Torn - Scholarly Article
1: Who are the three “men” visiting Abraham at the start of episode seven?
While one of the three “men” who visit Abraham is either an appearance of “the angel of the Lord” or a veiled in-person appearance of God, the other two “men” are angels.
While some Christians have interpreted the “three men” in Genesis 18 as an Old Testament appearance of the Trinity,[ On the Christian concept of God as Trinity, see: Andy Bannister and Keith Small, “Allah vs. Yahweh / Tawhid vs. Trinity” https://www.bethinking.org/islam/allah-vs-yahweh-tawhid-vs-trinity; Francis J. Beckwith, “The Trinity: A Short Introduction” www.answeringislam.org.uk/Trinity/beckwith.html; Jeffery E. Browder & Michael C. Rea, “Understanding the Trinity” https://andrewmbailey.com/trinity/Understanding%20the%20Trinity.pdf; Sam Shamoun, “The Quran and the Holy Trinity” https://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/quran_trinity.htm; Peter S. Williams, “Understanding the Trinity” https://www.peterswilliams.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Trinity.pdf; Brian Hebblethwaite, The Essence of Christianity: A Fresh Look At The Nicene Creed (SPCK, 1996); J.P. Moreland & William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations For A Christian Worldview, second edition (IVP, 2017); H.P. Owen, Christian Theism (T&T Clark, 1984); John Polkinghorne, Science & Christian Belief: Theological Reflections of a Bottom-Up Thinker (SPCK, 1994); Richard Swinburne, Was Jesus God? (Oxford University Press, 2008).] this would not be how the original audience of the text understood it and “forces on the text an interpretation the text itself will not yield.”[ Victor P; Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), 8.] The Jewish Talmud identifies all three “men” as angels, as did Christian theologian Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE). Islamic tradition “details how the angels in the form of handsome men – identified as Gabriel/Jibril, Michael/Mikal, and Israfil by Ibn Kathir – came to Abraham’s/Ibrahim’s and Sarah’s house as guests.”[ John Kaltner & Younus Mizra, The Bible and the Quran: Biblical Figures In The Islamic Tradition (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark), 65.] Many Christian interpreters hold that “God appears to Abraham along with two angels, all with their glory veiled in a human form.”[ Luke Wayne, “Who were the three men who appeared to Abraham in Genesis 18?” https://carm.org/about-bible-verses/who-were-the-three-men-who-appeared-to-abraham-in-genesis-18/.] For example, theologian Bruce K. Waltke affirms that:
This is actually the Lord and two angels (see 18:1, 10; 19:1). The later identifications of the “men” (18:10, 13, 16–17, 33; 19:1) confirm their manifest difference. One man is none other than the Lord, as 18:2–3 and especially 10, 13–15 make explicit. However, the Lord and his heavenly assembly in their incarnation appear in human form (see 16:7).[ Bruce K. Waltke, Genesis: A Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 266.]
John Goldingay describes this as a story about a visit “by God and by his envoys who appear in human form . . .”[ John Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Pentateuch: Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2020), 293.] Likewise, Victor P. Hamilton affirms that “Yahweh appears to Abraham with others at his side.”[ Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), 8.] An appearance of God in human form is a special form of theophany (i.e. an audio and/or visual “display to human beings that expresses the presence and character of God”[ Vern S. Poythress, “10 Things You Should Know about Theophanies” https://www.crossway.org/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-theophanies/. See also: Vern Poythress, “Theophany” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/theophany/.]). Some Christians understand this as a pre-incarnation appearance of the second person of the Trinity (a so-called Christophany[ GotQuestions, “What is a theophany? What is a Christophany?” https://www.gotquestions.org/theophany-Christophany.html.]), but this is something that has to be read into the text.[ Tremper Longman III argues that, as in Genesis 16: “we are to understand the angel as a theophany and not specifically as a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus, also known as a Christophany.” – The Story of God Bible Commentary: Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 249.] Catholic theologian E.F. Sutcliffe, S.J. cautions that in Genesis 18: “It’s difficult to know whether Yahweh appeared in person or through the intermediary of an angel.”[ E.F. Sutcliffe S.J, quoted by Tom Nash, “The “Three Men” Who Appeared to Abraham” https://www.catholic.com/qa/the-three-men-who-appeared-to-abraham.] Sutcliffe references Genesis 16:7, in which “the Angel of Yahweh” could be understood as an angelic messenger who speaks God’s words in the first person because they are acting as God’s official representative/ambassador, and who is thus functionally identified as God himself (16:13). As theologian John H. Walton points out: “in Ugaritic literature, when Baal sends messengers to Mot, the messengers use first person forms of speech.”[ John H. Walton, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013), 88.]
