And Hashem remembered Sarah as He had said, and Hashem did to Sarah as He had spoken.
verse value 3558 — יְהֹוָ֛ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 39 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֛ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "visited" (פָּקַ֥ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·Hashem" (וַֽיהֹוָ֛ה, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 521: as, as. The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "as" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "and·Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis). First appearance of the root פקד ("visited") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'said', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַֽיהֹוָ֛ה [and·Hashem] (32) + פָּקַ֥ד [visited] (184) + אֶת־שָׂרָ֖ה [Sarah] (906) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר [as] (521) + אָמָ֑ר [said] (241) + וַיַּ֧עַשׂ [and·made] (386) + יְהֹוָ֛ה [Hashem] (26) + לְשָׂרָ֖ה [to·Sarah] (535) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר [as] (521) + דִּבֵּֽר [had·spoken] (206) = 3558.
Onkelos
And Hashem remembered Sarah as He had said, and Hashem did for Sarah as He had spoken.
Rashi
'וה' פקד את שרה וגו AND THE LORD VISITED SARAH —It (Scripture) places this section after the preceding one to teach you that whoever prays for mercy on behalf of another when he himself also is in need of that very thing for which he prays on the other’s behalf, will himself first receive a favorable response from God, for it is said (at end of last chapter), “And Abraham prayed for Abimelech and his wife and they brought forth” and immediately afterwards it states here, “And the Lord remembered Sarah” — i. e. he had already remembered her before he healed Abimelech (Bava Kamma 92a). פקד את שרה כאשר אמר HE REMEMBERED SARAH AS HE SAID — He remembered her by granting her pregnancy. כאשר דבר [HE DID TO SARAH] AS HE HAD SPOKEN — by granting her the birth of a son (Pesikta). Where are the expressions “saying ״ and “speaking” used respectively in regard to these? “Saying” is mentioned in the verse (17:19) “And God said (ויאמר): “nay, but Sarah, thy wife” etc.; — “Speaking“ is mentioned in (15:1) “And the word (דבר “speaking”) of the Lord came to Abraham”, and this was when He made the Covenant between the Pieces where it was stated, “This man (Eliezer) shall not be thine heir, [but one who shall be born from thee shall be thine heir],” and He brought forth this heir from Sarah. ויעש ה' לשרה כאשר דבר AND THE LORD DID UNTO SARAH AS HE HAD SPOKEN — means, spoken to Abraham.
Ramban
AND THE ETERNAL ‘PAKAD’ (VISITED) SARAH AS HE HAD SAID. That is, by granting her pregnancy. And the Eternal did unto Sarah as He had spoken by granting her the birth of a son. Thus the words of Rashi. But the word pekidah is only an expression of remembrance and attention to the one who is remembered, such as: G-d will surely remember (‘pakod yiphkod’) you; I have surely remembered you; And Samson remembered his wife by [bringing her] a kid. Here, too, the sense of the verse is that the Eternal remembered Sarah, and He did to her as He had spoken. This expression is also found in connection with all barren women who later give birth. Thus, in the case of Rachel: And G-d remembered Rachel; and in the case of Hannah: And G-d remembered her. Similarly, the Rabb is said, “Biblical verses which mention pikdonoth are equivalent to verses which mention Divine remembrances.” A verse mentioning pikadon is treated as one mentioning remembrance. Thus, Ramban proves that the word pakad in the verse here can mean “remembered,” and not as Rashi explained it as meaning “granting pregnancy.”
Sforno
Ad-noy remembered. Literally, “And Ad-noy remembered” — after Avraham prayed for Avimelech, Hashem remembered Sarah. As He had said. “I will bless her” (17:16) — that is, He delivered her from the curse of Chavah (see 3:16). As He had spoken. “I will also give you a son through her” (17:16) — in defiance of the general rule that elderly parents beget daughters.
Or HaChaim
וה׳ פקד את שרה כאשר אמר. G'd remembered Sarah as He had said. The Torah tells us that this would have occurred even if Abraham had not prayed on behalf of Avimelech as we stated already. We should not think that G'd needed a prayer to prompt Him to keep His promise. There was, however, a connection between Abraham's prayer on behalf of Avimelech and G'd "remembering" His promise to give Sarah a son. G'd provided Abraham with an opportunity to perform a מצוה which in turn would trigger His removing Sarah's sterility. This is the deeper meaning of the additional words כאשר אמר. Whenever G'd wants to do someone a favour, He provides him with an opportunity to perform a good deed in response to which G'd can translate His intention into practice. The reason that G'd did not make Pharaoh and his household sterile at the time Sarah was kidnapped by Pharaoh was so that Abraham could pray for them because there had not yet been a promise to Sarah whose fulfilment could have been triggered by Abraham's prayer. ויעש…כאשר דבר, and G'd did for Sarah as He had foretold. The reason that the Torah repeats "He did" is explained in Tanchuma on our verse. When the angel had announced the impending birth by saying "כעת חיה," he had made an incision on the wall to mark the exact time of day the baby would be born, i.e. when the sun would hit that line. The Torah here confirms that the birth took place exactly as predicted. The verse also reports something we have explained on 18,10 and again on 17,19, namely that the son Sarah bore originated in the female (negative) side of the emanations. This in turn was the reason Isaac needed to submit to the binding on the altar, something that resulted in Sarah's death. The word דבר always refers to speech containing some harsh element. The Torah therefore uses it when it wants us to note that the birth of Isaac was not something that was perfect. He had to undergo a process of refinement as a result of which he could become holy. When the Torah says ויעש ה׳ לשרה כאשר דבר, this really means that "G'd did to Sarah as He had foretold." Isaac was born in response to Sarah's prayer, not in response to Abraham's.
Chizkuni
וה' פקד את שרה, “and after Hashem had taken due note of Sarah, etc;” whenever in the Torah the name of Hashem is introduced with the prefix ו, meaning “and,” it is a hint that G-d did not act singlehandedly but in consonance with His heavenly Tribunal. (Compare Bereshit Rabbah 51,2) In Bereshit Rabbah 53,6 this function of the Heavenly Tribunal is dealt with at greater length, especially in connection with Numbers 5,28 where the subject is the woman whose husband accused her of violating a specific command not to be alone with a certain man. This woman denied that she had committed an indiscretion, and the Torah promises that if she told the truth, and drank from the “bitter” waters, she will be rewarded with bearing a child she had been unable to conceive prior to this scandal. It is foolish to raise the question that since we know that G-d had known the truth all along, just as He does all the time, why was a miracle needed to demonstrate this truth? Her husband had not known, nor had her peers. את שרה, the word את here seems superfluous, as we do not hear about other barren women suddenly becoming pregnant at the same time. As a result of Avraham having prayed for the women in Avimelech’s palace to be able to give birth, even though his own wife had been unable to do so, he was rewarded in that she now became pregnant. All other barren women at the time were also now able to conceive. (Compare Torah Shleymah, 11, on this verse). כאשר אמר, “as He had said,” when the angel said that he would return around the same time in the following year and by then Sarah would have a baby. (Genesis 18,10) כאשר דבר, “as He had spoken.” A reference to a previous prophecy in Genesis 15,18, when G-d had concluded His first covenant with Avraham.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וה' פקד את שרה כאשר אמר, “and G’d had remembered Sarah just as He had said.” This means she became pregnant. ויעש ה' לשרה כאשר דבר, “and G’d did for Sarah as He had spoken.” This is a reference to her giving birth. This is why the Torah immediately follows by recording: “she became pregnant and gave birth.” The reason the Torah wrote this paragraph immediately after having informed us of the closing of the birth-canals in Avimelech’s household, etc., is to remind us that both the “so-called” natural process of becoming pregnant and giving birth and the inability to do so are in G’d’s hands. He alone is in charge of who becomes pregnant and who does not. The Midrash (Tanchuma Vayera 15) uses this verse to remind us of Ezekiel 17,24: “Then shall all the trees of the field know that it is I the Lord who have abased the lofty tree and exalted the lowly tree, who have dried up the green tree and made the withered tree bud. I the Lord have spoken, and I will act.” According to this Midrash the prophet referred to Sancheriv when he spoke about G’d “abasing the lofty tree,” seeing that in Ezekiel 31,3 Ashur (Sancheriv’s country) is described as “a cedar in Lebanon with beautiful branches of lofty stature.” On the other hand, the words: “I have exalted the lowly tree,” are a reference to the Jewish people who debased themselves as we know from Maleachi 2,9: “I too have made you despicable and vile in the eyes of all the people... said the Lord of Hosts.” The words: “I have dried out the green tree,” are a reference to Avimelech of whom the Torah said that G’d had closed up all his orifices, whereas the words “and I have made the withered tree bud,” refer to Sarah. The words: “I the Lord have spoken and I have acted,” refer to our verse in which G’d is reported as having remembered Sarah. As to the choice of the word והשם, “and the Lord,” Rabbi Yitzchak said: we find that the Torah writes in connection with the Sotah, the wife suspected of infidelity who had secreted herself with another man (Numbers 5,28), “but if the woman had not defiled herself and remained pure, etc.” Such a description fits Sarah who had been alone with Pharaoh in Egypt and Avimelech in the land of the Philistines and had retained her purity on both occasions. Such a woman had certainly established a claim that G’d should remember her. This is why the paragraph starts with the prefix ו, i.e. “and” in front of the word השם, “The Lord.”
Kli Yakar
And God remembered Sarah as He had said, and God did for Sarah as He had spoken. There is a distinction between the language of “remembering/taking note” [pekidah] and the language of “doing/action” [asiyah], because “remembering” is merely a mental recollection, while “doing” is a concrete action, as it is written And I will make you into a great nation. And it concludes (Genesis Rabbah 39:11) that the term “dibur” [speaking] indicates more affection than the term “amirah” [saying], because “dibur” indicates a clear articulation of matters with precise enunciation, and this corresponds to the language of “doing/action.” The explanation of this matter is: When Sarah was remembered [for conception], all barren women were remembered along with her, as I explained in Parshat Lech Lecha on the verse and she shall become nations (Genesis 17:16). However, even though they were remembered with her, they were not equal to Sarah, for Sarah’s remembrance is described with language of actual “doing” by the hands of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is written (Midrash Tehillim 139:5): The righteous are greater than the works of heaven and earth, for the righteous were created with two hands, meaning actual creation, and with language of “speaking” which indicates endearment, as it is written (Genesis 15:7): And behold, the word of God came to him: This one shall not inherit you, rather one who shall come from your own body, etc. But the other barren women are mentioned only with language of “remembrance” and with language of “saying” which doesn’t contain as much endearment, for in Parshat Lech Lecha it begins with language of “saying,” and there it states (Genesis 17:16): I will bless her and she shall become nations, meaning that she will be of help to all nations as the barren women of the nations of the lands will be remembered with her. This is what is meant by And God remembered et Sarah, as if to say “with Sarah.” The word “et” here serves as “with,” like who came to Egypt with [et] Jacob (Exodus 1:1), meaning that those barren women who were remembered with Sarah were only remembered with language of remembrance and saying. However, And God did for Sarah means for Sarah herself with language of speaking as He had spoken and actual doing. As an analogy: One who doesn’t greatly love their fellow, even though they sometimes remember them, nevertheless doesn’t do as much for them, but for their good friend, they enter into the thick of things and are active on their behalf. And regarding what is written And [Va] God with a vav, our Sages said (Bereishit Rabbah 51:2): “Wherever it says ‘And God’ it refers to Him and His heavenly court.” This supports our Sages’ statement (Rosh Hashanah 11a) that this remembrance occurred on Rosh Hashanah, when the Holy One, Blessed be He, sits in judgment with His entire heavenly court above, which is why we read this portion on Rosh Hashanah.
Tur HaArokh
וה' פקד את שרה, “at this time G’d remembered Sarah benevolently;” The words כאשר אמר, “as He had said,” implies that the word פקד refers to her becoming pregnant, whereas the words כאשר אמר, refer to her giving birth, according to Rashi. Nachmanides writes that the expression פקידה always refers to remembering something pertaining to the party that is being remembered, such as פקוד יפקוד אלוקים אתכם, “G’d will surely remember you, etc.” in Genesis 50,23. Therefore, the meaning of ה' פקד את שרה is that “G’d remembered Sarah and did for her as He had said.” This formula is customary in connection with women who had been barren until G’d remembered them benevolently, as in the case of Rachel Genesis 30,22 who could give birth after being benevolently remembered by G’d. Rabbi Joseph Kimchi points out that the reason that the Torah used the term פקידה when referring to Sarah, and the term זכירה for remembering with Rachel, was that in the case of Sarah who was already way past child bearing age, G’d had to extend Himself more than in the case of Rachel who was still in her twenties. G’d had to restore bodily functions to Sarah, functions that had not ceased functioning in the case of Rachel. The Mishnaic term for the days between two menstrual cycles is מפקידה לפקידה. Rachel’s menstrual cycles had not yet ceased to occur regularly at the time she became pregnant and bore Joseph as a result. In the case of Channah giving birth to Shemuel, at a time when she was still young, the prophet uses the term זכירה, when she first prayed for children, (Samuel I 1,11) whereas when we hear about her having 5 more children in Samuel I 1,21 the prophet attributes this to a פקידה by G’d. seeing she had aged greatly in the interval.
