Ishmael, Jacob and Esau: Genesis 25

Genesis 25

The Death of Abraham

1Now Abraham married again. Keturah was his new wife, 2and she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3Jokshan's two sons were Sheba and Dedan. Dedan's descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 4Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah.
5Abraham left everything he owned to his son Isaac. 6But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to the east, away from Isaac.

7Abraham lived for 175 years, 8and he died at a ripe old age, joining his ancestors in death. 9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. 10This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites, where he had buried his wife Sarah. 11After Abraham's death, God poured out rich blessings on Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahairoi in the Negev.



Ishmaels Descendants

12This is the history of the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian servant. 13Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael's descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes that bore their names, listed according to the places they settled and camped. 17Ishmael finally died at the age of 137 and joined his ancestors in death. 18Ishmael's descendants were scattered across the country from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. The clans descended from Ishmael camped close to one another.[a]


The Births of Jacob and Esau

19This is the history of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham. 20When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban. 21Isaac pleaded with the LORD to give Rebekah a child because she was childless. So the LORD answered Isaac's prayer, and his wife became pregnant with twins. 22But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. "Why is this happening to me?" she asked.
23And the LORD told her, "The sons in your womb will become two rival nations. One nation will be stronger than the other; the descendants of your older son will serve the descendants of your younger son."

24And when the time came, the twins were born. 25The first was very red at birth. He was covered with so much hair that one would think he was wearing a piece of clothing. So they called him Esau.[b] 26Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau's heel. So they called him Jacob.[c] Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.



Esau Sells His Birthright

27As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open fields, while Jacob was the kind of person who liked to stay at home. 28Isaac loved Esau in particular because of the wild game he brought home, but Rebekah favored Jacob.
29One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home exhausted and hungry from a hunt. 30Esau said to Jacob, "I'm starved! Give me some of that red stew you've made." (This was how Esau got his other name, Edom--"Red.")

31Jacob replied, "All right, but trade me your birthright for it."

32"Look, I'm dying of starvation!" said Esau. "What good is my birthright to me now?"

33So Jacob insisted, "Well then, swear to me right now that it is mine." So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his younger brother. 34Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright.



Footnotes:

Genesis 25:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Genesis 25:25 Esau sounds like a Hebrew term that means "hair."
Genesis 25:26 Jacob means "he grasps the heel"; this can also figuratively mean "he deceives."

Hagar, victim or villain? Three sixteenth-century views

Hagar, victim or villain? Three sixteenth-century views

John L Thompson
ALTHOUGH BARELY TWO DECADES ave passed since the world of biblical scholarship began to recognize the existence of women in the Old Testament,1 today such studies appear in an eve -increasing torrent. One particularly significant catalyst was undoubtedly t he book by Phyllis Trible published in 1984 and entitled Texts of Terror, an evocative study focused on the numbingly tragic stories of four women of the Ol Testament, one of whom was Hagar.2 To be sure, Hagar's tragic tale of servitude and surrogacy, flight and exile, had been regularly commemorated since the early nineteenth century for its striking parallel to the African-Amer can experience of slavery and abuse,3 so the more recent awakening in acad mic circles must not credited with too much originality. Nonetheless, feminist and womanist critics, by drawing inspiration from one another, have both multiplied and diversified their respective findings, so that in the past ten years Hagar's story has been read with far greater sympathy and from a variety of perspectives.4

Together, feminist and womanist critics have endeavored to reconstruct and restore our memory of Hagar, as well as to pose the uncomfortable question why we have so blithely passed over Hagar's contribution to the biblical story and the wrongs done to her. These recent investigations have called attention to a number of remarkable features that ought to signal Hagar as one of the preeminent biblical heroes. To begin with, she is the first person in the Bible to be visited by an angel (Gen 16:7), as well as the first to receive an annunciation (16:11-12). Sarah, by contrast, is spoken to by God only in rebuke (18:15). Hagar is also the only woman in all of Scripture ever to receive a promise of innumerable descendants (16:10). And perhaps most striking of all, Hagar is depicted in Gen 16:13 as boldly bestowing a name on God-"a power attributed to no one else in all the Bible."5

Unfortunately, Hagar is also among the first biblical women to experience "use, abuse, and rejection."6 Not only is Hagar marginalized by her status as a slave, she is further coerced into serving as a surrogate for the barren Sarah. But Hagar's success only alienates her mistress: she flees from Sarah's harsh treatment into the desert, where an angel of the Lord intervenes and commands Hagar: "Return to your mistress and submit to her" (16:9). A similar scenario develops after the birth of Isaac, many years later.7 Sarah, apparently fearing that Hagar and Ishmael will contrive to rob Isaac of his primogeniture, orders them banished. Spurred on by a word of divine intervention, a displeased Abraham complies (21:9-14). Hagar and Ishmael depart, woefully underprovisioned, and they escape death in the desert only when God intervenes. Hagar thus has the misfortune to be the vector of all sorts of malfeasance, neglect, and even inhumanity: Sarah envies her and despises her son, while Abraham stands waffling in the wings, eventually condemning his concubine to exile and, quite possibly, death.

But there is a more disturbing observation to be registered. It is bad enough that Hagar bears the brunt of Sarah's wrath and Abraham's cowardly indifference, but Hagar seems to have another enemy in these stories: God. It is God who rescues her, yes, but it is also God who orders her to return and submit to Sarah's enmity and mistreatment; and it is God who sanctions the plan to send Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness. The hostility of God towards an arguably innocent slave woman is what undergirds the terror and tragedy which have disturbed many readers today.8

Most of these recent critics would agree that stories such as that of Hagar both display and indict the patriarchal biases of the Bible and its interpreters.9 Indeed, feminist and womanist commentators surely bring to their craft an awareness of the role played by presuppositions and self-interest which is not to be found among earlier interpreters. But have the commentators of bygone days always been as neglectful-not to say heartless-towards Hagar as modern critics seem to presume? Has the exegetical tradition only so recently remembered Hagar? It is precisely here that the present study finds its point of departure. What, in fact, have earlier commentators thought about Hagar? Did they ignore her? Did they vilify her? We will seek answers to these questions from representatives of the three main sources for commentaries on the Bible in the sixteenth century: Catholic, Reformed, and Lutheran.10

I. Thomas de Vio, Cardinal Cajetan

One of the earliest commentaries on Genesis in the Reformation era was the work of one of Martin Luther's opponents-Thomas de Vio, Cardinal Cajetan. In the last decade of his life he commented on the Psalms (1527), then on every book of the New Testament except the Apocalypse. In 1529 he turned his attention to the Old Testament. His death in 1534 found him in the early chapters of Isaiah. Cajetan's is a peculiar commentary for his day: he rarely cites any of the Fathers or medievals, he seems to ignore everything but the literal sense, and he is obsessed with capturing the nuance of the original language in his own translation, even if a literal rendition leaves the meaning obscure. For all of these features, Cajetan was often excoriated, and even censured, by his most immediate Roman Catholic contemporaries, though Luther is reported to have praised Cajetan's exegesis, and his work may have received a warm reception also in Geneva.11

Cajetan's treatment of Hagar is evenhanded, if somewhat spare, as may be illustrated by his comments on Genesis 16. Cajetan, in his own way, affirms the traditional portrait of Hagar as a runaway slave brought to sincere repentance. To be sure, Hagar is a slave, and in the history of salvation the good things which happen to her and her son are performed by God particularly for the sake of Sarah and Abraham.12 Indeed, Cajetan seems to underscore the contrast whereby "the first cause of being" condescends to exercise special care "even for a mere woman."13 But these points do not lead Cajetan to impugn the character of either Hagar or Ishmael-far from it! Hagar's repentance is staged against the backdrop of an epiphany which Cajetan likens to the setting of the Magnificat, insofar as both Hagar and the Blessed Virgin, "having been greeted by the angel, pondered the nature of that greeting.14 Hagar's joyful and repentant response, moreover, is utterly unfeigned, as Cajetan's perfectly Thomistic explanation makes clear:

Hagar, having heeded the angel joyfully, and now properly prepared for her pregnancy, contemplated who indeed was promising such things to her, surmising, at last, a divine messenger. And while the angel was silent, God was continuously at work within her, disposing Hagar's mind and will at every point while she was contemplating, so that she might merit the angel's third speech.15

Even if part of Hagar's affliction was justly inflicted by Sarah, Cajetan observes, she cried out for divine mercy. God heard her cry, for her afflictions deserved his attention. Consequently, Hagar's act of naming God (in Gen 16:13) acknowledges the benefits she received and constitutes an act of thanksgiving, as does her subsequent naming of the well in honor of "the living God who saw me."l6

At this point it is worth noting also how Cajetan deals with Hagar's son. An intriguing observation emerges at Gen 16:11, where he comments on the unusual naming of Ishmael. His remarks are deceptive, insofar as they cloak his consideration of earlier writers:

Do not fail to notice that to no one prior to Ishmael did God give a name. Indeed, he is the first among humans to receive a name from God. But from this novel and not insignificant blessing (gratia), nothing is known as to whether Ishmael was good or evil; no one should boast of having received God's freely given blessing, nor should anyone be praised, nor should anyone presume that such a person is good.17

One may properly ask why Cajetan adds this comment about Ishmael's moral character. In fact, Cajetan here demonstrates that he is not at all ignorant of earlier exegesis but is consciously rejecting it, for at the very same locus two of Cajetan's medieval predecessors-Nicolas of Lyra and Denis the Carthusian-not only note the novelty of Ishmael's naming but also report much deliberation over the question how Ishmael could have merited such a blessing in view of his supposedly evil character, in which not the least element was his "persecution" of Isaac (a la Galatians 4).18 Clearly, Cajetan is alluding to this debate, but he has declined to report the traditional, pejorative account of Ishmael in Christian sources, and especially in rabbinic sources.