However one interprets this incident, the central point remains that God (whether more or less directly) reveals himself to Abraham “veiled in a human form.”[ Luke Wayne, “Who were the three men who appeared to Abraham in Genesis 18?” https://carm.org/about-bible-verses/who-were-the-three-men-who-appeared-to-abraham-in-genesis-18/.]
2: Doesn’t Abram break Jewish dietary laws by giving his guests milk and meat (Genesis 18:8)?
Serving milk and meat together is against Jewish kashrut laws about diet, but as these laws did not exist in Abram’s day, he is not breaking them.
Although serving milk and meat together is against Jewish kashrut laws about diet, since these laws did not exist in Abram’s day, he is not breaking them in Genesis 18:8. Indeed, Abram’s behavior in serving his guests fits with the hospitality culture of the ancient world, and as Denis Prager observes:
The Torah’s repeated recounting of Jews engaged in practices that violate later Jewish law actually conforms traditional beliefs about the veracity and the age of the Torah. Had the Torah been written much later – after Jewish law was established – such violation of Jewish law by key Jewish figures likely would never have been recorded.[ Denis Prager, The Rational Bible: Genesis (Washington, DC: Regnery Faith, 2019), 211.]
3: Did Sarai really ask if she would “feel lust”?
A literal translation of the original Hebrew of Genesis 18:22 would indicate that Sari wondered if she would have “pleasure” or “delight.” This “pleasure” may have been at the prospect of either the sexual means or of the parental outcome of having her own child with Abram, or both.
The script of episode seven translated a Hebrew word from Genesis 18:22 as “feel lust.” Whilst a “lust” is literally simply a “desire,” common English usage combines with the context here to suggest that Sarai’s desire is sexual. The Hebrew word at issue in Genesis 8:22 is “‘eḏ·nāh,” which is the feminine form of “eden” (as in the garden “in eden”), a word that means “delicate, delight, pleasure.”[ https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5730.htm.] More literal English translations of Genesis 18:22 translate this word as “pleasure” (e.g. ESV and World English Bible) or “delight” (e.g. CSB). The specific “pleasure” to which this refers is open to interpretation. For example, seventeenth century theologian Matthew Poole coyly suggested that the “pleasure” referenced by Sarai was “Not so much in the conception, as in the education and fruition of a child.”[ Matthew Poole, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/poole/genesis/18.htm.] In other words, Sarai was mostly laughing in herself at the idea that she would have the pleasure of raising her own child. However, as Tammi J. Schneider notes, the Hebrew term ‘eḏ·nāh has “a possible sexual connotation.”[ Tammi J. Schneider, Sarah: Mother of Nations (New York: Continuum, 2004), 69.] Some translators therefore infer from the use of ‘eḏ·nāh in context that Sarai is indeed thinking about “conception.” Hence the New English Bible translates: “So Sarah laughed to herself and said, ‘Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, am I still to have sexual pleasure?’” Likewise, the Good News Bible has: “So Sarah laughed to herself and said, ‘Now that I am old and worn out, can I still enjoy sex? And besides, my husband is old too.’” Theologian Andrew E. Steinmann agrees that Sarah’s thought here “probably refers to sexual pleasure . . .”[ Andrew E. Steinmann, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Genesis (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019), 193.] That said, perhaps the Hebrew of Genesis 8:22 is deliberately vague, so that it can encompass both thoughts. In sum, Sarai’s ‘eḏ·nāh (pleasure/delight/joy) may have been at the prospect of either the sexual means or of the parental outcome of having her own child with Abram, or both.
4: Does the name “Isaac” mean “God laughs”?
The name Isaac is derived from the Hebrew name Yitzchak, which literally means “he laughs” or “he will laugh.”
