1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2 And 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.
3 And 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.
4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5 And 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.
6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
7 And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
8 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.
9 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
10 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11 And 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.
12 And 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.
13 And 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?
14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
1 Now Sarai H8297 Abram's H87 wife H802 bare H3205 him no H3808 children: H3205 and she had an handmaid, H8198 an Egyptian, H4713 whose name H8034 was Hagar. H1904
2 And Sarai H8297 said H559 unto Abram, H87 Behold now, the LORD H3068 hath restrained me H6113 from bearing: H3205 I pray thee, go in H935 unto my maid; H8198 it may H194 be that I may obtain children H1129 by her. And Abram H87 hearkened H8085 to the voice H6963 of Sarai. H8297
3 And Sarai H8297 Abram's H87 wife H802 took H3947 Hagar H1904 her maid H8198 the Egyptian, H4713 after H7093 Abram H87 had dwelt H3427 ten H6235 years H8141 in the land H776 of Canaan, H3667 and gave H5414 her to her husband H376 Abram H87 to be his wife. H802
4 And he went in H935 unto Hagar, H1904 and she conceived: H2029 and when she saw H7200 that she had conceived, H2029 her mistress H1404 was despised H7043 in her eyes. H5869
5 And Sarai H8297 said H559 unto Abram, H87 My wrong H2555 be upon thee: I have given H5414 my maid H8198 into thy bosom; H2436 and when she saw H7200 that she had conceived, H2029 I was despised H7043 in her eyes: H5869 the LORD H3068 judge H8199 between me and thee.
6 But Abram H87 said H559 unto Sarai, H8297 Behold, thy maid H8198 is in thy hand; H3027 do H6213 to her as it pleaseth thee. H2896 H5869 And when Sarai H8297 dealt hardly with H6031 her, she fled H1272 from her face. H6440
7 And the angel H4397 of the LORD H3068 found her H4672 by a fountain H5869 of water H4325 in the wilderness, H4057 by the fountain H5869 in the way H1870 to Shur. H7793
8 And he said, H559 Hagar, H1904 Sarai's H8297 maid, H8198 whence H335 camest thou? H935 and whither wilt thou go? H3212 And she said, H559 I flee H1272 from the face H6440 of my mistress H1404 Sarai. H8297
9 And the angel H4397 of the LORD H3068 said H559 unto her, Return H7725 to thy mistress, H1404 and submit H6031 thyself under her hands. H3027
10 And the angel H4397 of the LORD H3068 said H559 unto her, I will multiply H7235 thy seed H2233 exceedingly, H7235 that it shall not be numbered H5608 for multitude. H7230
11 And the angel H4397 of the LORD H3068 said H559 unto her, Behold, H2009 thou art with child, H2030 and shalt bear H3205 a son, H1121 and shalt call H7121 his name H8034 Ishmael; H3458 because the LORD H3068 hath heard H8085 thy affliction. H6040
12 And he will be a wild H6501 man; H120 his hand H3027 will be against every man, and every man's hand H3027 against him; and he shall dwell H7931 in the presence H6440 of all his brethren. H251
13 And she called H7121 the name H8034 of the LORD H3068 that spake H1696 unto her, Thou God H410 seest me: H7210 for she said, H559 Have I also here H1988 looked H7200 after him H310 that seeth me? H7210
14 Wherefore the well H875 was called H7121 Beerlahairoi; H883 H2416 behold, it is between Kadesh H6946 and Bered. H1260
15 And Hagar H1904 bare H3205 Abram H87 a son: H1121 and Abram H87 called H7121 his son's H1121 name, H8034 which Hagar H1904 bare, H3205 Ishmael. H3458
16 And Abram H87 was fourscore H8084 H8141 and six H8337 years H8141 old, H1121 when Hagar H1904 bare H3205 Ishmael H3458 to Abram. H87
1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bare him no children: and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2 And 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.
3 And 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.
4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5 And 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.
6 But 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.
7 And the angel of Jehovah found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
8 And 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.
9 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
10 And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, I will greatly multiply thy seed, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11 And 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.
12 And 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.
13 And 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?
14 Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bare, Ishmael.
16 And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
1 And Sarai, Abram's wife, hath not borne to him, and she hath an handmaid, an Egyptian, and her name `is' Hagar;
2 and Sarai saith unto Abram, `Lo, I pray thee, Jehovah hath restrained me from bearing, go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid; perhaps I am built up from her;' and Abram hearkeneth to the voice of Sarai.