Cross-references: Ruth 1:6; I Samuel 2:21; Genesis 17:19; Genesis 15:1
And Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
verse value 3439 — אֱלֹהִֽים = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 44 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִֽים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "son" (בֵּ֖ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Abraham" (לְאַבְרָהָ֛ם, 6 letters). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "and·she·bore" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "son" (root בין, 146x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·his·old·age', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַתַּ֩הַר֩ [and·conceived] (611) + וַתֵּ֨לֶד [and·she·bore] (440) + שָׂרָ֧ה [Sarah] (505) + לְאַבְרָהָ֛ם [to·Abraham] (278) + בֵּ֖ן [son] (52) + לִזְקֻנָ֑יו [in·his·old·age] (203) + לַמּוֹעֵ֕ד [at·the·set·time] (150) + אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר [which·had·spoken] (707) + אֹת֖וֹ [it] (407) + אֱלֹהִֽים [God] (86) = 3439.
Onkelos
And Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time that Hashem had spoken to him.
Rashi
למועד אשר דבר אתו Render it as Onkelos translates: “At the appointed time which He had spoken: — the time He had said and appointed. When He had said to him (18:4) “At the set time I will return unto thee”, He scratched a mark in the wall and said to him (Genesis 53:6), “When the sunrays touch this mark next year she will bear a son” (Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 59:1). In his old age. That his [Yitzchok’s] facial features were similar to his [Avraham’s].
Ibn Ezra
"at the appointed time of which He had spoken with him" — [this refers to] the angel, who had asked, "Where is Sarah your wife?" (Gen. 18:9), and who likewise returned to him, for so he had said to him (Gen. 18:10). Hashem did not add to the name Yitzchak nor exchange it, for He had commanded that he be called by that name.
Or HaChaim
ותהר ותלד שרה לאברהם בן. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son for Abraham. The Torah needed to mention the pregnancy because we had learned that Sarah did not have a womb. This shows that G'd performed an additional miracle for her (Bereshit Rabbah 53,5). The reason the Torah underlines לאברהם is to make it clear that only this son is to be viewed as an extension of Abraham, not Ishmael, as we read later in 21,12. Even though the Torah described Hagar as bearing a son "for Abraham" (16,15), the fact is that at that time Abraham was still called Abram. Once his name was changed, Abraham was no longer to be referred to by his original name. This means inter alia that Ishmael was not a son of Abraham. Perhaps the statement in Berachot 13 that someone who calls Abraham Abram is guilty of violating a positive commandment is precisely for that reason. Our sages do not want Ishmael characterised as a son of Abraham. Such considerations did not apply to Jacob whose name was changed to Israel as he could comfortably identify with all his sons. I have written some more about this subject on 35,10. לזקוניו. In his old age. The Torah adds this word and does not content itself with the more appropriate לזקנתו, because, as I wrote earlier, there was an element of the divine soul missing in Isaac at the time he was born. Isaac had only been equipped with a soul which originated in the female emanations. The repetition of the words denoting birth in verses 2 and 3, are an allusion to the eventual birth of another soul during another stage of Abraham's old age. [לזקוניו, literally: "in his old ages." Ed.] In order for someone in this world to receive something, such as an additional dimension to his soul, it is essential that the one from whom the something new is imparted has prepared himself suitably prior to imparting it. This is a concept that kabbalists are familiar with. If Isaac had possessed only the "female" soul at the time of the עקדה, the fact that he himself was ready to receive an additional soul would not have sufficed. The Torah wrote here ותלד…לזקוניו, to indicate she gave birth "twice." When Abraham offered his son on the altar this was his preparation for the "second" birth of Isaac. A simpler explanation of the plural לזקוניו, would see in that word the old age of both Isaac's father and mother respectively. This would reflect Sarah's having spoken about both אחרי בלותי…ואדני זקן (18,12).
Chizkuni
למועד אשר דבר, at the appointed time He had spoken of. According to Rashi, this refers to 18,14. According to Rashi, based on Tanchuma, Avraham scratched a line in the sundial in order to check in due course whether Yitzchok would be born at that hour of day. (or to when she would become pregnant). If so how could we have a disagreement in the Talmud as to whether Yitzchok was born in Nissan or in Tishrey? Seeing that both Nissan and Tishrey share the same equinox this is quite possible.
Rabbeinu Bahya
למועד אשר דבר אותו אלוקים, “at the appointed time G’d had spoken of.” In this instance the word מועד is a time which G’d announced directly to Avraham when he was about to circumcise himself (compare 17,21) when He said “at this time in the coming year.” It was when Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah and Avram’s name to Avraham.
And Abraham called the name of his son that was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.
verse value 2794
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "Sarah" (שָׂרָ֖ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "whom·bore·to·him" (אֲשֶׁר־יָלְדָה־לּ֥וֹ, 9 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·name·of·his·son" (אֶֽת־שֶׁם־בְּנ֧וֹ), "who·was·born·to·him" (הַנּֽוֹלַד־ל֛וֹ), "whom·bore·to·him" (אֲשֶׁר־יָלְדָה־לּ֥וֹ). The root ילד appears 2 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "who·was·born·to·him" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "the·name·of·his·son" (root שם, 180x in Genesis); "and·called" (root קרא, 123x in Genesis). Full calculation: וַיִּקְרָ֨א [and·called] (317) + אַבְרָהָ֜ם [Abraham] (248) + אֶֽת־שֶׁם־בְּנ֧וֹ [the·name·of·his·son] (799) + הַנּֽוֹלַד־ל֛וֹ [who·was·born·to·him] (131) + אֲשֶׁר־יָלְדָה־לּ֥וֹ [whom·bore·to·him] (586) + שָׂרָ֖ה [Sarah] (505) + יִצְחָֽק [Isaac] (208) = 2794.
Onkelos
And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him — whom Sarah had borne to him — Isaac.
Or HaChaim
בנו הנולד לו, His son who had been born to him. Inasmuch as Abraham had another son, Ishmael, the Torah records here that Abraham stressed that this was the son who was fit to bear his name and who would fulfil the aspirations he had for him. No such comment is recorded at the time Ishmael was born. The Torah's addition אשר ילדה לו שרה, whom Sarah bore for him, is an allusion to the fact that both had constantly prayed. Abraham had asked that all his descendants should be issue of his righteous wife Sarah, whereas Sarah had also prayed to be the mother of all of Abraham's children. The word שרה refers to her prayer, whereas the words אשר ילדה לו, refer to Abraham's prayer. Another reason for this nuance is that the name יצחק, i.e. joy, reflects the fact that an old woman had given a son to an old man. Sarah spelled this out in greater detail in verse 6.
And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
verse value 3058 — וַיָּ֤מׇל = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 43 letters. Notable word values: "and·circumcised" (וַיָּ֤מׇל) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "his·son" (בְּנ֔וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "Isaac" (אֶת־יִצְחָ֣ק, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 86: and·circumcised, God. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "son·of·eight" (בֶּן־שְׁמֹנַ֖ת). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "his·son" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'days', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיָּ֤מׇל [and·circumcised] (86) + אַבְרָהָם֙ [Abraham] (248) + אֶת־יִצְחָ֣ק [Isaac] (609) + בְּנ֔וֹ [his·son] (58) + בֶּן־שְׁמֹנַ֖ת [son·of·eight] (842) + יָמִ֑ים [days] (100) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר [as] (521) + צִוָּ֥ה [commanded] (101) + אֹת֖וֹ [it] (407) + אֱלֹהִֽים [God] (86) = 3058.
Onkelos
And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as Hashem had commanded him.
Daat Zkenim
בן שמונת ימים, “when eight days old;” Nowadays (author’s time) the parents are in the habit of bringing the baby to the Synagogue where he is welcomed with the words: ברוך הבא, “blessed be the new arrival.” The reason why this formula has become popular is that the numerical value of the word הבא=8. The benediction therefore is meant to say: “blessed be he who is being circumcised on the eighth day.”
And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born to him.
verse value 1852 — ל֔וֹ = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 30 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֔וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֔וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Abraham" (וְאַבְרָהָ֖ם, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "at·the·birth·of" (בְּהִוָּ֣לֶד). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·son" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "at·the·birth·of" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "year" (root שנה, 169x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'year', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְאַבְרָהָ֖ם [and·Abraham] (254) + בֶּן־מְאַ֣ת [son·of·hundred] (493) + שָׁנָ֑ה [year] (355) + בְּהִוָּ֣לֶד [at·the·birth·of] (47) + ל֔וֹ [to·him] (36) + אֵ֖ת יִצְחָ֥ק [Isaac] (609) + בְּנֽוֹ [his·son] (58) = 1852.
Onkelos
And Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Sforno
ואברהם בן מאת שנה, although as an old man we could have expected Avraham to delegate the task of performing his son’s circumcision, he did so himself, ignoring the fact that he was an old man. [the commentary is based on the fact that we knew that Avraham was 100 years old at the time, so why repeat it?]
And Sarah said: "God has made laughter for me; every one who hears will laugh with me."
verse value 2564 — אֱלֹהִ֑ים = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 33 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֑ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִ֖י, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·who·hear" (כׇּל־הַשֹּׁמֵ֖עַ, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "laughter" (צְחֹ֕ק), "all·who·hear" (כׇּל־הַשֹּׁמֵ֖עַ), "will·laugh·with·me" (יִֽצְחַק־לִֽי). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "made" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'God', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַתֹּ֣אמֶר [and·she·said] (647) + שָׂרָ֔ה [Sarah] (505) + צְחֹ֕ק [laughter] (198) + עָ֥שָׂה [made] (375) + לִ֖י [to·me] (40) + אֱלֹהִ֑ים [God] (86) + כׇּל־הַשֹּׁמֵ֖עַ [all·who·hear] (465) + יִֽצְחַק־לִֽי [will·laugh·with·me] (248) = 2564.
Onkelos
And Sarah said: Joy has Hashem made for me; all who hear will rejoice with me.
Rashi
יצחק לי means will rejoice on my account. The Midrashic statement is (Genesis Rabbah 53:8): Many barren women were remembered together with her, many sick were healed in that day, many prayers were answered with hers and there was great rejoicing in the world.
Sforno
צחוק עשה לי אלקים, even though my son has to endure the pain of the circumcision at such as tender age, nonetheless my heart is full of joy. Therefore, everyone who hears about this event will rejoice on my behalf ignoring the aspect of the circumcision.
And she said: "Who would have said to Abraham, that Sarah should give children suck? for I have borne him a son in his old age."
verse value 2601
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 44 letters. Verse gematria: 2601 = 51². The shortest word is "who" (מִ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·I·have·borne" (כִּֽי־יָלַ֥דְתִּי, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "would·have·said" (מִלֵּל֙), "would·suckle" (הֵינִ֥יקָה). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "sons" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "that·I·have·borne" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis). First appearance of the root ינק ("would·suckle") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Sarah', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַתֹּ֗אמֶר [and·she·said] (647) + מִ֤י [who] (50) + מִלֵּל֙ [would·have·said] (100) + לְאַבְרָהָ֔ם [to·Abraham] (278) + הֵינִ֥יקָה [would·suckle] (180) + בָנִ֖ים [sons] (102) + שָׂרָ֑ה [Sarah] (505) + כִּֽי־יָלַ֥דְתִּי [that·I·have·borne] (484) + בֵ֖ן [son] (52) + לִזְקֻנָֽיו [in·his·old·age] (203) = 2601.
Onkelos
And she said: Who is the faithful one who said to Abraham — as a sure promise — that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne a son in his old age.
Rashi
מי מלל לאברהם The word מי is used as an exclamation of praise alluding to the distinguished position of the Being spoken of. The sense therefore is: See, Who it is, and to what extent He keeps his promise! The Holy One, blessed be He, promises and performs! מלל SAID — Scripture employs here an unusual expression and does not use דבר, said, because its numerical value (i. e. of מלל) is one hundred, signifying as much as: Who was it who spoke in reference to the end of one hundred years of Abraham’s life (Genesis Rabbah 53:9). הניקה בנים שרה THAT SARAH WILL HAVE SUCKLED CHILDREN. What is the force of the word “children”, in the plural? On the feast-day princesses brought their children with them and she (Sarah) gave them suck, for these women said, “Sarah has not given birth to a son; she has brought into her house a foundling from the street” (Bava Metzia 87a).
Ramban
‘MI’ (WHO) WOULD HAVE SAID UNTO ABRAHAM. The word mi is used as an exclamation of praise and distinction. The sense of the verse is thus: “See Whom it is and to what extent He keeps His promise. He promises and performs!” Thus the language of Rashi. But we do not find the word mi used in this way in expressions of distinction and honor. Instead, we find it used only in a derogatory sense: ‘Mi’ (Who is) Abimelech, and ‘mi’ (who is) Shechem? ‘Mi’ (Who is) the son of Jesse? The correct interpretation appears to me to be that Sarah said, “G-d hath made laughter for me; and every one that heareth will laugh on account of me, here. filling his mouth with song and laughter for the wonder that has been done to me, for who among the hearers would have previously said to Abraham that Sarah will suckle children? There is not a person in the world who would have told him this, even merely to console him, for the possibility would never have occurred to anyone.” Onkelos’ rendition is close to this interpretation: “How faithful is He who spoke to Abraham! He has fulfilled His word that Sarah will suckle children.” That is to say, “Everyone that heareth will laugh on account of me” for there is no person who would have maintained his credulity even in the eyes of Abraham if he were to have told him this wonder.
Chizkuni
מי מלל, “who would have dared predict that the day would come when I would nurse children?” If someone had predicted this he would not have been believed.
Tur HaArokh
מי מלל לאברהם, “who had foretold Avraham, etc.” According to Rashi, the word מלל is a form of a laudatory prediction such as an exclamation of “who would have known that Avraham is so distinguished and that HE who promised him this was capable of fulfilling his promise.” Nachmanides, on the other hand, writes that the word מי never introduces something laudatory but the contrary. Examples cited are the expressions מי אבימלך and מי דוד ומי אנשיו, in the Book of Judges and the Book of Samuel, respectively. He explains that Sarah exclaimed “the reason why all the people who hear about me nursing children will be so happy is that none ever believed that anyone who predicted that Avraham would father children was in earnest and knew what he was talking about.”