The name “Isaac” comes from the Hebrew name Yitzchak, which has the same root letters (ṣḥq) as the word translated as “laughed” in Genesis 17:17: “Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed . . .” (ESV). Indeed:
The name Isaac means “laughter” and is probably a shortened form of Isaac-el, which means “may God laugh.” In conferring this name on Sarah’s son, the Lord superimposes His own laughter upon Abraham, forever reminding the patriarch that He always gets the last laugh.[ “Call His Name Isaac”, Tabletalk, https://tabletalkmagazine.com/daily-study/2006/10/call-his-name-isaac/.]
Hence: Isaac’s name and meaning connect directly to his story in Genesis where laughter and joy come out of the improbable. His name is a constant reminder of God’s provision and Abraham’s faith.[ Amanda Williams, “What Does Isaac Mean In The Bible? A Detailed Look At The Meaning And Significance” https://www.christianwebsite.com/what-does-isaac-mean-in-the-bible/?utm_content=cmp-true.]
When Isaac was born, Sarah said: “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” (Genesis 21:6).
5: Was Abraham really “at the astonishing age of one hundred years old” when Isaac was born?
While many modern-day Christians take what the Bible says about Abraham’s age literally, it is likely that “the ancient audiences all understood these to be schematic, not arithmetic numbers.”[ Craig Olsen, “How Old was Father Abraham? Part 2 A Symbolic Interpretation of the Patriarchal Lifespans” file:///Users/peterwilliams/Downloads/How_Old_was_Father_Abraham_Part_2_A_Symb.pdf.] In other words, given the cultural context of the ancient near east, the numbers used for character ages in the patriarchal stories in Genesis are figurative rather than literal, and Abraham was not literally 99 years old 13 years after the birth of Ishmael.
As Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen notes: External evidence from burials of all periods all over the biblical world and beyond would indicate that most people died in their sixties or seventies at the latest (and most often, much younger).[ K.A. Kitchen, On The Reliability Of The Old Testament (Eerdmans, 2003), 444.]
Theologian Craig Olsen observes that: Not only do the lifespans themselves and a chronology based those lifespans create conflicts [with archaeological evidence] outside the Bible, but they create conflicts inside the Bible as well . . . . the face value interpretation of the patriarchal lifespans cannot be maintained consistently. . . . Isaac’s birth is not much of a miracle if both Abraham’s father and grandson fathered children older than 100. It seems unlikely that Abimelech would have taken Sarah for his harem if she were 89 or 90 years old as the face value reading implies. And Jacob volunteering to work for seven years for Rachel’s hand in marriage is ludicrous if he really was 77 years old.[ Craig Olsen, “How Old was Father Abraham? Part 2 A Symbolic Interpretation of the Patriarchal Lifespans” file:///Users/peterwilliams/Downloads/How_Old_was_Father_Abraham_Part_2_A_Symb.pdf.]
As Carol A. Hill points out: If the genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11 are both literal and complete, then the death of Adam has to be dated to the generation of Noah’s father Lamech. Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, and Eber would have outlived all of the generations following as far and including Terah. Noah would have been the contemporary of Abraham for 58 years and Shem (Noah’s son) would have survived Abraham by 35 years. But where does the Bible indicate that any of these men were coeval? They are spoken of as respected ancestors, not as contemporaries that interacted with them or who were to be cared for in their old age.[ Carol A. Hill, “Making Sense of the Numbers in Genesis,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 55, no. 4 (2003) https://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/2003/PSCF12-03Hill.pdf.]
However, as Olsen also observes: There is also no evidence of any ancient culture recording lifespans or reigns of ancient ancestors as accurate face value numbers. All the evidence discovered to date shows that ancient cultures either did not record the lifespans of their ancestors, or they exaggerated their lifespan or reign using symbolic numbers as a way to bestow honor . . . . Ancient texts, like the Sumerian King List, the Gilgamesh Epic, the Lagaš King List, and Egyptian writings use numbers for rhetorical effect. They do exhibit use of multiplication and fractions; not for accurate record keeping, but hyperbolically to exaggerate and glorify their gods, kings or ancestors. They also use round numbers (10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 100, 200), sacred numbers (e.g., repeated use of the number seven), and graded numbers. All of these are also common biblical rhetorical devices . . .[ Craig Olsen, “How Old was Father Abraham? Part 2 A Symbolic Interpretation of the Patriarchal Lifespans” file:///Users/peterwilliams/Downloads/How_Old_was_Father_Abraham_Part_2_A_Symb.pdf.]
