Genesis Chapter 16
"Saria's Well Intended Turns into a Bad"
Context:
Chief People:
- God
- Abram
- Sarai
- Hagar
- Ishmael
Choice Verses:
GENESIS 16:1
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar'
- It was common practice in this time for a man to divorce his wife if she could not conceive children, but it was a testament to Abram that he stayed true to his commitment to his wife Sarai.
GENESIS 16:2
so she said to Abram, 'The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.' Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
- Sarai’s offer starts by belittling Hagar, as she refers to her as “her slave”, and not by her name. More importantly though, one would have believed Abram had confided in Sarai God’s promise to Abram that he would have a son. Perhaps he had, and she was concerned it wouldn't be with her, and he would eventually take another wife, or even more troubling, she just didn’t have the level of faith her husband had. She may even hold God responsible for not conceiving children. One would have to question her decision though, as no doubtably Abram had slaves and could have decided on this on his own, but hadn’t.
GENESIS 16:3
So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.
- Both already in advanced years, we are told that they have both followed God’s promise, yet 10 years had passed without the fulfillment of a son, as God had promised. To note here, it was common for a wife infertile to provide a concubine to her husband, and should the concubine conceive, the child would be claimed as if the child was the wife’s own. This turns out to be another example of Abram’s impatience.
GENESIS 16:4
He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
- With news of the pregnancy, Hagar's demeanor changes from servant to feeling of empowerment; she now feels Sarai is an unnecessary factor in this complex arrangement. After all, she is providing the one thing Sarai could not.
GENESIS 16:5
Then Sarai said to Abram, 'You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.
- The good intentioned plan has gone wrong, and rather than taking responsibility for her decisions, she is angry with him, even though it was her idea. Perhaps she made the offer in hopes he would reject it, and was more upset about his lack of resistance. What Sarai seems to have failed to anticipate was Hagar growing contemptuous of her. It's interesting to note that Sarai invokes the Lord's name in her angry plea to Abram. She calls on God to be the ultimate judge in this matter, going over Abram's head, in a sense. This is confusing simply because she relies on God to be the judge, while this all came about because she lacked faith in God’s promise in the first place.
GENESIS 16:6
Your slave is in your hands,' Abram said. 'Do with her whatever you think best.' Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
- In one sense, Abram seems to be passing the buck here by not taking control of the situation himself. In another, he is trying to keep his true wife happy and I'm sure the old saying “happy wife, happy life” held true then just as it does now. Concerning here though is mistreated can also mean to treat harshly. Harshly translated to Hebrew means “torment”, which is the same word used when describing the Egyptians' treatment of the Israelites while they were in slavery (Exodus 1:12). One could conclude that Sarai sinned with her treatment of Hagar, and Abram sinned by allowing it to happen. The simple fact that Hagar ran indicates she may have felt some danger to her life.
GENESIS 16:7
The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.
- Although an Egyptian slave, what stands out here is this shows that God is one of non-Jews as much as he is one for Jews; he is the God of all. Angel in Hebrew is malach, and is translated to messenger of God. The wording here some suggest that this Angel was God himself as the wording is “angel of the LORD”, not alternatively “an angel sent by the LORD” (Exodus 3:2-6) (Judges 2:1-2). Another thought, this "angel of the LORD" may also have been a theophany: God taking on a human form on earth to accomplish a specific purpose.
GENESIS 16:8
And he said, 'Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?' 'I'm running away from my mistress Sarai,' she answered.
- This sounds very similar to God questioning Adam and Eve after eating. God wouldn't need to ask where Hagar was coming from, and where she was going. As God, He would already know the answers to both those questions. After all, he is calling her by name, and as a slave of Sarai.
GENESIS 16:9
Then the angel of the LORD told her, 'Go back to your mistress and submit to her.
- Once again, it is very likely “angel of the LORD” is God himself, or Jesus.
GENESIS 16:10
The angel added, 'I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.
- Previously, God told Abram his descendants would be more numerous than the stars in the sky; here he says her descendants would be too numerous to count. This is a promise specific to Hagar, and is a different promise than the one to Abram, both are independent of each other. This also had to be encouraging for Hagar to hear after God had instructed her to go back and submit to her mistress, the mistress she ran from due to harsh treatment. Important to note here is “The angel” added “I will increase your descendants”, and what should be taken from that is only God can do that, not an angel. This confirms to me that this was indeed God.
GENESIS 16:11
The angel of the LORD also said to her: 'You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery.
- Hagar is told she will have a son, with many descendants. Ishmael translated in Hebrew is “God will hear”. Hagar is also unique in that she is the only woman in Genesis where God promises offspring. Ishmael played a foundational role in Islamic tradition, which holds that he settled in Mecca. It is now a city in Saudi Arabia, and was the birthplace of Muhammad; the holiest city of Islam.
GENESIS 16:12
He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.
- Great news is followed by some concerning news. Eventually, we will learn that Ishmael's descendants become the Arabic people. These cultures have been at odds with the Jewish people for many years, and still are today.
GENESIS 16:13
She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: 'You are the God who sees me,' for she said, 'I have now seen the One who sees me.
- This I believe implies that not only did the angel of the LORD see her, but she saw him too, and as the LORD. She calls him by name, LORD, which translates as YHWH (Yahweh, Jehovah).
GENESIS 16:14
That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
- The Translation of Beer Lahai Roi is “the well of him that lives and sees me” or “the well of the vision of life.”
GENESIS 16:15
So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.
- Abram does indeed name the boy Ishmael, which means "God hears." This is pretty amazing in that his name is “God hears”, and the well at which Hagar saw God was named Beer Lahai Roi (“the well of him that lives and sees me”); an all knowing God that sees and hears us.
GENESIS 16:16
Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
- Although not the son of the covenant with God, Abram is a father, 11 years after God’s promise, this covenant is not yet fulfilled..
Crucial Words
- Concubine: Hebrew translation concubine is "wife", although it is understood to refer to a wife or sexual partner of secondary status.
- Malach: Hebrew translation is “Angel of God”, or “messenger”
- Theophany: A visible manifestation to humankind of God or a god, that God desires to be present with humanity. From Greek theophaneia, “appearance of God”
- LORD: In all caps is translated in Hebrew to YHWH, which is pronounced “Yahweh” or “Jehovah”. This is God’s personal name.
- Beer Lahai Roi: Translates to “the well of him that lives and sees me” or “the well of the vision of life.”
Cross Reference
- (Exodus 1:12) “But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites”
- (Exodus 3:2-6) “2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.”
- (Judges 2:1-2) “The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’ Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?”
Questions:
- Genesis 16:2 Why had Abram seemingly agreed with no discussion or resistance?
- Genesis 16:5 Is there any evidence that God’s promise to Abram to have heirs included Sarai specifically?
- (Genesis 16:6) Had both Abram and Sarai sinned with the mistreatment of Hagar?
- Genesis 16:7 Could The angel of the LORD have been God himself, or even Jesus? (Exodus 3:2-6)
- Genesis 16:9 Was this a manifestation of either God himself, or Jesus?
- Genesis 16:12 Why the reference to a wild donkey?
Christ seen (or mentioned)?
Possibly in Genesis 16:7 as the angel of the LORD appearing to Hagar in the desert.
Central Lessons(s), and Timeless Truth(s):
Even when you feel your lowest, and feel all alone, God is with you, and has a plan.