3 And Sarai, Abram's wife, taketh Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, at the end of the tenth year of Abram's dwelling in the land of Canaan, and giveth her to Abram her husband, to him for a wife,
4 and he goeth in unto Hagar, and she conceiveth, and she seeth that she hath conceived, and her mistress is lightly esteemed in her eyes.
5 And Sarai saith unto Abram, `My violence `is' for thee; I -- I have given mine handmaid into thy bosom, and she seeth that she hath conceived, and I am lightly esteemed in her eyes; Jehovah doth judge between me and thee.'
6 And Abram saith unto Sarai, `Lo, thine handmaid `is' in thine hand, do to her that which is good in thine eyes;' and Sarai afflicted her, and she fleeth from her presence.
7 And a messenger of Jehovah findeth her by the fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way `to' Shur,
8 and he saith, `Hagar, Sarai's handmaid, whence hast thou come, and whither dost thou go?' and she saith, `From the presence of Sarai, my mistress, I am fleeing.'
9 And the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, `Turn back unto thy mistress, and humble thyself under her hands;'
10 and the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, `Multiplying I multiply thy seed, and it is not numbered from multitude;'
11 and the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, `Behold thou `art' conceiving, and bearing a son, and hast called his name Ishmael, for Jehovah hath hearkened unto thine affliction;
12 and he is a wild-ass man, his hand against every one, and every one's hand against him -- and before the face of all his brethren he dwelleth.'
13 And she calleth the name of Jehovah who is speaking unto her, `Thou `art', O God, my beholder;' for she said, `Even here have I looked behind my beholder?'
14 therefore hath one called the well, `The well of the Living One, my beholder;' lo, between Kadesh and Bered.
15 And Hagar beareth to Abram a son; and Abram calleth the name of his son, whom Hagar hath borne, Ishmael;
16 and Abram `is' a son of eighty and six years in Hagar's bearing Ishmael to Abram.
1 And Sarai Abram's wife did not bear him [children]. And she had an Egyptian maidservant; and her name was Hagar.
2 And Sarai said to Abram, Behold now, Jehovah has shut me up, that I do not bear. Go in, I pray thee, to my maidservant: it may be that I shall be built up by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar, the Egyptian, her maidservant, at the end of ten years that Abram had dwelt in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram, as his wife.
4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was lightly esteemed in her eyes.
5 And Sarai said to Abram, My wrong be on thee! I have given my maidservant into thy bosom; and now she sees that she has conceived, I am lightly esteemed in her eyes. Jehovah judge between me and thee!
6 And Abram said to Sarai, Behold, thy maidservant is in thy hand: do to her what is good in thine eyes. And Sarai oppressed her; and she fled from her face.
7 And the Angel of Jehovah found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maidservant, whence comest thou? and whither art thou going? And she said, I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.
9 And the Angel of Jehovah said to her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
10 And the Angel of Jehovah said to her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
11 And the Angel of Jehovah said to her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael, because Jehovah hath hearkened to thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild-ass of a man, his hand against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell before the face of all his brethren.
13 And she called the name of Jehovah who spoke to her, Thou art the ùGod who reveals himself, for she said, Also here have I seen after he has revealed himself.
14 Therefore the well was named Beer-lahai-roi: behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
16 And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no children. She had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2 Sarai said to Abram," See now, Yahweh has restrained me from bearing. Please go in to my handmaid. It may be that I will obtain children by her." Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
3 Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.
4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived. When she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5 Sarai said to Abram, "This wrong is your fault. I gave my handmaid into your bosom, and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. Yahweh judge between me and you."
6 But 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.
7 The angel of Yahweh found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
8 He said, "Hagar, Sarai's handmaid, where did you come from? Where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai."
9 The angel of Yahweh said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hands."
10 The angel of Yahweh said to her, "I will greatly multiply your seed, that they will not be numbered for multitude."
11 The angel of Yahweh 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.
12 He 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."
13 She 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?"
14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi.{Beer Lahai Roi means "well of the one who lives and sees me."} Behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 Hagar bore a son for Abram. Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
16 Abram was eighty-six years old, when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had given him no children; and she had a servant, a woman of Egypt whose name was Hagar.
2 And Sarai said to Abram, See, the Lord has not let me have children; go in to my servant, for I may get a family through her. And Abram did as Sarai said.
3 So after Abram had been living for ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian servant, and gave her to Abram for his wife.
4 And he went in to Hagar and she became with child, and when she saw that she was with child, she no longer had any respect for her master's wife.