Cajetan also defends Ishmael at two other points where his reputation traditionally suffered: Gen 21:9 and Gen 21:20. From the former text, Nicolas of Lyra (with help from the rabbis) had drawn many startling connotations which might underlie Ishmael's "play" with his half brother, including the sins of idolatry, murder, and licentiousness. But for Cajetan, Ishmael's "play" indicated simply that he had mocked Isaac and encouraged other boys to do likewise. To be sure, this is what Paul would later term "persecution," but Cajetan (speaking for Abraham) finds in Ishmael no fault deserving of so harsh a punishment as exile.19 At Gen 21:20, Cajetan, defending Ishmael, again alludes to earlier exegesis. The biblical text simply states that "God was with the lad." Cajetan takes this statement as sufficient refutation of the "nonsensical" view (nugas) that Ishmael grew up to become a brigand or highwayman-a slanderous view found, once more, in rabbinic commentaries and reported by Christian writers as well.20

Cajetan's defense of Ishmael is pertinent precisely for the way it confirms his intention to extend more charity to Hagar, too, than was then the norm. Thus, against those who think that Hagar literally "threw" her son under a tree (in Gen 21:15), Cajetan finds it "nefarious to think that so pious a mother would add affliction to her already afflicted, only-begotten son."21 Against those earlier exegetes (Rashi, though he is not named) who excoriated Hagar for returning to Egypt and idolatry and for procuring an Egyptian wife, Cajetan simply explains as a matter of course that "we are all naturally inclined to prefer our own people."22 Admittedly, Cajetan's "defensive" moves here are probably impelled largely by his commitment to the literal sense, but it is equally true that he sees the "literal" blessing of God in the lives of Ishmael and Hagar, and that he will allow neither speculation nor an ostensibly Pauline allegory or polemic to obscure these other aspects of the "literal" story line.

There is one final exegetical point in Cajetan which further favors Hagar and Ishmael. In Cajetan's comments on Genesis 21, he seems scarcely troubled by many traditional problems, such as the impropriety of Abraham's being bossed about by his wife, or how Sarah could have known God's will better than Abraham himself did. What seriously worries Cajetan, however, is whether Abraham inhumanely underprovisioned Hagar and Ishmael before sending them off. To be sure, Gen 21:14 is ambiguous: when Abraham put bread and water on Hagar's shoulders, "along with the child," does the text mean he put Ishmael-a boy usually reckoned, Cajetan observes, at about seventeen years of age!-on her shoulders too? Or did he put the supplies also on the young man? Either way, one still might stumble over the next question,

How it was fitting that Abraham, who was so wealthy, provided for his wife and son so sparingly (exigue)-or rather, so miserably (misere)!-that he should give his wife only as much bread and water as she could carry on her shoulders. The solution is that by "bread and water" is to be understood all kinds of provision (omnia victualia), and that Abraham provided copiously and quite prudently so that he would even have provided a jar to keep the water fresh (prouiderit de vase seruatiuo aquae) along the way. This indeed was fitting for a well-to-do father unwillingly having to send his son away. Also, he gave neither the provisions nor his son to Hagar to be carried; rather, to carry the supplies and his son and Hagar herself, he provided asses or other pack animals, as well as attendants. . . . Truly, it is impious (nefas est) to believe that he would have sent his wife and his young son out on foot and without provisions.23

Cajetan defends his elaborate reconstruction, insisting that all these details are not made up but are demanded by the literal reading.24 Nonetheless, the entire matter really boils down to a single premise and conclusion: to exile someone without proper supplies amounts to cruelty, if not murder; and since Abraham was a decent man, such brutality on his part is inconceivable. Even if Cajetan's primary concern here was to exonerate Abraham, for us it is Cajetan's humanity which emerges more clearly than Abraham's. Cajetan, too, is a decent man, and he cannot conceive that Hagar and her son should be treated so heartlessly. And so he takes recourse to the exegete's ultimate act of compassion: he emends the text.

II. John Calvin

Calvin, too, had much to say on these texts, but most of it is rather austere and rigorous. He is far less inclined to allow the momentum of the exegetical tradition, whereby Hagar's behavior was often given the benefit of the doubt,25 to continue unchecked. Instead, the signs of Hagar's piety or repentance traditionally found in the text are all treated by Calvin with great suspicion.

It is important to note that, for Calvin, none of the actors in this drama come away untarnished. Sarah is blamed for having instigated Abraham's polygamy,26 and her "womanly jealousy" and intemperance twice make matters at home even worse.27 Abraham displays more equanimity, but even he is upbraided by Calvin for the fickleness of his affection for Hagar.28 Calvin's treatment of Ishmael, however, is especially instructive. Early on in the saga, when God bestows a name on Ishmael, Calvin tips his hand: Ishmael's name and blessing are at most a mark of God's temporal benefits, granted as a mark of "paternal benevolence" towards the house of Abraham,29 and although Calvin makes little or nothing of the fact that Ishmael's name was divinely imposed, he is concerned to state at the outset that Ishmael was a reprobate (reprobum).30 Calvin's judgment thus conditions how he reads the later statement (Gen 21:20) that "God was with the lad." While Cajetan took this verse as a sign of God's blessing, Calvin distinguishes several modes of God's presence:

He is present with his elect, whom he governs by the special grace of his Spirit; he is also sometimes present as respects external life, not only with his elect but also with strangers (extraneis), in granting them some exceptional benediction.31

Clearly, Ishmael was not elect, but an outsider.

The enigmatic episode in which Ishmael "plays" with his younger brother offers a final illustration of Calvin's dismal expectations. The exegetical restraint for which Calvin is justly admired leads him to pass over in silence the more far-fetched interpretations of "play" found in Nicolas of Lyra and the rabbis. Thus, there is no suggestion of idolatry or lasciviousness, and Calvin explicitly denies that Ishmael assaulted his brother physically. Ishmael's offense was purely verbal, consisting merely of malignant derision, contempt, impious mockery, canine and profane laughter, and petulance.32 But this is no trivial or "playful" matter, Calvin warns,33 because what Ishmael insulted in the person of his brother was God himself, God's grace and God's word, as well as the faith of his father.34 Again, Calvin's implication is clear: Ishmael was a blasphemer.

Like son, like mother? Yes: Hagar receives scant praise from Calvin. She is not merely ungrateful but also positively unbridled, not merely "servile" but also of "indomitable ferocity."35 Having imputed these traits, Calvin appraises Hagar's flight not as the momentary lapse of one of God's saints but as the protracted and not entirely successful mollification of a thoroughly defiant woman.36 At the conclusion of her first flight, Calvin narrates that "Hagar, who had always been wild and rebellious, and who had, at length, entirely shaken off the yoke," was finally broken by affliction.37 But even here one must pause, for Calvin was quite willing to entertain that these signs of Hagar's repentance were insincere!

Moses . . . implies that Hagar, after she was admonished by the angel, changed her mind and, being thus subdued, betook herself to prayer; unless, perhaps, it is the confession of the tongue rather than a change of mind which is here denoted. I rather incline, however, to the opinion that Hagar, who had before been of a wild and intractable temper, begins now at last to acknowledge the providence of God.38

Given Calvin's general reluctance to speculate, his skepticism towards Hagar must run deep if he so freely offers this conjecture. In all probability, too, he knows very well how the story will end, namely, with Hagar's backsliding, with her fatal relapse into unbelief.39

If Hagar displays scarcely any true repentance, it is equally the case that Calvin finds little true piety. Her flight from Sarah in Genesis 16 is culpable for many reasons, Calvin states, but not least because it represents a flight from the true church of that day into apostasy.40 Similarly, when Gen 16:11 reports that "the Lord heard [Hagar's] affliction," many commentators assume she had been crying out to God. Calvin points out, however, that "we do not read that Hagar, in her difficulties, had recourse to prayer." More likely, she was stupefied by her despair, and it was sheerly by the unmerited grace of God that she was delivered despite her "sloth and stupor."41 Things are no better the second time around, either. When the water runs out in Gen 21:15, Hagar is once again paralyzed by her grief.42 Indeed, pondering why "God heard the voice of the lad," when it was Hagar who cried out, Calvin gives little credence to the view that Hagar was thereby deemed unworthy of having her prayers answered. Neither mother nor child was worthy, Calvin avers, and it is but "an uncertain conjecture" that either was brought to repentance by this experience. To the contrary, Calvin opines that neither of them prayed in faith or resorted to divine help at all.43

As a final consideration, one may put the person of Hagar out of mind and inquire simply about the justice of the banishment. Calvin is aware, to be sure, that Sarah's plan was harsh. For Abraham, sending his son away was not different from having his bowels torn out.44 And Calvin is not insensitive to the charge of inhumanity.

But with how slender a provision (tenui . . . viatico) does he endow his wife and son? He places a flagon of water and bread upon her shoulder. Why does he not load an ass, at least, with a moderate supply of food? Why does he not add one of his servants, of which his house contained plenty, as a companion?45

Abraham's answer might have been that he did not want Hagar and Ishmael to get too far away, but God's answer, Calvin tells us, is that this extreme punishment is simply the reward of pride and ingratitude. "God willed that the banishment of Ishmael should be so harsh and sorrowful (tam dura et tristis)," he says, "so that his example might strike terror into the proud, who . .. trample under foot the very grace to which they are indebted for all things. Therefore, he led them both to a miserable end."46 Calvin does not blanch before the harshness and severity of this punishment, for Hagar and Ishmael deserved what they got. Nevertheless, while one might fairly label Calvin's exegesis here as also harsh and severe, one cannot so easily characterize it as traditional.47

III. Martin Luther

Calvin, of course, was not the only Protestant to comment on Genesis. Indeed, he himself surely knew and used the massive commentary composed by Martin Luther from 1535 until shortly before his death in 1546.48 If Calvin found fault with everyone in this narrative, Luther seems to find faith and faithfulness, along with nobility tempered by suffering, wherever he turns. There are surprises for Luther's readers, too. We will begin with a brief look at Luther's comments on Genesis 16, then turn to his even more remarkable suggestions about the meaning of Genesis 21.

Many of Luther's comments on Hagar's conception and on her subsequent contempt for Sarah are not at all new. He echoes the traditional observations about the weakness of women (both Sarah and Hagar), Hagar's servile nature, and Hagar's haughtiness and pride.49 Somewhat more originally, Luther opines that Hagar's flight represented her attempt to force Abraham to declare his affection for her and his expected firstborn-a sort of countercoup to revenge herself against Sarah.50 But the plot of Hagar's story was ultimately directed by God, who brought Hagar to repentance. What Hagar had to learn was that her "affliction" (that is, her subordination to Sarah) was not a sign of God's wrath or neglect, however much it felt like that, but rather something pleasing to God. Once Hagar learned to trust God, everything changed; indeed, she became an example for us. As Luther writes, "most of us are like Hagar," not only in displaying pride towards our perceived inferiors but also insofar as we, too, have been led to faith and repentance. The confession of faith whereby Hagar "names" God is, therefore, also "the hymn of the whole church," "a hymn for the instruction of every one of us," and an act of "true worship" on the part of "saintly Hagar."51

Having registered Luther's encomium for Hagar, we may make two further observations on Genesis 16.

