Modern readers are offended by the story of Hagar, the Egyptian servant girl who ... ages through the influence of Scripture. But the Bible, by means of its singular point of view, tells us ...

This narrative is punctuated by the four “Servant Songs,” portions of the ... in his mission (as the footnote in my Jerusalem Bible says) but ultimately emerges victorious.

It reads: “l’Natan-Melech Eved haMelech,” or “to Natan-Melech, the king’s servant.” Natan-Melech is a name that appears only once in the Bible, in the Second Book of Kings.