Genesis Vol 3.pdf - College Press

SOJOURN IN THE NEGEB 20 : 1-2 1 : 34
-thus the Angel recalled to Hagar that she had no cause
for alarm, that in fact she was forgetting what God had
promised in 16:lOff.; and then He repeated the promise
here that He would make of the boy a great people. (Note
the tremendously dramatic portrayal of physical and emo-
tional suffering that is given us here, and given in just a
few poignant statements), God evidently opened her
eyes; that is, He gave her the insight to perceive that water
was to be found close at hand. She filled the bottle with
water and gave the lad drink. Vv. 20-21: Ishmael’s Future.
The boy grew up, evidently amidst the hardships of the
desert-the proof that God was with him. He became a
skilful bowman (archer) ; indeed his descendants were all
noted for their archery. (Cf. Isa. 21: 17). Ishmael grew
up in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife
for him from among her own people. Mohammedan Arabs
all claim descent from Ishmael; they hold that the well
which God revealed to Hagar was the sacred well of Zem-
zem at Mecca, their holy city. It should be noted that
Ishmael’s line soon lost all spiritual kinship with Abraham
and his posterity.
Geography. V. 14--“the wilderness of Beersheba.”
The name was introduced here proleptically, unless the
incident related in vv. 22-33 had already taken place.
The town itself was midway between the Mediterranean
Sea and the southern end of the Dead Sea some distance
east of Gerar. It became known as the southern limit of
Israelite occupancy, so that the entire land (Palestine)
could be designated as the territory “from Dan to Beer-
sheba” (Judg. 20: 1). “The wilderness of Beersheba” was
the name given to the generally uncultivated waste between
Palstine and Egypt. It seems evident that Abraham spent
much of his later life in this area (Gen. 21:34, 22:19).
Isaac was dwelling there when Jacob set out for Haran
(Gen. 28:lO). On this way into Egypt Jacob stopped
there to offer sacrifices (Gem 46:l). In the division of
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