Genesis Vol 3.pdf - College Press

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GENESIS , ,
lack of water supply naturally affected. the boy much more
quickly than the mother. Haley :(ADB, 418): “The
English version of verses 14- 18 is peculiarly infelicitous,
and makes a wrong impression. The ‘child’ was nolt placed
upon Hagar’s shoulder, nor cast under the shrub, nor held
in the hand, as an infant might have been. The Hebrew
word here rendered ‘child,’ denotes not only an infant, but
also a boy or yozlng man. Ishmael was at the time some
sixteen years of age. The growing boy would be much
more easily overcome by the heat, thirst, and fatigue of
wandering than his mother, the hardy Egyptian handmaid.
When he yielded to exhaustion she hastily laid him,
fainting and half-dead, under the shelter of a shrub. Even
after he was refreshed with water, he needed to be ‘held,’
that is, supported and led, for a time,” (It should be noted
that the same word yeled, ‘child,’ in vv. 14, 15, is applied
to Joseph when seventeen years old (Gen. 37:2, 30). “For
a time the mother supports the son, but her fast-failing
strength cannot bear to be doubly taxed. She finds one of
the bushes of the desert. Scant shade such as may be
offered is often sought out by those wandering in the
desert when they need protection against the sun’s rays
(cf. 1 Ki. 19:4). The mother desires to ease what appear
to be the dying hours of the lad’s life. She drops him
hastily in exhaustion . . . with fine skill the author delineates
how painfully the mother’s love is torn by her
son’s distress. She must stay within sight. Yet she cannot
witness his slow death. At the distance of a bow-shot , . .
she hovers near. Her agonized cry rings out, ‘I cannot
look upon the death of the lad.’” (EG, 606). “She sat
over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.”
Divine succor came, vv. 17-19, in two forms, namely, the
voice of the Angel of God from heaven, and the opening
of Hagar’s eyes. While God Himself heard the voice of
the lad (perhaps his crying out for water), the medium of
His revelation was the Angel of God. “What aileth thee?”
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