Genesis — Chapter 16
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1Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
2So 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.
3So 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.
4And he slept with Hagar, and she conceived. But when Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
5Then 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.
7Now 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.
9So the angel of the LORD told her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.”
10Then the angel added, “I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count.”
11The 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.
12He 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.”
13So 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!”
14Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. It is located between Kadesh and Bered.
15And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.
16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.
1Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
3And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
4And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.
6But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
7And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
8And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
9And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
10And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
13And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
14Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
16And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
1Now Sarai, Abram`s wife, bare him no children: and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, Jehovah hath restrained me from bearing; go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid; it may be that I shall obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
3And Sarai, Abram`s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.
4And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I gave my handmaid into they bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: Jehovah judge between me and thee.
6But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her that which is good in thine eyes. And Sarai dealt hardly with her, and she fled from her face.
7And the angel of Jehovah found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
8And he said, Hagar, Sarai`s handmaid, whence camest thou? and whither goest thou? And she said, I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.
9And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
10And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, I will greatly multiply thy seed, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son; and thou shalt call his name Ishmael, because Jehovah hath heard thy affliction.
12And he shall be [as] a wild ass among men; his hand [shall be] against every man, and every man`s hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his brethren.
13And she called the name of Jehovah that spake unto her, Thou art a God that seeth: for she said, Have I even here looked after him that seeth me?
14Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bare, Ishmael.
16And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, but she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar.
2So Sarai said to Abram, “Since the Lord has prevented me from having children, please sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” Abram did what Sarai told him.
3So after Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, to her husband to be his wife.
4He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai.
5Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! I gave my servant into your embrace, but when she realized that she was pregnant, she despised me. May the Lord judge between you and me!”
6Abram said to Sarai, “Since your servant is under your authority, do to her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai treated Hagar harshly, so she ran away from Sarai.
7The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring of water in the wilderness—the spring that is along the road to Shur.
8He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai.”
9Then the angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.
10I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the angel of the Lord added, “so that they will be too numerous to count.”
11Then the angel of the Lord said to her, “You are now pregnant and are about to give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your painful groans.
12He will be a wild donkey of a man. He will be hostile to everyone, and everyone will be hostile to him. He will live away from his brothers.”
13So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!”
14That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi. (It is located between Kadesh and Bered.)
15So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael.
16(Now Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.)
1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2Sarai said to Abram, “See now, Yahweh has restrained me from bearing. Please go in to my servant. It may be that I will obtain children by her.” Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
3Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.
4He went in to Hagar, and she conceived. When she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5Sarai said to Abram, “This wrong is your fault. I gave my servant into your bosom, and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. Yahweh judge between me and you.”
6But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your hand. Do to her whatever is good in your eyes.” Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her face.
7Yahweh’s angel found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur.
8He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where did you come from? Where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.”
9Yahweh’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hands.”
10Yahweh’s angel said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, that they will not be counted for multitude.”
11Yahweh’s angel said to her, “Behold, you are with child, and will bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because Yahweh has heard your affliction.
12He will be like a wild donkey among men. His hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. He will live opposite all of his brothers.”
13She called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees,” for she said, “Have I even stayed alive after seeing him?”
14Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi. Behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15Hagar bore a son for Abram. Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Summary
After ten years in Canaan without a child, Sarai gives her Egyptian servant Hagar to Abram as a wife so that she might build a family through her (vv. 1-3). Hagar conceives and begins to look down on Sarai, leading Sarai to treat her harshly until Hagar flees into the wilderness (vv. 4-6). The angel of the Lord finds Hagar by a spring, tells her to return and submit to Sarai, and promises that her son will have descendants too numerous to count (vv. 7-10). The angel instructs her to name the child Ishmael, whose name reflects that God has heard her affliction, and describes him as a wild and contentious man who will live at odds with his relatives (vv. 11-12). Hagar responds by calling the Lord the God who sees her, and Abram is eighty-six years old when Ishmael is born (vv. 13-16).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Beer-lahai-roi (v.14) — meaning "the well of the Living One who sees me." Located between Kadesh and Bered in the Negev desert, along the road to Shur (toward Egypt).
- The wilderness of Shur (v.7) — the desert region between Canaan and Egypt, along the trade route. Hagar flees toward her homeland (Egypt).
Places on this map
- EgyptEgyptA ribbon of irrigated land along the Nile, ending in the Delta where Israel settled in Goshen. Rain-fed Canaan depended on weather; Egypt depended on a river that flooded on schedule, which made it the place everyone went when the harvest failed. Wikipedia
- CanaanIsrael, West Bank, LebanonThe land bridge between Egypt and Mesopotamia, which is why armies crossed it for three thousand years. Within about 60 miles it goes from coastal plain to hill country to rift valley to desert plateau, so control of it was always local and piecemeal. Wikipedia
- Kadesh-barneaAin el-Qudeirat, Egypt/Israel borderThe largest spring in the northern Sinai, about 50 miles south of Beersheba. Israel camped here, sent the spies north from here, and was turned back here to spend a generation in the wilderness. Wikipedia
- Negevsouthern IsraelThe arid triangle south of the Judean hills, grazing land in a good year and desert in a bad one. Hebrew uses the same word for it as for the direction south. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers Sarai's plan, the consequences, the angel of the LORD, and God's care for Hagar.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- BibleProject: bibleproject.com On the whole book: how its opening chapters work as literature and how they set up everything that follows.
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Genesis -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Taking Matters Into Our Own Hands (v.2) — Sarai proposes Hagar as a surrogate instead of waiting on God's promise, and Abram agrees. Where are you tempted to manufacture your own solution instead of trusting God's timing?
- Blame and Broken Relationships From a Bad Decision (vv.4-6) — Once Hagar conceives, tension turns to contempt, blame, and mistreatment, showing how one impatient choice can fracture a household. What relationships are strained today by a shortcut you or someone else once took?
- Found by God in the Wilderness (v.7) — The angel of the LORD seeks out Hagar in her flight and distress, not waiting for her to find her own way back. Have you ever felt too far gone or too overlooked for God to notice you?
- The God Who Sees You (v.13) — Hagar names God "the One who sees me" after He meets her in the wilderness and speaks to her need. Do you believe God truly sees your specific situation, or does it feel like He's distant from it?