Genesis 16

Introduction

Genesis 16 tells the painful story of Abram, Sarai, and Hagar — a triangle of impatience, suffering, and divine compassion. Despite God's promise that Abram would have a son from his own body (Genesis 15:4), the years pass and Sarai remains barren. She proposes a culturally acceptable solution: Abram should take her Egyptian servant Hagar as a secondary wife and produce an heir through her. Abram agrees. The plan "succeeds" — Hagar conceives — but the consequences are immediate and devastating. Hagar despises her barren mistress; Sarai blames Abram; Abram abdicates responsibility; Sarai treats Hagar so harshly that the pregnant servant flees into the desert.

There, at a spring on the road to Shur, the angel of the LORD finds Hagar — the first person in Scripture to receive a visit from this mysterious figure. He tells her to return and submit, but also gives her an extraordinary promise: her son will be named Ishmael ("God hears"), because the LORD has heard her affliction. Her offspring will be innumerable. The chapter is remarkable for its portrayal of God's attention to the powerless: Hagar is a foreign slave, a woman without status or protection, exploited by both her masters — and God sees her. She names Him אֵל רֳאִי ("the God who sees me"), the only person in the Bible to give God a name. Ishmael is born, and Abram is eighty-six years old. The promised son is still thirteen years away.

Sarai's Plan (vv. 1–4)

¹ Now Abram's wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, "Look now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family by her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. ³ So after he had lived in Canaan for ten years, his wife Sarai took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to Abram to be his wife. ⁴ And he slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

¹ Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had an Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. ² And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; perhaps I shall be built up through her." And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. ³ So after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. ⁴ And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived.

Notes

וְשָׂרַי אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם לֹא יָלְדָה לוֹ ("Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children") — The chapter opens by restating the central crisis: barrenness. Ten years have passed since they arrived in Canaan (Genesis 12:4 places Abram's departure at age seventy-five; he is now eighty-five). Sarai's identification of Hagar as שִׁפְחָה מִצְרִית ("an Egyptian servant") is significant — Hagar was likely acquired during the Egypt episode in Genesis 12:16. The complications from that earlier failure continue to ripple forward.
עֲצָרַנִי יְהוָה מִלֶּדֶת ("the LORD has prevented me from bearing children") — Sarai correctly identifies God as the one who controls fertility (cf. Genesis 20:18, Genesis 29:31, Genesis 30:2). But her conclusion — that she must engineer an alternative — reflects impatience with God's timing rather than trust in His promise.
אוּלַי אִבָּנֶה מִמֶּנָּה ("perhaps I shall be built up through her") — The verb בָּנָה ("to build") is connected to בֵּן ("son") — to "be built up" through children. The wordplay is ancient and deliberate: a family is "built" through sons. Sarai's proposal follows the legal customs attested in ancient Near Eastern texts (notably the Nuzi tablets): a barren wife could give her servant to her husband, and the resulting child would legally belong to the wife. This was not adultery in the cultural context — it was an accepted legal arrangement. But being culturally legitimate does not make it spiritually wise.
וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָם לְקוֹל שָׂרָי ("And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai") — The phrase "listened to the voice of" is the same construction used in Genesis 3:17: "Because you listened to the voice of your wife" — God's rebuke of Adam after the fall. The parallel is deliberate and chilling. As Adam followed Eve's initiative into disobedience, Abram follows Sarai's initiative into a plan that, while culturally acceptable, circumvents God's intended means of fulfillment.

Conflict in the Household (vv. 4–6)

But when Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, "May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me." ⁶ "Here," said Abram, "your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her." Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her.

But when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes. ⁵ And Sarai said to Abram, "May the wrong done to me be upon you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. May the LORD judge between you and me!" ⁶ But Abram said to Sarai, "Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please." Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

Notes

וַתֵּקַל גְּבִרְתָּהּ בְּעֵינֶיהָ ("her mistress became despised in her eyes") — The verb קָלַל means "to be light, trifling, despised" — the opposite of כָּבֵד ("heavy, honored"). In Hagar's eyes, the barren mistress became "light" — diminished, unworthy of respect. Pregnancy gave Hagar status that Sarai lacked, and the social dynamics of the household inverted.
חֲמָסִי עָלֶיךָ ("May the wrong done to me be upon you!") — The word חָמָס ("violence, wrong, injustice") is a strong term — the same word used to describe the corruption that provoked the flood (Genesis 6:11). Sarai holds Abram responsible for the situation she herself proposed. The accusation is emotionally understandable but logically unfair. The invocation יִשְׁפֹּט יְהוָה בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶיךָ ("May the LORD judge between you and me") is a formal appeal to divine arbitration — a legal phrase expressing deep grievance.
וַתְּעַנֶּהָ שָׂרַי ("Sarai dealt harshly with her") — The verb עָנָה (Piel: "to afflict, oppress, humble") is the same word used for Egypt's oppression of Israel in Exodus 1:11-12. The irony is sharp: Sarai, the ancestress of Israel, afflicts an Egyptian — a foreshadowing in reverse of what Egypt will later do to Israel. Hagar's flight from Sarai's oppression prefigures Israel's later flight from Egyptian bondage.
וַתִּבְרַח מִפָּנֶיהָ ("and she fled from her") — Hagar flees into the wilderness, heading south toward Egypt — toward home. She is a pregnant woman, alone in the desert, without protection or resources. The narrative places the reader squarely on Hagar's side: she is the victim of a scheme she did not choose and an abuse she did not provoke.