5 And Sarai said to Abram, May my wrong be on you: I gave you my servant for your wife and when she saw that she was with child, she no longer had any respect for me: may the Lord be judge between you and me.
6 And Abram said, The woman is in your power; do with her whatever seems good to you. And Sarai was cruel to her, so that she went running away from her.
7 And an angel of the Lord came to her by a fountain of water in the waste land, by the fountain on the way to Shur.
8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai's servant, where have you come from and where are you going? And she said, I am running away from Sarai, my master's wife.
9 And the angel said to her, Go back, and put yourself under her authority.
10 And the angel of the Lord said, Your seed will be greatly increased so that it may not be numbered.
11 And the angel of the Lord said, See, you are with child and will give birth to a son, to whom you will give the name Ishmael, because the ears of the Lord were open to your sorrow.
12 And he will be like a mountain ass among men; his hand will be against every man and every man's hand against him, and he will keep his place against all his brothers.
13 And to the Lord who was talking with her she gave this name, You are a God who is seen; for she said, Have I not even here in the waste land had a vision of God and am still living?
14 So that fountain was named, Fountain of Life and Vision: it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 And Hagar gave birth to a child, the son of Abram, to whom Abram gave the name of Ishmael.
16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Genesis 16
Commentary on Genesis 16 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
As the promise of a lineal heir (Genesis 15:4) did not seem likely to be fulfilled, even after the covenant had been made, Sarai resolved, ten years after their entrance into Canaan, to give her Egyptian maid Hagar to her husband, that if possible she might “ be built up by her, ” i.e., obtain children, who might found a house or family (Genesis 30:3). The resolution seemed a judicious one, and according to the customs of the East, there would be nothing wrong in carrying it out. Hence Abraham consented without opposition, because, as Malachi (Malachi 2:15) says, he sought the seed promised by God. But they were both of them soon to learn, that their thoughts were the thoughts of man and not of God, and that their wishes and actions were not in accordance with the divine promise. Sarai, the originator of the plan, was the first to experience its evil consequences. When the maid was with child by Abram, “ her mistress became little in her eyes .” When Sarai complained to Abram of the contempt she received from her maid (saying, “ My wrong, ” the wrong done to me, “ come upon thee, ” cf. Jeremiah 51:35; Genesis 27:13), and called upon Jehovah to judge between her and her husband,
(Note: בּיניך , with a point over the second Jod, to show that it is irregular and suspicious; since בּין with the singular suffix is always treated as a singular, and only with a plural suffix as plural.)
Abram gave her full power to act as mistress towards her maid, without raising the slave who was made a concubine above her position. But as soon as Sarai made her feel her power, Hagar fled. Thus, instead of securing the fulfilment of their wishes, Sarai and Abram had reaped nothing but grief and vexation, and apparently had lost the maid through their self-concerted scheme. But the faithful covenant God turned the whole into a blessing.
Hagar no doubt intended to escape to Egypt by a road used from time immemorial, that ran from Hebron past Beersheba, “ by the way of Shur .” - Shur , the present Jifar , is the name given to the north-western portion of the desert of Arabia (cf. Exodus 15:22). There the angel of the Lord found her by a well, and directed her to return to her mistress, and submit to her; at the same time he promised her the birth of a son, and an innumerable multiplication of her descendants. As the fruit of her womb was the seed of Abram, she was to return to his house and there bear him a son, who, though not the seed promised by God, would be honoured for Abram's sake with the blessing of an innumerable posterity. For this reason also Jehovah appeared to her in the form of the Angel of Jehovah . הרה is adj. verb . as in Genesis 38:24, etc.: “ thou art with child and wilt bear; ” ילדתּ for ילדת (Genesis 17:19) is found again in Judges 13:5, Judges 13:7. This son she was to call Ishmael (“ God hears ”), “ for Jehovah hath hearkened to thy distress .” עני afflictionem sine dubio vocat, quam Hagar afflictionem sentiebat esse, nempe conditionem servitem et quod castigata esset a Sara ( Luther ). It was Jehovah , not Elohim , who had heard, although the latter name was most naturally suggested as the explanation of Ishmael , because the hearing, i.e., the multiplication of Ishmael's descendants, was the result of the covenant grace of Jehovah . Moreover, in contrast with the oppression which has had endured and still would endure, she received the promise that her son would endure no such oppression. “ He will be a wild ass of a man .” The figure of a פּרא , onager , that wild and untameable animal, roaming at its will in the desert, of which so highly poetic a description is given in Job 39:5-8, depicts most aptly “the Bedouin's boundless love of freedom as he rides about in the desert, spear in hand, upon his camel or his horse, hardy, frugal, revelling in the varied beauty of nature, and despising town life in every form;” and the words, “ his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him, ” describe most truly the incessant state of feud, in which the Ishmaelites live with one another or with their neighbours. “ He will dwell before the face of all his brethren .” פּני על denotes, it is true, to the east of (cf. Genesis 25:18), and this meaning is to be retained here; but the geographical notice of the dwelling-place of the Ishmaelites hardly exhausts the force of the expression, which also indicated that Ishmael would maintain an independent standing before (in the presence of) all the descendants of Abraham. History has confirmed this promise. The Ishmaelites have continued to this day in free and undiminished possession of the extensive peninsula between the Euphrates, the Straits of Suez, and the Red Sea, from which they have overspread both Northern Africa and Southern Asia.
