A Portrait of Yishmael/1/en

Yishmael

Introduction

Dearth of Details

Painting a portrait of Yishmael is a complex challenge, in large part because of the paucity of Biblical source material.  Yishmael himself appears by name in five chapters in the Torah:  Bereshit 16 tells of his birth and the events leading up to it, Bereshit 17 recounts Avraham's concern for his (Yishmael's) future and his circumcision, Bereshit 25 notes his role in burying Avraham and records his death and descendants,¹ and Bereshit 28 and 36 mention that his daughter² married Esav.  However, none of these narratives reveal much about the nature of Yishmael's character.

Of course, the main story which could potentially shed light on Yishmael is the account of the banishing of Hagar and her son in Bereshit 21.  Fascinatingly, though, Yishmael is not mentioned by name even once in this entire chapter, but is rather referred to repeatedly as "הַיֶּלֶד" or "הַנַּעַר"‎.³  Moreover, in most of this story he is a passive character acted upon by others,⁴ and never once do we hear him speak.⁵  Thus, Biblical exegetes attempt to make the most of the small clues which the Torah does provide.

Ambiguous Phrases

There are two verses which are of critical import in evaluating Yishmael's character. The first of these is the description of Yishmael found in the forecast of God's messenger in Bereshit 16:

EN/HEע/E

(י) וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַלְאַךְ ה' הַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה אֶת זַרְעֵךְ וְלֹא יִסָּפֵר מֵרֹב. (יא) וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַלְאַךְ ה' הִנָּךְ הָרָה וְיֹלַדְתְּ בֵּן וְקָרָאת שְׁמוֹ יִשְׁמָעֵאל כִּי שָׁמַע ה' אֶל עָנְיֵךְ. (יב) וְהוּא יִהְיֶה פֶּרֶא אָדָם יָדוֹ בַכֹּל וְיַד כֹּל בּוֹ וְעַל פְּנֵי כָל אֶחָיו יִשְׁכֹּן.

And

According to this verse, Yishmael is destined to be a "פֶּרֶא אָדָם" with "יָדוֹ בַכֹּל וְיַד כֹּל בּוֹ", but are these positive or negative epithets?  On the one hand, the context is one of blessings and answered prayers, but on the other hand, the untamed wildness may hint to a violent nature and future.

The second text lies at the core of Bereshit 21:

EN/HEע/E

(ט) וַתֵּרֶא שָׂרָה אֶת בֶּן הָגָר הַמִּצְרִית אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה לְאַבְרָהָם מְצַחֵק. (י) וַתֹּאמֶר לְאַבְרָהָם גָּרֵשׁ הָאָמָה הַזֹּאת וְאֶת בְּנָהּ כִּי לֹא יִירַשׁ בֶּן הָאָמָה הַזֹּאת עִם בְּנִי עִם יִצְחָק. (יא) וַיֵּרַע הַדָּבָר מְאֹד בְּעֵינֵי אַבְרָהָם עַל אוֹדֹת בְּנוֹ. (יב) וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים אֶל אַבְרָהָם אַל יֵרַע בְּעֵינֶיךָ עַל הַנַּעַר וְעַל אֲמָתֶךָ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר תֹּאמַר אֵלֶיךָ שָׂרָה שְׁמַע בְּקֹלָהּ כִּי בְיִצְחָק יִקָּרֵא לְךָ זָרַע. (יג) וְגַם אֶת בֶּן הָאָמָה לְגוֹי אֲשִׂימֶנּוּ כִּי זַרְעֲךָ הוּא.

(9)

What is the meaning of the key phrase "מְצַחֵק" – is it innocuous laughter, mean-spirited mocking, or a euphemism for more depraved behavior?  Was this conduct so heinous that it constituted grounds for expulsion from Avraham's house?

Mixed Messages

In both of Chapters 16 and 21, it is clear that Sarah finds the actions of Hagar and her son to be odious.  The attitudes of Hashem and Avraham are far more equivocal.  While, in Chapter 16, Avraham (perhaps reluctantly) permits Sarah to discipline Hagar, in Chapter 21 there is something which is "bad in his eyes".  Is it his son's conduct or Sarah's proposed punishment?  Even more perplexing is what to make of Hashem's reaction.  While He enjoins Avraham in no uncertain terms to follow Sarah's instructions to the letter, He also pledges to watch over Yishmael.  This promise is then promptly fulfilled when only a few verses later Heavenly intercession saves the lad from certain death, with the accompanying explanation of "כִּי שָׁמַע אֱלֹהִים אֶל קוֹל הַנַּעַר בַּאֲשֶׁר הוּא שָׁם".  How should we understand Hashem's verdict regarding the son of Avraham and Hagar?  Is Yishmael evil and deserving of banishment, or does he have merits which grant him special Divine protection?

¹ His descendants, the "יִשְׁמְעֵאלִים", make a cameo appearance also in the story of the sale of Yosef (Bereshit 37:25,27-28, 39:1).

² While Bereshit 28 identifies Esav's wife as "מָחֲלַת", Bereshit 36 refers to her as "בָּשְׂמַת".  See Esav's Wives for discussion of how many wives Esav had.

³ This omission is so striking that it led R. Menashe Wiener (Mikhlelet Herzog Yemei Iyyun BeTanakh 5770) to entertain the notion that Hagar was expelled together with a younger sibling of Yishmael (perhaps more aptly described as the "יֶלֶד" carried by Hagar; Yishmael was already at least sixteen years old), and that Yishmael himself remained in Avraham's home.

⁴ In fact, his limited number of actions (with the exception of those in the addendum of 21:19-20) are described merely through the eyes of other characters.  21:9 tells of what Sarah saw Yishmael do, and 21:17 speaks of how Hashem heard him cry.

⁵ Yishmael's silence is noted by C. Bakhos, Ishmael on the Border (Albany, 2006): 14.  The Torah tells of Yishmael laughing and crying (the text actually explicitly says only that Hagar cried and that God heard her son's voice), but not of any of his uttered words.