Ishmael and Esau: Marginalized Men of the Bible

1 1 Ishmael and Esau: Marginalized Men of the BibleAs for Ishmael , I have heeded you. I hereby bless him. I will make him fertileand exceedingly numerous. He shall be the father of twelve chieftains, and Iwill make of him a great nation. Genesis 17:20 And Esau said to his father, Bless me too, Father! And Esau wept his father Isaac answered, saying to him, See, your abode shall enjoythe fat of the earth. And the dew of heaven above. Yet by your sword youshall live and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restive, youshall break his yoke from your neck.

2 Genesis 27:38 40 The displacement of the firstborn by the younger sibling is a re-curring motif found throughout the book of ,the central theme of Genesis, as Sarna states, is the fortunes ofthose who are heirs to God s covenant 2and as Robert Alter asserts, theentire book of Genesis is about the reversal of the iron law of primogeni-ture, about the election through some devious twist of destiny of a youngerson to carry on the line, thus the firstborn very often seem to be losersin Genesis by the very condition of their birth. 3 First encountered in thenarration of primordial history, that is, in the story of Cain and Abel, thismotif comes to the fore in the Patriarchal narratives.

3 Indeed, Ishmael andIsaac, Esau and Jacob, Leah and Rachel, Ephraim and Manasseh are partand parcel of this the same time, however, the extent to which13 2006 State University of New York Press, Albanya sibling is Marginalized , the motive for, and the effects of marginaliza-tion differ from story to story. A literary analysis of the biblical texts per-taining to Ishmael and Esau demonstrates that while there are significantdifferences, their narratives consist of particular parallel features that, inturn, contribute to a postbiblical Ishmael -Esau pairing found in analysis of the biblical narrative of Ishmael in light of the story ofEsau5will set the stage for our ensuing examination of the rabbinic use ofboth biblical figures.

4 Both men, deliberately placed outside the familynot by the will of the father, but rather the mother, who carries out theprovidential plan (in Sarah s case unbeknownst to her), resemble one an-other, yet have distinct features. The narratives parallel and in the BibleThe biblical narrative dealing with the figure of Ishmael is a story of mar-ginalization par excellence. He is Abraham s firstborn, circumcised withAbraham, yet he is not the son of the covenant. He is part of the family, yethe is excluded. His presence is felt, yet his actions are few.

5 He is spokenabout, yet never speaks. God hears his voice, but the reader hears will be a great nation, but his hand will be against everyone, and every-one s hand against him. He is loved, and although expelled from Abraham shouse, he is not rejected. As we shall see, the difficulty in discerning themeaning of several biblical references to Ishmael contributes to his ambigu-ous role in the patriarchal narrative. What, for example, does it mean thathe will be a pere a da m,a wild ass of a man, that his hand will be againstall, that he will live al pe n , in the face of his kinsmen?

6 Before we look athow the rabbis interpreted these phrases and how they portrayed Ishmael ,let us examine the biblical figure of Ishmael is introduced in Genesis 166when the messen-ger of God appears to Hagar. He informs her that God will multiply herseed exceedingly, that she is with child, and that she shall call him Ishmael ,which means God hears, because the Lord has heard her , in Gen. 16:12, one learns that he will be a wild ass of a manwhose hand shall be against everyone, and everyone s hand against him;and he shall dwell alongside7all his kinsmen.

7 Part of the announcement of the birth of a son, Westermann pointsout, is a preview of his later destiny, as for example: he will be one ofrenown, a king, a savior. The son in these cases (as Judg. 16; Lk. 1) will be of14 Ishmael on the Border 2006 State University of New York Press, Albanysignificance for the people. 8 The birth announcement of the ill-fated first-born is no exception:The fierce, aggressive way of life of the sons of Ishmael .. is otherthan the peaceful nomadic life-style of the patriarchs. It presupposesthe sedentary and bedouin desert tribes living in Canaan side by sideand in confrontation in the period after the offers a different understanding of the verse: This versedescribes Ishmael s future destiny, to enjoy a free-roaming, bedouinlikeexistence.

8 The freedom his mother sought will be his one day. The pere , wild ass, lives in the desert, looks more like a horse than a donkey, and isused in the OT as a figure of an individualistic lifestyle untrammeled bysocial convention (Jer. 2:24; Hos. 8:9).10In a similar vein, Sarna writes:Like the wild ass among the beasts, so are the Ishmaelites amongmen. In their nature and destiny they call to mind the sturdy, fearless,and fleet-footed Syrian onager (Heb. pere ), who inhabits the wilder-ness and is almost impossible to domesticate.. Hagar, the abusedslave woman subjected to the harsh discipline of her mistress, willproduce a people free and also considers Gen.

9 16:7 14 as expressing a favorable, or atleast neutral position toward Ishmael :Elsewhere in the Bible the wild ass is the typical unfettered wild an-imal, alone and free to go its own way (Hos. 8:9; Job 39:5)..InHos. 8:9 and Jer. 2:24, the animal serves as an illustration of Israel sapostasy; as the wild ass in her heat exposes herself to her mates, Is-rael lustfully submits itself to foreign gods. Apart from this, nothingpejorative is associated with the wild ass and in this instance itsymbolized Israel and not her seducers. Like the wild ass, Ishmael ispredestined to a solitary, wandering life.

10 In this respect he can becompared to Cain, although unlike Cain, the biblical narrator doesnot impute any crime or guilt to Ishmael . Yet.. Ishmael s unlike Cain s: both are sent away from their own family Rad proposes an even more positive understanding of the verse: He will be a real Bedouin, a wild ass of a man .. free and wild (Cf. Job39:5 8)..eagerly spending his life in a war of all against all a worthyson of his rebellious and proud mother! In this description of Ishmael thereIshmael and Esau: Marginalized Men of the Bible15 2006 State University of New York Press, Albanyis undoubtedly undisguised sympathy and admiration for the rovingBedouin who bends his neck to no yoke.