She had an Egyptian maid—her name was Hagar. Sarai said to Avram:
Now here, YHWH has obstructed me from bearing.
Pray come in to my maid;
perhaps I may be built-up-with-sons through her!
Avram hearkened to Sarai’s voice: Sarai, Avram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian-woman, her maid,
at the end of ten years of Avram’s being settled in the land of Canaan,
and gave her to her husband Avram as a wife for him.
The Midrash of Philo is a selection of Philo of Alexandria’s midrashic biblical interpretations, composed c.10 - c.50 CE. These represent the oldest recorded allegorical biblical commentaries, compiled before the formulation of early rabbinic literature.
מדוע לא ילדה שרה אשת אברהם? (הכתוב) מדבר באֵם הגזע כבאשה עקרה. ראשית, כדי שבנה, המופלא בילודים, יירָאֶה כמעשה פלא. שנית, כדי שההריון והלידה לא יהיו מהזדווגות לאיש, אלא יותר, כתוצאה מהשגחה אלהית. כי לידה של עקרה איננה רק לידה (טִבעית), אלא מפָּעלוֹ של הכוח האלהי.
Why it was that Sarah, the wife of Abraham, bore him no children? (Genesis 16:1). The mother of opinion is here spoken of as barren. In the first place in order that the son of generation might appear more wonderful, as being born by a miracle. In the second place in order that his conception and nativity might appear to be owing not more to the marriage of the man than to divine providence. For it is not owing to the faculty of conception that a barren woman should bear a son, but rather to the operation of divine power.
Bereshit Rabbah is a midrash on the Book of Genesis, written around 500 CE. It covers most of the book (excluding genealogies and similar passages) with verse-by-verse and often word-by-word commentary.
אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחָאי הָגָר בִּתּוֹ שֶׁל פַּרְעֹה הָיְתָה, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁרָאָה פַּרְעֹה מַעֲשִׂים שֶׁנַּעֲשׂוּ לְשָׂרָה בְּבֵיתוֹ, נָטַל בִּתּוֹ וּנְתָנָהּ לוֹ, אָמַר מוּטָב שֶׁתְּהֵא בִּתִּי שִׁפְחָה בְּבַיִת זֶה וְלֹא גְבִירָה בְּבַיִת אַחֵר, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: וְלָהּ שִׁפְחָה מִצְרִית וּשְׁמָהּ הָגָר, הָא אַגְרִיךְ.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai said Hagar was Pharaoh's daughter. When he saw the deeds on behalf of Sarah in his house, he took his daughter and gave her to him, saying, 'better that my daughter by a maidservant in this house than a mistress in another house.' This is what is written: "She had an Egyptian handmaid whose name was Hagar." [In other words:] ha agrikh: 'This is your reward.'
Rabbi Bahya ben Asher (1255-1340) wrote his commentary in Spain during the Middle Ages. It incorporates the literal meaning along with allegorical, Midrashic, and Kabbalistic interpretations.
Rabbi David Kimchi (1160–1236), known as Radak, lived in France. One of the the most famous Bible commentators of his time, Radak was a grammarian, which is reflected in his commentary.
Rabbi Ovadiah ben Jacob Sforno, a 16th-century Italian rabbi and physician, wrote his Torah commentary c.1500 - c.1550 CE. The author often cites rabbinic statements to address philosophical as well as textual issues, and offers many novel interpretations rooted in these traditions.
But [when] she saw that she was pregnant, her mistress became of light-worth in her eyes. So Sarai said to Avram:
The wrong done me is on you!
I myself gave my maid into your bosom,
but now that she sees that she is pregnant, I have become of light-worth in her eyes.
May YHWH see-justice-done between me and you! Avram said to Sarai:
Here, your maid is in your hand, deal with her however seems good in your eyes.
Sarai afflicted her, so that she had to run away from her.
"Siftei Chakhamim" is a supercommentary on Rashi’s commentary on Chumash. Written by Shabbetai ben Joseph Bass (1641–1718) in Amsterdam, it is mostly a collection of other commentaries, in addition to the author's own insights, meant to give a basic understanding of Rashi.
Tur HaAroch is a commentary on the Torah, written c.1280 - c.1340, by Rabbi Jacob ben Asher. Also know as Ba’al haTurim (after his famous work, the Arba’ah Turim), Jacob ben Asher was a Jewish legal scholar and biblical commentator in late 13th and early 14th century Spain.
Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence do you come, whither are you going?
She said:
I am running away from Sarai my mistress. YHWH’S messenger said to her:
Return to your mistress and let yourself be afflicted under her hand! And YHWH’S messenger said to her:
I will make your seed many, yes, many, it will be too many to count! And YHWH’S messenger said to her:
Here, you are pregnant,
you will bear a son;
you are to call his name: Yishmael/God Hearkens,
for God has hearkened to your being afflicted. He shall be a wild-ass of a man,
his hand against all, hand of all against him,
yet in the presence of all his brothers shall he dwell. Now she called the name of YHWH, the one who was speaking to her:
You God of Seeing!
For she said:
Have I actually gone on seeing here
after his seeing me? Therefore the well was called:
Well of the Living-One Seeing-Me.
Here, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
The second consideration of the angel was to stress that her original status as a slave was one that would never be changed. She would remain Sarai’s slave for as long as she lived. The angel confirmed this later when he said to Hagar שובי אל גברתך והתעני תחת ידיה, “return to your mistress and submit to her.”
Rabbi Moses ben Nahman (1194–1270), commonly known as the Ramban, wrote his famous commentary in Spain, c.1246 - c.1286 CE. He usually begins his comments with Rashi’s explanation and then expounds further with insights from Kabbalah and Oral Tradition. His comments include respectful criticism of Rashi, Ibn Ezra and Rambam.
and Avram called the name of the son whom Hagar bore: Yishmael. Avram was eighty years and six years old when Hagar bore Yishmael to Avram.
