The Bible says Ishmael was sent away 14 years before the birth of Isaac ?

Question

It is abundantly clear from the story in Gen. 21:14-19 that Ishmael was a little baby at that time. Following is the documentation of this statement:

According to Gen. 16:16 Abraham was 86 years old when Ishmael was born. And according to Gen.21:5 Abraham was one hundred years old when Isaac was born. It follows that Ishmael was already fourteen years old when his younger brother Isaac was born.

According to Gen. 21:14-19, the jealousy incident took place after Issac was weaned. Biblical scholars tell us that “the child was weaned about the age of three”.

It follows that when Hagar and Ishmael were taken away Ishmael was a full grown teenager seventeen year old.

The profile of Ishmael in Gen. 21:14-19, however , is that of a small baby and not of a teenager.
Why ?

First : According to the Interpreters Bible , the original Hebrew for Gen.21:14 was “…and put the child upon her shoulder”. The same reading is rendered in the Revised Standard Edition of the Bible.

How would a mother carry a Seventeen year old teenager “upon her shoulder? Certainly he was strong enough to carry his mother !
Ishmael must have been a baby .

Second : In Gen. 21:15 we are told that Hagar “cast” the child under one of the shrubs. Again, according to this Biblical text Ishmael must have been a baby and not a seventeen year old man.

Third: In Gen. 21:16 we are told that Hagar sat away so that she may not see the death of the child before her eyes. Is that a profile of a husky seventeen year old teenager who was probably capable of being worried about his mother dying before his eyes? Or is it obviously a profile of a small helpless baby or at most a small child?

Fourth : According to Gen. 21:17, the angels told Hagar “arise lift up the lad”. Is a seventeen year old young man a proper object to be “lifted up” by a woman? Or is that a reference to a small child or baby?

Fifth: In Gen. 21:19, we are told that Hagar went to fill the bottle with water “and give the lad a drink”. One would expect a strong young man of seventeen to go and bring water to his mother instead. (Arab history has shown the miraculous well in Mecca was the first sacred spot to the Ishmaelites long before the advent of Prophet Muhammad.)

The non Jewish version of the story is fully consistent and coherent from A to Z; Ishmael was a baby and Isaac was not born yet when this incident took place. This coherence and consistency are confirmed by centuries-old traditions and even actual locations in Mecca where Hagar and Ishmael settled. This clearly implies that the real reason behind their settlement in Arabia (Paran) was not the dictation, jealousy, ego or sense of racial superiority on the part of Sarah. It was rather God’s plan; pure and simple.

It may be relevant to indicate that this issue is not the only instance of inconsistency in respect to Ishmael’s story. The Interpreters Bible compares the story of Hagar and Ishmael in Gen. 21:14-19 with that in an earlier chapter (Gen. 16:1-16) and concludes “the inclusion in Genesis of both stories so nearly alike and yet sufficiently different to be inconsistent, is one of many instances of the reluctance of the compilers to sacrifice any of the traditions which has become established in Israel.” (Interpreters Bible, ibid, p. 604)

Answer 1

The bible is not to be taken as literal truth. It's a compilation of stories that were orally handed down for about 1000 years before it was recorded, and changed, by many people.

Answer 2

Greetings,
Sorry about the misspellings
One man sees a tree trunk, one man sees a hose......but what his eyes are open he sees a elaphants leg (tree trunk) and an elphants trunk (the hose).
The proper intatation is the kid was 14 years older.
If you believe the bible you must start at that point and not change.............
So then interpit everything from that point (if in fact that is what it is saying).
The proper interpitaion is that it was the water thrown upon her sholder (but if you believe the bible and it said the mom took the teenager upon her sholder than that is what happen.
If God can take me and make me new.......why can't he give the mom super strength?
It is all how you see it.
If you want to belive you will.......(or if God want you to).
Listen to your talk.>"it is obvious that......"
Well it is obvious to you....but not me//////
I see it differently......Can't it be either or?
Or just the way you see...it
If your starting point is unbeleif......that may be your ending point
If you don't than you won't (if God wants you to not you won't),
Even Satan takes scripture and make it what he wants-shakespear
There is an anwser for everything...........
Jesus died for your sins and the only way to heaven is through him.
Your arguments of minual things is irrvelavent.
Love,
john

Answer 3

I was not aware that some people believe that Ishmael was a young child. I have always believed that he was as you say, at least 14 years old as it did not occur until after the birth of Isaac.

Answer 4

The bible is just another holy book, no proof of anything except that it is more or less the history of a tribe of Israel, changed, rechanged and translated added to and deleted from. And you know in your heart of hearts when you die, it is over. So, hon, have a nice life while you are here..... There ain't no sky daddy. It's all just a myth, ancient stories of starving stone age people 2000 years ago.

Answer 5

"What's in a name, would not a Rose smell as sweet by any other" --Will Shakespeare

Lighten up--