ويقول باول كيسلينج :
The latter is referred to as “the child,”
12 perhaps to emphasize his vulnerability in this situation and the need for God’s protection and care. Hagar wandered in the wilderness
13 south of Canaan near Beersheba, one of Canaan’s traditional borders.
[1]
12 The Hebrew here is יֶלֶד (yeled) rather than נַעַר (na‘ar) as in v. 12.
13 “Desert” may be too strong a word for the modern audience. This is not the Sahara but a wilderness where few people live.
[1]Kissling, P. (2009). Genesis, Volume 2. The College Press NIV Commentary (181). Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company.
ويقول كل من ولتر رورز و مارتن فرنزمان :
Along with the child. Born when Abraham was 86 years old (16:16), Ishmael was now a “lad” (12) of some 17 years. He could not have been put on Hagar’s shoulder with the
bread and a skin (an animal skin as a container)
of water. The account stresses that Sarah’s demand was fully met: Abraham sent Hagar away
along with Ishmael. Nor need one infer that Ishmael was still a babe in arms when his mother later “cast the child under one of the bushes.” (15)
[1]
ويقول تفسير " CrosswayBibles " :
putting it on her shoulder, along with the child. While these words might suggest that Ishmael was placed on Hagar’s shoulder, this is hardly likely, since Ishmael is about 16 years old (see 16:16; 21:5, 8) at this time. The last thing Abraham did was to give Ishmael to Hagar, probably after “putting it” (the bread and water) on Hagar’s shoulder. The Hebrew term for “child” (Hb.
yeled) may denote an older teenager; it is used, e.g., of Joseph in 37:30.
wilderness of Beersheba. Water was difficult to find in this region. Man-made wells appear to have been the main source of water (see 21:30; 26:18–22). On “Beersheba,”
[2]
[1]Roehrs, W. H., & Franzmann, M. H., joint author.(1998, c1979). Concordia self-study comentary (electronic ed.) (1:36-37). St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
[2]Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (86). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
ويقول ناهوم سارنا :
over her shoulder This refers only to the bread and water container. Ishmael, who is now at least sixteen years old, could hardly have been carried by his mother.
[1]
ويقول هربرت يوبولد :
Some rearrange the text in the interest of their view, like Meek, who renders: “taking some bread and a skin of water, he gave them to Hagar, along with her son, and putting them on her shoulder,” etc. The Hebrew order is as we have translated above. These words
may be so construed as to make the words “and the lad” to be the object of “put.” But they may with equal grammatical propriety be construed so that “and the lad” is the object of the preceding verb “gave”; so
A. R. V.; A. V. ambiguous. An added consideration is the fact that women did not usually carry lads several years old on their “shoulder” but let them straddle the hip. Besides, the critics, who are practically unanimous on this point, would hardly believe that some author, perhaps the so-called E, would have himself believed that Ishmael and Isaac were both of the same age, or Ishmael perhaps even, as this view of the case might suggest, a bit younger than Isaac. Distorted tradition could hardly have grown blurred on so important a fact as the priority of the birth of Ishmael.
[2]
ويقول كينث ماثيوز :
The Hebrew of v. 14 is difficult and subject to two different interpretations of Ishmael’s age.
524 Either (1) Abraham places both the provisions
and the child on Hagar’s shoulders, hence indicating Ishmael is an infant (e.g.,
NRSV,
NJPS, NJB, NAB, REB), or (2) he places only the provisions on her shoulders and gives over the boy, permitting Ishmael to be older (e.g., NIV, NLT, ASV, HCSB, NASB, NKJV). The former reading creates a contradiction with the earlier depiction of Ishmael, who is a teenager (17:25; 16:16 with 21:5). This contradiction is usually explained as the result of two conflicting sources (E—21:6–21; P—16:16; 17:25). The redactor attempted to harmonize his sources by the “clumsy” dis******** of the phrase “and with the child.”
525 The ancient versions, however, support the
MT as the original reading.526 The author’s awkward Hebrew has created two positive effects: (1) the troubled language captures the anguish of the moment, and (2) mention of “the boy” is delayed in the sentence so as to suggest that the transference of the boy from Abraham’s hand to hers is undertaken at the last possible moment.
527 When we recognize that this “syntax of delay” is a feature of the passage,
528 it is best to accept the MT text, translating “the boy” as the second object of “gave,” thus “and [he]
gave her the boy” (NASB).
529
[3]
ويستكمل قائلاً :
The Hebrew of v. 14 is difficult and subject to two different interpretations of Ishmael’s age.