And the child grew, and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
verse value 2358
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 45 letters. Verse gematria: 2358 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "the·boy" (הַיֶּ֖לֶד, 4 letters) and the longest is "Isaac" (אֶת־יִצְחָֽק, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·was·weaned" (וַיִּגָּמַ֑ל). The root גמל appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·boy" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "and·made" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis); "on·the·day" (root יום, 126x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·was·weaned', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַיִּגְדַּ֥ל [and·grew·up] (53) + הַיֶּ֖לֶד [the·boy] (49) + וַיִּגָּמַ֑ל [and·was·weaned] (89) + וַיַּ֤עַשׂ [and·made] (386) + אַבְרָהָם֙ [Abraham] (248) + מִשְׁתֶּ֣ה [feast] (745) + גָד֔וֹל [great] (43) + בְּי֖וֹם [on·the·day] (58) + הִגָּמֵ֥ל [being·weaned] (78) + אֶת־יִצְחָֽק [Isaac] (609) = 2358.
Onkelos
And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.
Rashi
ויגמל AND HE WAS WEANED — at the expiration of twenty- four months (Gittin 75b). משתה גדול A GREAT FEAST — it is so designated because the great men of that generation were present at it (Genesis Rabbah 53:10) — Shem, Eber and Abimelech (Tanchuma Yashan, Vayishlach 23).
Chizkuni
ויעש אברהם משתה גדול, “Avraham prepared a great feast.” This was the custom in those days, as opposed to nowadays when the feast is prepared on the day of the circumcision compare Samuel I 1,24, when Chanah took her two year old son to the High Priest Eli after having weaned him. She took with her oxen and sheep to offer as a sacrifice in the Temple.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויעש אברהם משתה גדול, “Avraham prepared a great feast.” There is no doubt that the notables in the land were invited to this feast seeing that the birth of Yitzchak had been a most remarkable event. Also, Avraham was a very wealthy man, and it is quite possible that even kings of surrounding countries attended this feast. We know that kings and other rulers sought out Avraham’s advice and made a point of being on good terms with him (compare 21,23). As the occasion was one of physical indulgence, the names of the participants have not been mentioned by the Torah. We find that Scripture does make a point of mentioning who went to a house of mourning as these people troubled themselves to share in someone’s else’s grief. This is why the Book of Job mentions not only who came to visit him but also that these people traveled a great distance in order to offer their support to Job in such a time. (compare Job 2,11) This caused Solomon to say in Kohelet: 7,2 “it is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house of feasting.” By not mentioning the names of the participants the Torah hints that all pleasures in this life are only vain and pointless. ביום הגמל את יצחק, ”on the day Yitzchak was weaned.” It is customary for people to throw a party when a baby is born or on the day it is being circumcised, in order to honour the fulfillment of the commandment. We need to explore why Avraham had waited so long (24 months according to Rashi) before throwing this party. It is possible that he delayed because he wanted to wait until the day Yitzchak would begin to study the Torah. This is not as strange as it may appear at first glance as according to tradition Avraham himself was only three years old when he first recognised that there is a G’d in heaven who is the prime cause of the universe’s existence (compare Nedarim 32). This is why he did not make this festive meal either on the day of Yitzchak’s birth or on the day he was circumcised. He wanted the weaning to coincide with the joy of introducing his son to Torah-study, a joy of which David said פקודי ה' משמחי לב, “The Lord’s commandments fill the heart with joy” (Psalms 19,9). We have another verse in Isaiah 28,9 את מי יורה דעה, ואת מי יבין שמועה? גמולי מחלב, ”to whom would he give instruction? To whom expound a message? To those newly weaned from milk.” As soon as the baby is weaned it becomes sanctified to be separated and trained in the service of the Lord. From that point on Yitzchak would become potentially ready to be a burnt-offering for G’d according to Bereshit Rabbah 64,3. As such he was not allowed to leave the sacred precincts of the Holy Land just as such an offering must not leave the sacred precincts of the Holy Temple. Furthermore, it is a well known fact that a father’s love for his son is not usually something that develops strongly from the day he is born or is weaned, but after he has been weaned and begins to grow up. A Midrashic interpretation sees in the words ביום הגמל את יצחק an allusion to ביום ה'ג מל יצחק, that Avraham circumcised Yitzchak on the eighth’s day. This would be the basis for our tradition to make a festive meal on the day we circumcise our children, seeing that according to that Midrash (Pessikta Zutrata on this verse) the meal described in the Torah did take place on the day Yitzchak was circumcised. The custom is perfectly legitimate. Moreover, concerning this David said (Psalms 50,5) אספו לי חסידי כורתי בריתי עלי זבח, “Bring in My devotees. who made a covenant with Me over sacrifice!”
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, making sport.
verse value 3584
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "Sarah" (שָׂרָ֜ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "son·of·Hagar" (אֶֽת־בֶּן־הָגָ֧ר, 7 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "son·of·Hagar" (אֶֽת־בֶּן־הָגָ֧ר). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "whom·she·bore" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "son·of·Hagar" (root בין, 146x in Genesis); "and·saw" (root ראה, 140x in Genesis). Full calculation: וַתֵּ֨רֶא [and·saw] (607) + שָׂרָ֜ה [Sarah] (505) + אֶֽת־בֶּן־הָגָ֧ר [son·of·Hagar] (661) + הַמִּצְרִ֛ית [the·Egyptian] (745) + אֲשֶׁר־יָלְדָ֥ה [whom·she·bore] (550) + לְאַבְרָהָ֖ם [to·Abraham] (278) + מְצַחֵֽק [mocking] (238) = 3584.
Onkelos
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing.
Rashi
מצחק MAKING SPORT — This means worshipping idols, as it is said in reference of the Golden Calf, (Exodus 32:6) “And they rose up to make merry (לצחק).” Another explanation is that it refers to immoral conduct, just as you say in reference to Potiphar’s wife, (Genesis 39:17) “To mock (לצחק) at me.” Another explanation is that it refers to murder, as (2 Samuel 2:14) “Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and make sport (וישחקו) before us” (where they fought with and killed one another) From Sarah’s reply — “for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son ״ — you may infer that he (Ishmael) was quarrelling with Isaac about the inheritance, saying, “I am the first-born and will, therefore, take a double portion”. They went into the field and he (Ishmael) took his bow and shot arrows at him (Isaac), just as you say (Proverbs 26:18-19) “As a madman who casteth firebrands, [arrows and death] and says: I am only מצחק mocking” (Genesis Rabbah 53:11).
Ramban
‘METZACHEIK’ (MAKING SPORT). This refers to worshipping idols, murder and sexual immorality. He [Ishmael] quarrelled with Isaac about inheritance, saying, “I am the first-born and will take a double portion.” They then went into the field, and Ishmael took his bow and shot arrows at Isaac, just as you say, As a madman who casteth firebrands, arrows and death, so is the man who deceiveth his neighbor, and saith, Am I not in sport? It is from Sarah’s complaint to Abraham — for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir, etc. here. — that you learn [that they were quarrelling about the inheritance]. All this is Rashi’s language. Here too, Hence the word “too.” the Rabbi writes all the different opinions, [mentioned in the following]: “We have been taught: A part thereof is mentioned in Rosh Hashanah 18b. Rabbi Shimon the son of Eleazar said, ‘There are four interpretations of Rabbi Akiba which I interpret differently, and my interpretation seems more acceptable than his. Rabbi Akiba interpreted: “And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne unto Abraham, making sport. Making sport is but a designation for idolatry, etc.” But I say Heaven forbid that such be in the house of the righteous one! Is it possible that he, of whom it was written, For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household, etc., will have in his household idolatry, sexual immorality, and murder? Making sport mentioned here is but a designation for the inheritance. When Isaac was born and everyone rejoiced, Ishmael said to them, “Fools, I am the first-born, and I take a double portion.” From the complaint of our mother Sarah to Abraham you learn [that making sport refers to the inheritance]. And my interpretation seems more acceptable than that of Rabbi Akiba.’”The expression of the Rabbi, “that Ishmael quarrelled with Isaac about the inheritance,” also does not appear correct for if so, this must have happened much later when Isaac was grown up, and Ishmael would then have been too big for his mother to carry him on her shoulder. Our Rabbis have also said ” Isaac was then three years of age (see Note 330). See also the note in my Hebrew commentary, p. 123. that Ishmael was seventeen years old [at the time he left his father’s house]. If so, this happened at the time when Isaac was weaned, (He was thirteen at his circumcision (17:25), and a year later Isaac was born.) Now since Ishmael was seventeen when he left his father’s house, Isaac was three years old at the time, at which age he was weaned (Verse 8). [and Isaac was thus too young for Ishmael to quarrel with him about the inheritance]. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said in line with the literal interpretation of Scripture that metzachek means “playing,” as is normal for every boy, and she was jealous of him because he was bigger than her son. The correct interpretation appears to me to be that this event took place on the day that Isaac was weaned, here. and Sarah saw Ishmael mocking Isaac or the great feast. It is for this reason that the verse says, And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian — rather than Ishmael — making sport. Similarly, she said, Cast out this bondwoman and her son, here. for she said: “The slave who mocks his master is deserving of death or stripes, but I want only that you cast him out from before me, and that he should in no way inherit your belongings together with my son, who is the son of the mistress.” She also told Abraham to cast out his mother, as the boy was unable to leave her for he would die if he were to leave his mother.
Ibn Ezra
"making sport" — for such is the way of every young lad. And she [Sarah] was jealous of him, because he was older than her son.
Sforno
את בן הגר המצרית, she assumed that the reason Ishmael had made disparaging remarks about Yitzchok was due to his mother putting him up to it, or to the Egyptian genes of his mother coming into play here. We have a saying in Sukkah 56 that the prattle of children in public reflects either what they picked up from their father or what they picked up from their mother. In the case of Ishmael, he certainly did not overhear his father make such disparaging remarks. מצחק, making fun of the big party Avraham had given to mark the weaning of Yitzchok, He claimed that surely Sarah must have become pregnant from Avimelech. The reason he had not made such remarks already at the time when Yitzchok had been born, was because he had only overheard wicked gossip about this at a later stage, and now he repeated what he had heard.
Chizkuni
את בן הגר מצחק, “showing off in front of his younger brother, as older brothers are wont to do.” (Ibn Ezra) Sarah, Yitzchok’s mother, could not stand her son being belittled by Ishmael. She was deeply offended by Ishmael’s behaviour, presumably encouraged by his mother.
Rabbeinu Bahya
מצחק, “making sport.” The word is a euphemism for idolatry, as well as murder and incestuous sexual relations. The subject of Ishmael’s and Yitzchak’s quarrel concerned the inheritance. Ishmael said to Yitzchak: “I am the firstborn and as such I am entitled two thirds (two parts) of the inheritance.” When they were out in the field Ishmael would shoot arrows aimed at Yitzchak. This is the true meaning of Proverbs 26,18-19: כמתלהלה היורה זקים חצים ומות. כן איש רמה את רעהו ואמר הלא משחק אני. “Like a man who throws firebrands, arrows and death; is who deceives his neighbour claiming “I am only joking.” We can derive this from Sarah’s reply: “the son of this slave-woman will not inherit together with my son “ This is the way Rashi explained these words. Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra explains the word מצחק as meaning “playing.” The activity was normal for any young boy but Sarah was jealous of the fact that Ishmael was senior to her son in years. Nachmanides understands the word to mean that Ishmael was disparaging Yitzchak, insulting him by belittling him. This is why Sarah emphasised that Ishmael was “the son of the Egyptian woman Hagar,” i.e. the son of a slave. The Torah need merely have written that “Ishmael was mocking,” and we would all have known to whom the words referred. The Torah used this introduction to justify Sarah’s request to expel both the mother and her son as the penalty for a slave who mocks his master is death. Sarah did not demand that the death-penalty be imposed but was satisfied if Avraham would expel both Ishmael and his mother. The whole episode caused Avraham a great deal of anguish; he was in a dilemma. The Torah underlines that his dilemma was על אודות בנו, ‘on account of his son’, not on account of Hagar who had served as his concubine when he slept with her and she conceived Ishmael. Had Sarah demanded only that Ishmael’s mother be expelled, thus neutralising her negative influence on her son, Avraham would not have objected at all.
Tur HaArokh
מצחק, making ”blasphemous comments” according to Rashi. Ibn Ezra claims that Ishmael used the fact that he was older and stronger to make life somewhat difficult for Yitzchok who could not fight back. He indulged in pranks like most youngsters. Sarah could not stand watching this. Nachmanides claims that the incident occurred on the day Yitzchok was weaned, as appears from the context of our verse. It is therefore wrong to interpret Ishmael’s behaviour as connected to his disputing Yitzchok’s right to inherit the estate of his father when the time would come as stated by Rashi. Rather, Ishmael was making snide comments about the great feast Avraham had prepared in honour of Yitzchok’s being weaned. Sarah claimed that a slave who makes snide remarks about his master deserves either the death penalty or severe physical punishment. She, however would be content to see him expelled from the household to ensure he would not be a contender for Avraham’s estate claiming to share it with Yitzchok.
