Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Genesis Chapter 16 mean?

Genesis 16 continues to follow the life of one of Israel’s greatest patriarchs: Abram, who will soon be renamed Abraham. To this point, Abram and his wife Sarai are still childless, despite Abram being well over seventy-five years old (Genesis 12:4). In fact, at this point in the narrative, Abram is pushing ninety (Genesis 16:16)! In the prior chapter, Abram has voiced his concerns to God about the situation, and God has responded with a dramatic demonstration of His intentions.

For all these many years, Abram has resisted following the normal practices of his day. Abram and Sarai were wealthy. They had many servants. Abram could have taken many wives. He chose, instead, to wait for God to fulfill the promise of children through his barren wife Sarai. Until now. With Abram in his mid-80s, Sarai has apparently become tired of waiting. In her eyes, it is time to go to plan B: giving her Egyptian servant girl Hagar to Abram, in order to finally obtain a child. Apparently, if a wife was unable to bear children, it was considered appropriate for her to give a servant to her husband, as another wife, with the understanding that any children born to that servant would rightfully become the child of the original wife. In a disappointing moment of faithlessness, Abram agrees, and Hagar quickly becomes pregnant.

Then the plan unravels. Hagar, elevated from slave to wife and now birth mother, begins to treat her mistress Sarai with contempt. Perhaps Hagar wondered what she and Abram need Sarai for. Perhaps she resented the idea that her child would belong to Sarai. In any case, the dynamic changes. Sarai’s feelings about her plan change, as well. She makes it clear to Abram that she holds him responsible for this conflict! And, she demands that he make clear that Sarai remains in authority over Hagar. Again, Abram agrees. With that approval, Sarai deals harshly with Hagar, so harshly that Hagar runs off into the wilderness alone, maybe fearful for her life.

God, however, will not allow Hagar and her child to be discarded so easily. The angel of the Lord, perhaps Yahweh Himself, finds Hagar resting at a spring along a road leading back to her homeland of Egypt. He gives to Hagar a command and a promise.

First, the angel of the Lord tells Hagar to return and submit to Sarai. Then He reveals that she will bear a son, Ishmael, and that his offspring will become so numerous as to be uncountable. However, he will be a “wild donkey” of a man and his life—and the lives of his descendants—will be marked by conflict with everyone. In spite of this mixed news, Hagar is astonished and grateful that God has heard her. The name of her son, Ishmael, means “God hears.” She names the Lord who heard her cry and came to her the “God of seeing” and names the well Beer-lahai-roi, “well of the living One who sees.”

Hagar returns to Abram and Sarai, and Ishmael is born. While God has given a guarantee of blessing to Hagar and Ishamel, this boy is not the child of the promise. This was not how God planned to accomplish His will, and the son born from Abram’s second wife is not the fulfillment of the Lord’s vows to Abram. Another 13 years will pass before God will fully reveal His plan to Abram, giving he and Sarai their long-awaited son.

Chapter Context
After formally establishing His covenant promises with Abram in the previous chapter, the Lord still has not given Abram and Sarai a child. Sarai convinces Abram to take her slave girl as a wife in hopes of getting a child that way. Abram agrees. Pregnancy and conflict soon follow. Sarai treats Hagar so harshly that the girl runs off alone into the wilderness. The Lord finds her and commands her to return and submit. He also reveals, however, that Hagar’s child Ishmael will become the father of a great people who will live in conflict with everyone.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Now Sarai, Abram ‘s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar.

In the previous chapter, the Lord had directly promised Abram that his heir would be his own flesh and blood (Genesis 15:4). Abram would have a son, and not merely a servant, as his heir. That specific promise does not seem to have been given to Sarai, Abram’s wife. At the very least, she does not seem to trust God’s work in the situation. It’s also possible she doubted that Abram’s heir was meant to be born through her. In any case, it had not happened yet, and the ticking of the clock must have sounded quite loud as Abram was now well into his 80s and she in her 70s.