Likewise, Hill explains that: the purpose of numbers in ancient religious texts could be numerological rather than numerical. Numerologically, a number’s symbolic value was the basis and purpose for its use, not its secular value in a system of counting. One of the religious considerations of the ancients involved in numbers was to make certain that any numbering scheme worked out numerologically; i.e., that it used, and added up to, the right numbers symbolically. This is distinctively different from a secular use of numbers in which the overriding concern is that numbers add up to the correct total arithmetically. Another way of looking at it is that the sacred numbers used by the Mesopotamians gave a type of religious dignity or respect to important persons or to a literary text . . . . Figurative numbers are used throughout the Old Testament, and also (but less frequently) in the New Testament.[ Carol A. Hill, “Making Sense of the Numbers in Genesis,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 55, no. 4 (2003) https://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/2003/PSCF12-03Hill.pdf.]
Olsen adds that: “A symbolic understanding of the patriarchal lifespans supports the antiquity of their origin, and it allows them to speak in the idiom of their day.”[ Craig Olsen, “How Old was Father Abraham? Part 2 A Symbolic Interpretation of the Patriarchal Lifespans”
6: Why was Isaac being weaned an occasion for a celebration?
Weaning marked a significant rite of passage in a cultural context that had a high infant mortality rate.
As Dennis Prager explains: Abraham was a wealthy man who could afford to throw a great party in honor of his son’s weaning. Today, parties are often made on the eighth day, at the time of a child’s circumcision. But in the ancient world, with its very high rate of infant mortality, it was only later – at the time of weaning, for example – that parents felt confident the child would survive and would throw a party in the child’s honor.[ See: Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible: Genesis (Washington, DC: Regnery Faith, 2019), 242.]
While one of the three “men” who visit Abraham is either an appearance of “the angel of the Lord” or a veiled in-person appearance of God, the other two “men” are angels.
While some Christians have interpreted the “three men” in Genesis 18 as an Old Testament appearance of the Trinity,[ On the Christian concept of God as Trinity, see: Andy Bannister and Keith Small, “Allah vs. Yahweh / Tawhid vs. Trinity” https://www.bethinking.org/islam/allah-vs-yahweh-tawhid-vs-trinity; Francis J. Beckwith, “The Trinity: A Short Introduction” www.answeringislam.org.uk/Trinity/beckwith.html; Jeffery E. Browder & Michael C. Rea, “Understanding the Trinity” https://andrewmbailey.com/trinity/Understanding%20the%20Trinity.pdf; Sam Shamoun, “The Quran and the Holy Trinity” https://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/quran_trinity.htm; Peter S. Williams, “Understanding the Trinity” https://www.peterswilliams.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Trinity.pdf; Brian Hebblethwaite, The Essence of Christianity: A Fresh Look At The Nicene Creed (SPCK, 1996); J.P. Moreland & William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations For A Christian Worldview, second edition (IVP, 2017); H.P. Owen, Christian Theism (T&T Clark, 1984); John Polkinghorne, Science & Christian Belief: Theological Reflections of a Bottom-Up Thinker (SPCK, 1994); Richard Swinburne, Was Jesus God? (Oxford University Press, 2008).] this would not be how the original audience of the text understood it and “forces on the text an interpretation the text itself will not yield.”[ Victor P; Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), 8.] The Jewish Talmud identifies all three “men” as angels, as did Christian theologian Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE). Islamic tradition “details how the angels in the form of handsome men – identified as Gabriel/Jibril, Michael/Mikal, and Israfil by Ibn Kathir – came to Abraham’s/Ibrahim’s and Sarah’s house as guests.”[ John Kaltner & Younus Mizra, The Bible and the Quran: Biblical Figures In The Islamic Tradition (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark), 65.] Many Christian interpreters hold that “God appears to Abraham along with two angels, all with their glory veiled in a human form.”[ Luke Wayne, “Who were the three men who appeared to Abraham in Genesis 18?” https://carm.org/about-bible-verses/who-were-the-three-men-who-appeared-to-abraham-in-genesis-18/.] For example, theologian Bruce K. Waltke affirms that:
This is actually the Lord and two angels (see 18:1, 10; 19:1). The later identifications of the “men” (18:10, 13, 16–17, 33; 19:1) confirm their manifest difference. One man is none other than the Lord, as 18:2–3 and especially 10, 13–15 make explicit. However, the Lord and his heavenly assembly in their incarnation appear in human form (see 16:7).[ Bruce K. Waltke, Genesis: A Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 266.]
