Ishmael in Genesis 21: Baby vs. Mocking Teenager
Hagar and Ishmael cast out, as in Genesis 21, illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible.
This black-and-white engraving depicts the biblical scene of Hagar and Ishmael being cast out. A sorrowful Hagar is shown leading her young son Ishmael by the arm, walking barefoot and carrying provisions. Ishmael looks distressed, while Hagar appears contemplative and burdened. In the background, Abraham and Sarah can be seen near the doorway of a house—Sarah holding Isaac—emphasizing the cause of the expulsion. The illustration captures the pathos of separation and exile central to the Genesis 21 narrative.
📖 Ishmael in Genesis 21: Baby vs. Mocking Teenager
✍️ A Case for Interpolation in Genesis 21:9–10
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⚖️ The Core Contradiction
Genesis 21 contains two irreconcilable portrayals of Ishmael:
• Genesis 21:14–20 → Ishmael is depicted as a helpless child—carried on Hagar’s shoulder, laid under a bush, and rescued by an angel. Verse 20 reinforces this image: “And God was with the boy, and he grew.” If Ishmael had already been a teenager or older, it would not have been necessary to mention his growth.
• Genesis 21:9–10 → Ishmael appears as a teenager “mocking” Isaac, prompting Sarah to demand his expulsion to secure Isaac’s inheritance.
But according to Genesis 16:16 and 21:5, Ishmael was 16–17 years old at this point. The surrounding verses (vv. 14–20), however, treat him as if he were an infant. This is not a stylistic flourish but a direct contradiction in age and behavior within the same episode.
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📜 The Textual Inconsistency
The contradiction is sharp:
• 👶 Genesis 21:14–20 + 21:20 → Ishmael is a small boy growing up under God’s care.
• 🧑🦱 Genesis 21:9–10 → Ishmael is a mocking adolescent, a threat to Isaac’s status.
This inconsistency strongly suggests that Genesis 21 combines two traditions or has been redacted with an interpolation to reshape the story.
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🔎 Why 21:9–10 is Interpolation
Several factors converge:
1. ⚖️ Contradictory portrayals: helpless child vs. mocking teenager.
2. ⚡ Abrupt insertion: v. 9 introduces a sudden and unexplained motive.
3. 📖 Theological shaping: vv. 9–10 are designed to exclude Ishmael from inheritance.
4. 📚 Textual fluidity: the LXX shows this very section was unstable.
5. 🧵 Narrative flow without vv. 9–10: the story reads smoothly if Sarah’s demand is absent—Abraham provides, Hagar departs, baby Ishmael nearly dies, God rescues, Ishmael grows.
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✡️ Hebrew Note
In Genesis 21:14, the Hebrew says:
וַיִּתֵּ֣ן אֶל־הָגָ֑ר שָׂ֣ם עַל־שִׁכְמָ֔הּ וְאֶת־הַיֶּ֖לֶד
“He put [the bread and water] on her shoulder, and [he gave her] the child.”
Some translations smooth this as if Abraham “placed the child on her shoulder,” reinforcing the infant image. Others take it as “gave her the child,” but the syntax still suggests dependence and smallness—clashing with the teenager portrayal of vv. 9–10.
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☪️ The Islamic Resonance
The “helpless child” imagery in Genesis 21 aligns closely with the Islamic tradition, in which Abraham leaves Hagar and infant Ishmael in the valley of Makkah, where God miraculously provides water (the well of Zamzam 💧).
This suggests that the older stratum of the story remembered Ishmael as a baby. The later interpolation (vv. 9–10) reframes him as a rival heir to justify his expulsion and Isaac’s primacy.
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✅ Conclusion
Genesis 21 preserves two incompatible portrayals of Ishmael:
• 👶 one as a baby in need of rescue,
• 🧑 one as a mocking teenager.
The tension is best explained by redactional activity, with Genesis 21:9–10 functioning as an interpolation to serve Israel’s covenantal theology.
Without those verses, the passage regains coherence and aligns with an earlier tradition—one that resonates strongly with the Islamic account of Ishmael’s infancy.
— Azahari Hassim
Founder, The World of Abrahamic Theology