524 Either (1) Abraham places both the provisions
and the child on Hagar’s shoulders, hence indicating Ishmael is an infant (e.g.,
NRSV, NJPS, NJB, NAB, REB), or (2) he places only the provisions on her shoulders and gives over the boy, permitting Ishmael to be older (e.g.,
NIV, NLT, ASV, HCSB, NASB, NKJV). The former reading creates a contradiction with the earlier depiction of Ishmael, who is a teenager (17:25; 16:16 with 21:5). This contradiction is usually explained as the result of two conflicting sources (E—21:6–21; P—16:16; 17:25). The redactor attempted to harmonize his sources by the “clumsy” dis******** of the phrase “and with the child.”
525 The ancient versions, however, support the
MT as the original reading.526 The author’s awkward Hebrew has created two positive effects: (1) the troubled language captures the anguish of the moment, and (2) mention of “the boy” is delayed in the sentence so as to suggest that the transference of the boy from Abraham’s hand to hers is undertaken at the last possible moment.
527 When we recognize that this “syntax of delay” is a feature of the passage,
528 it is best to accept the MT text, translating “the boy” as the second object of “gave,” thus “and [he]
gave her the boy” (NASB).
529
[4]
ويقول تفسير " Pulpit Commentary " :
And Abraham rose up early in the morning,—hastening to put in force the Divine instructions (cf. ch. 19:27 22:3 Abraham; ch. 20:8, Abimelech; ch. 28:18, Jacob)—
and took bread, and a bottle of water,—the bottle, from a root signifying to enclose (Fürst); ἀσκόν (LXX.), was composed of skin, the material of which the earliest carrying vessels were constructed (cf. Josh. 9:4, 13; Judges 4:19; 1 Sam. 16:20; Matt. 9:17). “The monuments of Egypt, the sculptures of Mesopotamia, and the relics of Herculaneum and Pomperi afford ample opportunities to learn the shape and use of every variety of bottles, often surprising us both by their elegance and costliness” (Kalisch)—
and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder,—the usual place for carrying such vessels among Oriental women. According to Herodotus (ii. 35), Egyptian women carried burdens on their shoulders, Egyptian men upon their heads—
and the child,—not placing the child, now a youth of over seventeen years, upon her shoulder (LXX., Schumann, Bohlen); but giving him, along with the bottle (Hävernick, Kalisch, À Lapide, Ainsworth), or, as well as the bread (Keil, Murphy), to Hagar, not to be carried as a burden, but led as a companion—
and sent her away:—divorced her by the command of God (À Lapide); but as Hagar was never recognised by God as Abraham’s wife, her sending away was not a case of divorce (Wordsworth)—
and she departed (from Beersheba, whither Abraham had by this time removed, and where, in all probability, Isaac had been born), and wandered—
i. e. lost her way (cf. ch. 37:15)—
in the wilderness (the uncultivated waste between Palestine and Egypt)
of Beer sheba—introduced here by anticipation, unless the incident in vers. 22–33 had previously taken place (
vide or ver. 31).
[5]
ويقول جون جيسكي :
You’ve got to admire Abraham’s prompt obedience. Although he realized that at his age he would very likely never see his firstborn son again, he sent Ishmael and his mother away the very next morning. He gave them what supplies of food and water they could carry and, with an ache in his heart, watched them head out into the hot, dry southland of Canaan.
[6]
ويقول تفسير " A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures " :
And the child.—[He was now about sixteen or seventeen—a youth. “Boys were often married at this age.” Ishmael was soon after married. This must be borne in mind in our estimate of the command given to Abraham.—A. G.] According to the Septuagint, Tuch, and others, the author places the burden upon the boy also; [The וconjunctive makes it necessary that the וְאֶת הַיֶּלֶדshould be connected with the principal verb יִקַּח. Keil, p. 172.—A. G.] but this does not follow from the text. Knobel correctly recalls to view that Ishmael was at this time at least sixteen years old. Delitzsch, on the contrary, understands the passage in the first instance thus: Abraham placed Isaac [Ishmael?—A. G.] also upon the back of Hagar; and speaks of inconsistencies and contradictions in the context; but then, he himself destroys this interpretation in a casual side remark. The Vulgate also here corrects the Septuagint.
[7]
ويقول ويليام ويليامز :
Early the next morning (21:14), Abraham prepared Hagar and Ishmael with food and water for basic survival. A skin bottle could not hold more than three gallons of water, and if the food given was only what the two could carry, as John Calvin suggests, perhaps Abraham secretly intended to make it necessary for them to return.
3 He showed concern for Hagar’s well-being when
he set them [the food and water]
on her shoulders (21:14). Abraham did not just leave the task to Hagar and Ishmael as he could have done. Then, Abraham
sent her off (21:14). He did not drive her out.
[8]
و يقول جيمس بويس :
In Genesis 21:14, Abraham is described as taking some food and a skin of water, and setting them on Hagar’s shoulders and sending her off with the boy. In Hebrew, the word order is a little confusing. It says that Abraham took some food and a skin of water, setting them on Hagar’s shoulders, and the boy, and then he sent her off. According to Barr, the verse says that he put the boy on her shoulders; and since we know that Ishmael had to be at least fifteen, this would be impossible, so the text is in error or at least incompatible with the rest of Genesis.
