Genesis 16 Exegesis

The book of Genesis is one which is located in the Torah within the Tanakh among four other books: Exodus, Leviticus, Number, and Deuteronomy. In accordance with the dominant Jewish view, one which prevailed in earlier times, and one particularly common among Orthodox Jews, the Pentateuch has Mosaic authorship. In the present day, this view is typically rejected as commentators have noted that several points in Genesis indicate that the narrator lived well after Moses. In regards to the background of the text, modern archeological and historical discoveries imply that the book of Genesis was primarily composed and complied during the centuries of monarchical rule, roughly from the tenth through the sixth centuries BCE. The original audience of the book would likely have been the Exodus generation. More to the point, it is clear that the intended audience was all future generations to …show more content…
The general information presented will allow for a more elaborate analysis of this biblical passage in the term paper. The future close reading of Genesis 16 will provide a comparison of the Yahwist, Priestly, and Elohist source. Additionally, the final paper will establish a comparative approach between the birth of Ishmael in the Torah and the birth of Ismael in the Quran. The approach will function as a means of establishing commonalities and distinctions between these two texts, respectively. Lastly, secondary sources will be introduced in order to assist in determining arguments surrounding vocabulary, characters, and themes. A more extensive analysis of these sources will ensue in the research paper. This first paper will answer the fundamental questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? The final paper will expand on these answers with much greater detail. At all times, the biblical text will remain the anchor for