Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Hagar bore a son for Abram. Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.”
(Genesis 16:15-16)

Hagar DID bear a son to Abram in his old age approximately eleven years after he first arrived in Canaan. That son was named Ishmael. This was NOT the son of the promise God made to Abram. He would need to wait another fourteen years for that promise to come true.

God spoke promises to Hagar and they came true. Although this was not the promised son, they named the child as God instructed them to. In all probability Abram BELIEVED this was the promised child. There’s a good chance both he and Sarai thought their plan had worked out.

The sage Steinsaltz writes: ‘After returning home as instructed by the angel, Hagar ultimately bore to Abram a son; Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. It is possible that he had not heard from Hagar that this was the name recommended by the angel, and yet he selected it of his own accord, as the Lord had heard [shama] him and his misery as well, and had given him his firstborn son.’

The sage Siftei Chakhamim writes: ‘The spirit of prophecy rested upon him. For if Avraham heard [the name] from Hagar [and then named him, this would be difficult to understand, for] she should have named him Yishmael, as she was commanded [regarding this name,] and not he. Perforce, the spirit of prophecy rested upon him, and he was as if commanded. (Gur Aryeh)’

The sage Radak writes: ‘ויקרא אברם, even though the angel had instructed Hagar what name to give to the son she would bear, she conveyed this message to Avram, so that both she and Avram called her son Ishmael, in accordance with the angel’s instructions. We find a similar situation in Genesis 4,25 and (Genesis 5,3) when Adam’s third son was born, where the Torah tells us that both Chavah and Adam called him Sheth. On other occasions we find that father and mother named the same child differently, such as Rachel calling her youngest son בן אוני, whereas Yaakov call him .בנימין (Genesis 35,18)’