"The angel of the LORD also said to her:
'You are now with child
and you will have a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,
for the LORD has heard of your misery.
"'He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against everyone
and every one's hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
toward all his brothers.'"
- Genesis 16:11-12
Points of Interest:
1) The land that is promised to Abraham to in Genesis 13:14-15 and elsewhere is the present-day area of Israel, the Palestinian territories, Jordan etc.
2) When Abraham dies, the bulk of his possessions are supposed to pass to his first-born male heir
3) In their impatience for a child, Abraham sleeps with the maidservant (a common practice in that time) who gives birth to Ishmael who, by rights, has claim to the bulk of Abraham's estate upon his death
3) Abraham and Sarah later give birth to Isaac whom God favors (17:19). Since Isaac is the offspring of both Abraham and Sarah (not the maidservant) and because God establishes his covenant with Isaac, Isaac can lay claim to Abraham's estate as the true first-born male heir.
HERE IS THE KICKER:
4) The Israelites are descendants of Isaac - The Arabs are descendants of Ishmael - both lay claim as first born male heirs to the same hunk of ground - modern-day Israel, Palestine, Jordan etc. All because Abraham and Sarah were too impatient to wait for the son God promised them in 15:4.
There's a message in there somewhere . . .
Incidentally, vs 17:12 is why Jews and Christians are circumcised as infants and vs 17:25 is why Arabs are traditionally circumcised at 13.
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