John Goldingay describes this as a story about a visit “by God and by his envoys who appear in human form . . .”[ John Goldingay, Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Pentateuch: Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2020), 293.] Likewise, Victor P. Hamilton affirms that “Yahweh appears to Abraham with others at his side.”[ Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), 8.] An appearance of God in human form is a special form of theophany (i.e. an audio and/or visual “display to human beings that expresses the presence and character of God”[ Vern S. Poythress, “10 Things You Should Know about Theophanies” https://www.crossway.org/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-theophanies/. See also: Vern Poythress, “Theophany” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/theophany/.]). Some Christians understand this as a pre-incarnation appearance of the second person of the Trinity (a so-called Christophany[ GotQuestions, “What is a theophany? What is a Christophany?” https://www.gotquestions.org/theophany-Christophany.html.]), but this is something that has to be read into the text.[ Tremper Longman III argues that, as in Genesis 16: “we are to understand the angel as a theophany and not specifically as a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus, also known as a Christophany.” – The Story of God Bible Commentary: Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 249.] Catholic theologian E.F. Sutcliffe, S.J. cautions that in Genesis 18: “It’s difficult to know whether Yahweh appeared in person or through the intermediary of an angel.”[ E.F. Sutcliffe S.J, quoted by Tom Nash, “The “Three Men” Who Appeared to Abraham” https://www.catholic.com/qa/the-three-men-who-appeared-to-abraham.] Sutcliffe references Genesis 16:7, in which “the Angel of Yahweh” could be understood as an angelic messenger who speaks God’s words in the first person because they are acting as God’s official representative/ambassador, and who is thus functionally identified as God himself (16:13). As theologian John H. Walton points out: “in Ugaritic literature, when Baal sends messengers to Mot, the messengers use first person forms of speech.”[ John H. Walton, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013), 88.]
However one interprets this incident, the central point remains that God (whether more or less directly) reveals himself to Abraham “veiled in a human form.”[ Luke Wayne, “Who were the three men who appeared to Abraham in Genesis 18?” https://carm.org/about-bible-verses/who-were-the-three-men-who-appeared-to-abraham-in-genesis-18/.]
2: Doesn’t Abram break Jewish dietary laws by giving his guests milk and meat (Genesis 18:8)?
Serving milk and meat together is against Jewish kashrut laws about diet, but as these laws did not exist in Abram’s day, he is not breaking them.
Although serving milk and meat together is against Jewish kashrut laws about diet, since these laws did not exist in Abram’s day, he is not breaking them in Genesis 18:8. Indeed, Abram’s behavior in serving his guests fits with the hospitality culture of the ancient world, and as Denis Prager observes:
The Torah’s repeated recounting of Jews engaged in practices that violate later Jewish law actually conforms traditional beliefs about the veracity and the age of the Torah. Had the Torah been written much later – after Jewish law was established – such violation of Jewish law by key Jewish figures likely would never have been recorded.[ Denis Prager, The Rational Bible: Genesis (Washington, DC: Regnery Faith, 2019), 211.]
3: Did Sarai really ask if she would “feel lust”?
A literal translation of the original Hebrew of Genesis 18:22 would indicate that Sari wondered if she would have “pleasure” or “delight.” This “pleasure” may have been at the prospect of either the sexual means or of the parental outcome of having her own child with Abram, or both.
