Episode 4a: Ishmael, Abraham's firstborn son

(Genesis 15-16)

God's promise to Abraham

15 ¹ The word of God came to Abraham in a vision, saying, "Don't be afraid, I'm your shield and your great reward."

² Abraham said, "What will you give me since I am childless?"

⁴ The word of God said, "A son will come out of your bowels to be your heir. ⁵ Look at the stars, that's how much seed you're going to have."

⁶ Abraham believed God. And God counted him righteous for believing him.

⁷ God said, "I'm God. I brought you from Ur to inherit this land."

⁸ Abraham said, "How can I know I will inherit it?"

⁹ God said, "Get a heifer, she goat, and ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a pigeon."

¹⁰ So Abraham gathered all the animals God asked for and cut them up into pieces. (Except for the birds, which he didn't chop up.) ¹¹ The dead animals attracted some birds of prey, which Abraham drove away. ¹² As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abraham.

¹³ God said to the sleeping Abraham,

Your seed will be a stranger in a land that is not theirs and will serve them for 400 years. ¹⁴ I'll judge the nation that they serve. Then they'll leave with lots of possessions. ¹⁵ And you'll die at a good old age. ¹⁶ In the fourth generation they will come back here again.

¹⁷ Later that night, there appeared a burning lamp between the pieces of dead animals.

¹⁸ God repeated the promise he made to Abraham and his descendants about giving to them the land of Canaan, saying,

¹⁹ To your seed I give this land, from the great river in Egypt to the Euphrates River. ^20-21 This includes the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaims, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Abraham impregnates Sarah's slave, Hagar

16 ¹Sarah, Abraham's wife, couldn't have children. But she had a female Egyptian slave named Hagar. ^2-3 So Sarah said to Abraham, "God has prevented me from having children. Have sex with Hagar, so I can have children through her." And Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to be his wife.

⁴ Abraham did as Sarah suggested, had sex with Hagar, and she conceived. But when she realized that she was pregnant, she despised Sarah.

Sarah forces Hagar to leave

⁵ Sarah said to Abraham,

It's your fault. I let you have sex with my slave. Then when she conceived, she despised me.

Let God decide which of us is right.

⁶ Abraham replied, "She's your slave. Do whatever you want with her."

And when Sarah treated her harshly, Hagar ran away.

God sends an angel to retrieve Hagar

⁷ After Hagar ran away from Sarah, an angel found her by a fountain, and said, ⁸ "Where did you come from, Hagar, Sarah's slave? And where are you going?"

Hagar said, "I'm running away from my mistress, Sarah."

⁹ The angel said,

Return to your mistress and submit to her. ¹⁰ I'll multiply your seed exceedingly. No one will be able to count all the seed you're going to have.

¹¹ You are pregnant and will have a son. His name will be Ishmael. ¹² He will be a wild man. He will fight against everyone, and everyone will fight against him.

Hagar gives birth to Ishmael

¹⁵ Hagar bare Abraham a son, Ishmael. ¹⁶ He was 86 years old when Ishmael was born.