Abram's First Son
Genesis 16:7-12, 16
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.
8 He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.”
10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
11 The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
--- Commentary
In Islam, Ishmael is regarded as a prophet and an ancestor to Muhammad. He also is associated with Mecca and the construction of the Kaaba there, one of the most sacred sites in Islam.
In this, Sarai's lack of faith has had profound consequences for billions of people.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.
8 He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.”
10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
11 The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
--- Commentary
In Islam, Ishmael is regarded as a prophet and an ancestor to Muhammad. He also is associated with Mecca and the construction of the Kaaba there, one of the most sacred sites in Islam.
In this, Sarai's lack of faith has had profound consequences for billions of people.