First, there is an intriguing relationship between the remarks of Luther and Calvin here. Summarizing the effect of Hagar's angelic visitation, Luther wrote this sentence: "After this revelation, Hagar, who had been rebellious and impatient of the yoke, has become an entirely different person."52 Luther's affirmation of Hagar's repentance here is neither unprecedented nor particularly surprising. What makes this sentence of special interest is partly that it is a rare instance in which one may detect Calvin's verbal dependence on Luther.53 Yet what is surprising is not Luther's traditional position, or even Calvin's tacit use of Luther (we know he used Luther elsewhere in his Commentary on Genesis), but rather the utter contrast between Luther's sympathetic portrait of Hagar and Calvin's far more begrudging account. Calvin clearly likes the cadence and imagery of Luther's text, but, unlike Luther, he really does not like Hagar. Luther sees Hagar's transformation as real and compelling, so his statement here could fittingly be taken as a hallmark of his overall portrait of Hagar. For Calvin, it is at best the highwater mark of his otherwise wary approach to a suspected hypocrite. Indeed, as we will have even more reason to believe in a moment, Calvin's austere approach to Hagar and Ishmael may well constitute his reaction against what he may have perceived as Luther's lapse from literal exegesis into wishful thinking.

A second observation also underscores Luther's fundamental sympathy for Hagar. Luther could not have foreseen how Calvin would use his words, but he assuredly saw how St. Paul might be used to denigrate Hagar after the fact. Luther's response was unyielding:

I certainly conclude that Hagar should be counted among the saintly women. The fact that Paul compares her to Sarah and calls her a maid who has no place in the home is in no wise a hindrance, for in Scripture even the saints frequently symbolize the ungodly.... Thus Hagar, justified and sanctified by the Word of God, symbolizes the ungodly without detriment to herself.54

Luther hereby initiates a rescue effort on behalf of Hagar and Ishmael for which few precedents can be found, and it is all the more marvelous that he rescues them from no less a canonical threat than the Apostle himself.ss Never mind what Paul says, argues Luther: in her own person, Hagar belongs to God.

Luther's account of Hagar's exile in Genesis 21 also begins with some familiar moves: Hagar sinned through pride; Hagar incited Ishmael to covet the primogeniture; Ishmael's mockery was no trivial matter; Abraham bore a misplaced loyalty to Ishmael; Ishmael deserved to be driven out. These are all traditional observations, though for Luther they are merely prolegomena to the point he began to make in chap. 16, namely, that what seems like tragedy and divine abandonment is in fact God's way of teaching people to trust in God alone. This is Luther's well-known doctrine of the Deus absconditus-the God whose presence is far nearer than we expect, albeit revealed only under a humble guise. Accordingly, one may expect Hagar and Ishmael to learn valuable lessons about faith and trust and humility through their exile, and so they do.

What one does not expect, however-at least, not in light of exegetical tradition-is that Luther's sympathy for Hagar could possibly run as deep as it does. His comments take this unexpected turn when he comes to describe the actual eviction of Hagar at Gen 21:14. There Luther introduces a degree of pathos and poignancy which is simply astonishing, and he rings the changes on this theme for nearly twenty pages of the Weimar edition.

This is surely a sad story if you consider it carefully, although Moses relates it very briefly. After Abraham is sure about God's will, he hastens to obey.... He simply sends away his very dear wife, who was the first to make him a father, along with his firstborn son, and gives them nothing but ein sack mit brott, und ein krug mit wasser.... But does it not seem to be cruelty for a mother who is burdened with a child to be sent away so wretchedly, and to an unfamiliar place at that-yes, into a vast and arid desert?56

Luther does not shirk from describing just how barbarous Abraham appears here: "If someone wanted to rant against Abraham at this point, he could make him the murderer of his son and wife.... Who would believe this if Moses had not recorded it?"57 But Abraham is actually no less anguished than Hagar here; within a few pages Luther has everyone in the narrative weeping, and the readers of the text as well.

It is surely a piteous description, which I can hardly read with dry eyes, that the mother and her son bear their expulsion with such patience and go away into exile. Therefore, Father Abraham either stood there with tears in his eyes and followed them with his blessings and prayers as they went away, or he hid himself somewhere in a nook, where he wept in solitude over his own misfortune and that of the exiles.58

"Trial follows upon trial, and tears force out other tears." Nonetheless, Abraham and Sarah are acting not according to their natural feelings but in obedience to the divine command in vv 12-13. And so Abraham and Sarah urged Hagar and Ishmael "to bear this expulsion patiently; for, as they said, it was God's will expressed by a definite word that Ishmael should leave home and . . . wait for God's blessing in another place."59

All this sadness, then, is not without purpose. Hagar and Ishmael were guilty not only of pride but also of presumption-the presumption that Ishmael's being born first automatically gave him sole rights to what God promised Abraham. The purpose of Ishmael's exile, Luther writes, "is to let him know that the kingdom of God is not owed to him by reason of a natural right but comes out of pure grace.... Ishmael and his mother must learn this lesson, since both wanted to proceed against Isaac on the strength of a right."60 Fortunately, Luther thinks, Hagar and Ishmael did learn this lesson, and, having done so, they were changed and rewarded. Indeed, as Luther's commentary proceeds, it seems as though he could not find enough loose ends to tie up by way of recompense to Hagar, her husband, and her son. With respect to her son, Luther argues that "the expulsion does not mean that Ishmael should be utterly excluded from the kingdom of God."61 Indeed, so well did the contrite Ishmael learn to forsake self-reliance that Luther calls him "a true son of the promise."62 More astonishing still, he

undoubtedly developed into a well-informed and learned preacher who, after he had been taught by his own example, preached that God is the God of those who have been humbled.... After Ishmael had become a husband, he [brought] ... his wife and her relatives and parents to the knowledge of God. Among the uncircumcised heathen he established a church like Abraham's church.... God caused him to become great. . . in the word and spiritual gifts; for, says Moses, God was with him.63

Finally, that Ishmael settled nearby, in Paran (21:21), further indicates to Luther "that Ishmael was reconciled with his father Abraham and his church, although his descendants, as usually happens, gradually deteriorated."

Once again, like mother, like son. Here is how Luther describes the transformation of Hagar in Genesis 21:

Because the Word of God is never proclaimed in vain, Hagar, too, is first awakened from death, as it were, by the angel's voice. Then she is enlightened with . . . the Holy Spirit, and from a slave woman she also becomes a mother of the church, who later on instructed her descendants and warned them by her own example not to act proudly.65

But Luther is still not finished. He thinks that after Hagar's chastisement she returned to live not merely near Abraham but with him, "for the opinion of the Jews that Keturah is Hagar pleases me."66 Embracing this bit of rabbinic speculation here means not only that Luther thinks Hagar bore Abraham another six sons (cf. Gen 25:1-2) but also that he wants so much to read a happy ending that he is willing to credit precisely those exegetes on whom he had previously lavished so much contempt.67

All the same, no degree of happiness ceded to Hagar by way of denouement can possibly arrest the attention of the modern reader nearly as much as Luther's account of one other dimension of the trial endured (albeit in somewhat different ways) by both Abraham and Hagar. If it is true that the ending of this story is happier than one would expect, it is equally true for Luther that the trials which preceded the ending were harsher, and the stakes far higher. Luther's depiction of the exile steps beyond the accounts of his predecessors and anticipates a particularly modern anxiety. That Hagar should have to forsake her pride and presumption is understandable, but that she should be driven away from Abraham also suggests for Luther a terror, a trial, and a temptation far more horrible. To leave Abraham was, for Hagar, to leave the church of her day, indeed, to leave the kingdom of God. What else could this mean but that God was abandoning her unto reprobation? In short, why should Hagar not believe that God hated her?68

Having raised this problem, Luther faces it head-on. Truly, it was God's intention to kill Hagar, spiritually, that he might raise her up.69 But here Luther sees Satan at work, too; Satan typically stirs up lies and "very sad thoughts" in the afflicted, and Hagar wandered aimlessly in the desert, having fallen into a deep stupor.70 Consequently, to comfort and correct Hagar a divine remedy was required, namely, an angelic visitation. "And here," writes Luther,

we are also warned about the purpose: it is not because God hates Ishmael and Hagar that he allows them to be cast out so pitifully. That phony explanation is the fabrication of the devil! God's plan is that they should be humbled and should learn to trust in God's grace alone, not in merits or some carnal prestige.71

God did not hate Hagar, Luther proclaims, but all those who have had their faith tested will understand perfectly why she might have thought he did.72

Luther treats Hagar at length, but he is far less concerned with producing technical or literal exegesis than he is with psychologizing the story.73 Luther even seems a bit self-conscious about his prolixity, for when he mentions how sad or tragic or horrible this story is, as he often does, he feels compelled to concede that "the words are few."74 Finally Luther exclaims, perhaps defensively, "I am not inventing these things, but the very situation and Moses' earlier narrative clearly suggest these circumstances."75 The reader cannot avoid the suspicion that Luther's exegesis here is led more by a warm and tender heart than by a calm and cool detachment. Luther's willingness to psychologize and speculate in this story may also be one reason why Calvin's patience wore thin, not only with Luther but with Hagar as well.

IV. Conclusion

Hagar's treatment by these commentators illumines the history of exegesis in an intriguing way, particularly the history of allegorical exegesis, of its meteoric rise and gradual decline. Of all the stories in Scripture, Hagar's alone receives an allegorical interpretation which is canonically approvedlicensed, so to speak, by St. Paul. Christian interpreters after Paul knew only one text of Genesis, and that was the one already glossed and interpreted in a way that did not flatter Hagar or her son. Consequently, to attend at all to the historical dimension of the story in Genesis would require resisting two impulses, both Pauline: first, to read that story solely in terms of its typological significance, and second, to see Hagar and Ishmael solely as villains.

Much of the earliest commentary on Hagar is, in fact, allegorical and pejorative. To be sure, the medieval history of this text discloses how Christian interpreters added to Paul's allegory in ways which favored Hagar and upstaged Galatians, but that remains a story for another time. In any case, the decline of allegory in the sixteenth century produced no automatic consensus; this fact is illustrated by the diverse conclusions reached by Cajetan, Calvin, and Luther, who, despite their many theological differences, were equally proponents of literal exegesis. It was Luther in particular who gave voice to this tension between letter and allegory, between Genesis and Galatians, between Moses and St. Paul. It was also Luther who resolved it, by deliberately setting the Pauline allegory aside simply as a truth of a different category. In other words, what Paul said Hagar symbolizes or prefigures has no bearing on what she really is or was. In theory, at least, the letter of any text of Scripture always had a certain priority over its figurative meanings, but Luther gave the historical Hagar additional and needed relief from reduction to a mere palimpsest inscribed with the words of St. Paul.