In the angel, Hagar recognised God manifesting Himself to her, the presence of Jehovah , and called Him, “ Thou art a God of seeing; for she said, Have I also seen here after seeing? ” Believing that a man must die if he saw God (Exodus 20:19; Exodus 33:20), Hagar was astonished that she had seen God and remained alive, and called Jehovah , who had spoken to her, “God of seeing,” i.e., who allows Himself to be seen, because here, on the spot where this sight was granted her, after seeing she still saw, i.e., remained alive. From this occurrence the well received the name of “ well of the seeing alive, ” i.e., at which a man saw God and remained alive. Beer-lahai-roi: according to Ewald , ראי חי is to be regarded as a composite noun, and ל as a sign of the genitive; but this explanation, in which ראי is treated as a pausal form of ראי , does not suit the form ראי with the accent upon the last syllable, which points rather to the participle ראה with the first pers. suffix. On this ground Delitzsch and others have decided in favour of the interpretation given in the Chaldee version, “Thou art a God of seeing, i.e., the all-seeing, from whose all-seeing eye the helpless and forsaken is not hidden even in the farthest corner of the desert.” “ Have I not even here (in the barren land of solitude) looked after Him, who saw me? ” and Beer-lahai-roi, “the well of the Living One who sees me, i.e., of the omnipresent Providence.” But still greater difficulties lie in the way of this view. It not only overthrows the close connection between this and the similar passages Genesis 32:31; Exodus 33:20; Judges 13:22, where the sight of God excites a fear of death, but it renders the name, which the well received from this appearance of God, an inexplicable riddle. If Hagar called the God who appeared to her ראי אל because she looked after Him whom she saw, i.e., as we must necessarily understand the word, saw not His face, but only His back; how could it ever occur to her or to any one else, to call the well Beer-lahai-roi, “well of the Living One, who sees me,” instead of Beer-el-roi? Moreover, what completely overthrows this explanation, is the fact that neither in Genesis nor anywhere in the Pentateuch is God called “the Living One;” and throughout the Old Testament it is only in contrast with the dead gods of idols of the heathen, a contrast never thought of here, that the expressions חי אלהים and חי אל occur, whilst החי is never used in the Old Testament as a name of God. For these reasons we must abide by the first explanation, and change the reading ראי into ראי .
(Note: The objections to this change in the accentuation are entirely counterbalanced by the grammatical difficulty connected with the second explanation. If, for example, ראי is a participle with the 1st pers. suff., it should be written ראני (Isaiah 29:15) or ראני (Isaiah 47:10). ראי cannot mean, “who sees me,” but “my seer,” an expression utterly inapplicable to God, which cannot be supported by a reference to Job 7:8, for the accentuation varies there; and the derivation of ראי from ראי “eye of the seeing,” for the eye which looks after me, is apparently fully warranted by the analogous expression לדה אשׁת in Jeremiah 13:21.)
With regard to the well, it is still further added that it was between Kadesh (Genesis 14:7) and Bered. Though Bered has not been discovered, Rowland believes, with good reason, that he has found the well of Hagar, which is mentioned again in Genesis 24:62; Genesis 25:11, in the spring Ain Kades , to the south of Beersheba, at the leading place of encampment of the caravans passing from Syria to Sinai, viz., Moyle , or Moilahi , or Muweilih (Robinson, Pal. i. p. 280), which the Arabs call Moilahi Hagar , and in the neighbourhood of which they point out a rock Beit Hagar . Bered must lie to the west of this.
Having returned to Abram's house, Hagar bare him a son in his 86th year. He gave it the name Ishmael , and regarded it probably as the promised seed, until, thirteen years afterwards, the counsel of God was more clearly unfolded to him.