Parashat Chayei Sarah: The Plot Hole

The Torah contains an intriguing gap in its narrative: Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn son, vanishes from the story after being banished to the desert – only to reappear suddenly when his father dies. How did he know Abraham had died? Why did he come? And how did these estranged father and son reconcile before it was too late?

The text itself raises questions even before the scene of Abraham’s funeral. After Isaac’s marriage, the elderly Abraham takes another wife named Keturah, who bears him six sons. It is written in the Torah that before his death, Abraham gives gifts to his sons by concubines and sends them to the land of the East. He decides to separate them from Isaac. Why does it say “sons by concubines” in plural? Whose sons were these besides Keturah’s sons? The answer is not clear.  But why “sons by concubines” in the plural? Whose sons were these besides Keturah’s? The answer is unclear. And then:

“And Abraham breathed his last, dying at a good ripe age, old and contented; and he was gathered to his kin. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre.” (Genesis 25:8-9)

Where did Ishmael suddenly come from? The last time we heard of him, he had been banished to the desert with his mother Hagar. They nearly died by Be’er LaChai Roi before an angel saved them. After that: “God was with the boy and he grew up; he dwelt in the wilderness and became skilled with a bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt” (ibid, 21:20-21). Then silence – until he appears at the burial. There is a plot hole here.

Filling the gap

The midrash Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer, written around the VII century CE, fills in this gap. Three years after the banishment, Abraham visited Ishmael in the desert, promising Sarah he wouldn’t even dismount from his camel.

Arriving at midday, Abraham meets Ishmael’s wife, who says her husband and Hagar are out. Without revealing his identity, he asks for bread and water. She replies she has neither.

Someone who refuses a thirsty traveler water is not suitable to be his son’s wife. This echoes the story where Rebecca gives water to Abraham’s servant and his camels, proving she’s perfect for Isaac. Abraham leaves Ishmael a message: an old man from Canaan came with instructions to replace the threshold of his house. The wise Ishmael understands – the old man was his father, and “threshold” means not the door but his wife. He asks his mother to find him another wife, and Hagar brings him a woman named Fatima.

The choice is striking. Written shortly after Islam’s emergence, the midrash invokes Fatima (فاطمة), Muhammad’s daughter, considered especially sacred in Islamic tradition. In Shia Islam, she is Fatima al-Zahra, Fatima the Radiant, a symbol of purity and faithfulness. This is apparently the first mention of the name Fatima in Hebrew.

The return of Abraham

Three years later, Abraham returns. This time Fatima welcomes him with bread and water. Now “Abraham arose and prayed before the Holy One, blessed be He, for his son, and (thereupon) Ishmael’s house was filled with all good things of the various blessings. When Ishmael came (home) his wife told him what had happened, and Ishmael knew that his father’s love was still extended to him, as it is said, ‘Like as a father pitieth his sons’.” (Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer, Chapter 30)

Reconciliation and Hope

According to this beautiful midrash, the bond between Abraham and Ishmael was maintained throughout the years. Abraham’s blessing brought prosperity to Ishmael’s house, and Ishmael was grateful, no longer angry about his childhood abandonment. When Abraham died, Ishmael came to bury his father alongside Isaac.

The parashah hints that Isaac and Ishmael remained in contact. Isaac met Rebecca at Be’er LaChai Roi – the same place where Ishmael was saved. Perhaps the brothers met there. And indeed, immediately after Abraham’s burial it says: “After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac settled near Be’er LaChai Roi” (ibid, 25:11). It is possible that the brothers maintained contact and maybe even looked after each other.

If Abraham could maintain his bond with Ishmael across years of separation, and if Isaac and Ishmael could reconcile at their father’s grave, then perhaps it is our turn to bring peace and brotherhood between the sons of Isaac and the sons of Ishmael.

Lior Tal Sadeh is an educator, writer, and author of “What Is Above, What Is Below” (Carmel, 2022). He hosts the daily “Source of Inspiration” podcast, produced by Beit Avi Chai.

For more insights into Parashat Chayei Sarah, listen to “Source of Inspiration”.

Translation of most Hebrew texts sourced from Sefaria.org
Main Photo: The dismissal of Hagar, by Pieter Pietersz Lastman\ Wikipedia