The Angel of the LORD Finds Hagar (vv. 7–12)

⁷ Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert — the spring along the road to Shur. ⁸ "Hagar, servant of Sarai," he said, "where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I am running away from my mistress Sarai," she replied. ⁹ So the angel of the LORD told her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her authority." ¹⁰ Then the angel added, "I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count." ¹¹ The angel of the LORD proceeded: "Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son. And you shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction. ¹² He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; he will live in hostility toward all his brothers."

⁷ The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸ And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai." ⁹ The angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit yourself under her hand." ¹⁰ The angel of the LORD also said to her, "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be counted for multitude." ¹¹ And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your affliction. ¹² He shall be a wild donkey of a man — his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him — and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen."

Notes

מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה ("the angel of the LORD") — This is the first appearance of the מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה in Scripture. The figure is mysterious: he speaks as God's messenger yet also speaks as God (v. 10: "I will multiply" — a promise only God can make). Hagar identifies him with God Himself (v. 13). Many interpreters — both Jewish and Christian — see in the angel of the LORD a pre-incarnation appearance of the divine Son, or at minimum a figure who bears the full authority and identity of Yahweh. The fact that God's first angelic visitation in Scripture is to a foreign slave woman — not to a patriarch or a king — is theologically profound.
אֵי מִזֶּה בָאת וְאָנָה תֵלֵכִי ("where have you come from and where are you going?") — The question echoes God's address to Adam in Genesis 3:9 ("Where are you?"). It is not asked for information but for the purpose of drawing Hagar into conversation. She must name her situation before she can receive direction.
שׁוּבִי אֶל גְּבִרְתֵּךְ וְהִתְעַנִּי תַּחַת יָדֶיהָ ("Return to your mistress and submit yourself under her hand") — The command is difficult: Hagar must return to the household that oppressed her. The verb הִתְעַנִּי (Hithpael of anah) means "humble yourself, submit" — the same root used for Sarai's harsh treatment (v. 6), now turned into a command of voluntary submission. God does not immediately remove Hagar from her suffering but promises to be present within it.
הַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה אֶת זַרְעֵךְ ("I will surely multiply your offspring") — The infinitive absolute construction intensifies the promise: "multiplying I will multiply." This is the same formula God used for Eve (Genesis 3:16) and will use for Abraham (Genesis 22:17). Hagar — a slave, an Egyptian, a woman outside the covenant line — receives a multiplication promise typically reserved for the patriarchs.
יִשְׁמָעֵאל ("Ishmael") — The name means "God hears" (from שָׁמַע, "to hear" + אֵל, "God"). The explanation: כִּי שָׁמַע יְהוָה אֶל עָנְיֵךְ ("because the LORD has heard your affliction"). The word עֳנִי ("affliction, misery") connects to the same root as Sarai's harsh treatment. God hears the cry of the oppressed — a theme that will define the Exodus narrative: "I have surely seen the affliction of my people... and have heard their cry" (Exodus 3:7).
פֶּרֶא אָדָם ("a wild donkey of a man") — The פֶּרֶא is the wild donkey (onager) of the desert — an animal known for its fierce independence, untamable spirit, and ability to survive in the harshest landscapes (cf. Job 39:5-8). The description is not pejorative but characterizing: Ishmael's descendants will be free, nomadic, warrior peoples of the desert. "His hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him" describes a life of perpetual conflict and independence. וְעַל פְּנֵי כָל אֶחָיו יִשְׁכֹּן ("he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen") — the preposition עַל פְּנֵי can mean "in the presence of, alongside, in opposition to." Ishmael's line will live in proximity to the other descendants of Abraham — near them but distinct, alongside them but often in tension. The Ishmaelite tribes of the Arabian desert fulfill this description across biblical and post-biblical history.

The God Who Sees (vv. 13–16)

¹³ So Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "Here I have seen the One who sees me!" ¹⁴ Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. It is located between Kadesh and Bered. ¹⁵ And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

¹³ So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are a God of seeing," for she said, "Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me." ¹⁴ Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered. ¹⁵ And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. ¹⁶ Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Notes

אַתָּה אֵל רֳאִי ("You are a God of seeing" or "You are the God who sees me") — Hagar names God. She is the only person in the Bible to give God a new name. The title אֵל רֳאִי combines El ("God") with רֳאִי (from רָאָה, "to see"). This is the God who sees the unseen — who notices the outcast, the slave, the runaway. Hagar's theology is born not from instruction but from experience: God found her when no one was looking for her.
הֲגַם הֲלֹם רָאִיתִי אַחֲרֵי רֹאִי ("Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me") — The Hebrew of this phrase is notoriously difficult. The word הֲלֹם means "here, in this place." The sense seems to be: "Have I actually seen [God] and remained alive after seeing Him?" The surprise is not just that God saw her but that she saw God — and survived. Seeing God was considered lethal (cf. Exodus 33:20, Judges 6:22-23, Judges 13:22). Hagar marvels that she has encountered the living God and lived.
בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי ("Beer-lahai-roi") — The name means "the well of the Living One who sees me." It memorializes Hagar's encounter with God at a water source in the desert. The well is located between Kadesh (an oasis in the northern Sinai/Negev) and Bered (uncertain location). Isaac will later live near this well (Genesis 24:62, Genesis 25:11), connecting the two sons of Abraham — the son of promise and the son of Hagar — through this sacred geography.
Abram names the child Ishmael (v. 15) — the name the angel gave to Hagar. This confirms that Hagar reported the encounter to Abram and that he honored the angelic instruction. Despite the complications of Ishmael's birth, Abram accepts him as his son and gives him the divinely appointed name.
Abram is eighty-six. He will be ninety-nine when God appears again to establish the covenant of circumcision (Genesis 17:1) and one hundred when Isaac is finally born (Genesis 21:5). Thirteen years of silence stretch between this chapter and the next divine word. Ishmael is not the promised son, but God is not yet done working.