Of course, as Calvin illustrates especially well, not all agreed in their assessments of Hagar; nor, for that matter, did they agree in their estimation of Abraham or Sarah. But Calvin's vigorous dissent is a complicated matter. What were his motives for such hostility towards Hagar and her son? One might venture that his commitment to St. Paul simply overcame all else. If so, then Calvin's position was truly reactionary, insofar as he knew the traditional, ameliorating views of Hagar but chose to ignore them. Indeed, Calvin seems to go beyond Paul: Ishmael's crime was less his ridicule of Isaac than his contempt for the Word of God.'6 Is there a measure of misogynism in Calvin here? Again, the question is complicated. As noted earlier, Calvin was harder on all the figures of the Old Testament, male or female, than his contemporaries were, and he offered no particular distinction between Ishmael's flaws and those of his mother. Moreover, in other contexts Calvin may be seen as marginally more progressive than many of his contemporaries with respect to women.77

In my judgment, anyone attempting to uncover Calvin's agenda for Hagar would do better to attend to the subtle ways in which he reproved the fanciful speculations of his predecessors by invoking the simplicity and austerity of the letter. Admittedly, Calvin was aware not only of conjectures such as Cajetan's and Luther's, which (he thought) exaggerated Hagar's repentance, but also of rabbinic speculations which exaggerated her criminality.'8 However, it seems likely that Calvin was far more threatened, or perhaps simply embarrassed, by the excesses of those such as Luther whom he considered his colleagues in a Reformation ostensibly founded not on midrash but on sola scriptura.

It will be obvious to today's readers that none of these premodern commentators undertakes a systematic critique of androcentrism or of patriarchal exegesis, or shows much awareness of the constraints imposed by social location, or has a mechanism fostering self-criticism at the level of textual commentary. But it is not to be overlooked that these commentators do indwell an ideology (for want of a better term) imbued with a commitment to human dignity, irrespective of gender. To be sure, their commentaries are full of patronizing comments like the commonplace slurs against Hagar's "servile" and "womanish" behavior, but with Cajetan, Luther, and many others, these slurs inevitably gave way to expression of more fundamental human values which might be voiced as astonishment at Abraham's apparent stinginess or as compassion for a mother's tears. Clearly, no matter how strongly the stereotypes of gender, class, race, and religion-as well as the allegorical stereotypes-tended to reduce Hagar to a cipher or a scapegoat, few interpreters were so thoroughly "made of stone" that they were unmoved by her personal sufferings. Luther may be in a class by himself here, but "saintly Hagar" was a model of piety, faith, and endurance for many others as well.

One need not be an avowed feminist to care about Hagar and how she was treated. (One also needs no historical expertise to do so!) What is essential, however, is that one have the ability to empathize and to see oneself in her. As Luther said, "Most of us are like Hagar." Patriarchy may well be oppressive and tiresome, but it is not necessarily a bar to compassion or humanity.79

At the same time, one must observe that no matter how well commentators such as Cajetan and Luther could see themselves in Hagar, and no matter how willing they were to criticize the behavior of Abraham, they did not see themselves in a position to find fault with God. True, they did recognize Abraham's apparent cruelty and Hagar's consequent suffering as deeply serious matters, and they did not minimize the implications for the divine character, but they had no eyes for seeing Scripture as the product or advocate of a covert ideology. They approached Scripture not with suspicion but with charity; far from doubting providence, they gave providence the benefit of any doubt. This is one rift between premodern commentators and today's critics which is not easily bridged, and in the story of Hagar many today find God characterized as the tyrant who sanctioned Hagar's mistreatment and who is as abusive, therefore, as Abraham seemed.

In all fairness, these earlier exegetes must be given credit for at least perceiving the problem, albeit on their own terms. Luther argued that real faith is routinely tested by trials which seem to be exactly like divinely sanctioned abuse. A similar point was made by many others, both Christians and Jews, who saw their own trials of faith in Hagar. But for these commentators, however scandalous God's acts might seem, God remained God. Far better that Hagar should suffer-and, given similar circumstances, far better that we should suffer as faithfully as she did-than that she should join in rebellion against the Deus absconditus. In our own day, of course, we have learned how such words can be preached so as to anesthetize the oppressed, but Luther and his colleagues were almost certainly preaching to themselves, for they asked of Hagar no obedience or submission, however painful, that they themselves did not also pledge.

It is beyond question that feminist and womanist biblical criticism has done well to draw attention to the overlooked characters in the biblical narrative. As a result, modern readers have discovered new dimensions of these stories and have been forced to grapple with the meaning of the text -and with the sadness of the text-in a new way. Moreover, we have been reminded, in the words of Renita Weems, that "women. . . are not an afterthought to salvation."80 Granted that commentators such as Cajetan, Calvin, and Luther often committed the sin of treating women as an afterthought, these writers also show some encouraging inconsistencies which ought to be welcomed as both helpful and challenging. When Luther proclaims Hagar to be a "mother of the church," he offers but one example among many of the way in which premodern and allegedly precritical interpreters may provide significant precedents for a more compassionate and less androcentric reading of stories such as Hagar's.81

1 The date, of course, is both arguable a d arbitrary, but I am taking Phyllis Bird's essay ("Images of Women in the Old Testament," Religion and Sexism: Images of Woman in the Jewish and Christian Traditions [ed. Rosemary Radford Ruether; New York: Simon & Schuster, 1974] 41-88) as a milestone of sorts.

2 Phyllis Trible, Texts of Terror: Literary -Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives (OBT 18; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984); see also ead m, God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality (OBT 2; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978). In a recent cove story, Cullen Murphy ("Women and the Bible," The Atlantic Monthly, August 1993, 48) under ored Trible's influence, observing that these two books "would appear in anyone's canon of fe inist biblical studies." 3 Delores S. Williams (Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk [Maryknoll: Orbis, 1993] 245 n. 2) lists a dozen examples of Hagar's use as a positive exemplar in African-American art and literature. Hagar 's role in other modern literature is summarized

by David Lyle Jeffrey in A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), s.v. "Hagar."

4 The significance of Hagar for feminist and womanist criticism is widely discussed. See, for example, Alice Ogden Bellis, Helpmates, Harlots, and Heroes: Women's Stories in the Hebrew Bible (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox,1994) 74-79; Katheryn Pfisterer Darr, Far More Precious than Jewels: Perspectives on Biblical Women (Gender and the Biblical Tradition; Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1991) 132-63; J. Cheryl Exum, Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives (Valley Forge, PA: Trinity International, 1993) esp. 130-47; Cynthia Gordon, "Hagar: A Throw-away Character among the Matriarchs?" SBI,SP 1985, 271-77; Jo Ann Hackett, "Rehabilitating Hagar: Fragments of an Epic Pattern," Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel (ed. Peggy L. Day; Philadelphia: Fortress,1989) 12-27; Sharon Pace Jeansonne, The Women of Genesis: From Sarah to Potiphar's Wife (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1990) 43-52; Alice L. Laffey, An Introduction to the Old Testament: A Feminist Perspective (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1988) 33-41; Susan Niditch, "Genesis," The Women's Bible Commentary (ed. Carol A. Newsom and Sharon H. Ringe; Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1992) 17-18; Elsa Tamez, "The Woman Who Complicated the History of Salvation," New Eyes for Reading: Biblical and Theological Reflections by Women from the Third World (ed. John S. Pobee and Barbel von Wartenberg-Potter; Geneva: World Council of Churches, 1986) 5-17; Savina J. Teubal, Hagar the Egyptian: The Lost Tradition of the Matriarchs (New York: HarperCollins, 1990); John W Waters, "Who Was Hagar?" Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation (ed. Cain Hope Felder; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991) 187-205; Renita J. Weems, "A Mistress, a Maid, and No Mercy: Hagar and Sarah," Just a Sister Away: A Womanist Vision of Women's Relationships in the Bible (San Diego: LuraMedia, 1988) 1-19; Williams, Sisters in the Wilderness, 1-33. See also Alicia Suskin Ostriker, The Nakedness of the Fathers: Biblical Visions and Revisions (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1994) 67-74; Elie Wiesel, "Ishmael and Hagar," The Life of Covenant: The Challenge of Contemporary Judaism (Festschrift Herman E. Schaalman; ed. Joseph A. Edelheit; Chicago: Spertus College of Judaica Press, 1986) 235-49.

5 These observations are all drawn from Trible, Texts of Terror, 14-18. 6 Ibid., 9.

7 Some scholars see Hagar's story as a doublet, that is, as two versions of a single event; see, for example, John Skinner, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Genesis (ICC; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1930) 285.

8 This viewpoint is often noted. See, for example, Bellis, Helpmates, 76-77; Darr, Far More Precious than Jewels, 139; Trible, Texts of Terror, 8, 22, 28; Waters, "Who Was Hagar?" 190, 200; and Williams, Sisters in the Wilderness, 29. Tamez ("Woman Who Complicated," 14) offers a feminista countertreatment.

9 This indictment is made both generally, as in Jeansonne's opening lines (Women of Genesis, 1), but also specifically, as in the apparent irritation of Darr (Far More Precious than Jewels, 140) with Gerhard von Rad's favoring of Ishmael against his mother, or in Trible's observation (Texts of Terror, 31 n. 19) of similar bias in Bruce Vawter's treatment of Abraham and Sarah.

