Spiritual Meaning of GENESIS 16:15-16
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AC 1959. Verse 15. And Hagar bare Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son that Hagar bare, Ishmael. "Hagar bare Abram a son," signifies the rational man born from this conjunction and conception; "and Abram called the name of his son that Hagar bare, Ishmael," signifies the quality of it.

AC 1960. Hagar bare Abram a son. That this signifies the rational man born from this conception and conjunction, is evident from the representation and signification of "Hagar," of "Abram," and of "a son." That "Hagar" signifies the life of the affection of memory-knowledges in the exterior man, has been said above (n. 1895, 1896); also that "Abram" signifies the Lord’s internal man (n. 1893, 1950); and that "a son" signifies truth, and thus the truth that was of this rational (n. 264, 489, 491, 533, 1147). Hence that "Hagar bare a son to Abram," signifies the rational man that was born from this conception and conjunction. Into this sense is the sense of the letter changed when it reaches the angels, or is in the presence of the angels.

AC 1961. And Abram called the name of his son that Hagar bare, Ishmael. That this signifies its quality, is evident from the signification of "calling a name," as being to know what is the quality of the thing in question (n. 144, 145, 1754); and also from the representation and signification of "Ishmael," as being rational truth, which is described it, (verses 11 and 12) in the words: "Thou shalt call his name Ishmael, because Jehovah hath heard thine affliction; and he will be a wild-ass man his land against all, and the hand of all against him; and he shall dwell against the faces of all his brethren;" and for the meaning of these words, see the explication of the verses that contain them. It is the quality of this rational that is there described.

AC 1962. Verse 16. And Abram was a son of eighty years and six years, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. "Abram was a son of eighty years and six years," signifies the Lord‘s state in respect to the celestial good acquired by combats of temptations; "when Hagar bare Ishmael," signifies when the life of the affection of memory-knowledges brought forth the rational.

AC 1963. Abram was a son of eighty years and six years. That this signifies the Lord’s state in respect to the celestial good acquired by means of the combats of temptations, is evident from the signification of "eighty," in which number is involved much the same as in "forty;" and that these numbers signify temptations has been already shown (n. 730, 862); and from the signification of "six," as being combat, also explained before (n. 720, 737, 900); and further from the signification of "ten," as being remains (n. 576); which remains in the Lord‘s case were the possessions of celestial goods by which He united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence (n. 1906, at the end). These three numbers are components of the number eighty-six, in which such things are involved, and which thus signifies the Lord’s state in regard to the celestial good acquired by means of the combats of temptations; for all numbers in the Word signify actual things (n. 482, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813). As in this case the numbers mentioned are numbers of years, and as they are also mentioned in historical connection with Abram, it appears as if they were not significative of such things. But there is nothing written in the Word which does not pass into a spiritual and a celestial sense when it passes over to the angels; for angels are in none other than spiritual and celestial ideas, and when the Word is being read by a man, the angels neither know nor perceive what "eighty-six" is, nor do they care of what age Abram was when Hagar bare Ishmael to him; but from such a number, when read, the things involved in the numbers immediately come to them; and the same is the case with all the other expressions, as they have been explained in the internal sense.

AC 1964. When Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. That this signifies when the life of the affection of memory-knowledges brought forth the rational, is evident from the signification of "Hagar" as being the life of the affection of memory-knowledges; and from the signification of "Ishmael," as being the rational first conceived, treated of above. As in this chapter the subject treated of is man‘s rational, and as there is described the quality of the rational when constituted solely of truths, and also when of goods and of truths derived from goods, be it known that the rational cannot possibly be conceived and born, that is, formed, apart from knowledges (scientifica et cognitiones) but these knowledges must have use as their end, and when they have use, they have life as their end, for all life belongs to uses, because it belongs to ends, and therefore unless knowledges are learned for the sake of a life of uses, they are of no moment, because of no use.

AC 1965. This then is the internal sense of the things contained in this chapter concerning Abram, Hagar, and Ishmael. But how copious this sense is, that is, what illimitable things it contains, may be seen from the mere consideration that as in the internal sense all things in the Word both in general and in particular regard the Lord, and treat of the Lord-for the life of the Word, because the Word itself, is from this-they also, in the internal sense, treat at the same time of His kingdom in the heavens, and of His kingdom on earth, which is the church; and in the same way they treat of every one in whom is the Lord‘s kingdom; and besides this they treat in general of all that is celestial and spiritual, for all these are from the Lord. Hence it is that by Abram is also represented the celestial church, the celestial man, and the celestial itself, and so on. But to extend the explication to all these would make it too tedious