ ֑ בַ ).