Letter to the Editor
A reader responds to the article 'What Sarah Saw: Envisioning Genesis 21:9-10,' offering an additional perspective on Sarah's vision and the episode of Hagar and Ishmael.
Sir,
I read with great interest David J. Zucker’s article “What Sarah Saw: Envisioning Genesis 21:9-10” (XXXVI:1, January 2008). I had not previously heard or read about the possible sexual overtones of the word metzahek. Clearly, it would explain why Sarah reacted so strongly. Reacting as she did if Ishmael was laughing, playing, or even taunting, would clearly be out of proportion to the actions she observed.
In the encounter between Isaac and Rebekah, the Torah states that Isaac metzahek with Rebekah. Two people are involved with metzahek in a sexual sense. If Ishmael was abusing Isaac, the Torah would have stated that Ishmael metzahek with Isaac. Since the account of what Sarah saw does not mention Isaac, it would stand to reason that Ishmael was metzahek with himself, an act revolting to Sarah. Aside from this omission, I thought the article was outstanding.
Steven Luger West Hartford, Connecticut
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Cite this article
Steven Luger. "Letter to the Editor." Jewish Bible Quarterly 36, no. 3 (July – September 2008): 0.
Steven Luger. "Letter to the Editor." Jewish Bible Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 3, 2008, pp. 0.