Therefore she said to Abraham: "Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac."
verse value 3943
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 57 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Abraham" (לְאַבְרָהָ֔ם, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 413: this, this. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "cast·out" (גָּרֵ֛שׁ), "the·slave-woman" (הָאָמָ֥ה), "and·her·son" (וְאֶת־בְּנָ֑הּ). The root זאת appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "and·her·son" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "for" (root כי, 167x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·her·son', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ [and·she·said] (647) + לְאַבְרָהָ֔ם [to·Abraham] (278) + גָּרֵ֛שׁ [cast·out] (503) + הָאָמָ֥ה [the·slave-woman] (51) + הַזֹּ֖את [this] (413) + וְאֶת־בְּנָ֑הּ [and·her·son] (464) + כִּ֣י [for] (30) + לֹ֤א [not] (31) + יִירַשׁ֙ [shall·inherit] (520) + בֶּן־הָאָמָ֣ה [the·son·of·the·slave-woman] (103) + הַזֹּ֔את [this] (413) + עִם־בְּנִ֖י [with·my·son] (172) + עִם־יִצְחָֽק [with·Isaac] (318) = 3943.
Onkelos
And she said to Abraham: Drive away this maidservant and her son, for the son of this maidservant shall not inherit together with my son, with Isaac.
Rashi
עם בני עם יצחק WITH MY SON, WITH ISAAC —For since this is my son, even though he were not as good as Isaac really is, or if he were as good a man as Isaac really is, even though he were not my son, this one (Ishmael) is not deserving of inheriting with him: how much less is he deserving of inheriting with my son, with Isaac — with one who possesses both these qualities (of being my son and of being the good man Isaac) (Genesis Rabbah 53:11).
Sforno
גרש האמה הזאת ואת בנה, seeing that what the son did was at the instigation of his mother. He spread lies about Yitzchok’s legitimacy in order to establish a claim to your inheritance. כי לא יירש בן האמה, seeing that he is not part of your family; the child always is considered as part of the halachically defective parent. (Maimonides issurey bi-ah 15,7)
Chizkuni
כי לא יירש, “for he will not have a share in the inheritance;” it appears clear from this remark of Sarah that Ishmael had claimed a double portion of his eventual inheritance based on the fact that he was his father’s firstborn son. (Compare Bereshit Rabbah 53,11)
Kli Yakar
“For the son of this maidservant shall not inherit.” And [one might ask] just because they expelled him, would he not be able to return to his inheritance after his father’s death? It appears that [Sarah] is speaking about the inheritance of [behavioral] actions, for Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she bore to Abraham, mocking through sexual impropriety. This was because he was the son of Hagar the Egyptian who bore him similar to her nature, as all Egyptians are steeped in promiscuity, as it is said and whose issue was like that of horses (Ezekiel 23:20). And their offspring are like them. Therefore, Sarah said to expel him so that Isaac would not learn from his actions. And if you would say, on the contrary, perhaps Isaac would transform him and return him to the right path, to this she said, “I know through prophecy that he will not inherit with my son from the good deeds of his father Abraham,” and therefore the concern remained that Isaac might learn from him. For more on this topic, see later in Parshat Chayei Sarah on the verse and her name was Keturah (Genesis 25:1).
And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight on account of his son.
verse value 1501
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 30 letters. The shortest word is "concerning" (עַ֖ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·the·eyes·of" (בְּעֵינֵ֣י, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "on·account·of" (אוֹדֹ֥ת). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·son" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "the·matter" (root דבר, 133x in Genesis); "concerning" (root על, 90x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Abraham', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּ֧רַע [and·was·displeased] (286) + הַדָּבָ֛ר [the·matter] (211) + מְאֹ֖ד [very] (45) + בְּעֵינֵ֣י [in·the·eyes·of] (142) + אַבְרָהָ֑ם [Abraham] (248) + עַ֖ל [concerning] (100) + אוֹדֹ֥ת [on·account·of] (411) + בְּנֽוֹ [his·son] (58) = 1501.
Onkelos
And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham's eyes on account of his son.
Rashi
על אדות בנו ON ACCOUNT OF HIS SON — because he heard that he had taken to degenerate ways (Exodus Rabbah 1:1). The real meaning, however, is because she (Sarah) had told him to send him away.
Ramban
AND THE THING WAS VERY GRIEVOUS IN ABRAHAM’s SIGHT ON ACCOUNT OF HIS SON. That is, for he had taken to degenerate ways. The plain meaning, however, is that he was grieved because she had told him to send him away. Thus the language of Rashi. The correct interpretation appears to me to be that Scripture is speaking in honor of Abraham, saying that the reason why the matter was very displeasing to him was not due to a craving for his concubine and his desire for her. Therefore, if she had told him to cast out only the maidservant, he would have done her will. But it was on account of his son that he was very much incensed and did not want to listen to her. But the Holy One, blessed be He, told him that he should not resent it at all, neither for the son nor for the maidservant, and that he should listen to Sarah’s bidding for it is through Isaac alone that his name will be carried on, while Ishmael will not be referred to as his offspring. Now because Abraham feared lest an accident happen to Ishmael upon his sending him away, He told him that He will make a nation of him and He will bless him since he is indeed his son.
Ibn Ezra
"odot" — [means] the same as "davar" [i.e., "matter" / "concerning"].
Or HaChaim
על אודות בנו. On account of his son. Abraham was afraid that the expulsion would result in Ishmael pursuing unwholesome activities because he felt rejected. He had to be concerned about this since Ishmael was his son after all. Another meaning of this expression is that Abraham resented Sarah's describing Ishmael as merely "the son of this slave-woman." G'd now interfered by telling him that Sarah was entirely justified. When G'd pointedly referred to Ishmael as הנער, the lad, and not as "your son," He made it plain that only Isaac would be considered an extension of Abraham. G'd added: "also the son of this slave-woman," when He referred to Ishmael as having a major role in history. When the Torah describes Abraham as complying with Sarah's i.e. G'd's request, he no longer refers to Ishmael as "his son," but only as "the child."
Tur HaArokh
על אודות בנו. “on account of his son.” According to Rashi, Avraham feared that expelling him would lead to his abandoning the teachings he had learned in his home. Nachmanides writes that the Torah praises Avraham in this verse for not objecting to the demand for the expulsion of his concubine and her son as he was so fond of Hagar, but that he was troubled that the expulsion of his son would even further inhibit his growing up in the monotheistic Abrahamitic tradition. He waited until he had been instructed by G’d to follow Sarah’s instincts when it came to pedagogy. Seeing that Avraham was concerned about the personal security of Ishmael, He promised him that his son Ishmael would develop into a great nation. On the other hand, Yitzchok would be the recipient of G’d’s comprehensive blessings.
And God said to Abraham: "Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad, and because of your bondwoman; in all that Sarah says to you, heed her voice; for through Isaac shall your descendants be called."
verse value 5270 — אֱלֹהִ֜ים = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 80 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֜ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "all" (כֹּל֩, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Abraham" (אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֗ם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 311: not·be·distressed, shall·be·called. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "not·be·distressed" (אַל־יֵרַ֤ע), "over·the·boy" (עַל־הַנַּ֣עַר), "or·about·your·slave-woman" (וְעַל־אֲמָתֶ֔ךָ). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·her·voice', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 5 words.
Onkelos
And Hashem said to Abraham: Let it not be displeasing in your eyes concerning the youth and concerning your maidservant; in all that Sarah says to you, heed her, for through Isaac shall descendants be called for you.
Rashi
שמע בקולה HEARKEN UNTO HER VOICE — we may infer that Abraham was inferior to Sarah in respect of prophecy (Exodus Rabbah 1:1).
Sforno
אל ירע בעיניך על הנער ועל אמתך. כל אשר תאמר אליך שרה, do not be angry regarding anything that Sarah says to you concerning the lad and the maid, i.e. to expel them while they wear proof that they are slaves. Avraham’s having placed Ishmael’s on Hagar’s shoulder was a clear sign that Hagar was a slave woman who was charged with carrying Ishmael (verse 14) כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע, for your descendants will be known through Yitzchok, and Ishmael and his sons will be slaves to him. Ishmael will not be known historically for his being a son of Avraham.
Rashbam
יקרא לך זרע, a reference to the covenant between G’d and Avraham, which included that Avraham’s seed would remain strangers in a land not theirs before they would inherit the land of Canaan (15,13). G’d reminded him that his promise referred to Yitzchok and not to Ishmael.
And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is your seed."
verse value 1348
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 30 letters. The shortest word is "that" (כִּ֥י, 2 letters) and the longest is "son·of·the·slave-woman" (אֶת־בֶּן־הָאָמָ֖ה, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 49: and·even, into·a·nation. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "son·of·the·slave-woman" (אֶת־בֶּן־הָאָמָ֖ה). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root כי, 167x in Genesis); "son·of·the·slave-woman" (root בין, 146x in Genesis); "he" (root הוא, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'I·will·make·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְגַ֥ם [and·even] (49) + אֶת־בֶּן־הָאָמָ֖ה [son·of·the·slave-woman] (504) + לְג֣וֹי [into·a·nation] (49) + אֲשִׂימֶ֑נּוּ [I·will·make·him] (407) + כִּ֥י [that] (30) + זַרְעֲךָ֖ [your·seed] (297) + הֽוּא [he] (12) = 1348.
Onkelos
And also the son of the maidservant I will make into a nation, for he is your son.
Sforno
וגם את בן האמה, you have no reason to worry about expelling your son, as you are expelling the son of the slave woman. You do not expel him in his capacity of being your son. At any rate, I will make him into a nation seeing that he is your seed, not because he deserves such a distinction.
And Abraham arose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away; and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
verse value 6154
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 77 letters. The shortest word is "put" (שָׂ֧ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·took·bread" (וַיִּֽקַּֽח־לֶ֩חֶם֩, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 456: and·the·child, and·went. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·took·bread" (וַיִּֽקַּֽח־לֶ֩חֶם֩), "and·a·skin·of" (וְחֵ֨מַת), "and·the·child" (וְאֶת־הַיֶּ֖לֶד). The root שכם appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·the·child" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "and·gave" (root נתן, 150x in Genesis); "and·took·bread" (root לקח, 142x in Genesis). First appearance of the root חמת ("and·a·skin·of") in Genesis. First appearance of the root שים ("put") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·sent·her·away', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 5 words.
Onkelos
And Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar, placing them on her shoulder, and the child as well, and he sent her away. And she went and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
Rashi
לחם וחמת מים BREAD AND A BOTTLE OF WATER — but not silver and gold, because he hated him for taking to degenerate ways (Exodus Rabbah 1:1). ואת הילד AND THE CHILD — the child, too, he placed on her shoulder, for Sarah had cast an evil eye upon him, so that a fever seized him and he could not walk (Genesis Rabbah 53:13). ותלך ותתע AND SHE WENT AND WANDERED — she reverted to the idol worship of her father’s house (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 30).
Ramban
AND THE CHILD, AND HE SENT HER AWAY. This is to be understood in connection with the above: And he gave to Hagar [the bread and bottle of water]… and the child, for he gave her the child also to go with her wherever she will go.
Ibn Ezra
"a skin of water" — a vessel; it may have been made of hide or of wood. And similar to it is "your flask" (Hab. 2:15), where the same word denotes a vessel. Many marvel at Abraham: how could he drive out his son? He also sent the boy away with his mother empty-handed — where was his generosity? But the wonder is at those who wonder, for Abraham did everything as Hashem had commanded him. Had he given money to Hagar without Sarah's consent, he would not have kept the commandment of Hashem. And indeed in the end, after Sarah's death, he did give gifts to the sons of Ishmael. "Bread and a skin of water" — he gave [these] to Hagar and placed them on her shoulder, and he said to her: take your son with you, and he sent her away. It is possible that he also gave her silver and gold, and the text simply did not specify. He gave her bread and water sufficient to last until Beer-sheba, for Abraham was then in Gerar. Now she walked and did not know the way, and so she wandered. And her son fell ill from lack of water, and after she had taken him in her bosom and saw that his life was departing from thirst, she cast him down.
Sforno
שם על שכמה, the hose containing the water; this was in order to show that she was a slave woman. A reminder of the angel at the time having told her that she was to submit to her mistress Sarah (16,9) A righteous person of the caliber of Avraham would certainly not send away a woman and her son without provisions adequate to ensure that she can reach the next location where new provisions can be obtained. [I wonder why Hagar was not given an animal to ride on? Clearly, Avraham was intent that she should be known to be a slave by the fact that she had to travel on foot. Ed.] Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 53,15 understand the words ויהי אלוקים את הנער in verse 20, to mean that she had both donkeys and camels at her disposal as well as her son’s servants. If we accept that line in the Midrash at face value, the crisis which overtook Hagar and Ishmael was only that they ran out of water due to having lost their way in the desert. As soon as they found a source of water they had all the means to establish themselves economically, even in the midst of the desert. It was natural for Ishmael to settle in the desert as his mother had been told already while she was pregnant that here son would be a פרא אדם, someone preferring to live in the wilderness, not in civilised society. ואת הילד, he also gave her the child; וישלחה, he first accompanied her some distance out of his loving concern for them. (compare 18,16).
Or HaChaim
על שכמה ואת הילד. On her shoulder together with the child. Abraham put Ishmael also on Hagar's shoulder because the latter refused to leave his father's house. As a result Abraham tied him up as one ties up a child, put him on Hagar's shoulder and expelled her.
