Abraham Between Scriptures: Reconstructing the Ishmael Narrative

Introduction

📜 The Abraham narrative in Genesis remains one of the most theologically charged and textually complex portions of the Hebrew Bible. Traditionally, the canonical order—Genesis 17 (covenant and promise of Isaac), Genesis 21 (Ishmael’s expulsion), and Genesis 22 (the near-sacrifice)—forms the backbone of Jewish and Christian interpretations of Abraham’s faith.

📘 However, alternative readings, often emerging from comparative Islamic–Biblical studies and internal textual analysis, propose a different chronological sequence: Genesis 21 → Genesis 22 → Genesis 17.

📗 This reordered sequence offers a fresh interpretive lens that centers Ishmael in the formative stages of Abraham’s spiritual development. It also addresses several longstanding textual tensions—particularly the age contradiction in Genesis 21 and the reference to the “only son” in Genesis 22—while creating an integrative bridge between Biblical and Qur’anic portrayals of Abraham.

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1. Genesis 21:14–20 — The First Test: Ishmael’s Separation

🌿 In the canonical reading, Genesis 21 recounts the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael after Isaac’s birth. Ishmael should be approximately 16–17 years old at this point (Gen 16:16; 21:5). However, the narrative describes him as if he were a helpless infant carried by Hagar, unable even to stand or walk (Gen 21:14–20). This tension is one of the most noted inconsistencies in the Abraham narrative.

🌤️ In non-canonical interpretations, this episode is repositioned earlier in Abraham’s life—before Genesis 17, when Ishmael would indeed still be a small child. This re-sequencing not only resolves the age contradiction but also aligns closely with the Islamic tradition, where Ishmael is still an infant during the desert episode (associated with the origins of Mecca).

🌾 Viewed this way, Genesis 21 becomes Abraham’s first great test: releasing Ishmael into the wilderness in trust that God will preserve him and fulfill the promise, “I will make him a great nation” (Gen 21:18). This trial tests Abraham’s emotional endurance and his willingness to surrender Ishmael into divine care.

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2. Genesis 22 — The Second and Climactic Test: The Near-Sacrifice

🔥 Genesis 22, the story of the near-sacrifice, is considered the apex of Abraham’s trials in Jewish and Christian traditions. Yet the description of the son as “your only son” presents a theological challenge if Isaac has already been born. Ishmael, alive and older, remains Abraham’s son; thus Isaac cannot be described as the “only son” in any literal or historical sense.

🕊️ By placing Genesis 22 before Genesis 17, this difficulty vanishes: Isaac has not yet been promised; Ishmael is truly Abraham’s only son; and the command makes perfect narrative and emotional sense.

🗡️ In this alternative chronology, the near-sacrifice becomes the second and supreme test concerning Ishmael. Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only heir and the bearer of the divine promise forms the climactic demonstration of his faith.

🌙 This view also naturally resonates with Islamic tradition, where the sacrificial son is widely understood to be Ishmael, not Isaac.

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3. Genesis 17 — Covenant Ratification After the Trials

🌟 In the canonical sequence, Genesis 17 precedes the trials of Genesis 21 and 22. But in the reordered interpretation, Genesis 17 becomes the divine ratification of Abraham’s faith after he has passed the two Ishmael-centered tests.

📜 In this reading, the promise of numerous descendants, the covenant of circumcision, the changing of Abraham’s name, and the announcement of Isaac’s future birth all occur after Abraham’s faith has already been tested and proven through his obedience concerning Ishmael.

👑 Genesis 17 thus becomes the culminating divine affirmation that Abraham is now fit to be “the father of many nations” (Gen 17:4–5).

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4. A Coherent Theological and Narrative Progression

🔎 The sequence Genesis 21 → Genesis 22 → Genesis 17 creates a remarkably coherent theological and literary framework.

📖 First, it resolves textual contradictions, such as Ishmael’s apparent infancy in Genesis 21 and the use of “your only son” in Genesis 22.

🕊️ Second, it highlights Ishmael’s covenantal significance by placing him at the center of Abraham’s formative spiritual testing rather than as a marginal figure displaced by Isaac.

🤲 Third, it aligns with the Qur’anic portrayal, which emphasizes Ishmael’s foundational role in Abraham’s obedience, making this sequence a natural bridge between the two traditions.

🌄 Fourth, it creates a natural developmental arc in which Abraham’s spiritual journey unfolds as Test 1: Surrender Ishmael (Genesis 21), Test 2: Sacrifice Ishmael (Genesis 22), and finally Covenant: God ratifies Abraham’s faith (Genesis 17).

🌱 Abraham’s journey becomes one of emotional surrender leading to ultimate obedience, culminating in divine covenant.

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Conclusion

🌐 Although this reconstruction diverges from the canonical Jewish and Christian chronology, it offers a compelling alternative grounded in textual observations, theological coherence, and comparative Abrahamic studies.

🌙 It gives Ishmael a restored centrality in Abraham’s early faith narrative and provides an interpretive bridge between Biblical and Islamic traditions.

📚 By situating Genesis 21 and 22 prior to Genesis 17, this reading presents a unified, coherent, and theologically rich portrait of Abraham—one in which Ishmael’s role is not marginal but foundational to the covenantal story.

— Azahari Hassim

Founder, The World of Abrahamic Theology