However, the text says nothing of the sort. What has happened is that Barr has read it through the bias of a liberal, anti-evangelical scholar. When you read it—I use the word honestly—through the “bias” of a conservative, evangelical scholar, a distinction between what Abraham did with the supplies and Ishmael is plain. In the Hebrew text, the word “boy” is separated from the words “skin of water and food” by the words “setting them on her shoulder.” So, “setting them on her shoulder” goes with the earlier part of the sentence and “boy” comes later. It is as if the text says, “Abraham gave her food and a skin of water, setting them on her shoulder, and [also gave her] the boy.” I would be inclined to say that any fool could see that but, as a matter of fact, it is the fools who fail to see it, in my judgment.
2
[9]
ويقول البرت بارنز :
“And the lad.” He took the lad and gave him to Hagar. The bread and water-skin were on her shoulder; the lad she held by the hand.
ويقول جون جيل :
and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder; that is, the bread and the water, which might be put in one parcel or bundle, or in a basket, and so laid and carried on her shoulder: the Targum of Jonathan adds,"and bound it to her loins, to show that she was an handmaid:"
ويقول هاينز :
So Abraham supplied Hagar and Ishmael with provisions and sent them away into the desert. When the water was spent, Hagar despaired of life itself. But an angel spoke to her, reassured her of God’s interest and care, showed her a well, and promised to make of Ishmael a great nation.
[10]
and the child; not that the child was "on her shoulder", which is quite improbable; for, since he was thirteen years of age when he was circumcised, he must be fourteen when Isaac was born; and if Isaac was two years old when weaned, Ishmael must be sixteen; and if he was three years of age, he must be seventeen; and if five years, he must be nineteen: some of the Jewish writers say (z), he was twenty seven years of age when he went out of his father's house; but they seem to come nearest the truth that make this event to be when he was at the age of seventeen (a), and when he must be too big to be carried on his mother's shoulder: but the sense is, that Abraham, when he put the provision on her shoulder, gave Ishmael to her, delivered him into her hand, to be taken care of by her; and very probably she led him in her hand:
يقول بوب أتلي :
“putting them on her shoulder” Both the Septuagint and the Syriac translate this in such a way that it implies that they also put Ishmael on her back. It seems from the context that Ishmael must have been between 15 and 17 years old, much too heavy to be carried by his mother, therefore, this is probably an idiom for preparing for a journey.
[11]
[1]Sarna, N. M. (1989). Genesis. English and Hebrew; commentary in English.; Title on half t.p.: Genesis = Be-reshit. The JPS Torah commentary (147). Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
A. R. V. American Standard Edition of the Revised Version.
A. V. King James Version.
[2]Leupold, H. C. (1942). Exposition of Genesis.H. C. Leupold Commentary Collection (604). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
524 For a discussion of the issues, see Lyke, “Where Does ‘the Boy’ Belong?” 637–48. The problem is the syntactical relationship of וְאֶת הַיֶּלֶד, “and [with] the child,” in the sentence: the issues are (1) אֶתcan be taken as a preposition (“with”) or direct object marker, and (2) וְאֶת הַיֶּלֶדcan be read either with the prior verbs שָׂם, “set, place,” or וַיִּתֵּן, “gave,” or the following verb וַיְשַׁלְּחֶהָ, “and he sent her away.” BHS (as in some Gk.texts, but not the Syr.as BHS says) recommends an emendation, transposing the phrase to read, “… and he gave [the food and water] to Hagar, and he placed the child on her shoulder.” Since the ancient versions appear to follow the MT’s arrangement, however, this clever emendation is “too convenient” to adopt. If “child” is the object of the prior verb שָׂם, the construction also makes the child an infant, “… and he gave [the food and water] to Hagar, placing [them] and the child on her shoulder.” If, however, the phrase is the object of וַיִּתֵּן, the translation permits an older Ishmael, “… and he gave [the food and water] to Hagar, putting [them] on her shoulder, and the child [to Hagar]” (Wenham, Genesis 16–50, 77–78). The NIV interprets the phrase as prepositional phrase and with the following verb וַיְשַׁלְּחֶהָ, thus also permitting the boy to be older.
NRSV New Revised Standard Version
NJPS New Jewish Publication Society Version
NJB New Jerusalem Bible
NAB New American Bible
REB Revised English Bible
NIV New International Version
NLT New Living Translation
ASV American Standard Version
HCSB Holman Christian Standard Bible
NASB New American Standard Bible
NKJV New King James Version
525 Westermann, Genesis 12–36, 341.
MT Masoretic Text
526 The LXX has the same word order as the MT; it reads “the child” as the object of “placed,” thus, “and placed the child on her shoulder.” See Wevers, Notes on the Greek Text, 305.