Chizkuni
ויקח לחם וחמת מים, “he took bread and hose full of water.” Rashi points out that he did not give Hagar silver or gold, as he himself had grown to dislike Ishmael, seeing that he had become a degenerate. Besides, at this stage Avraham did not have any “inheritance” at his disposal that he could give away, seeing that he himself was only a stranger in the land, just as was his son Ishmael. We have learned in the Talmud Kidushin 17 that when a father and a son convert to Judaism they are both “strangers,” i.e. converts, but no longer legally considered as related to one another. As a result, there does not exist a “fatherson” relationship to base any inheritance claim on. (Choshen Mishpot 283) Nonetheless, it had been Avraham’s intention after Sarah’s death to give his son Ishmael “gifts,” as opposed to an inheritance, as is clear from how he treated the sons of Keturah, his concubine after Sarah’s death (and Yitzchok having married and having received his full inheritance. Genesis 25,5). שם על שכמה, “he placed on Hagar’s shoulder;” this refers to the bread and the hose of water. [Not as most commentators assume to Ishmael. Ed.] ואת הילד, “and the boy;” he made sure that she held him by her hand. According to Rashi, Ishmael had been taken ill, so that Hagar had to carry him also. If you were to argue that we have been taught that sickness did not exist until Yaakov was on his deathbed, (Baba Metzia 87) we must assume that the Talmud refers to terminal sickness, but that did not include dying from thirst, etc. וישלחה, “he sent her off,” into freedom since having been intimate with her he was not allowed to sell her to another owner according to Torah law. (Compare Exodus 21,11)
Rabbeinu Bahya
וישכם אברהם בבוקר ויקח לחם וחמת מים, “Avraham rose early in the morning; he took bread and a skin-bottle of water, etc.” He should have given Hagar silver and gold and camels to transport both her, Ishmael, and their belongings seeing he had plenty of money to spare. After all, had he not prayed for his son’s welfare in 17,18 saying to G’d: לו ישמעאל יחיה לפניך, “if only Ishmael live (a good life) in Your presence?” However, seeing that Sarah had told him to expel Hagar and her son, and G’d had told him to obey everything that Sarah said to him (verse 12), Avraham complied and expelled them with the minimum of creature comforts plus a survival kit only. This is Nachmanides’ view. One may view the fact that Avraham provided Hagar with bread and water as an allusion to something that he foresaw concerning the future when his descendants would be oppressed by the Arabs. He foresaw that the Ishmaelites would hate the Jews more than any other nation on earth hated them. Avraham was careful not to deny Hagar and Ishmael the necessities to ensure their survival, something with which Jews provide even their enemies. He modeled himself after Proverbs 25,21 “If your enemy is hungry feed him bread; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.”
Tur HaArokh
שם על שכמו ואת הילד, “he placed it on her shoulder together with the child.” According to our sages Avraham placed both the jug of water as well as Ishmael on Hagar’s shoulders. According to the plain meaning of the verse the meaning of the words ואת הילד is that these words mean that not only Hagar but also Ishmael would walk with Hagar (not ride) also. ותלך ותתע במדבר, ”She went and lost her way in the desert.” The water supply that Avraham had provided was exhausted only because instead of walking straight towards her destination, she procrastinated and made detours.
And the water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
verse value 3100 — אַחַ֥ד = 13 (echad/ahavah)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 37 letters. Notable word values: "one" (אַחַ֥ד) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). Verse gematria: 3100 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "under" (תַּ֖חַת, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·the·skin" (מִן־הַחֵ֑מֶת, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "from·the·skin" (מִן־הַחֵ֑מֶת), "and·cast" (וַתַּשְׁלֵ֣ךְ), "the·child" (אֶת־הַיֶּ֔לֶד). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "the·child" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "the·waters" (root מים, 50x in Genesis); "one" (root אחד, 45x in Genesis). First appearance of the root שלך ("and·cast") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·the·skin', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיִּכְל֥וּ [and·were·spent] (72) + הַמַּ֖יִם [the·waters] (95) + מִן־הַחֵ֑מֶת [from·the·skin] (543) + וַתַּשְׁלֵ֣ךְ [and·cast] (756) + אֶת־הַיֶּ֔לֶד [the·child] (450) + תַּ֖חַת [under] (808) + אַחַ֥ד [one] (13) + הַשִּׂיחִֽם [the·bushes] (363) = 3100.
Onkelos
And the water in the skin was spent, and she cast the child under one of the trees.
Rashi
ויכלו המים AND THE WATER WAS SPENT, because it is the nature of sick people to drink much (Genesis Rabbah 53:13).
Ramban
AND SHE CAST THE CHILD. Thirst overtook him and he was unable to walk, and so his mother laid him under the tree, cast away and abandoned. It may be that the word vatashleich (and she cast) is similar in sense to the verses: And He cast them into another land; Cast me not away from Thy presence, meaning “sending away.”Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said: “And she cast for she had taken him onto her lap when he was weakened by thirst, [and seeing that he was expiring from thirst, she cast him from her].”Our Rabbis have said that he was sick at the time he sent him away, and therefore he put the child on her shoulder. This is the sense of the word vatashleich (and she cast) him: [until that point she had carried him]. All this occurred to Abraham because he had been commanded to do whatever Sarah said, and she commanded that he send him away immediately, and it was at her command that he did not give them silver and gold, servants, and camels to bear them.
Ibn Ezra
"under one of the bushes" — [that is,] the trees.
Chizkuni
ויכלו המים מן החמת, “the water in the hose ran out,” before they reached an inn. Avraham had provided only enough water for them to reach the nearest settlement of human beings and she lost her way in the desert. ותשלך את הילד, “she abandoned the child,” (by leaving him among some bushes) she did not do so because she could no longer carry him; she did so because he was about to die from thirst; when he first took sick she had carried him for a while.
Tur HaArokh
ותשלך את הילד, “She threw away the child.” According to the homiletical approach, she threw Ishmael off her shoulder. According to the plain meaning of the text, she dropped him under a tree, the expression being similar to וישליכם אל ארץ אחרת, “He exiled them to another country. (Deuteronomy 29,27) Ibn Ezra understands the word ותשלך to mean that Hagar moved him down to her lap as a result of becoming tired and exhausted from thirst. As to why Avraham gave Hagar only bread and water and no supply of silver or gold or camels to ride on, this was due to his having been commanded by G’d to obey Sarah’s instructions, and she had objected to this.
And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow-shot; for she said: "Let me not look upon the death of the child." And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.
verse value 5989
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 68 letters. The shortest word is "to·her" (לָ֜הּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "like·the·range·of" (כִּמְטַחֲוֵ֣י, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 708: and·sat, and·sat. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "far·off" (הַרְחֵק֙), "like·the·range·of" (כִּמְטַחֲוֵ֣י), "let·me·not·look" (אַל־אֶרְאֶ֖ה). The root ישב appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "let·me·not·look" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "the·child" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis). First appearance of the root רחק ("far·off") in Genesis. First appearance of the root בכה ("and·wept") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·child', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 5 words.
Onkelos
And she went and sat down at a distance, as far as a bowshot away, for she said: Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat opposite and lifted her voice and wept.
Rashi
מנגד means some distance away. כמטחוי קשת AS IT WERE A BOWSHOT — about two bowshots (since the first word is really plural) (Genesis Rabbah 53:13). The word signifies shooting an arrow — we find it so used in the Mishna (Sanhedrin 46a). If you say that it should have been written כמטחי קשת (since the root is טחה) then I say that it is quite regular for a ו to be inserted in these forms as (Song 2:14) “in the clefts (בחגוי) of the rock”, where בחגוי is of the same derivation as חגא in (Isaiah 19:17) “And the land of Judah shall become a breach (לחגא) to Egypt” and of the same derivation as יחוגו in (Psalms 107:27) “They reeled (וחוגו) to and fro and staggered like a drunken man”. Similar, also, is (Psalms 65:6) “The ends of (קצוי) the earth” which is of the same derivation as, קצה, end. ותשב מנגד SHE SAT AT A DISTANCE — (this is the second time that it is so said) — now that he came nearer to death she moved further away from him.
Ibn Ezra
"a bowshot away" — she sat alone. Its meaning is well known: [a distance] like the shooting of an arrow.
And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her: "What ails you, Hagar? fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.
verse value 5712 — אֱלֹהִים֮ = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 94 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִים֮) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "to·her" (לָ֖הּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "from·the·heavens" (מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 325: the·boy, the·boy. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "what·to·you" (מַה־לָּ֣ךְ), "to·the·voice·of" (אֶל־ק֥וֹל), "he·is·there" (הוּא־שָֽׁם). The root אלה appears 3 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "in·which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hagar', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 7 words.
Onkelos
And the voice of the child was heard before Hashem, and the angel of Hashem called to Hagar from heaven and said to her: What ails you, Hagar? Do not fear, for the voice of the child has been heard before Hashem in the place where he is.
Rashi
את קול הנער THE VOICE OF THE LAD — From this we may infer that the prayer of a sick person is more effective than the prayer offered by others for him and that it is more readily accepted (Genesis Rabbah 53:14). באשר הוא שם WHERE HE IS — According to the actions he is now doing shall he be judged and not according to what he may do in future. Because the ministering angels laid information against him, saying, “Master of the Universe, for him whose descendants will at one time kill your children with thirst will You provide a well?” He asked them, “What is he now, righteous or wicked?” They replied to him, “Righteous.” He said to them, “According to his present deeds will I judge him.” This is the meaning of what is written: “[For God hath heard the voice of the lad ] באשר הוא שם in that condition in which he now is” (Genesis Rabbah 53:14). Where did he (Ishmael) kill Israel with thirst? When Nebuchadnezzar carried them into exile — as it is said, (Isaiah 21:13, 14) “The burden upon Arabia … O ye caravans of Dedanites, unto him that is thirsty bring ye water! etc.” When they were bringing them near the Arabians the Israelites said to their captors, “We beg of you bring us to the children of our uncle, Ishmael, who will certainly show pity to us”, as it is said, “O ye caravans of the Dedanites (דדנים)”; read not דדנים but דודים, kinsmen. — These indeed came to them bringing them salted meat and fish and water-skins inflated with air. The Israelites believed that these were full of water and when they placed them in their mouths, after having opened them, the air entered their bodies and they died (Eichah Rabbah 2:4).
Ramban
WHERE HE IS. He shall be judged according to his present deeds, and not according to those actions which he may do in the future. This was because the ministering angels laid charges, etc. Thus the words of Rashi quoting from the teachings of our Rabbis. The correct interpretation, in line with the simple meaning of Scripture, appears to me to be that the verse is stating that G-d heard the voice of the lad in the place in which he was. He informed her that she will not need to go from there to a fountain or well for in that very place he will quench his thirst immediately. He thus said to her, “Arise, lift up the lad here. after you will have given him to drink, for I will make him a great nation. here. Similarly, the word sham (there) in verses, Where he sunk, there he fell down dead; Meaning, “‘in the place’ where he fell.” And where the slain are, there is she, Meaning “And ‘in the place’ where the slain are.” alludes to the place.
Chizkuni
את קול הנער, “the voice of the lad;” Rashi uses this line to state that the prayer of a sick person on his own behalf reaches heaven faster than the prayers of others on his behalf. If you were to counter that the Talmud in B’rachot 5 teaches that a prisoner cannot liberate himself from jail, [that he needs outsiders to do that for him, Ed,] what is meant is that the state of mind of the average sick person is such that he cannot pray with the required devotion. If he could, G-d will respond to him first. (Rabbeinu Ovadiah mibartenura) באשר הוא שם, “due to the condition he found himself in;” according to Rashi the “condition” referred to is his legal/moral condition. He had not been wicked enough as yet to deserve to die on account of that. If you were to ask that the Talmud in Sanhedrin, 72 when stating that a 13 year boy who has committed a far lesser offense is to be stoned to death to prevent him from becoming a far more guilty person, (the rebellious son) the difference there is that that son had already begun his career as a teenager by committing criminal deeds, whereas at that age Ishmael had voluntarily submitted to circumcision, something for which he deserved a great deal of credit. [I have departed from the author’s text somewhat by pointing to a great merit acquired by Ishmael. Ed.] He had not exhausted that merit at this stage. באשר הוא שם, seeing he was “there,” as opposed to “here;” Hagar had distanced herself from her dying son to avoid having to watch his death throes. A totally different interpretation: “even though He was in a desert with no chance of obtaining water.” [The emphasis is on the word הוא, a reference to G-d Who can provide everywhere.]
Rabbeinu Bahya
כי שמע אלוקים אל קול הנער באשר הוא שם, ”for G’d has heeded the cry of the lad in his present state.” This means that “I” will give him water and he will drink it before leaving this site. Our sages in Rosh Hashanah 16 learn from here that a person is not judged or convicted for sins which G’d foresees that he will commit in the future. He is judged merely on the basis of his present state of guilt or innocence. This is the meaning of the otherwise redundant words באשר הוא שם.
Tur HaArokh
וישמע אלוקים אל קול הנער, “G’d listened to the voice (cries) of the lad.” Rashi derives from this wording that the prayer of the sick person himself concerning his recovery is more likely to be heard than all the prayers of other people on his behalf. This is so although we have a principle according to which a person whose hands and feet have been tied is unable to free himself, i.e. the stricken need outside assistance. We know that Chizkiyah whose sickness had been declared by the prophet to be terminal, was healed after he personally appealed to G’d on behalf of himself. באשר הוא שם, “considering his present state of relative innocence.” When G’d asked the angels if Ishmael was guilty or innocent in their opinion at that time, they replied that he was innocent. This was in spite of the fact that he had previously been described (מצחק) as having displayed heretical behaviour. Nonetheless, concerning the matter which they (the angels) had accused him of, (harm he would cause to the Jewish people in the future) he was as yet not guilty. This is especially interesting seeing that a בן סורר ומורה, a 13 year old who steals a little meat and wine from his parents and who displays tendencies of becoming a delinquent, is executed at such a tender age. (Deuteronomy 21,21) The reason offered by our sages for what seems such a harsh way of dealing with a young boy is psychological. The Torah prefers to have him executed before he will become guilty of far worse crimes, and to thereby preserve his share in the world to come. Nonetheless, there is a difference between applying retribution for crimes decreed in heaven and those decreed on earth on the basis of the Torah. Human beings are not held accountable in heaven until they have completed 20 years on earth. Pre-emptive retribution does not exist in the vocabulary of Divine justice when it is meted out by heavenly tribunal, as opposed to justice handed out by human tribunal. The juvenile delinquent, בן סורר ומורה, although not yet guilty of the death penalty, has already begun a career of criminal acts and it is an act of love by his parents which brings about his “premature” violent death so that his eternal life may be preserved. Ishmael had not been guilty of any crime while he was in Avraham’s household for which he would have had to face a tribunal. Only his descendants would become guilty of such crimes. According to the plain meaning of the text, the words באשר הוא שם, mean that G’d listened to the prayer Ishmael offered up at the location he found himself in, in that the well which was to save his life suddenly caught his eye. He did not even need to have water brought to him from a more distant location.
Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him fast by your hand; for I will make him a great nation."
verse value 2311
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "in·him" (בּ֑וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·hold" (וְהַחֲזִ֥יקִי, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "get·up" (ק֚וּמִי), "lift" (שְׂאִ֣י), "and·hold" (וְהַחֲזִ֥יקִי). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "your·hand" (root יד, 88x in Genesis); "get·up" (root קום, 50x in Genesis); "lift" (root נשא, 47x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: ק֚וּמִי [get·up] (156) + שְׂאִ֣י [lift] (311) + אֶת־הַנַּ֔עַר [the·boy] (726) + וְהַחֲזִ֥יקִי [and·hold] (146) + אֶת־יָדֵ֖ךְ [your·hand] (435) + בּ֑וֹ [in·him] (8) + כִּֽי־לְג֥וֹי [for·a·nation] (79) + גָּד֖וֹל [great] (43) + אֲשִׂימֶֽנּוּ [I·will·make·him] (407) = 2311.
Onkelos
Rise, take up the child and hold your hand firmly upon him, for I will make him into a great nation.
Rabbeinu Bahya
קומי שאי את הנער, “arise and lift up the lad, etc.” The angel meant that after Ishmael had drunk from the well Hagar should lift him and lead him by her hand. According to the sequence of the story as related in the Torah Ishmael must have been between 16 and 17 years of age at that time. He was born when Avraham was 86 years old (16,16). Yitzchak was born when Ishmael was 14 years old as the Torah describes Avraham as being 100 years of age when he was born. Two more years (minimum) had elapsed until Yitzchak was weaned. This means that this episode took place when Ishmael was at least 16 years old. This raises the question why Avraham placed a 16 year old on his mother’s shoulder when he expelled them? (verse 14). Should you argue that the words ואת הילד in verse 14 do not refer to the words על שכמה, “on her shoulder,” the fact that the Torah describes Hagar as “throwing the child under one of the bushes” (verse 16) makes it clear that she must have been carrying him first. Alternatively, she had held him in her lap and when he cried too much she threw him off her lap. Another difficulty in this verse is that the Torah suddenly refers to Ishmael as הילד, “the child,” although previously (verse 12, G’d speaking) he had been referred to as הנער, “the lad, the adolescent.” The word ילד is usually reserved for very young children, certainly not for a sixteen-year old boy. (compare ויגדל הילד ויגמל, “the child grew up and was weaned.” This suggests that already when being weaned the description ילד no longer applies, verse 8) Furthermore, the angel had told Hagar to lift up the נער, “the lad,” not the ילד. In addition we see that in verse 20 the Torah speaks of “G’d being with the נער, “the lad,” and that “he grew up.” We can only fall back on the principle of אין מוקדם ומאוחר בתורה that the Torah is not obligated to relate events in their chronological order.
And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
verse value 5145 — אֱלֹהִים֙ = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 55 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִים֙) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "well" (בְּאֵ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "her·eyes" (אֶת־עֵינֶ֔יהָ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 90: water, water. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·opened" (וַיִּפְקַ֤ח), "the·water-skin" (אֶת־הַחֵ֙מֶת֙), "and·gave·drink" (וַתַּ֖שְׁקְ). The root מים appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "and·saw" (root ראה, 140x in Genesis); "and·went" (root הלך, 113x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'water', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיִּפְקַ֤ח [and·opened] (204) + אֱלֹהִים֙ [God] (86) + אֶת־עֵינֶ֔יהָ [her·eyes] (546) + וַתֵּ֖רֶא [and·saw] (607) + בְּאֵ֣ר [well] (203) + מָ֑יִם [water] (90) + וַתֵּ֜לֶךְ [and·went] (456) + וַתְּמַלֵּ֤א [and·filled] (477) + אֶת־הַחֵ֙מֶת֙ [the·water-skin] (854) + מַ֔יִם [water] (90) + וַתַּ֖שְׁקְ [and·gave·drink] (806) + אֶת־הַנָּֽעַר [the·boy] (726) = 5145.
Onkelos
And Hashem revealed her eyes and she saw a well of water, and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the child to drink.
Sforno
ויפקח אלוקים את עיניה, He granted her the instinct to look for water in the place where she would find it. She had not been blind previously so that her eyes had to be “opened.”
And God was with the lad, and he grew; and he dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
verse value 2500 — אֱלֹהִ֛ים = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 39 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֛ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. Verse gematria: 2500 = 50². The shortest word is "shooter·of" (רֹבֶ֥ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "with·the·boy" (אֶת־הַנַּ֖עַר, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 31: and·it·was, and·it·was. The root היה appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "and·dwelt" (root ישב, 72x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·grew·great', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיְהִ֧י [and·it·was] (31) + אֱלֹהִ֛ים [God] (86) + אֶת־הַנַּ֖עַר [with·the·boy] (726) + וַיִּגְדָּ֑ל [and·grew·great] (53) + וַיֵּ֙שֶׁב֙ [and·dwelt] (318) + בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר [in·the·wilderness] (248) + וַיְהִ֖י [and·it·was] (31) + רֹבֶ֥ה [shooter·of] (207) + קַשָּֽׁת [the·bow] (800) = 2500.
Onkelos
And the Word of Hashem was aiding the child, and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and he became an archer.
Rashi
רבה קשת AN ARCHER — One who shoots arrows by a bow. (This is the explanation of רבה קַשָּׁת he is so designated after his occupation, that of a bow-man — just as חַמָּר denotes one who is an ass driver, גַּמָּל a camel driver, צַיָּד a huntsman; consequently the ש has a Dagesh (which distinguishes all these forms). — He used to live in the wilderness and rob travelers. It is to this the statement refers, (15:12) ידו בכל “his hand shall be against everyone, etc.”
Ramban
ROVEH KASHOTH (AN ARCHER). Since kashoth is an adjective, they Their point is as follows: Since kashoth is an adjective, or more precisely, a shem hatoar, (a noun-adjective), as is also roveh, how could two adjectives appear without a noun? Therefore they said that the two words, roveh kashoth, are not in construct with one another, but they are interpreted as roveh vekashoth (a shooter of arrows and maker of bows) with the companion noun of each adjective being tacitly understood. Ramban’s opinion, however, is that since roveh may mean either “a shooter of arrows” or “a thrower of stones,” the word kashoth is used in order to explain that he was a shooter with the bow, meaning, a shooter of arrows and not a thrower of stones. have said that roveh is one who shoots arrows, the word being derived from the expressions: His archers compass me round about; The archers have dealt bitterly with him, — and kashoth is one who makes arrows.A more correct interpretation is that roveh is a shooter, and it can refer to one who shoots arrows or throws stones or other objects, even as it is said, Behold this heap… which I have thrown up between me and thee. Therefore, the verse describes him further by saying that he was a shooter with the bow. In a similar sense is the verse, And the shooters of arrows by the bow overtook him.
Ibn Ezra
"rabbah keshet" — ["rabbah"] is like "hashmi'u el Bavel rabbim" (Jer. 50:29). And if they are two separate roots — as with sh-r-r and sh-r-h — then r-b-h and r-b-b are likewise both derived from the root "rabbah." "Keshet" ["archer"] is an adjectival noun, like "ganav" ["thief"]. "Have I also here seen [Him]?" (Gen. 16:13) — for it was there that the angel first appeared to her, at the very first time.
Chizkuni
וישב במדבר, “he settled in the desert.” This is why he had been described as פרא אדם, (Genesis 16,12, where the angel predicted his birth) He was a loner, shunning civilized society. ויהי רבה קשת, “he became a professional hunter with bow and arrow.”
And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.
verse value 2511
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. The shortest word is "his·mother" (אִמּ֛וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·took·for·him" (וַתִּֽקַּֽח־ל֥וֹ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 331: Paran, from·the·land. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·took·for·him" (וַתִּֽקַּֽח־ל֥וֹ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "wife" (root אשה, 148x in Genesis); "and·took·for·him" (root לקח, 142x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Paran', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב [and·lived] (318) + בְּמִדְבַּ֣ר [in·the·wilderness·of] (248) + פָּארָ֑ן [Paran] (331) + וַתִּֽקַּֽח־ל֥וֹ [and·took·for·him] (550) + אִמּ֛וֹ [his·mother] (47) + אִשָּׁ֖ה [wife] (306) + מֵאֶ֥רֶץ [from·the·land] (331) + מִצְרָֽיִם [Egypt] (380) = 2511.
Onkelos
And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Rashi
מארץ מצרים FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT — from the place where she was brought up — as it is said (16:1) “And she (Sarah) had an Egyptian handmaid [whose name was Hagar]”. That is what the popular proverb says: “Throw a stick into the air and it will fall back to (literally, stand on) its element” (Genesis Rabbah 53:15).
Chizkuni
ותקח לו אמו אשה מארץ מצרים, “His mother took an Egyptian woman to become his wife.” the place where she grew up and where her family still live. Ishmael first married a Moabite woman but she was not a proper wife for him. He divorced her after his father Abraham sent a message to who had been his wife (Hagar) that this woman was bereft of all virtues. Then his mother took a woman from Egypt for his wife, According to Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 30, Yishmael first married a Moabite woman, and when that marriage did not work out, his mother intervened and chose a second wife for him. This is why the Torah had to report that his mother took a wife for him. His Moabite wife had lacked the Abrahamitic virtue of offering hospitality (even to his father).
And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his host spoke to Abraham, saying: "God is with you in all that you do.
verse value 3725 — אֱלֹהִ֣ים = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 64 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֣ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "at·the·time" (בָּעֵ֣ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·Abraham" (אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֖ם, 7 letters). The root אמר appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "and·it·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis). First appearance of the root פיכל ("and·Phicol") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'saying', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַֽיְהִי֙ [and·it·was] (31) + בָּעֵ֣ת [at·the·time] (472) + הַהִ֔וא [that] (17) + וַיֹּ֣אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אֲבִימֶ֗לֶךְ [Abimelech] (103) + וּפִיכֹל֙ [and·Phicol] (146) + שַׂר־צְבָא֔וֹ [chief·of·his·troops] (599) + אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֖ם [to·Abraham] (279) + לֵאמֹ֑ר [saying] (271) + אֱלֹהִ֣ים [God] (86) + עִמְּךָ֔ [with·you] (130) + בְּכֹ֥ל [in·all] (52) + אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֖ה [which·you] (907) + עֹשֶֽׂה [do] (375) = 3725.
Onkelos
And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, saying: The Word of Hashem is aiding you in all that you do.
Rashi
אלהים עמך GOD IS WITH THEE — They said this because they saw that he had left the locality of Sodom safely, that he had fought against the kings and that they had fallen into his hand, and that his wife had been remembered in his old age (Genesis Rabbah 54:2).
Sforno
אלוקים עמך, seeing that G’d clearly is on your side I am afraid of you. I am not afraid of your personal strength, but of that of your G’d. This is why I ask you to swear to me. [so that you cannot appeal to G’d’s assistance in any grievance you would have against me. Ed.]
Chizkuni
ויהי בעת ההיא, “It was around that time;” the “time” described was when Sarah had given birth and the various kings in the region were now convinced and afraid that G-d would keep His promise to Avraham to give the entire region to the descendants of Avraham. As a result, Avimelech was prompted to seek an alliance with Avraham that would put off such an event for several generations, at least. He did not dare ask for a longer period as G-d had assured Avraham that the fourth generation of his descendants at the latest would see fulfillment of His promise. This is also why when the second Avimelech in Yitzchok’s time, asked for this alliance to be confirmed. He made no mention of a future generation. (Genesis 26,28)
Rashbam
ויהי בעת ההיא, at the time when Yitzchok was born by Sarah and Avimelech had become a first-hand witness to the miracles G’d had performed for Avraham. This is why he and his chief general were now interested in concluding an alliance with Avraham. Every time the expression בעת ההיא occurs it must be understood in terms of happenings immediately preceding the ones to which the next paragraph is linked.
Daat Zkenim
אלוקים עמך, “G–d is on your side.” Originally, they had thought that if Avraham was such a righteous individual he would not have expelled his firstborn son. After observing Avraham’s lifestyle, his success, and good deeds, they had come to the conclusion that his G–d had approved all of what he had done.
Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my grandson; but according to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall do to me, and to the land in which you have sojourned."
verse value 6348
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 79 letters. The shortest word is "to·me" (לִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "which·I·have·dealt" (אֲשֶׁר־עָשִׂ֤יתִי, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 40: to·me, to·me. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "by·God" (בֵֽאלֹהִים֙), "you·will·not·deal·falsely" (אִם־תִּשְׁקֹ֣ר), "or·with·my·offspring" (וּלְנִינִ֖י). The root לי appears 2 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·with·the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "by·God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "which·I·have·dealt" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'or·with·my·grandson', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 8 words.
Onkelos
And now, swear to me by the Word of Hashem here that you will not deal falsely with me, nor with my son, nor with my grandson; according to the kindness that I have done with you, you shall do with me and with the land in which you have sojourned.