'a These particular representatives of the three traditions are only three of many commentators whom I have studied on Hagar. I intend to show elsewhere some of the remarkable antecedents of Reformation exegesis which are to be found not only in Christian sources from the patristic period and the Middle Ages but also in Philo and in medieval rabbinic literature. " For Cajetan's method, see A. F von Gunten, "La contribution des 'H6breux' a l'oeuvre exegetique de Caj6tan," Histoire de l'exegese au X VIe siecle (Etudes de philologie et d'histoire 34; ed. Olivier Fatio; Geneva: Droz, 1978) 46-83; Thomas Aquinas Collins, "Cardinal Cajetan's Fundamental Biblical Principles," CBQ 17 (1953) 363-78. On the opposition to Cajetan's exegesis, see Thomas Aquinas Collins, "The Cajetan Controversy," AER 128 (1953) 90-100. Luther's passing remark was that "Cajetan, in his later days, has become Lutheran" (WA Tischreden 2. 596.14, cited by Jared Wicks, Cajetan Responds: A Reader in Reformation Controversy [Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1978] 36). For the Genevan point of view, see Alexandre Ganoczy, La Bibliotheque de ! Academie de Calvin: Le catalogue de 1572 et ses enseignements (Etudes de philologie et d'histoire 13; Geneva: Droz, 1969) 95-97, 184-86. 2 These comments emerge in the course of Cajetan's treatment of Gen 16:8 and Gen 21:15; see his Commentarii illustres . . in Quinque Mosaicos libros, henceforth: Comm. Gen. (Paris: Guillaume Bossozel, 1539) 80, 99.

3 Cajetan, Comm. Gen. 16:7 (p. 80): "curam etiam mulierculae exerce." 4 Ibid., 16:10 (p. 80). is Ibid., 16:11 (p. 81). 16 Ibid., 16:11,13 (p. 81).

" Ibid., 16:11 (p. 81). The last sentence reads, in part, "ut ex diuina gratia gratis data nullus glorietur, nullus laudetur, nullus speretur bonus."

Is See Nicolas of Lyra, Biblia Sacra cvm Glossis, Interlineari & Ordinaria, Nicolai Lyrani Postilla & Moralitatibus, Burgensis Additionibus, & Thoringi Replicis (6 vols.; Lyons: Antoine Vincent, 1545) fol. 67r, on Gen 16:7; and Denis the Carthusian, Enarratio in Genesim, Doctoris Ecstatici D. Dionysii Cartusiani Opera Omnia (42 vols.; Monstrol: Cartusiae S. M. de Pratis, 1896-1913) 1. 238, on Gen 16:11, where he also speaks of gratia gratis data. On Cajetan's use of sources, particularly of medieval Hebrew commentaries, see von Gunten, "La contribution des 'Hebreux," 64-71.

19 Cajetan, Comm. Gen. 21:11 (p. 98): "[Sarah's] command was quite evil in the eyes of Abraham on account of his son. It seemed unfair and cruel (iniquum atque crudele) to eject his son and firstborn with no compelling guilt on his son's part." 2 Ibid., 21:20 (p. 100): "Hinc apparet nugas esse quod ismahel exercuerit latrocinia. Si enim Deus quatenus iudex erat cum puero, longe erat a latrocins. 2 Ibid., 21:15 (p. 99): "Nefarium siquidem est cogitate quod tam pia mater adderet afflictionem afflicto filio proprio unigenito."

22 Ibid., 21:21 (p. 100): "Naturali amore unusquisque af&citur nationi suae." 23 Ibid., 21:14 (p. 99). Cajetan may have drawn some of the motifs here from the rabbis (e.g., Abraham Ibn Ezra or Nachmanides), or even from Rupert of Deutz, but the lengthy development seems to be all his own. On the following page, at Gen 21:20, Cajetan discovers that Abraham also had the foresight to send along a tent!

24 Ibid.: "The literal sense here is not false (fctus) but to be inferred (insinuatus), first, from the decency of Abraham; next, from the sex and condition of Hagar, who was, after all, his wife; then, from the age of his own son; and last, from the `bread,' that is, from the provisions to be carried. Indeed, all these things together indicate that pack animals and, consequently,

servants and all the other necessities were needed for these things. Surely Abraham did not treat Ishmael worse than the other sons whom he later begot from his concubine, on whom he lavished rewards." For Cajetan on Keturah, see ibid., 25:1 (p. llO). zs Among representative exegetes here are Chrysostom, Isidore, Bede, Raban Maur, the author of the Glossa Ordinaria, and several of Calvin's Reformed and Lutheran contemporaries. Calvin's own Commentary on Genesis (= Comm. Gen.) was published in 1554. I have cited the Latin text found in Ioannis Calvini Opera quae supersunt omnia 23 (Corpus Reformatorum 51; Brunswick: C. A. Schwetschke and Sons, 1882), henceforth: CO 23. English translations are from Commentaries on the First Book of Moses, Called Genesis, by John Calvin (tr. John King; 2 vols.; Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1847-50), henceforth: CTS, altered as needed. 26 Calvin, Comm. Gen. 16:4 (CO 23. 225; CTS 1. 427): "Praecipua quidem culpa penes Sarai residebat."

Ibid., 16:1; 16:6; 21:10 (CO 23. 223, 226, 301; CTS 1. 423, 430, 543). Ibid., 16:6 (CO 23. 226; CTS 1. 428-29): "sibi placet in stulta audacia." Ibid., 16:11 (CO 23. 229; CTS 1. 433).

Ibid.

Ibid., 21:20 (CO 23. 305; CTS 1. 551). For Cajetan, see n. 20 above. 3 All this language is found in Calvin, Comm. Gen. 21:9 (CO 23. 300-301; CTS 1. 542-43): "maligno subsannatio . . contempsit. . . impius illusor . . . canino suo risu et profano" and "petulantiam."

33 Ibid., 21:8 (CO 23. 299; CTS 1. 541): "Videtur quidem hoc primo adspectu esse frivolum.... Et certe si personas reputamus, statuemus non fuisse rem lusoriam." 34Ibid., 21:9 (CO 23. 300-301; CTS 1. 543).

35 Ibid., 16:6 (CO 23. 227; CTS 1. 430): "Servilis igitur ingen mulier, et indomitae ferocia."

36 It is not easy to tell whether, or how, Calvin considers Hagar to belong to God. In Gen 16:7, the angel's "discovery" of Hagar displays God's undeserved clemency towards "his own" (suis); but in Gen 16:11, Hagar is part of a group of "unbelievers" (incredulos; see also

n. 41 below) which is contrasted to "the Lord's own" (suorum). Cf. CO 23. 227, 229 (CTS 1. 430, 434).

37 Calvin, Comm. Gen. 16:14 (CO 23. 232; CTS 1. 438); see the Latin text in n. 53 below. 38 Ibid., 16:13 (CO 23. 230, CTS 1. 435), emphasis mine. 39 Ibid., 21:17 (CO 23. 304-5; CTS 1. 549), where Calvin remarks that "the angel reproves the ingratitude of Hagar because when she is reduced to the greatest straits, she does not reflect on God's former kindness toward her in similar danger." Modem commentators, one may recall, often see Hagar's two desert excursions as a doublet.

40 Ibid., 16:9 (CO 23. 228; CTS 1. 432): "It might also be that [the angel] censured her departure from that house which was then the earthly sanctuary of God, for she was not ignorant that God was there worshiped in a peculiar manner."

41 Ibid., 16:11 (CO 23. 229; CTS 1. 433-34), where Calvin's words are generalized: "socordes et stupidos." Later on, at 16:13 (CO 23. 231; CTS 1. 437), he further indicts her "torpor and "shameful blindness."

42 Ibid., 21:17 (CO 23. 305; CTS 1. 550).

n Ibid. (CO 23. 304; CTS 1. 549).

44 Ibid., 21:14 (CO 23. 303; CTS 1. 547): "Filium ergo ablegat, non secus ac si sua ipsius viscera avelleret."

45 Ibid. (CO 23. 304; CTS 1. 548). The passage is remarkably redolent of Cajetan (above, n. 23). Of course, both may be inspired by a rabbinic source, but the reference to "asses" is peculiar, found only in Raban Maur, then (later on) in Rabbi Obadiah ben Jacob Sfomo (14751550) and in Peter Martyr Vermigli.

46 Ibid.

" This is also my conclusion from studies of Calvin's portrayal of other patriarchs. See John L. Thompson, "Patriarchs, Polygamy, and Private Resistance: John Calvin and Others on Breaking God's Rules," Sixteenth Century Journal 25 (1994) 3-27.

' In the Weimar edition ("Weimar Ausgabe," = WA), the Latin text of Luther's In Primum Librum Mose Enarrationes (= Comm. Gen.) is found in vols. 42-44. English translations

are those of the American edition, Luther's Works 1-8: Lectures on Genesis (ed. Jaroslav Pelikan; St. Louis: Concordia, 1958-66), henceforth: LW, occasionally altered.

49 See Luther, Comm. Gen. 16:4-5 (WA 42. 582, 585-86; LW 3. 47, 52-53). Luther's memorable closing comment on v 4 is that Hagar was "as proud as a louse on a scabby head." ' Ibid., 16:6 (WA 42. 590; LW 3. 59). Luther is further remarkable in his suggestion that Abraham and Sarah, having repented of their respective contributions to Hagar's flight, "undoubtedly prayed for Hagar after she had fallen into such a serious sin.... Those who were saintly and without guilt bear the consciousness of sin." See ibid., 16:7-9 (WA 42. 591-92; LW 3. 61).

Ibid., 16:13-14 (WA 42. 599-601; LW 3. 71-74). Ibid.,16:15-16 (WA 42. 601; LW 3. 74).

53 Note the following similarities (Underlined):

Vides rebellem Hagar et impatientem iug post Agar quae semper ferox et rebellis fuerat, tunc revelationem hanc prorsus aliam factam. vero prorsus excusserat iugum, nunc alia pror(Luther, as cited in the previous note) sus apparet, postquam malis fracta fuit cordis eius durities. (Calvin, as cited in n. 37 above)

5 Luther, Comm. Gen. 16:13-14 (WA 42. 598-99; LW 3. 70); examples of such saints who "symbolize the ungodly" include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Christ, and "the entire church."

ss Luther's ability to bracket Galatians 4 is signaled also at Comm. Gen. 16:6 (WA 42. 589-90; LW 3. 58), where he notes that the verb "to humble, afflict" (Hagar) is applied to Christ in Zech 9:9 and to Moses in Num 12:3.

5 Luther, Comm. Gen. 21:14 (WA 43. 161; cf. LW 4. 36). Luther's lapse from Latin into German ("a sack of bread and a jug of water") is surely meant to emphasize the paucity of supplies.

57 Ibid., 21:15-16 (WA 43. 164; LW 4. 40-41).

58Ibid. (WA 43. 168; LW 4. 46). In Luther's comments on Gen 21:14, he variously (but expressly) names every member of the household as a person weeping; see WA 43. 161-64 (LW 4. 37-40).