The script of episode seven translated a Hebrew word from Genesis 18:22 as “feel lust.” Whilst a “lust” is literally simply a “desire,” common English usage combines with the context here to suggest that Sarai’s desire is sexual. The Hebrew word at issue in Genesis 8:22 is “‘eḏ·nāh,” which is the feminine form of “eden” (as in the garden “in eden”), a word that means “delicate, delight, pleasure.”[ https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5730.htm.] More literal English translations of Genesis 18:22 translate this word as “pleasure” (e.g. ESV and World English Bible) or “delight” (e.g. CSB). The specific “pleasure” to which this refers is open to interpretation. For example, seventeenth century theologian Matthew Poole coyly suggested that the “pleasure” referenced by Sarai was “Not so much in the conception, as in the education and fruition of a child.”[ Matthew Poole, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/poole/genesis/18.htm.] In other words, Sarai was mostly laughing in herself at the idea that she would have the pleasure of raising her own child. However, as Tammi J. Schneider notes, the Hebrew term ‘eḏ·nāh has “a possible sexual connotation.”[ Tammi J. Schneider, Sarah: Mother of Nations (New York: Continuum, 2004), 69.] Some translators therefore infer from the use of ‘eḏ·nāh in context that Sarai is indeed thinking about “conception.” Hence the New English Bible translates: “So Sarah laughed to herself and said, ‘Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, am I still to have sexual pleasure?’” Likewise, the Good News Bible has: “So Sarah laughed to herself and said, ‘Now that I am old and worn out, can I still enjoy sex? And besides, my husband is old too.’” Theologian Andrew E. Steinmann agrees that Sarah’s thought here “probably refers to sexual pleasure . . .”[ Andrew E. Steinmann, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Genesis (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019), 193.] That said, perhaps the Hebrew of Genesis 8:22 is deliberately vague, so that it can encompass both thoughts. In sum, Sarai’s ‘eḏ·nāh (pleasure/delight/joy) may have been at the prospect of either the sexual means or of the parental outcome of having her own child with Abram, or both.
4: Does the name “Isaac” mean “God laughs”?
The name Isaac is derived from the Hebrew name Yitzchak, which literally means “he laughs” or “he will laugh.”
The name “Isaac” comes from the Hebrew name Yitzchak, which has the same root letters (ṣḥq) as the word translated as “laughed” in Genesis 17:17: “Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed . . .” (ESV). Indeed:
The name Isaac means “laughter” and is probably a shortened form of Isaac-el, which means “may God laugh.” In conferring this name on Sarah’s son, the Lord superimposes His own laughter upon Abraham, forever reminding the patriarch that He always gets the last laugh.[ “Call His Name Isaac”, Tabletalk, https://tabletalkmagazine.com/daily-study/2006/10/call-his-name-isaac/.]
Hence: Isaac’s name and meaning connect directly to his story in Genesis where laughter and joy come out of the improbable. His name is a constant reminder of God’s provision and Abraham’s faith.[ Amanda Williams, “What Does Isaac Mean In The Bible? A Detailed Look At The Meaning And Significance” https://www.christianwebsite.com/what-does-isaac-mean-in-the-bible/?utm_content=cmp-true.]
When Isaac was born, Sarah said: “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.” (Genesis 21:6).
5: Was Abraham really “at the astonishing age of one hundred years old” when Isaac was born?
While many modern-day Christians take what the Bible says about Abraham’s age literally, it is likely that “the ancient audiences all understood these to be schematic, not arithmetic numbers.”[ Craig Olsen, “How Old was Father Abraham? Part 2 A Symbolic Interpretation of the Patriarchal Lifespans” file:///Users/peterwilliams/Downloads/How_Old_was_Father_Abraham_Part_2_A_Symb.pdf.] In other words, given the cultural context of the ancient near east, the numbers used for character ages in the patriarchal stories in Genesis are figurative rather than literal, and Abraham was not literally 99 years old 13 years after the birth of Ishmael.
As Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen notes: External evidence from burials of all periods all over the biblical world and beyond would indicate that most people died in their sixties or seventies at the latest (and most often, much younger).[ K.A. Kitchen, On The Reliability Of The Old Testament (Eerdmans, 2003), 444.]