Rashi
ולניני ולנכדי NOR WITH MY SON NOR WITH MY SON’S SON — thus far extends a man’s pity for his descendants (Genesis Rabbah 54:2). כחסד אשר עשיתי עמך תעשה עמדי ACCORDING TO THE KINDNESS THAT I HAVE DONE UNTO THEE THOU SHALT DO UNTO ME — viz., that I said to you. (Genesis 20:15) “Behold my land is before thee”.
Ramban
NOW THEREFORE SWEAR UNTO ME HERE BY G-D ‘IM’ (IF) YOU WILL BE FALSE TO ME. The word im always expresses doubt — do not think of it in any other way ” See Ramban there, where he explains it in a manner consistent with his teaching here. — and it appears in most places in connection with an oath: If you will be false to me; And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli ‘im’ (if) the iniquity of Eli’s house shall be expiated; Once I have sworn by My holiness ‘im’ (if) I will be false unto David; ‘im’ (if) they should enter into My rest; And he was wroth, and swore, saying, ‘im’ (if) one of these men will see. The purport of this is that since oaths are given with imprecation, Abimelech is stating, “Swear to me, saying, G-d do so to me, and more also if you will be false to me.” Likewise it is said, Let there now be an oath between us. And in the matter of a Divine oath: I have sworn by My holiness if I will be false to David; if the iniquity of Eli’s house shall be expiated, meaning “If that will be so, then My word is not true,” and in similar cases, since it does not want to expressly state the condition. ” Scripture modifies and shortens these expressions. A similar case of a shortened condition is the verse, And Jabez called on the G-d of Israel, saying: Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, etc., and that Thou wouldest work deliverance from evil that it may not pain me. And G-d granted him that which he requested. Here the entire condition is missing. A similar example is the verse, If they will see the land, referring back to the first verse, As I live, and all shall be filled with the glory of the Eternal, and Scripture shortens the Divine oath. The expression, false to me, is because Abimelech was a king, and Abraham dwelt in his land. [Thus, if Abraham were to do him evil, it would be an act of disloyalty towards him in his royal capacity], or it would be a betrayal of Abimelech’s love for him, as he [Abimelech] was his trustworthy friend, honoring him and doing his will. For you see that Abraham found no fault with him except the well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away, here. and the king said to him, According to the kindness that I have done unto thee. here.
Ibn Ezra
"im tishkor li" ["if you deal falsely with me"] — is in the qal conjugation, and has no parallel form. "Nikh'di" — [means] my grandson, i.e., the son of my son.
Sforno
כחסד אשר עשיתי עמך תעשה עמדי, do me the favour to include your children in the oath you swear to me.
Chizkuni
כחסד אשר עשיתי עמך, “corresponding to the kindness with which I have treated you.” Avimelech, referring to the present situation with Avraham as the stranger and himself as the owner and King of the region, asks Avraham to return the favour both to him and to his people when I am a stranger and you are the owner of the land.
Rabbeinu Bahya
אם תשקור לי ולניני ולנכדי, “that you will not deal falsely with me nor with my son nor with my grandson.” Avimelech demanded two separate covenants. 1) That Avraham would not drive his children out of the land. 2) Avraham’s descendants should not destroy the fruit and produce belonging to the Philistines. This is why he added: ועם הארץ אשר גרת בה “and the land wherein you have dwelled.” Avraham acceded to both requests and said: “I swear an oath.” You should note that this was the first oath that is recorded in the Torah. Seeing that the word שבועה, “oath,” is derived from the word שבעה, “seven,” Avraham set aside seven sheep to symbolize this and called the name of that site באר שבע, “the well of the oath.” The mystical dimension of the number seven is that the person who has been made to swear or who has volunteered to swear does so by promising to forfeit צרור החיים, ”the “bundle” of life (his terrestrial life as well as his life in the celestial hereafter) if he does not abide by the oath he has sworn. This “bundle of life” consists of the seven emanations from חסד at the top to מלכות at the bottom. He who violates his oath places himself outside the circle of responsible human beings; his denial of the oath is equivalent to the denial of G’d and such a person forfeits all claim to an afterlife. The lower six emanations all bear the stamp of G’d’s name on them. This is why the Kabbalists (Shevuot 39) claim that violating the commandment not to render a vain or false oath results in the whole earth undergoing violent tremors. No such claim is made concerning the violation of any of the other commandments in the Torah. It is important to understand the philological construction of the word as this root does not occur in the conjugation kal. The normal conjugation is a form of the passive, the nifal, and that is why we always find constructions such as נשבע, or נשבעו, meaning “he swore,” or “they swore.” The reason for this is that the person who renders an oath has entered the circle of “seven” who will enjoy afterlife if they keep the oath they have sworn. On the other hand, if such a person fails to keep his oath, נשבע, he has become ostracized from this circle of the seven emanations which represent these various forms of life including lofty areas in the hereafter. The word has two totally opposite meanings just as the word דשן when applied to the altar; the latter word sometimes means “to remove the ash from the altar, such as in Numbers 4,13, whereas on other occasions the same word means “to grow fat.” [another example of dual meanings is the word משביר which may mean “seller of grain or “buyer of grain,” all according to the context of the verse. Ed.] Similarly, נשבע may mean: ”to swear,” or “to be sworn.”
Tur HaArokh
השבעה לי, “swear it to me!” He meant that Avraham should swear that if his offspring would dishonour this oath (the covenant of a non-aggression pact), he himself would be considered as having perjured himself. He was to call down curses upon himself should such a thing occur in the future.
Verse structure: 4 words, 18 letters. The shortest word is "I" (אָנֹכִ֖י, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·said" (וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "I·swear" (אִשָּׁבֵֽעַ). 3 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "I" (root אנכי, 56x in Genesis). Full calculation: וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ [and·said] (257) + אַבְרָהָ֔ם [Abraham] (248) + אָנֹכִ֖י [I] (81) + אִשָּׁבֵֽעַ [I·swear] (373) = 959.
Onkelos
And Abraham said: I will affirm it.
Sforno
אנכי אשבע, I will do you the favour to swear such an oath; however, you have not done me any favours as you claim to have done.
Or HaChaim
ויאמר אברהם אנכי אשבע. Abraham said: "I will swear." Abraham implied that he could counter Avimelech's arguments but had decided instead to swear as Avimelech requested. In consideration of Abraham's intention to rebuke Avimelech (verse 25), he thought that if he did this immediately Avimelech would interpret Abraham's attitude as a denial of the favours the king claimed to have done for him. He decided therefore to state first of all that he was willing to swear the oath in question. Another way of looking at the verse is that Abraham accepted the oath only for himself, i.e. אנכי; he was not prepared to commit his son or grandson as had been requested by Avimelech.
Chizkuni
אנכי אשבע, “I am ready to swear to this.” Avraham does not acknowledge that Avimelech had done him any favours, seeing that his servants had repeatedly stolen the wells he had dug and he had done nothing about it (Compare verse 25).
And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of the well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.
verse value 2342 — עַבְדֵ֥י = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 48 letters. Notable word values: "servants·of" (עַבְדֵ֥י) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "well" (בְּאֵ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "Abimelech" (אֶת־אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·reproved" (וְהוֹכִ֥חַ), "had·seized" (גָּזְל֖וּ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "servants·of" (root עבד, 109x in Genesis); "Abimelech" (root מלך, 69x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Abimelech', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְהוֹכִ֥חַ [and·reproved] (45) + אַבְרָהָ֖ם [Abraham] (248) + אֶת־אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ [Abimelech] (504) + עַל־אֹדוֹת֙ [concerning] (511) + בְּאֵ֣ר [well] (203) + הַמַּ֔יִם [the·waters] (95) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [which] (501) + גָּזְל֖וּ [had·seized] (46) + עַבְדֵ֥י [servants·of] (86) + אֲבִימֶֽלֶךְ [Abimelech] (103) = 2342.
Onkelos
And Abraham reproved Abimelech concerning the well of water that the servants of Abimelech had seized by force.
Rashi
והוכח AND [ABRAHAM] REPROVED — it means he argued with him about it.
Sforno
אשר גזלו עבדי אבימלך, he criticised him precisely in his position of king, seeing that robbery had been tolerated in his country and there was no one to protest this. He also criticised him for the evildoers in his own entourage. He did not act according to the norms of righteous people. Psalms 101,7 suggests that righteous people have no business dwelling in the proximity of people who practice deception.
And Abimelech said: "I know not who has done this thing; neither did you tell me, neither yet did I hear of it, but to-day."
verse value 4361
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 68 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "Abimelech" (אֲבִימֶ֔לֶךְ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 31: not, not. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·also·you" (וְגַם־אַתָּ֞ה). The root לא appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "made" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis); "the·thing" (root דבר, 133x in Genesis). First appearance of the root בלת ("except") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'this', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 9 words.
Onkelos
And Abimelech said: I do not know who did this thing, and you also did not tell me, and I also had not heard of it until this very day.
Sforno
לא ידעתי מי עשה, even now that you have informed me by means of my servants that you have been unjustly victimised, I still do not know who are the ones who could have done this. Not a single one among the people concerned seems suspect to me. Had I suspected any one of my servants of such conduct he would not have been tolerated in my entourage. וגם אתה לא הגדת לי וגם אנכי לא שמעתי, what you have accused me of, that while in my position as king I had condoned violence. A king does interfere such matters only if one of two conditions exist 1) If the party that has suffered robbery complains loudly; 2) if neutral people aware of the robbery raise their voices in protest. In the case of Avraham, neither of such conditions existed until now.
Or HaChaim
ויאמר אבימלך…וגם אנכי, Avimelech said: "Also I have not heard, etc." The words: "also I," need clarification; so do the words: "who has done it." All Avimelech needed to say was "I did not know." Apparently, Avimelech had been aware that someone had robbed Abraham of his wells but he did not know the identity of the robbers. Abraham therefore told Avimelech that he should have made it his business to find out who the culprits were. To this argument Avimelech replied that Abraham himself was also at fault because he had not informed him previously. He, Avimelech, had waited for Abraham's complaint; he would have taken action as soon as he would have received an official complaint from Abraham. Seeing Abraham had not informed him, he had remained unaware. This is the meaning of: "also I did not hear until this day." He meant that he made no effort to inform himself of the situation and was apprised of it only today when Abraham spoke up.
And Abraham set seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves.
verse value 2088
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. Verse gematria: 2088 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "and·set" (וַיַּצֵּ֣ב, 4 letters) and the longest is "Abraham" (אַבְרָהָ֗ם, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "by·themselves" (לְבַדְּהֶֽן). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "seven" (root שבע, 117x in Genesis); "the·flock" (root צאן, 61x in Genesis). First appearance of the root כבשה ("ewes·of") in Genesis. Full calculation: וַיַּצֵּ֣ב [and·set] (108) + אַבְרָהָ֗ם [Abraham] (248) + אֶת־שֶׁ֛בַע [seven] (773) + כִּבְשֹׂ֥ת [ewes·of] (722) + הַצֹּ֖אן [the·flock] (146) + לְבַדְּהֶֽן [by·themselves] (91) = 2088.
Onkelos
And Abraham set apart seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves.
Chizkuni
את שבע וגו, “the seven sheep, etc;” the Hebrew word שבע, is also the basis of the Hebrew word שבועה, “oath.”(Compare verse 25)
Tur HaArokh
שבע כבשות, “seven ewes.” The number seven symbolized the word שבועה.
And he said: "Verily, these seven ewe-lambs you shall take of my hand, that it may be a witness to me, that I have digged this well."
verse value 4953
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 55 letters. Verse gematria: 4953 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֚י, 2 letters) and the longest is "shall·be·to·me" (תִּֽהְיֶה־לִּ֣י, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 30: for, that. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "you·shall·take" (תִּקַּ֖ח), "shall·be·to·me" (תִּֽהְיֶה־לִּ֣י), "as·proof" (לְעֵדָ֔ה). The root כי appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "shall·be·to·me" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "for" (root כי, 167x in Genesis). First appearance of the root חפר ("I·dug") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·my·hand', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֕אמֶר [and·said] (257) + כִּ֚י [for] (30) + אֶת־שֶׁ֣בַע [seven] (773) + כְּבָשֹׂ֔ת [ewe·lambs] (722) + תִּקַּ֖ח [you·shall·take] (508) + מִיָּדִ֑י [from·my·hand] (64) + בַּעֲבוּר֙ [in·order·that] (280) + תִּֽהְיֶה־לִּ֣י [shall·be·to·me] (460) + לְעֵדָ֔ה [as·proof] (109) + כִּ֥י [that] (30) + חָפַ֖רְתִּי [I·dug] (698) + אֶת־הַבְּאֵ֥ר [the·well] (609) + הַזֹּֽאת [this] (413) = 4953.
Onkelos
And he said: Because these seven ewe-lambs you shall accept from my hand, so that it may serve as a witness for me that I dug this well.
Rashi
בעבור (supply the word זאת) — IN ORDER THAT this (where this, a feminine form in a neuter sense, as is usual in Hebrew, refers to the incident just recorded). תהיה לי לעדה MAY BE UNTO ME AS A WITNESS The word עדה means witness in reference to a previous feminine form (in this case to זאת, this, which word Rashi supplied), just as (31:52) “And the pillar is a witness” (עדה the feminine form to correspond with the feminine noun מצבה, whereas the preceding words are עד הגל הזה “this heap is a witness” where עד is masc to agree with Gal. כי חפרתי את הבאר THAT I HAVE DIGGED THIS WELL —Abimelech’s herdsmen quarrelled about it, saying, “We have dug it”. They arranged amongst themselves that the well should belong to him who would show himself at the well together with his sheep and at whose approach the waters would rise, and they rose at the approach of Abraham and his sheep (Genesis Rabbah 54:5).
