‘And the angel of Yahweh said to her, “Behold you are with child and will bear a son. And you shall call his name Ishmael, because Yahweh has heard your affliction. And he will be like a wild ass among men. His hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him. And he will dwell in the presence of all his brethren”.'
The covenant is split into three parts, each introduced by the phrase ‘the angel of Yahweh said to her'. This is deliberate. Three is the number of completeness and the covenant is thus recognised as being totally complete in itself.
The promise of a son is what she longed for and its fulfilment would seal the covenant. The name Ishmael means ‘God hears'. It will ever be a reminder to her that God knows her situation and has provided for her. She is under His protection and He will hear her cry.
“He will be a wild ass of a man.” See Job 39:5-8. God of course knows that Ishmael cannot inherit leadership of the tribe for He knows that Isaac will be born. Thus this is a prophecy before the event. Like his mother, Ishmael will be strongminded and unwilling to submit willingly to others. The idea is that he will not be satisfied with his position in the tribe but will roam the desert places, free from all restraint and control, answerable to no one except God, and able there to do whatever he wishes. Yet he must have contact with others and they will view him as ‘not one of us'. The inevitable result will at times be conflict. To others he will appear lawless. But his brethren will always be aware that he is there. Even when not seen he will be ‘in their presence', never to be overlooked, a typical Bedouin, sweeping in and out of their lives. He will be like his mother, a free spirit, unwilling to be dominated and very resolute.
It should be noted that this promise assumes that there will be a second leaving of the tribe. The so-called ‘doublet' of Genesis 21:9-21 is in fact therefore simply a fulfilment of this prophecy.