59Ibid., 21:14 (WA 43. 162; LW 4. 38). 6 Ibid., 21:15-16 (WA 43. 166; LW 4. 42). 6 Ibid. (WA 43. 165; LW 4. 42). 62 Ibid., 21:17 (WA 43. 176; LW 4. 56).

6 Ibid., 21:20-21 (WA 43. 186; LW 4. 69). Cf. 21:15-16 (WA 43. 166-67; LW 4. 43-44), where Luther also addresses the faith of Ishmael's descendants as well as the conversion of the Canaanites.

s4 Ibid., 21:20-21 (WA 43. 186; LW 4. 71).

65 Ibid., 21:17 (WA 43. 177; LW 4. 58). 66Ibid 21:15-16 (WA 43. 166; LW 4. 43).

67 Luther makes many anti-Jewish asides in this context, but for those which pertain especially to exegesis, see WA 42. 594, 596-97, 599400; 43. 144 (LW 3.64,67-69, 70-73; 4.12-13). ' A similar question is raised by Trible, Texts of Terror, 25-28. 69 Or, in the words of LW 4. 59, "He wanted to crush you" ("Mortificare vos voluit," WA 43. 177.32).

70m Luther, Comm. Gen. 21:15-16 (WA 43. 169; LW 4. 47-48).

7' Ibid., 21:17 (WA 43. 178.2-7): "Atque hic etiam de finali causa admonemur, non quia Deus Ismaelem et Hagar oderit, ideo sic miserabiliter eos sinit eci. Hanc falsam causam Leviathan adfingit, Dei consilium est, ut humilientur, et discant confidere in sola Dei gratia: non in meritis aut dignitate aliqua carnali."

72 God imposed a similar course of renunciation and mortification on Abraham, and Luther explicitly likens the effect of Hagar's banishment on Abraham to the near sacrifice of Isaac in Genesis 22; see Comm. Gen. 21:15-16 (WA 43. 168; LW 4. 45). But it is clear that both Hagar and Ishmael also endured a crisis of faith no less dramatic than the one which Kierkegaard, in his Fear and Trembling, attributes to Abraham.

" This is not to say that Luther ignores the traditional grammatical and historical problems. Many of them are, in fact, treated in passing; others are pressed into service on behalf of his broader reading of the text. The statements in Gen 21:20-21 (discussed above) that "God was with" Ishmael, that he dwelt in Paran, and even that he obeyed his mother in choosing a wife, are all evidence of Ishmael's ultimate godliness. The problematic shift from "Hagar lifted up her voice" (21:16) to "God heard the lad" (21:17) is nicely resolved by Luther in Hagar's favor by reading the latter phrase as part of the angel's proclamation to Hagar. Thus her greatest cause for anxiety-Ishmael's impending death-is alleviated. See WA 43. 181 (LW 4. 63-64).

7 See WA 43. 161.25, 162.17, 162.31-32, 164.24-25; 167.41-42. Comm. Gen. 21:14 (WA 43. 162.31-32, LW 4. 38) is especially moving: "If Moses had wanted to record everything as it happened, he would have needed a large volume for this one account, for who could describe the tears and sighs of the mother as well as of the son?"

75 Luther, Comm. Gen. 21:14 (WA 43. 163.1-3; LW 4. 38): "Haec non adfingo ego, sed ipsae circumstantiae, et Mosi superior narratio has circumstantias clare adferunt, quam enim pius et etiam in hostes clemens et misericors fuerit Abraham, Sodomitarum historia docet One wonders whether there is a trace of Cajetan here.

76 Calvin, Comm. Gen. 21:8-9 (CO 23. 299, 301-2; CTS 1. 541, 543). 7 See Jane Dempsey Douglass, Women, Freedom, and Calvin (Annie Kinkead Warfield Lectures 1983; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1985); and John L. Thompson, John Calvin and the Daughters of Sarah: Women in Regular and Exceptional Roles in the Exegesis of Calvin, His Predecessors, and His Contemporaries (Travaux d'humanisme et renaissance 259; Geneva: Droz, 1992). See also n. 47 above.

78 For a typical comment, see Calvin's remark referred to at n. 43, above. Calvin frequently cites the arguments of the "Hebrews" and the "Jews." At Gen 21:7 (CO 23. 299), he dismisses a "fable of the Jews" which is traceable to Rashi and, beyond that, to Genesis Rabbah.

' Stephen Ozment ( When Fathers Ruled: Family life in Reformation Europe [Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1983D has argued this case well, though not without controversy.

80 Weems, Just a Sister Away, ix. 81 Research for this essay was made possible by a grant from the Pew Evangelical Scholars Program.

JOHN L. THOMPSON Fuller Theological Seminary Pasadena, CA 91182

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Abraham, Sarah and Isaac: Genesis 21:1-24:67

Genesis 21

The Birth of Isaac


1Then the LORD did exactly what he had promised. 2Sarah became pregnant, and she gave a son to Abraham in his old age. It all happened at the time God had said it would. 3And Abraham named his son Isaac.[a] 4Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded. 5Abraham was one hundred years old at the time.
6And Sarah declared, "God has brought me laughter! All who hear about this will laugh with me. 7For who would have dreamed that I would ever have a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!"



Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away


8As time went by and Isaac grew and was weaned, Abraham gave a big party to celebrate the happy occasion. 9But Sarah saw Ishmael--the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar--making fun of Isaac. 10So she turned to Abraham and demanded, "Get rid of that servant and her son. He is not going to share the family inheritance with my son, Isaac. I won't have it!"
11This upset Abraham very much because Ishmael was his son. 12But God told Abraham, "Do not be upset over the boy and your servant wife. Do just as Sarah says, for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted. 13But I will make a nation of the descendants of Hagar's son because he also is your son."

14So Abraham got up early the next morning, prepared food for the journey, and strapped a container of water to Hagar's shoulders. He sent her away with their son, and she walked out into the wilderness of Beersheba, wandering aimlessly. 15When the water was gone, she left the boy in the shade of a bush. 16Then she went and sat down by herself about a hundred yards[b] away. "I don't want to watch the boy die," she said, as she burst into tears.

17Then God heard the boy's cries, and the angel of God called to Hagar from the sky, "Hagar, what's wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy's cries from the place where you laid him. 18Go to him and comfort him, for I will make a great nation from his descendants."

19Then God opened Hagar's eyes, and she saw a well. She immediately filled her water container and gave the boy a drink. 20And God was with the boy as he grew up in the wilderness of Paran. He became an expert archer, 21and his mother arranged a marriage for him with a young woman from Egypt.



A Treaty with Abimelech


22About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. "It is clear that God helps you in everything you do," Abimelech said. 23"Swear to me in God's name that you won't deceive me, my children, or my grandchildren. I have been loyal to you, so now swear that you will be loyal to me and to this country in which you are living."
24Abraham replied, "All right, I swear to it!" 25Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech's servants had taken violently from Abraham's servants.

26"This is the first I've heard of it," Abimelech said. "And I have no idea who is responsible. Why didn't you say something about this before?" 27Then Abraham gave sheep and oxen to Abimelech, and they made a treaty. 28But when Abraham took seven additional ewe lambs and set them off by themselves, 29Abimelech asked, "Why are you doing that?"

30Abraham replied, "They are my gift to you as a public confirmation that I dug this well." 31So ever since, that place has been known as Beersheba--"well of the oath"--because that was where they had sworn an oath. 32After making their covenant, Abimelech left with Phicol, the commander of his army, and they returned home to the land of the Philistines. 33Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and he worshiped the LORD, the Eternal God, at that place. 34And Abraham lived in Philistine country for a long time.



Footnotes:

Genesis 21:3 Isaac means "he laughs."
Genesis 21:16 Hebrew a bowshot.



Genesis 22


Abrahams Obedience Tested

1Later on God tested Abraham's faith and obedience. "Abraham!" God called.
"Yes," he replied. "Here I am."

2"Take your son, your only son--yes, Isaac, whom you love so much--and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you."

3The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son Isaac. Then he chopped wood to build a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place where God had told him to go. 4On the third day of the journey, Abraham saw the place in the distance. 5"Stay here with the donkey," Abraham told the young men. "The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back."

6Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried the knife and the fire. As the two of them went on together, 7Isaac said, "Father?"

"Yes, my son," Abraham replied.

"We have the wood and the fire," said the boy, "but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?"

8"God will provide a lamb, my son," Abraham answered. And they both went on together.

9When they arrived at the place where God had told Abraham to go, he built an altar and placed the wood on it. Then he tied Isaac up and laid him on the altar over the wood. 10And Abraham took the knife and lifted it up to kill his son as a sacrifice to the LORD. 11At that moment the angel of the LORD shouted to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"

"Yes," he answered. "I'm listening."

12"Lay down the knife," the angel said. "Do not hurt the boy in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld even your beloved son from me."

13Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering on the altar in place of his son. 14Abraham named the place "The LORD Will Provide."[a] This name has now become a proverb: "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

15Then the angel of the LORD called again to Abraham from heaven, 16"This is what the LORD says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your beloved son, I swear by my own self that 17I will bless you richly. I will multiply your descendants into countless millions, like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. They will conquer their enemies, 18and through your descendants,[b] all the nations of the earth will be blessed--all because you have obeyed me." 19Then they returned to Abraham's young men and traveled home again to Beersheba, where Abraham lived for quite some time.

20Soon after this, Abraham heard that Milcah, his brother Nahor's wife, had borne Nahor eight sons. 21The oldest was named Uz, the next oldest was Buz, followed by Kemuel (the father of Aram), 22Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. 23Bethuel became the father of Rebekah. 24In addition to his eight sons from Milcah, Nahor had four other children from his concubine Reumah. Their names were Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.



Footnotes:

Genesis 22:14 Hebrew Yahweh Yir'eh.
Genesis 22:18 Hebrew seed.


Genesis 23

The Burial of Sarah


1When Sarah was 127 years old, 2she died at Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron) in the land of Canaan. There Abraham mourned and wept for her. 3Then, leaving her body, he went to the Hittite elders and said, 4"Here I am, a stranger in a foreign land, with no place to bury my wife. Please let me have a piece of land for a burial plot."
5The Hittites replied to Abraham, 6"Certainly, for you are an honored prince among us. It will be a privilege to have you choose the finest of our tombs so you can bury her there."

7Then Abraham bowed low before them and said, 8"Since this is how you feel, be so kind as to ask Ephron son of Zohar 9to let me have the cave of Machpelah, down at the end of his field. I want to pay the full price, of course, whatever is publicly agreed upon, so I may have a permanent burial place for my family."