Theologian Craig Olsen observes that: Not only do the lifespans themselves and a chronology based those lifespans create conflicts [with archaeological evidence] outside the Bible, but they create conflicts inside the Bible as well . . . . the face value interpretation of the patriarchal lifespans cannot be maintained consistently. . . . Isaac’s birth is not much of a miracle if both Abraham’s father and grandson fathered children older than 100. It seems unlikely that Abimelech would have taken Sarah for his harem if she were 89 or 90 years old as the face value reading implies. And Jacob volunteering to work for seven years for Rachel’s hand in marriage is ludicrous if he really was 77 years old.[ Craig Olsen, “How Old was Father Abraham? Part 2 A Symbolic Interpretation of the Patriarchal Lifespans” file:///Users/peterwilliams/Downloads/How_Old_was_Father_Abraham_Part_2_A_Symb.pdf.]
As Carol A. Hill points out: If the genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11 are both literal and complete, then the death of Adam has to be dated to the generation of Noah’s father Lamech. Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, and Eber would have outlived all of the generations following as far and including Terah. Noah would have been the contemporary of Abraham for 58 years and Shem (Noah’s son) would have survived Abraham by 35 years. But where does the Bible indicate that any of these men were coeval? They are spoken of as respected ancestors, not as contemporaries that interacted with them or who were to be cared for in their old age.[ Carol A. Hill, “Making Sense of the Numbers in Genesis,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 55, no. 4 (2003) https://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/2003/PSCF12-03Hill.pdf.]
However, as Olsen also observes: There is also no evidence of any ancient culture recording lifespans or reigns of ancient ancestors as accurate face value numbers. All the evidence discovered to date shows that ancient cultures either did not record the lifespans of their ancestors, or they exaggerated their lifespan or reign using symbolic numbers as a way to bestow honor . . . . Ancient texts, like the Sumerian King List, the Gilgamesh Epic, the Lagaš King List, and Egyptian writings use numbers for rhetorical effect. They do exhibit use of multiplication and fractions; not for accurate record keeping, but hyperbolically to exaggerate and glorify their gods, kings or ancestors. They also use round numbers (10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 100, 200), sacred numbers (e.g., repeated use of the number seven), and graded numbers. All of these are also common biblical rhetorical devices . . .[ Craig Olsen, “How Old was Father Abraham? Part 2 A Symbolic Interpretation of the Patriarchal Lifespans” file:///Users/peterwilliams/Downloads/How_Old_was_Father_Abraham_Part_2_A_Symb.pdf.]
Likewise, Hill explains that: the purpose of numbers in ancient religious texts could be numerological rather than numerical. Numerologically, a number’s symbolic value was the basis and purpose for its use, not its secular value in a system of counting. One of the religious considerations of the ancients involved in numbers was to make certain that any numbering scheme worked out numerologically; i.e., that it used, and added up to, the right numbers symbolically. This is distinctively different from a secular use of numbers in which the overriding concern is that numbers add up to the correct total arithmetically. Another way of looking at it is that the sacred numbers used by the Mesopotamians gave a type of religious dignity or respect to important persons or to a literary text . . . . Figurative numbers are used throughout the Old Testament, and also (but less frequently) in the New Testament.[ Carol A. Hill, “Making Sense of the Numbers in Genesis,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 55, no. 4 (2003) https://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/2003/PSCF12-03Hill.pdf.]
Olsen adds that: “A symbolic understanding of the patriarchal lifespans supports the antiquity of their origin, and it allows them to speak in the idiom of their day.”[ Craig Olsen, “How Old was Father Abraham? Part 2 A Symbolic Interpretation of the Patriarchal Lifespans”
6: Why was Isaac being weaned an occasion for a celebration?
Weaning marked a significant rite of passage in a cultural context that had a high infant mortality rate.
As Dennis Prager explains: Abraham was a wealthy man who could afford to throw a great party in honor of his son’s weaning. Today, parties are often made on the eighth day, at the time of a child’s circumcision. But in the ancient world, with its very high rate of infant mortality, it was only later – at the time of weaning, for example – that parents felt confident the child would survive and would throw a party in the child’s honor.[ See: Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible: Genesis (Washington, DC: Regnery Faith, 2019), 242.]
