Genesis 16
16
Sarai and Hagar
1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him any children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. 2So Sarai said to Abram, “See here, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. I am asking you to go in to [the bed of] my maid [so that she may bear you a child]; perhaps I will #This must have been an acceptable practice in that time and culture, based on the idea that the children of such a union would belong to the owner of the slave-girl. Abram undoubtedly had informed Sarai of God’s promise to him, and Sarai perhaps thought that this was necessary in order to bring about God’s plan for them.obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to Sarai and did as she said. 3After Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian [maid], and gave her to her husband Abram to be his [secondary] wife. 4He went in to [the bed of] Hagar, and she conceived; and when she realized that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress [regarding Sarai as insignificant because of her infertility]. 5Then Sarai said to Abram, “May [the responsibility for] the wrong done to me [by the arrogant behavior of Hagar] be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, and when she realized that she had conceived, I was despised and looked on with disrespect. May the Lord judge [who has done right] between you and me.” 6But Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your maid is entirely in your hands and subject to your authority; do as you please with her.” So Sarai treated her harshly and humiliated her, and Hagar fled from her.
7But #This is the first occurrence of “Angel of the Lord (YHWH)” in Scripture. The Hebrew word for “angel” means “messenger” (an angel of God is a special messenger from God who speaks for and is closely identified with Him) and context determines whether the messenger is an angel or a human. The same is true for Greek, and the word “angel” is an English form (transliteration) of the Gr aggelos. The Angel of the Lord can be a special case, however. Many Bible scholars believe that this Angel may be a theophany, that is, a physical manifestation of God, in which case the word Angel is capitalized. The Angel of the Lord may, based on context, be the pre-incarnate Christ, the Son of God.the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, on the road to [Egypt by way of] Shur. 8And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where did you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress, and submit #Lit under her hands.humbly to her authority.” 10Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.” 11The Angel of the Lord continued,
“Behold, you are with child,
And you will bear a son;
And you shall name him Ishmael (God hears),
Because the Lord has heard and paid attention to your persecution (suffering).
12He (Ishmael) will be a wild donkey of a man;
His hand will be against every man [continually fighting]
And every man’s hand against him;
And he will dwell in defiance of all his brothers.”
13Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are #Heb El roi; God never sleeps, He sees, He is aware, He is the great Omnipresent God.God Who Sees”; for she said, “Have I not even here [in the wilderness] remained alive after #Or seen the back of Him who sees me, which would suggest that at some point in their conversation Hagar requested to see the divine Angel (see note v 7) and, as in Moses’ encounter with God (Ex 33:18-23), was granted the privilege of seeing His back. The wording of the Hebrew is not clear enough to further narrow the possibilities.seeing Him [who sees me with understanding and compassion]?” 14Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi (Well of the Living One Who Sees Me); it is #This, “it is between Kadesh and Bered,” is further proof of the antiquity of the original names, since the place had to be identified to the reader in the time of Moses.between Kadesh and Bered.
15So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son; and Abram named his son, to whom Hagar gave birth, #Ishmael was the first person whom God named before his birth (Gen 16:11). Others were: Isaac (Gen 17:19); Josiah (1 Kin 13:2); Solomon (1 Chr 22:9); Jesus (Matt 1:21); and John the Baptist (Luke 1:13).Ishmael (God hears). 16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.
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Genesis 16
16
Hagar and the Ishmaelites’ origins
1Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to have children. Since she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar, 2Sarai said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from giving birth, so go to my servant. Maybe she will provide me with children.” Abram did just as Sarai said. 3After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took her Egyptian servant Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. 4He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when she realized that she was pregnant, she no longer respected her mistress. 5Sarai said to Abram, “This harassment is your fault. I allowed you to embrace my servant, but when she realized she was pregnant, I lost her respect. Let the LORD decide who is right, you or me.”
6Abram said to Sarai, “Since she’s your servant, do whatever you wish to her.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she ran away from Sarai.
7The LORD’s messenger found Hagar at a spring in the desert, the spring on the road to Shur, 8and said, “Hagar! Sarai’s servant! Where did you come from and where are you going?”
She said, “From Sarai my mistress. I’m running away.”
9The LORD’s messenger said to her, “Go back to your mistress. Put up with her harsh treatment of you.” 10The LORD’s messenger also said to her,
“I will give you many children,
so many they can’t be counted!”
11The LORD’s messenger said to her,
“You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son.
You will name him Ishmael#16.11 Or God hears
because the LORD has heard about your harsh treatment.
12He will be a wild mule of a man;
he will fight everyone, and they will fight him.
He will live at odds with all his relatives.”#16.12 Or He will reside near all his relatives.
13Hagar named the LORD who spoke to her, “You are El Roi”#16.13 Or God who sees or God whom I’ve seen because she said, “Can I still see after he saw me?”#16.13 Heb uncertain; or Have I really seen God and survived? 14Therefore, that well is called Beer-lahai-roi;#16.14 Or the Well of the Living One who sees me or whom I’ve seen it’s the well between Kadesh and Bered. 15Hagar gave birth to a son for Abram, and Abram named him Ishmael. 16Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael for Abram.
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