Ibn Ezra
"le'edah" — is equivalent to "le'edut" ["as testimony"]. Know that the root of the word "shevuah" ["oath"] is "shiv'ah" ["seven"], and I will explain this in connection with "or if he swears an oath" (Num. 30:3).
Sforno
כי את שבע כבשות תקח מידי, this is similar to the procedure described in Ruth 4,7 known as חליצה, in which the widow of the deceased brother who has been refused levirate marriage by her brother-in-law removed a shoe from her brother-in-law. This transaction signaled mutual agreement. In the case of חליצה it signaled that the widow was now free to marry someone of her choice instead of being beholden to a surviving brother-in-law. In this instance, acceptance of the gift meant that Avraham had dug the well, owned it, as well as the land it was on.
Chizkuni
כי את שבע כבשות תקח מידי, ”for the seven sheep accept from me;” because Avraham made this gift to Avimelech, G-d said to him: “because you have given him seven sheep, I will let your descendants wait seven generations during which his descendants will ruin seven locations in which the Jewish people will have their abode. They are: the Tabernacle in Gilgal, Shiloh, Nov, Giveon, and two permanent Temples. Furthermore the Holy Ark was exiled in the territory of the Philistine for a period of seven months during the period beginning with the death of the High Priest Eli. (Samuel I 6,1.) All of this is referred to in the Book of Psalms 38,20: ואויבי חיים עצמו; David meant to say: the three generations that Avraham gave away to Avimelech had to be paid for by his descendants with seven generations. There were seven generations between Avraham and Moses, and Pharaoh, a descendant of Avimelech was still alive. [The seven generations comprise Avraham, Yitzchok, Yaakov, Levi, Kehat, Amram, Moses.]
Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba; because there they swore both of them.
verse value 2482
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 36 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֛י, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·the·place" (לַמָּק֥וֹם, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "they·swore" (נִשְׁבְּע֖וּ). The root שבע appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "there" (root שם, 180x in Genesis); "for" (root כי, 167x in Genesis); "that" (root הוא, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Sheba', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: עַל־כֵּ֗ן [therefore] (170) + קָרָ֛א [called] (301) + לַמָּק֥וֹם [to·the·place] (216) + הַה֖וּא [that] (17) + בְּאֵ֣ר [well] (203) + שָׁ֑בַע [Sheba] (372) + כִּ֛י [for] (30) + שָׁ֥ם [there] (340) + נִשְׁבְּע֖וּ [they·swore] (428) + שְׁנֵיהֶֽם [the·two·of·them] (405) = 2482.
Onkelos
Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba, for there the two of them took an oath.
Chizkuni
על כן קרא למקום ההוא באר שבע, “this is why he called that place Beer Sheva.” The site had been known as such but now the town that would develop from that site bore the same name also, commencing in the time of Yitzchok. To the question how Avraham could possibly have made such a concession to Avimelech, our sages comment that we learn from here that one must not enter into a business partnership with a pagan, as eventually one will be forced to swear an oath involving uttering the deity believed in by one’s partner.
So they made a covenant at Beer-sheba; and Abimelech rose up, and Phicol the captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
verse value 4341
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 54 letters. The shortest word is "Sheba" (שָׁ֑בַע, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·cut" (וַיִּכְרְת֥וּ, 6 letters). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "Sheba" (root שבע, 117x in Genesis); "Abimelech" (root מלך, 69x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Sheba', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַיִּכְרְת֥וּ [and·cut] (642) + בְרִ֖ית [covenant] (612) + בִּבְאֵ֣ר [well] (205) + שָׁ֑בַע [Sheba] (372) + וַיָּ֣קׇם [and·arose] (156) + אֲבִימֶ֗לֶךְ [Abimelech] (103) + וּפִיכֹל֙ [and·Phicol] (146) + שַׂר־צְבָא֔וֹ [chief·of·his·troops] (599) + וַיָּשֻׁ֖בוּ [and·returned] (324) + אֶל־אֶ֥רֶץ [to·land] (322) + פְּלִשְׁתִּֽים [Philistines] (860) = 4341.
Onkelos
And they made a covenant at Beer-sheba, and Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, arose and returned to the land of the Philistines.
Ramban
AND THEY RETURNED TO THE LAND OF THE PHILISTINES. The sense of the verse is that they returned to their city which was in the land of the Philistines for they lived in the land of the Philistines. However, they abode in Gerar, which was the royal capital, while Abraham dwelled in Beer-sheba, which is in the land of the Philistines, in the valley of Gerar.
Sforno
וישובו אל ארץ פלשתים, they returned from Beer Sheva, i.e. proof that Beer Sheva was not part of the land of the Philistines. They had gone there only to speak with Avraham who had gone there to see how his livestock was faring. This is where he tendered the gift to confirm the covenant they had made.
Tur HaArokh
וישובו אל ארץ פלשתים, “they returned to the land of the Philistines.” This means that they returned to the capital of the land of the Philistines, seeing that they had never left the land of the Philistines, the covenant having been concluded on land which was theirs.
And Abraham planted a tamarisk-tree in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Hashem, the God of the Universe.
verse value 2205 — יְהֹוָ֖ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 34 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "God" (אֵ֥ל, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·invoked·there" (וַיִּ֨קְרָא־שָׁ֔ם, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "a·tamarisk" (אֶ֖שֶׁל), "and·invoked·there" (וַיִּ֨קְרָא־שָׁ֔ם). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "in·the·name·of" (root שם, 180x in Genesis); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 165x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Sheba', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיִּטַּ֥ע [and·planted] (95) + אֶ֖שֶׁל [a·tamarisk] (331) + בִּבְאֵ֣ר [well] (205) + שָׁ֑בַע [Sheba] (372) + וַיִּ֨קְרָא־שָׁ֔ם [and·invoked·there] (657) + בְּשֵׁ֥ם [in·the·name·of] (342) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + אֵ֥ל [God] (31) + עוֹלָֽם [of·the·universe] (146) = 2205.
Onkelos
And he planted a planting in Beer-sheba, and he prayed there in the name of Hashem, the God of the world.
Rashi
אשל [AND ABRAHAM PLANTED AN] אשל — Rab and Samuel differ as to what this was. One said it was an orchard from which to supply fruit for the guests at their meal. The other said it was an inn for lodging in which were all kinds of fruit (Sotah 10a). And we can speak of planting an inn for we find the expression planting used of tents, as it is said, (Daniel 11:45) “And he shall plant the tents of his palace”. 'ויקרא שם וגו AND HE CALLED THERE etc. — Through this Eshel the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, was called “God of the entire Universe”. For after they had eaten and drunk he said to them, “Bless Him of whose possessions you have eaten! Do you think that you have eaten of what is mine? You have eaten of that which belongs to Him Who spake and the Universe came into existence” (Sotah 10a).
Ramban
AND HE CALLED THERE IN THE NAME OF THE ETERNAL, ‘E-IL OLAM’ (THE EVERLASTING G-D). Scripture explains that Abraham called by the name Eternal He Who in His might directs the time. It may be that heaven and earth are here being called olam (world) [so that the sense of the verse is, “he called by the name Eternal the G-d of the world”], as is a customary expression in the words of our Rabbis. Thus Scripture informs us by this that Abraham called out and informed people of the secret of the leadership of the entire world, namely, that it is in the name of the Eternal, the Mighty One in strength, Supreme in power over all. Now the Rabbi See Seder Bereshith, Note 139. said in the Moreh Nebuchim See also III, 29. that this alludes to the principle of the pre-existence of G-d since Abraham let it be known that G-d existed before the creation of time. Onkelos, however, said of the word vayikra (and he called), that it refers to prayer.
Ibn Ezra
"eshel" — is a tree; and he also planted it as a sign.
Sforno
ויקרא שם בשם ה' א-ל עולם, he used the occasion to proclaim the eternal nature of G’d, as opposed to any other deities, which, even if on occasion appearing to have demonstrated some power to protect those worshipping them, could at best enjoy a brief period of effectiveness.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויטע אשל, “he planted an orchard.” The word אשל is the name of a certain type of tree. This is why the Torah writes that Avraham “planted it.” Seeing there was a well nearby he considered it appropriate to plant orchards to take advantage of that source of water. He meant to enjoy the fruit of these trees both himself and together with any guests whom he would entertain. Seeing that such agricultural activities when undertaken by a righteous individual such as Avraham (who was a shepherd by profession) are merely a preparation for spiritual activities in their wake, the Torah immediately testified to this by writing ויקרא שם בשם ה', “He called out there in the name of the Lord.” A Midrashic approach: The three letters in the word א-ש-ל are an acronym for אכילה- שתיה- לויה that true hospitality involves providing one’s guests with food,-drink, - and an escort when they depart. [some versions have the word שכיבה, “lodging”, instead of שתיה “drink.”]. Avraham was in the habit of saying to his guests: “ask whatever I can do for you and I will endeavour to do it.” We know already from Genesis 18,16 where Avraham escorted the angels who had visited him, that he was in the habit of escorting his guests. This last stage in fulfilling the commandment of being hospitable is in fact the part for which the host receives his true reward. We find, for instance, that immediately after Avraham had escorted the angels away from his house, G’d rewarded him by revealing to him the impending fate of Sodom and giving him a chance to plead for their lives. We find something similar in Psalms 135,4 where the psalmist wrote כי יעקב בחר לו י-ה, and the reading of the last two words is one word, i.e. לויה, suggesting that the reason G’d chose Yaakov as His people was because they practice the virtue of escorting their guests. We find that the Torah also provides a hint of this when relating the journey of Eliezer to get a bride for Yitzchak. In Genesis 24,56 Eliezer is quoted as saying to his hosts: אל תאחרו אותי וה' הצליח דרכי, “do not delay me seeing that G’d has made my mission successful.” (The respective last letters in the words spell אל תאחרו אותי וה-י-ה-ו-ה spell the word לויה, “escort.)” ויקרא שם בשם ה', “he preached there in the name of the Lord.” The expression used here by the Torah refers to both “calling on,” and “proclaiming.” We have the expression קרא in Proverbs 20, 6 רב אדם יקרא איש חסדו, “He calls most people true friend.” We also encounter this word in Deut. 32,3 where Moses says כי שם ה' אקרא, and the meaning is: “I shall proclaim the name of the Lord.” In our verse the meaning of these words is that Avraham was proclaiming that G’d had created the world, that it had not preceded Him, that there is a “Director” of the fate of mankind who has always existed. When the Torah adds the words בשם ה' “in the name (singular) of the Lord,” it alerts us to the fact that Avraham was at pains to emphasise the Oneness and uniqueness of the Lord, something that would not be suspected if the Torah had used the word אלו-הים which has a plural ending. The words א-ל עולם, mean that G’d was eternal, not preceded by any physical phenomenon. Another way of interpreting the word ויקרא could be in accordance with Onkelos who views the word as reflecting prayer. It would be analogous to Psalms 30,9 אליך ה' אקרא, “I call upon You O G’d (in prayer).”
And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.
verse value 1972
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 27 letters. The shortest word is "and·resided" (וַיָּ֧גׇר, 4 letters) and the longest is "Philistines" (פְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים, 6 letters). 4 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "days" (root ים, 55x in Genesis). Full calculation: וַיָּ֧גׇר [and·resided] (219) + אַבְרָהָ֛ם [Abraham] (248) + בְּאֶ֥רֶץ [in·the·land] (293) + פְּלִשְׁתִּ֖ים [Philistines] (860) + יָמִ֥ים [days] (100) + רַבִּֽים [many] (252) = 1972.
Onkelos
And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days.
Rashi
ימים רבים MANY DAYS (or, MORE DAYS) — More than those he sojourned in Hebron: in Hebron he had stayed 25 years and here 26. For he was 75 years old when he left Haran (Genesis 12:4), and of that same year it is said (Genesis 13:18) “And he came and dwelt by the terebinths of Mamre [which are in Hebron]” — for we do not find that he had settled down anywhere prior to settling there (at Hebron), since in every place where he went he was only like a traveller who pitches his camp and then goes on journeying, as it is said, (Genesis 13:12:6) “And Abraham passed on”; (Genesis 12:8) “And Abraham removed from thence”; (Genesis 12:10) “And there was a famine in the land and Abraham went down to Egypt”. In Egypt, too, he stayed only three months, for Pharaoh sent him away (Genesis 12:20). Immediately (Genesis 13:3) “He went on his journeys” until (Genesis 13:18) “He came and dwelt by the terebinths of Mamre which are in Hebron”. There he resided until Sodom was overthrown, and immediately afterwards (Genesis 20:1) “Abraham journeyed from thence” on account of the shame he felt at Lot’s doings and came to the land of the Philistines. He was then 99 years old, because it was on the third day of his circumcision that the angels came to him. Consequently you have 25 years from the time he settled in Hebron (the year he left his father’s house) until he came to the land of the Philistines. Now, here it is written that he sojourned in the land of the Philistines ימים רבים more days, which means more than the preceding days in Hebron. Scripture does not intend by these words to leave the number indefinite, but to state it explicitly, for if the “more days” exceeded the former period in Hebron by two years or more, it would have said so plainly, so that you must admit that the excess was only one year — that gives 26 years in the land of the Philistines. He immediately left there and returned to Hebron, and that year was 12 years before the Binding of Isaac. All this is explained in Seder Olam (See Note on Genesis 10:25).
Onkelos
Rashi
Ramban
Sforno
Or HaChaim
Chizkuni
Rabbeinu Bahya
Kli Yakar
Tur HaArokh