The big picture
Abram, a clan leader living in Canaan, the land where his household has settled, still has no child by his wife Sarai. Hagar, an Egyptian enslaved servant under Sarai’s authority, lives in their household. Sarai gives Hagar to Abram so a child can be born through her. The plan brings a pregnancy, but it also brings contempt, blame and harsh treatment. Hagar runs away into the wilderness. There, the chapter turns from a household power struggle to God’s response to a woman who has fled.
In this chapter
- Sarai Gives Hagar to Abram Genesis 16:1-6
Sarai has not borne Abram a child.
- The Angel Finds Hagar Genesis 16:7-12
The angel of the LORD finds Hagar beside a water source in the wilderness on the road to Shur, an area toward Egypt.
- Hagar Names the God Who Sees Genesis 16:13-16
Hagar responds by naming the LORD as the God who sees her.
Central truth
Sarai’s plan brings harm and flight, but God finds Hagar, hears her suffering and promises a future for Ishmael.
Scripture beside the summary
Genesis · King James Version · 16Genesis 16:1-6
Sarai Gives Hagar to Abram
Sarai has not borne Abram a child. She owns Hagar, an Egyptian enslaved servant, and tells Abram to have sex with Hagar so Sarai can obtain a child through her. Abram agrees. Sarai gives Hagar to him as a wife, and Hagar becomes pregnant. Genesis does not record Hagar’s consent. After the pregnancy, Hagar looks down on Sarai. Sarai then blames Abram for the insult and calls on the LORD to judge between them. Abram says Hagar is still under Sarai’s power. Sarai treats Hagar harshly. Hagar then runs away from the household.
In everyday life
A wealthy couple pressures a live-in worker into carrying a child for them. Once she becomes pregnant, the household turns tense. The wife feels humiliated, the husband shifts the problem back to her, and the worker takes the worst treatment before fleeing. Unlike a modern employee, Hagar is enslaved and has far less power to refuse or leave safely.
Notice
Genesis 16:3 Sarai makes the plan after Abram has lived ten years in Canaan. The detail shows that this is a deliberate response to a long wait for a child.
Genesis 16:1-6
King James Version1Now 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.
Genesis 16:7-12
The Angel Finds Hagar
The angel of the LORD finds Hagar beside a water source in the wilderness on the road to Shur, an area toward Egypt. He calls her by name and asks where she came from and where she is going. Hagar says she is fleeing Sarai. The angel tells her to return and submit to Sarai’s authority. He also promises that her descendants will become too many to count. Her son is to be named Ishmael because the LORD has heard her suffering. The angel says Ishmael will live in conflict with others and among his relatives. Christian traditions differ on how they understand the angel of the LORD and his relation to God.
In everyday life
A runaway housekeeper sits beside a rural bus stop with one bag and no clear plan. A government worker finds her, asks where she came from and gives her hard instructions about what comes next. He can offer help, but he cannot promise the future of her unborn child. The comparison ends there because the angel speaks with divine authority.
Notice
Genesis 16:11 Ishmael’s name is tied to the LORD hearing Hagar’s suffering. The promised child is marked from birth by the fact that her distress has been heard.
Genesis 16:7-12
King James Version7And 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.
Genesis 16:13-16
Hagar Names the God Who Sees
Hagar responds by naming the LORD as the God who sees her. The well near that place becomes known as Beer-lahai-roi, which lies between Kadesh and Bered. Hagar later gives birth to a son. Abram names him Ishmael, the same name given in the angel’s message. That matching name shows the message has reached Abram after Hagar’s return. Genesis then gives Abram’s age. He is eighty-six when Ishmael is born. The chapter began with Sarai trying to secure an heir through Hagar. It ends with Hagar’s son alive in Abram’s household and linked to a promise about his own future.
In everyday life
A mother fills out a birth record and chooses a name tied to the hardest season of her life. Years later, every school form and legal paper carries that name and keeps the memory alive. The name can preserve what happened and what it meant to her. A human name, however, cannot by itself confirm a promise from God.
Notice
Genesis 16:15 Abram gives the child the name Ishmael, though the angel gave that name to Hagar. The shared name links her wilderness encounter back to the household.
Genesis 16:13-16
King James Version13And 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Genesis 16:1 begins with “Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.”
Where the chapter turns
Genesis 16:8 forms a natural hinge: “And 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.”
The final note
Genesis 16:16 leaves the reader with “And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words Abram, LORD, Sarai, Hagar, maid, angel help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- bare
- Gave birth to; an older past-tense form of bear.
- handmaid
- A female servant; here Hagar lives under Sarai’s authority.
- hearkened
- Listened to and accepted what was said.
- affliction
- Suffering, distress or harsh treatment.
- fourscore
- Eighty in number; one score equals twenty.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
