Genesis 16 · Abraham and Sarah
Waiting for the promised child strains Abram and Sarai's household. Sarai gives her Egyptian servant Hagar to Abram, and pregnancy intensifies conflict. The narrative follows the vulnerable woman who leaves the household, rather than treating her as an incidental means to an heir.
The biblical text
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.
King James Version. Text from eBible.org. Edition and rights.
Original study notes
Sarai proposes the arrangement, Abram accepts, and Hagar conceives. Contempt, accusation and harsh treatment follow. Hagar has far less power than the people directing her life. The story records an ancient household practice without presenting its harms as a model for families.
The angel of the Lord finds Hagar near a spring, addresses her by name and asks about her journey. Her son will be called Ishmael, linked to God hearing her affliction. A promise of descendants is given outside the central household's control.
Hagar names the Lord in response to the encounter, and the well receives a name commemorating it. She bears Ishmael when Abram is 86. God's attention reaches a woman mistreated within the very family chosen to carry blessing.
The instruction to Hagar in this particular encounter must not be turned into a general command that abused people return to danger. The narrative names her affliction and God's attention to it.
Explore difficult questions →Hagar's. The messenger finds her, names her and speaks about her future.
God has heard her affliction, according to verse 11.
Read these passages in context. Notice what they repeat, develop or clarify.
