Abstract
Both ancient and modern Bible commentators have long struggled to understand what exactly transpired between Ishmael and Isaac, described by the Hebrew מצחק, which so aroused the ire of Sarah and resulted in the expulsion of Ishmael and his mother Hagar (Gen 21:9 ff.). Was Sarah upset by the sight of children playing or was there more to it? מצחק of Gen 21:9 has been explained in various ways in post-biblical Jewish tradition. Jubilees and LXX left it as 'play'. Josephus ignored it and Philo allegorized it. The rabbis turned it into idolatry, incest, and murder. This is commonly understood as an attempt to defend the rather unsympathetic biblical portrayal of Sarah. It is the intention of this paper to re-examine this 'play' motif in light of ancient Jewish thought on children's play as well as in terms of common views of the GrecoRoman world regarding play and similar activities.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 203-221 |
| Journal | Hebrew Union College Annual |
| Volume | 66 |
| State | Published - 1995 |