10Ephron was sitting there among the others, and he answered Abraham as the others listened, speaking publicly before all the elders of the town. 11"No, sir," he said to Abraham, "please listen to me. I will give you the cave and the field. Here in the presence of my people, I give it to you. Go and bury your dead."

12Abraham bowed again to the people of the land, 13and he replied to Ephron as everyone listened. "No, listen to me," he insisted. "I will buy it from you. Let me pay the full price for the field so I can bury my dead there."

14"Well," Ephron answered, 15"the land is worth four hundred pieces[a] of silver, but what is that between friends? Go ahead and bury your dead."

16So Abraham paid Ephron the amount he had suggested, four hundred pieces of silver, as was publicly agreed. 17He bought the plot of land belonging to Ephron at Machpelah, near Mamre. This included the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees nearby. 18They became Abraham's permanent possession by the agreement made in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city gate. 19So Abraham buried Sarah there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, which is at Hebron. 20The field and the cave were sold to Abraham by the Hittites as a permanent burial place.



Footnotes:

Genesis 23:15 Hebrew 400 shekels, about 10 pounds or 4.6 kilograms in weight; also in 23:16.


Genesis 24

Isaac Marries Rebekah


1Abraham was now a very old man, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. 2One day Abraham said to the man in charge of his household, who was his oldest servant, 3"Swear[a] by the LORD, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not let my son marry one of these local Canaanite women. 4Go instead to my homeland, to my relatives, and find a wife there for my son Isaac."
5The servant asked, "But suppose I can't find a young woman who will travel so far from home? May I then take Isaac there to live among your relatives?"

6"No!" Abraham warned. "Be careful never to take my son there. 7For the LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my offspring.[b] He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a young woman there to be my son's wife. 8If she is unwilling to come back with you, then you are free from this oath. But under no circumstances are you to take my son there."

9So the servant took a solemn oath[c] that he would follow Abraham's instructions. 10He loaded ten of Abraham's camels with gifts and set out, taking with him the best of everything his master owned. He traveled to Aram-naharaim[d] and went to the village where Abraham's brother Nahor had settled. 11There the servant made the camels kneel down beside a well just outside the village. It was evening, and the women were coming out to draw water.

12"O LORD, God of my master," he prayed. "Give me success and show kindness to my master, Abraham. Help me to accomplish the purpose of my journey. 13See, here I am, standing beside this spring, and the young women of the village are coming out to draw water. 14This is my request. I will ask one of them for a drink. If she says, `Yes, certainly, and I will water your camels, too!'--let her be the one you have appointed as Isaac's wife. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."

15As he was still praying, a young woman named Rebekah arrived with a water jug on her shoulder. Her father was Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham's brother Nahor and his wife, Milcah. 16Now Rebekah was very beautiful, and she was a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came up again. 17Running over to her, the servant asked, "Please give me a drink."

18"Certainly, sir," she said, and she quickly lowered the jug for him to drink. 19When he had finished, she said, "I'll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough!" 20So she quickly emptied the jug into the watering trough and ran down to the well again. She kept carrying water to the camels until they had finished drinking. 21The servant watched her in silence, wondering whether or not she was the one the LORD intended him to meet. 22Then at last, when the camels had finished drinking, he gave her a gold ring for her nose and two large gold bracelets[e] for her wrists.

23"Whose daughter are you?" he asked. "Would your father have any room to put us up for the night?"

24"My father is Bethuel," she replied. "My grandparents are Nahor and Milcah. 25Yes, we have plenty of straw and food for the camels, and we have a room for guests."

26The man fell down to the ground and worshiped the LORD. 27"Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master, Abraham," he said. "The LORD has been so kind and faithful to Abraham, for he has led me straight to my master's relatives."

28The young woman ran home to tell her family about all that had happened. 29Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban. 30When he saw the nose-ring and the bracelets on his sister's wrists, and when he heard her story, he rushed out to the spring, where the man was still standing beside his camels. Laban said to him, 31"Come and stay with us, you who are blessed by the LORD. Why do you stand here outside the village when we have a room all ready for you and a place prepared for the camels!"

32So the man went home with Laban, and Laban unloaded the camels, gave him straw to bed them down, fed them, and provided water for the camel drivers to wash their feet. 33Then supper was served. But Abraham's servant said, "I don't want to eat until I have told you why I have come."

"All right," Laban said, "tell us your mission."

34"I am Abraham's servant," he explained. 35"And the LORD has blessed my master richly; he has become a great man. The LORD has given him flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, a fortune in silver and gold, and many servants and camels and donkeys. 36When Sarah, my master's wife, was very old, she gave birth to my master's son, and my master has given him everything he owns. 37And my master made me swear that I would not let Isaac marry one of the local Canaanite women. 38Instead, I was to come to his relatives here in this far-off land, to his father's home. I was told to bring back a young woman from here to marry his son.

39" `But suppose I can't find a young woman willing to come back with me?' I asked him. 40`You will,' he told me, `for the LORD, in whose presence I have walked, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful. Yes, you must get a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father's family. 41But if you go to my relatives and they refuse to let her come, you will be free from your oath.'

42"So this afternoon when I came to the spring I prayed this prayer: `O LORD, the God of my master, Abraham, if you are planning to make my mission a success, please guide me in a special way. 43Here I am, standing beside this spring. I will say to some young woman who comes to draw water, "Please give me a drink of water!" 44And she will reply, "Certainly! And I'll water your camels, too!" LORD, let her be the one you have selected to be the wife of my master's son.'

45"Before I had finished praying these words, I saw Rebekah coming along with her water jug on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water and filled the jug. So I said to her, `Please give me a drink.' 46She quickly lowered the jug from her shoulder so I could drink, and she said, `Certainly, sir, and I will water your camels, too!' And she did. 47When I asked her whose daughter she was, she told me, `My father is Bethuel, the son of Nahor and his wife, Milcah.' So I gave her the ring and the bracelets.

48"Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD. I praised the LORD, the God of my master, Abraham, because he had led me along the right path to find a wife from the family of my master's relatives. 49So tell me--will you or won't you show true kindness to my master? When you tell me, then I'll know what my next step should be, whether to move this way or that."

50Then Laban and Bethuel replied, "The LORD has obviously brought you here, so what can we say? 51Here is Rebekah; take her and go. Yes, let her be the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has directed."

52At this reply, Abraham's servant bowed to the ground and worshiped the LORD. 53Then he brought out silver and gold jewelry and lovely clothing for Rebekah. He also gave valuable presents to her mother and brother. 54Then they had supper, and the servant and the men with him stayed there overnight. But early the next morning, he said, "Send me back to my master."

55"But we want Rebekah to stay at least ten days," her brother and mother said. "Then she can go."

56But he said, "Don't hinder my return. The LORD has made my mission successful, and I want to report back to my master."

57"Well," they said, "we'll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks." 58So they called Rebekah. "Are you willing to go with this man?" they asked her.

And she replied, "Yes, I will go."

59So they said good-bye to Rebekah and sent her away with Abraham's servant and his men. The woman who had been Rebekah's childhood nurse went along with her. 60They blessed her with this blessing as she parted:

"Our sister, may you become
the mother of many millions! May your descendants overcome
all their enemies."

61Then Rebekah and her servants mounted the camels and left with Abraham's servant.

62Meanwhile, Isaac, whose home was in the Negev, had returned from Beer-lahairoi. 63One evening as he was taking a walk out in the fields, meditating, he looked up and saw the camels coming. 64When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted. 65"Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?" she asked the servant.

And he replied, "It is my master." So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. 66Then the servant told Isaac the whole story.

67And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother's tent, and she became his wife. He loved her very much, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.



Footnotes:

Genesis 24:3 Hebrew Put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear.
Genesis 24:7 Hebrew seed.
Genesis 24:9 Hebrew put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore an oath.
Genesis 24:10 Aram-naharaim means "Aram of the two rivers," thought to have been located between the Euphrates and Balih Rivers in northwestern Mesopotamia.
Genesis 24:22 Hebrew a gold nose-ring weighing a half shekel [0.2 ounces or 6 grams] and two gold bracelets weighing 10 shekels [4 ounces or 114 grams].

The Phallacy of Genesis: A Feminist-Psychoanalytic Approach

Book reviews -- The Phallacy of Genesis: A Feminist-Psychoanalytic Approach by Ilona N. Rashkow

Williams, James G
ILONA N. RASHKOW, The Phallacy of Genesis: A Feminist-Psychoanalytic Approach (Literary Currents in Biblical Interpretation; Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1993). Pp. 144. Paper $14.99.

Rashkow draws upon Sigmund Freud's work, particularly as revised by Jacques Lacan and others, in order to give her own feminist reading of certain biblical texts. The highlighted texts are Gen 12:10-20 and Gen 20:1-18.

The author's revised Freudian approach focuses on transference, dream theory, and seduction hysteria. Transference is the analysand's or patient's unconscious "transfer" of conflicts onto the analyst or doctor. These conflicts have basically to do with repressed sexuality. The model of dream interpretation emphasizes censorship, displacement, and condensation as the dream work moves from latent to manifest form. Freud's seduction theory began with his early inference that hysterical symptoms stem from childhood sexual abuse. However, he soon rejected this position and articulated the hypothesis of the "Oedipus complex." R. does not discuss the ongoing and sometimes inconsistent character of Freud's reflections on the Oedipus complex, but after almost thirty years he arrived at the clear position that desire for the parent of the opposite sex is inherent, biogenetic, it would seem, and this innate desire precedes even identification with the model parent of the same sex. The Oedipus theory, already in its early form in the 1890s, was the theoretical basis for holding that hysteria was occasioned not by actual sexual abuse, but by the repressed sexual desire for the putative abusing parent. R., in keeping with many current studies, sees Freud's shift as an expression of his own "phallocentrism," a phallocentrism that is shared with the biblical texts.

One example of the way the author uses these elements of Freudian theory is her reader-response approach to the dream of Abimelech in Genesis 20. Abimelech rejects the idea of sexual intercourse with Sarah as if it never occurred to him at all. But this is only the manifest scenario whose latent core is his desire for Sarah and fear of Abraham (p. 62). An instance of implementation of the seduction theory is the discussion of Genesis 2-3. The prohibition of the fruit on the tree of knowledge of good and evil "forbids Eve, the daughter, from obtaining the father's potency and privilege" (p. 78). But she rebels, and at her instigation, the son, Adam, loses his perpetual security. The burden of R.'s readings as a whole is that in "biblical narratives, as in Freud, female sexuality is subordinated to and subsumed by the male"(p. 108).

