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Home > Magazines > Bible Review > April 1999

Parallel Lives

The trials and traumas of Isaac and Ishmael

By Curt Leviant

Although the Bible emphasizes the differences between Isaac and Ishmael, the half brothers suffer at least one strikingly similar life (or should we say near-death) experience. Do they have more in common than we thought?

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Footnotes

1.

Midrash is a genre of rabbinic literature that includes nonliteral elaborations of biblical texts. The midrash Genesis Rabba 84:6, for example, notes the affinities between Jacob and Joseph.

2.

Although many translations use the term “concubine,” the Hebrew has the word isha (Genesis 16:3), which means “wife,” rather than pilegesh, which means “concubine.”

3.

In some Islamic traditions, it is Ishmael, not Isaac, who is bound to the altar.

4.

This is the second time Hagar leaves Abraham’s home; the first occurred when she was pregnant with Ishmael. On Sarah’s motives in casting out Hagar, see Jonathan Kirsch, “What Does Sarah See?” BR 14:05.

5.

Va-yelech is the third person masculine form of HLK, “to go”; va-telech is the feminine form.

6.

Va-yisa is the third person masculine form of the verb NS’; va-tisa is the feminine form.

Endnotes

1.

The terms carry this meaning in several biblical passages. For shlch with a chaf as final letter, see “And I will cast you out of My presence” (Ve-hishlachti et chem me’al panay) (Jeremiah 7:15) and “Do not cast me off in old age” (Al tashlicheni le-et ziknah) (Psalms 71:9). For shlch with chet as final letter, see “Send that woman out of my presence” (Shilchu na et zot me’alay ha-chutzah) (2 Samuel 13:17) and “The Lord God cast him out of the Garden of Eden” (Va-yeshalichehu…me-gan Eden) (Genesis 3:23).