And the angel of the LORD said unto her,
Behold, you are with child, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael; because the LORD has heard your affliction.
All Commentaries on Genesis 16:11 Go To Genesis 16
Didymus the Blind
AD 398
At that time, giving birth to children was regarded as a matter of great importance in view of the multiplication of human beings, as we have explained—this, moreover, at a time when virginity and the teaching on virtue did not yet have much credibility. This is why even prayers were said for conception and they counted such a thing as giving birth among the blessings. So much for the literal explanation. As for the spiritual sense, it could be this: One who has begun to be educated according to God and who is at the introductory stage is like one in a gestation period. The Master’s word, however, makes him the promise that he will give birth, for masters who teach are often perspicacious when they see the efforts of their disciples and they acknowledge too their natural gifts. That the fruit of the womb is uncertain one can learn from a Gospel saying, when the Savior remarks, “Alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days!” Such situations in fact are precarious when a trial comes along. This is why, wishing to wean those who are in this situation, the Word says, “Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast, affliction upon affliction, hope upon hope,” for, as people who are henceforth on a solid diet, they receive affliction upon affliction. But there are imperfect people of whom Paul writes, “I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not ready for it; and even yet you are not ready.”
