וישמע אברהם לקול שרי, “Avraham agreed with Sarai’s suggestion.” The Torah does not simply write ויעש כן that Avraham acted in consonance with Sarai’s request, but is writes that Avraham, although very desirous of siring children, would not marry another woman unless Sarai had first approved it, or, as in this case, even suggested it. Even now, in fulfilling Sarai’s suggestion, he did not do so primarily to satisfy his own yearning, but to afford Sarai the satisfaction of being able to raise a child vicariously even though it had been born by her maidservant. It also possible, as our sages have remarked, that due to Sarai’s generosity in worrying that her husband should father a child, although not hers, she herself would be granted the satisfaction to have a child of her own. Sarai used the term לאישה, “as a wife,” to describe the union between Hagar and Avraham, in order to indicate that she did not want to raise a child who was the issue of a concubine. The Torah describes all these details to show the concern of Sarai for Avraham’s social standing.

מקץ עשר שנים לשבת אברם בארץ כנען, “at the end of 10 years since Avraham had taken up residence in the land of Canaan.” Rashi writes that this teaches us that the years that Avraham and Sarai lived outside the land of Canaan are not relevant to the rule that when a woman fails to conceive after 10 years of marriage, her husband may or should divorce her and marry someone else. The reason that those years did not count was that while in Charan, G’d had not yet promised Avraham that He would make him into a great nation. Nachmanides writes that only in the case of Avraham did those years that he was in Charan or even before not count. For ordinary individuals the rule to divorce a wife after 10 years of marriage without children does apply in the Diaspora also. He continues that the commentators have made additional errors in writing on this subject when they said that the whole halachah requiring a husband to divorce a wife who fails to bear children for ten years does not apply outside the Holy Land. The correct interpretation of what is written on the subject is that if a childless married couple have moved to Israel they are given another ten years before the rule that the husband in order to fulfill the commandment to be fruitful has to either divorce his barren wife or marry another wife in addition. It is hoped that the merit of living in the Holy Land will result in the couple being blessed with children.

ותענה שרי, “Sarai made life miserable for her.” Both our matriarch Sarah and her husband were guilty of a sin here. Avraham’s sin was that he did not interfere on behalf of Hagar. As a result, G’d listened to her complaints and granted her a son, whose descendants in turn would oppress the descendants of Avraham and Sarah to this day.

שובי אל גברתך והתענו תחת ידיה, “go back to your mistress and submit to her oppression” The angel hinted to her that she would not regain her status as a free woman, and that the descendants of Sarai would rule over her descendants into the distant future.

וקראת שמו ישמעאל, “you are to call him Yishmael.” Avraham had not heard of this revelation of an angel to Hagar, but he still named him thus (on his own).” Nachmanides explains that the angel commanded Hagar to call the boy Yishmael. Hagar, however, was afraid to arrogate to herself the right to name the son of her master, so that she revealed to him that she had been given such instructions from the angel.

פרא אדם, “a man of the wild.” According to Rashi Yishmael would love the desert to hunt in.

ידו בכול, “his hand will be against everyone;” a robber, a highwayman.

ויד כל בו, “and everyone’s hand will be against him.” They would hate him and provoke strife with him. Nachmanides writes that in the expression פרא אדם the word פרא is in the construct mode to the word אדם, meaning that he will be more like a mule than a human being in character. He will constantly look for someone or something to attack and destroy, whereas people, as a result, would constantly be looking for him to neutralize him. The prediction of the angel was to characterize not so much Yishmael himself but the descendants, the Muslim nations and their method of spreading their religion with the fire and the sword. Ibn Ezra understands the word פרא as an alternate for the word חפשי, “free,” in the sense of “unable to submit to anyone’s authority.” The words ועל פני כל אחיו ישכון, Ibn Ezra understands to mean that Yishmael will dwell wherever his brothers, the sons of Keturah will dwell. Some commentators understand the term פרא אדם to mean that Yishamel will be a merchant forever in search of merchandise to buy or sell. Indeed we find that most of the Ishmaelites during the period of Yaakov already engaged in long distance trade, traveling in caravans with camels etc. (compare Genesis 37,25-27).

הגם הלום ראיתי, “even here I have seen (a divine vision)“ Rabbi Joseph Kimchi explains this verse as meaning that “He who sees me is the One Who has appeared to me,” for she was unaware that it was an angel. When the angel took leave of her she did no longer see him, as people who look at departing human beings until they are out of sight normally do. In commenting on this strange phenomenon she said “the one who sees me,” meaning “although I cannot see him.” She did not realize that this was a divine apparition, and that is why she said: “I have even seen him here.”