מצחק לשון עבודה זרה לשון רציחה לשון גלוי עריות מריב עם יצחק על הירושה ואומר אני בכור ויורש פי שנים...
והנכון בעיני שהיה זה ביום הגמל את יצחק וראתה אותו מלעיג על יצחק או על המשתה הגדול ולכך אמר הכתוב "את בן הגר המצרית" ולא אמר "את ישמעאל" מצחק וכן אמרה גרש את האמה הזאת ואת בנה כי אמרה העבד המלעיג על אדוניו חייב הוא למות או להלקותו ואיני רוצה רק שתגרש אותו מאתי ולא יירש בנכסיך כלל עם בני שהוא בן גבירה ואמרה שיגרש גם אמו כי לא יוכל הנער לעזוב את אמו ועזב את אמו ומת:
‘METZACHEIK’ (MAKING SPORT). This refers to worshipping idols, murder and sexual immorality. He [Ishmael] quarreled with Isaac about inheritance, saying, “I am the first-born and will take a double portion.”...
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that this event took place on the day that Isaac was weaned, 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, 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.
Peninei Halakhah (“Pearls of Jewish Law”) is a contemporary (c.2011 - c.2015 CE), easily accessible, and thorough presentation of practical halakhah (law), written in modern Hebrew by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, Rosh Yeshiva and rabbi of the community of Har Bracha. Consisting of sixteen volumes and expanding, it includes a range of sources, explanations of the spiritual foundations of laws, differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardi practice, and footnotes at the end of every chapter with elaborations and additional sources. The work is popular in Israel, where it is often used as the standard halakhah textbook in religious Zionist schools, and in Jewish communities throughout the world.
וקוראים בפרשת: "וַה' פָּקַד אֶת שָׂרָה" (בראשית כא, א-לד)... אמנם רוב הפרשה עוסקת בגירושו של ישמעאל, ושני יסודות אפשר ללמוד מזה: א) למרות הכאב, לא היה פגם מוסרי בגירוש ישמעאל, שאם היה פגם, לא היו מתקנים חכמים שנקרא פרשה זו בראש השנה, כדי שלא להוסיף עלינו קטרוג. ב) דווקא בראש השנה, יום הדין, יש להבחין בין ישראל לשאר העמים שאינם מוכנים לקבל על עצמם את הייעוד הגדול והנורא של תיקון עולם במלכות שד-י, וכפי שהיה הכרח להבדיל את ישמעאל מישראל.
On the first day, we read the story of Yitzḥak’s birth and the banishment of Hagar and Yishmael (Bereishit 21:1-34)... Most of the Torah reading, however, tells of the banishment of Yishmael. We can learn two principles from this: 1) Despite the pain it caused, the banishment of Yishmael was not in any way immoral. Had it been, the Sages would not have ordained its reading on Rosh Ha-shana, as they would not have wanted to provide the accusers with material. 2) Especially on Rosh Ha-shana, the day of judgment, it is important to distinguish between the Jewish people and the rest of the nations, who are not willing to accept upon themselves the great and awe-inspiring mission of repairing the world under the kingship of God – just as it was necessary to separate Yishmael from Yisrael.
Pirke d’Rabbi Eliezer (“Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer”) is a midrash (explanation) that retells and expands upon the stories of the Torah, from the creation of the world through the story of Miriam’s leprosy. It incorporates discussion on topics like redemption, Messiah, and calculating the end of days. Traditionally considered to have been authored by Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus in the time period of the Mishnah (the first and second centuries CE), the work was likely edited in the eighth or ninth century.
השכים אברהם וכתב גט גירושין ונתן להגר ושלח אותה ואת בנה מעליו ומעל יצחק בנו מהעולם הזה ומהעולם הבא.
Abraham rose up early, and wrote a bill of divorce, and gave it to Hagar, and he sent her and her son away from himself, and from Isaac his son, from this world and from the world to come.
Rashbam, Rabbi Shmuel ben Meir, was a grandson of Rashi who lived in France, c.1080 - c.1160. As part of the Tosafist school, Rashbam’s commentary stays very loyal to the pshat (contextual meaning) of the text.
ותשלך את הילד ...רבותינו אמרו (ב"ר נג יג) שהיה חולה בעת ששלחו ושם על שכמה את הילד וזה הטעם "ותשלך" והיה כל הענין הזה לאברהם מפני שצווה לעשות ככל אשר תאמר שרה והיא צותה להוציאו מיד ובמצותה לא נתן להם כסף וזהב ועבדים וגמלים נושאים אותם:
AND SHE CAST THE CHILD. ...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.
God’s messenger called to Hagar from heaven and said to her:
What [ails] you, Hagar? Do not be afraid,
for God has heard the voice of the lad there where he is. Arise, lift up the lad and grasp him with your hand,
for a great nation will I make of him!
Tractate Rosh Hashanah, written c.190 - c.230 CE, is part of the Mishnah. The bulk of the tractate's discussion is elaboration of the laws concerning the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, its religious significance, and the details of the sounding of the shofar.
she went, filled the skin with water, and gave the lad to drink. And God was with the lad as he grew up;
he settled in the wilderness, and became an archer, a bowman. He settled in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother took him a wife from the land of Egypt.
Chizkuni is the commentary on the Torah of Rabbi Hezekiah ben Manoah, composed in mid-13th century in France. It is actually a compilation of insights culled from the Midrashim, as well as the writings of twenty other Rishonim, including Rashi, Rashbam and Ibn Ezra. However, Chizkuni does not name any of his sources (other than Rashi), in order to encourage objective study, as he felt that one should focus on the message rather than the messenger.