The Two Wives of Ishmael in the Wilderness

Hebraic Literature (1901)Why Abraham Hid Sarah in a Chest Before EgyptWhy, the rabbis ask, did Abraham only now, at the border of Egypt, realize that Sarah was beautiful? Had he never noticed before? One reading of (Genesis 12:11)

The Exempla of the Rabbis (1924)Rabbi Yochanan and the Descendants of JosephRabbi Yochanan bar Nappacha, the great third-century amora of Tiberias, was famous among his contemporaries for two things. He was one of the most brilliant leg

Hebraic Literature (1901)How Sarah Silenced the Doubters at Isaac's FeastOn the day Isaac was weaned, Abraham threw open his tents and invited every household in the land. It was meant as a celebration, but rumor crawled in with the

The Exempla of the Rabbis (1924)Why the Matriarchs Were Barren Before They Were MothersSarah, Rebecca, and Rachel all went through seasons of barrenness before they bore children, even though each was promised a great nation through her womb. The

The Exempla of the Rabbis (1924)The Vizier's Tenth Daughter and the Milk That Told TruthIn the time of King Suleiman, a vizier's wife had borne nine daughters in a row. As her tenth pregnancy advanced, the vizier grew frantic for a son. He warned h

Hebraic Literature (1901)The Mother of Seven Sons Who Out-Sacrificed AbrahamTractate Gittin (folio 57, column 2) preserves one of the most devastating martyrdom stories in all of rabbinic literature, a Jewish mother and her seven sons d

The Two Wives of Ishmael in the Wilderness

Themes

Biblical References

Continue Reading