The author gives an "afterwards" which briefly responds to the question, Why read my readings? (pp. 110-11). There are four points: (1) because there is no absolutely true reading, all readings, including her feminist reading, can coexist; (2) the Hebrew Bible is approached as a single literary work; (3) the approach is literary: "The literary text is considered as a body of language to be interpreted, while psychoanalysis is a body of knowledge used to interpret"(p. 111); (4) we invest the Scriptures with our own cluster of wishes, which has something to do with our everyday relations with people around us.

Each of these points, however, has a flip side which could be pernicious. (1) If there is no absolutely true reading that could be recognized in principle, and if every reading is as "authentic" as every other, then all readings could be at war with one another-unless there is a political consensus to accept all of them and avoid offending anyone. This is one of the chief factors in "political correctness." (2) Approaching the Hebrew Bible as a literary text means one approaches it as if it is not canonical Scripture. But then why be interested in it at all? Is it really great "literature"? The answer must be rooted in history and historical community (which tellingly qualifies the literary approach) or in serendipity. (3) Psychoanalysis is not just a body of knowledge used to interpret but, like the Bible, is also body of language to be interpreted. To disguise this fact is to ignore that Freud and Lacan really attempt to save a subject or self by means of the unconscious as the dwelling place of the Other. They must see human origins and development as inherently conflictual. Freud himself conceived of a "death instinct," a new myth for explaining human self-destructiveness, (4) There is no explicit connection between self and community that is articulated in R.'s assumptions and approach. Without a real basis for human community, one's own cluster of wishes and everyday relations could simply lead to conflict and violence. Which brings us back to our first point about "political correctness," "multiculturalism," and the like, being thin and fragile veils over the abyss of war.

In short, there are interesting readings in this book, and some valid points about biblical patriarchy, but the author's assumptions contradict and undermine her own case. If "the Hebrew Bible makes phallocentrism synonymous with logocentrism" (p. 109)--and logocentrism was already bad enough, according to Heidegger and Derrida--then why bother with it? To discard it? If it speaks only with a male voice and witnesses only to a male God concerned about a male people and about male victims, then we have inherited nothing but a long past of deceit and oppression, and we can blame our forebears for the present sorry state of things. But that is a position that sells the biblical birthright for a bowl of multicultural stew.

Copyright Catholic Biblical Association of America Apr 1995
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved

Lot and daughters, Abraham and Abimelech: Genesis 19:30-20:18

Lot and His Daughters


30Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. 31One day the older daughter said to her sister, "There isn't a man anywhere in this entire area for us to marry. And our father will soon be too old to have children. 32Come, let's get him drunk with wine, and then we will sleep with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father." 33So that night they got him drunk, and the older daughter went in and slept with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.
34The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, "I slept with our father last night. Let's get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him. That way our family line will be preserved." 35So that night they got him drunk again, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again. 36So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father.

37When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab.[b] He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites. 38When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi.[c] He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.



Footnotes:

Genesis 19:22 Zoar means "little."
Genesis 19:37 Moab sounds like a Hebrew term that means "from father."
Genesis 19:38 Ben-ammi means "son of my people."




Genesis 20



Abraham Deceives Abimelech

1Now Abraham moved south to the Negev and settled for a while between Kadesh and Shur at a place called Gerar. 2Abraham told people there that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. So King Abimelech sent for her and had her brought to him at his palace.
3But one night God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, "You are a dead man, for that woman you took is married."

4But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he said, "Lord, will you kill an innocent man? 5Abraham told me, `She is my sister,' and she herself said, `Yes, he is my brother.' I acted in complete innocence!"

6"Yes, I know you are innocent," God replied. "That is why I kept you from sinning against me; I did not let you touch her. 7Now return her to her husband, and he will pray for you, for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don't return her to him, you can be sure that you and your entire household will die."

8Abimelech got up early the next morning and hastily called a meeting of all his servants. When he told them what had happened, great fear swept through the crowd. 9Then Abimelech called for Abraham. "What is this you have done to us?" he demanded. "What have I done to you that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? This kind of thing should not be done! 10Why have you done this to us?"

11"Well," Abraham said, "I figured this to be a godless place. I thought, `They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.' 12Besides, she is my sister--we both have the same father, though different mothers--and I married her. 13When God sent me to travel far from my father's home, I told her, `Wherever we go, have the kindness to say that you are my sister.' "

14Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen and servants--both men and women--and gave them to Abraham, and he returned his wife, Sarah, to him. 15"Look over my kingdom, and choose a place where you would like to live," Abimelech told him. 16Then he turned to Sarah. "Look," he said, "I am giving your `brother' a thousand pieces of silver[a] to compensate for any embarrassment I may have caused you. This will settle any claim against me in this matter."

17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and the other women of the household, so they could have children. 18For the LORD had stricken all the women with infertility as a warning to Abimelech for having taken Abraham's wife.

Footnotes:
Genesis 20:16 Hebrew 1,000 shekels of silver, about 25 pounds or 11.4 kilograms in weight.


Footnotes:

Genesis 20:16 Hebrew 1,000 shekels of silver, about 25 pounds or 11.4 kilograms in weight.

Abraham and Sarah: Genesis 18:1-19:29

Genesis 18


A Son Promised to Sarah

1The LORD appeared again to Abraham while he was camped near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day about noon, as Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent, 2he suddenly noticed three men standing nearby. He got up and ran to meet them, welcoming them by bowing low to the ground. 3"My lord," he said, "if it pleases you, stop here for a while. 4Rest in the shade of this tree while my servants get some water to wash your feet. 5Let me prepare some food to refresh you. Please stay awhile before continuing on your journey."
"All right," they said. "Do as you have said."

6So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, "Quick! Get three measures[a] of your best flour, and bake some bread." 7Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a fat calf and told a servant to hurry and butcher it. 8When the food was ready, he took some cheese curds and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them there beneath the trees.

9"Where is Sarah, your wife?" they asked him.

"In the tent," Abraham replied.

10Then one of them said, "About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son."

Now Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent nearby. 11And since Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long past the age of having children, 12she laughed silently to herself. "How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?" she thought. "And when my master--my husband--is also so old?"

13Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, `Can an old woman like me have a baby?' 14Is anything too hard for the LORD? About a year from now, just as I told you, I will return, and Sarah will have a son." 15Sarah was afraid, so she denied that she had laughed. But he said, "That is not true. You did laugh."



Abraham Intercedes for Sodom

16Then the men got up from their meal and started on toward Sodom. Abraham went with them part of the way.
17"Should I hide my plan from Abraham?" the LORD asked. 18"For Abraham will become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. 19I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD and do what is right and just. Then I will do for him all that I have promised." 20So the LORD told Abraham, "I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are extremely evil, and that everything they do is wicked. 21I am going down to see whether or not these reports are true. Then I will know."

22The two other men went on toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham for a while. 23Abraham approached him and said, "Will you destroy both innocent and guilty alike? 24Suppose you find fifty innocent people there within the city--will you still destroy it, and not spare it for their sakes? 25Surely you wouldn't do such a thing, destroying the innocent with the guilty. Why, you would be treating the innocent and the guilty exactly the same! Surely you wouldn't do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?"

26And the LORD replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake."

27Then Abraham spoke again. "Since I have begun, let me go on and speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. 28Suppose there are only forty-five? Will you destroy the city for lack of five?"

And the LORD said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five."

29Then Abraham pressed his request further. "Suppose there are only forty?"

And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are forty."

30"Please don't be angry, my Lord," Abraham pleaded. "Let me speak--suppose only thirty are found?"

And the LORD replied, "I will not destroy it if there are thirty."

31Then Abraham said, "Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue--suppose there are only twenty?"

And the LORD said, "Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty."

32Finally, Abraham said, "Lord, please do not get angry; I will speak but once more! Suppose only ten are found there?"

And the LORD said, "Then, for the sake of the ten, I will not destroy it."

33The LORD went on his way when he had finished his conversation with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his tent.



Footnotes:

Genesis 18:6 Hebrew 3 seahs, about 15 quarts or 18 liters.




Genesis 19



Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed

1That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom, and Lot was sitting there as they arrived. When he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed low to the ground. 2"My lords," he said, "come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up in the morning as early as you like and be on your way again."
"Oh no," they said, "we'll just spend the night out here in the city square."

3But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. He set a great feast before them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast. After the meal, 4as they were preparing to retire for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. 5They shouted to Lot, "Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out so we can have sex with them."

6Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. 7"Please, my brothers," he begged, "don't do such a wicked thing. 8Look--I have two virgin daughters. Do with them as you wish, but leave these men alone, for they are under my protection."

9"Stand back!" they shouted. "Who do you think you are? We let you settle among us, and now you are trying to tell us what to do! We'll treat you far worse than those other men!" And they lunged at Lot and began breaking down the door. 10But the two angels reached out and pulled Lot in and bolted the door. 11Then they blinded the men of Sodom so they couldn't find the doorway.

12"Do you have any other relatives here in the city?" the angels asked. "Get them out of this place--sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 13For we will destroy the city completely. The stench of the place has reached the LORD, and he has sent us to destroy it."

14So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters' fiances, "Quick, get out of the city! The LORD is going to destroy it." But the young men thought he was only joking.

15At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. "Hurry," they said to Lot. "Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out of here right now, or you will be caught in the destruction of the city."

16When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the LORD was merciful. 17"Run for your lives!" the angels warned. "Do not stop anywhere in the valley. And don't look back! Escape to the mountains, or you will die."

18"Oh no, my lords, please," Lot begged. 19"You have been so kind to me and saved my life, and you have granted me such mercy. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. 20See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don't you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved."

21"All right," the angel said, "I will grant your request. I will not destroy that little village. 22But hurry! For I can do nothing until you are there." From that time on, that village was known as Zoar.[a]

23The sun was rising as Lot reached the village. 24Then the LORD rained down fire and burning sulfur from the heavens on Sodom and Gomorrah. 25He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, eliminating all life--people, plants, and animals alike. 26But Lot's wife looked back as she was following along behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

27The next morning Abraham was up early and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the LORD's presence. 28He looked out across the plain to Sodom and Gomorrah and saw columns of smoke and fumes, as from a furnace, rising from the cities there. 29But God had listened to Abraham's request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.