527 Wenham, Genesis 16–50, 78, 84.
528 Lyke presents a convincing case for the authenticity of the MT text, and he effectively proves that the author’s practice of placing references to the two sons at the end of key clauses (vv. 8–14) achieved a comparison between the two sons in 21:14 and 22:3; but he failed to draw this obvious conclusion, preferring to accept the critic’s view of 21:14 inferring an infant Ishmael (“Genesis 21:14,” 647).
529 The ASV, NASB, NKJV interpret the phrase as the second object of “gave,” e.g., “and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy” (NASB). The AV and ESV are so literal as to be as ambiguous as the Hebrew text. The NIV translates a prepositional phrase with the following verb, “he sent her off with the boy.”
[3]Mathews, K. A. (2007, c2005). Vol. 1B: Genesis 11:27-50:26 (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (272). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
524 For a discussion of the issues, see Lyke, “Where Does ‘the Boy’ Belong?” 637–48. The problem is the syntactical relationship of וְאֶת הַיֶּלֶד, “and [with] the child,” in the sentence: the issues are (1) אֶתcan be taken as a preposition (“with”) or direct object marker, and (2) וְאֶת הַיֶּלֶדcan be read either with the prior verbs שָׂם, “set, place,” or וַיִּתֵּן, “gave,” or the following verb וַיְשַׁלְּחֶהָ, “and he sent her away.” BHS (as in some Gk.texts, but not the Syr.as BHS says) recommends an emendation, transposing the phrase to read, “… and he gave [the food and water] to Hagar, and he placed the child on her shoulder.” Since the ancient versions appear to follow the MT’s arrangement, however, this clever emendation is “too convenient” to adopt. If “child” is the object of the prior verb שָׂם, the construction also makes the child an infant, “… and he gave [the food and water] to Hagar, placing [them] and the child on her shoulder.” If, however, the phrase is the object of וַיִּתֵּן, the translation permits an older Ishmael, “… and he gave [the food and water] to Hagar, putting [them] on her shoulder, and the child [to Hagar]” (Wenham, Genesis 16–50, 77–78). The NIV interprets the phrase as prepositional phrase and with the following verb וַיְשַׁלְּחֶהָ, thus also permitting the boy to be older.
NRSV New Revised Standard Version
NJPS New Jewish Publication Society Version
NJB New Jerusalem Bible
NAB New American Bible
REB Revised English Bible
NIV New International Version
NLT New Living Translation
ASV American Standard Version
HCSB Holman Christian Standard Bible
NASB New American Standard Bible
NKJV New King James Version
525 Westermann, Genesis 12–36, 341.
MT Masoretic Text
526 The LXX has the same word order as the MT; it reads “the child” as the object of “placed,” thus, “and placed the child on her shoulder.” See Wevers, Notes on the Greek Text, 305.
527 Wenham, Genesis 16–50, 78, 84.
528 Lyke presents a convincing case for the authenticity of the MT text, and he effectively proves that the author’s practice of placing references to the two sons at the end of key clauses (vv. 8–14) achieved a comparison between the two sons in 21:14 and 22:3; but he failed to draw this obvious conclusion, preferring to accept the critic’s view of 21:14 inferring an infant Ishmael (“Genesis 21:14,” 647).
529 The ASV, NASB, NKJV interpret the phrase as the second object of “gave,” e.g., “and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder, and gave her the boy” (NASB). The AV and ESV are so literal as to be as ambiguous as the Hebrew text. The NIV translates a prepositional phrase with the following verb, “he sent her off with the boy.”
[4]Mathews, K. A. (2007, c2005). Vol. 1B: Genesis 11:27-50:26 (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (272). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[5]The Pulpit Commentary: Genesis. 2004 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.)(272). Bellingham.
[6]Jeske, J. C. (2001). Genesis (2nd ed.). The People's Bible (179). Milwaukee, Wis.: Northwestern Pub. House.
[7]Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Lewis, T., & Gosman, A. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures : Genesis (458). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
3 Gordon J. Wenhem, Genesis 16–50, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 2 (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1994), p. 84.
[8]Williams, W. G. (1999). Genesis: A Commentary for Bible Students (168). Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House.
2 James Barr, The Scope and Authority of the Bible (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1980), 78. For a cogent reply to the view espoused by Barr, see H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis, 2:604–5.
[9]Boice, J. M. (1998). Genesis : An expositional commentary. Originally published: Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1982. (666). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.
[10]Haines, L. (1967). The Book of Genesis. In . Vol. 1:1: Genesis-Deuteronomy. The Wesleyan Bible Commentary (78). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
[11]Utley, B. (2009). The Patriarchal Period: Genesis 12-50. Study Guide Commentary Series (122). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International.
