Hagar's Children

This week’s parsha introduces a very important concept within the historical narrative. Abraham takes a new wife. But who is this woman? Where did she come from? 

Chayei Sarah

Over the course of time, much has been made about the relationship between the descendants of Sarah and Hagar, and their children, Isaac and Ishmael. In the Epistle of Galatians, Shaul even goes so far as to derive an allegory through their covenantal statuses (Gal. 4:21-31). Indeed, even today the centuries-old strife between brothers has impacted political and theological discussions in respect to the relationship between Jews and Muslims. In this week's Torah portion, the subject is brought to bear in Abraham's selection of a new wife:

And Abraham took another wife and her name was Keturah. (Genesis 24:1)

This verse introduces a very important concept within the historical narrative. Abraham takes a new wife. But who is this woman? Where did she come from? Both Genesis 24 and the Sages give us an explanation - Genesis Rabbah explains that Keturah is actually Hagar, Abraham’s former concubine, and mother to Ishmael. The Sages tell us that the reason Hagar’s name is changed to Keturah is because she was centered with mitzvot and good deeds. She was so named after the Ketoret, the incense offering. 

In 24:6, we see that Abraham’s concubines’ children were given gifts and sent away. However, there is an anomaly in the text. The term for concubines is missing the yud that is needed to make the term plural. It is what is called a “defective” spelling, not that the spelling is incorrect, but rather that the spelling is intentionally obtuse to teach us something within the narrative. In this case, the lesson being taught is that Abraham did not have multiple concubines, in fact, he had only one concubine, Hagar/Keturah. So instead of the spelling being made correctly plural, it is spelled as a singular, concubine. 

Genesis 24:9 relates that Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham together. This reunification of the brothers is important to note. It is a foretelling of the final redemption, where Abraham’s children, that is, the children of Israel and the children of Ishmael, come together. That is, the sons of Sarah and Keturah reconcile in their faith and love of their father Abraham.