Sarai has an idea to help the plot along, however. Hagar was Sarai’s servant, or “slave girl.” Slavery in this era was vastly different from what modern people picture. A closer term for today’s world might be an “indentured servant.” This was a one-sided arrangement, to be sure, but the relationship, as seen in the following verses, was not as simplistic as slave-to-master. It’s possible that Sarai took possession of Hagar, an Egyptian, when Sarai had been taken by the Pharaoh for his wife (Genesis 12:10–20).

Sarai proposes her alternative plan to provide Abram an heir in the following verse.

Context Summary
Genesis 16:1–16 demonstrates that God hears and sees and cares, but that He won’t be rushed or manipulated into keeping His promises. Sarai and Abram attempt to receive God’s promised child through their own scheme. In this case, by marrying Abram to an Egyptian servant girl. The resulting pregnancy, though, leads to harsh conflict and a surprising revelation from the Lord to Hagar. Her son Ishmael will not be the child of the promise, though he will become a great nation, and his people will live in conflict with everyone. Abram and Sarai will continue to wait for the arrival of their own son.

Verse 2. And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

Abram possessed a direct promise from the Lord that he would have a flesh-and-blood heir, his own son (Genesis 15:4). As of this time, however, this has still not happened, and Abram is in his mid-80s (Genesis 16:16). Interestingly, Sarai holds the Lord responsible for her inability to bear children. In her mind, He is the one preventing this from happening. As a matter of fact, God may have been doing exactly that: executing His plan for their lives in His own timing. Sarai, though, didn’t want to wait any longer to see what would happen.

Her plan may well have been a normal custom in the culture of their day. If a wife could not bear a child herself, she could assign the role to a servant who would become another wife to the husband. If the servant became pregnant, the child would still belong to the first wife, as the servant was her property. As repulsive as that may sound to our modern ears, it was the way of the time. And, the “slavery” of that era was very different from the brutality modern readers assume when they encounter that word.

Still, this must not have been something Abram had ever chosen to do before. He had countless servants. He surely could have had any number of wives. And yet, to this point, Abram had remained committed to seeing God’s promise fulfilled through Sarai and no other woman. Now, however, he allows Sarai to convince him to try it. It will become clear that this is not the way God intends to build His covenant people.

Verse 3. So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram ‘s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.

The previous verses described Sarai’s plan to “help” God accomplish His promises to Abram. Instead of waiting to see if God would give Abram an heir through Sarai, she would give a servant girl she owned to Abram as a second wife. If the girl became pregnant, per the customs of the day, the baby would belong to Sarai. It’s possible that Sarai thought God’s intent was to provide a son through someone other than her. It’s also possible Sarai simply didn’t want to wait any longer for God’s fulfillment. Either way, this is a plan born out of desperation. The end results will be unfortunate, but not unexpected (Genesis 16:7–12).

It has been a full decade since the initial promise, and Sarai is still barren. By Abram and Sarai’s way of thinking, it is time for them to help God’s plan along. They want for themselves what God wants for them; they just don’t want to wait for Him to give it to them in the traditional way. So, they don’t.

Verse 4. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

Sarai’s plan to obtain a son, both for Abram and for herself, through her own servant Hagar, seems to be working. Hagar became Abram’s second wife and she quickly becomes pregnant with his son. This is something which had not happened for Sarai in her entire life with Abram, including the 10 years in Canaan after God’s latest promise of an heir (Genesis 16:3).

However, this immediate pregnancy complicates Abram’s family life. Hagar, now wife of Abram and bearer of his only child, begins to resent the woman who will claim that child as her own. Hagar may have wondered what she and Abram even needed Sarai for. If Hagar could give him children, wasn’t Sarai unnecessary? Also, in that culture, barrenness was considered a sign of a defect, even divine disapproval. The fact that Hagar could immediately conceive, when Sarai could not after years and years, might have tempted Hagar to see herself as superior to her master. However it was motivated, Sarai feels Hagar’s contempt, and it wounds her deeply, as the following verses will reveal.

Verse 5. And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!”

The plan to “help” God fulfill His promises by giving Hagar to Abram was Sarai’s idea in the first place. A decade before (Genesis 16:3), God had once again promised to make Abram a great nation. This specifically included giving Abram a biological son (Genesis 15:4). For all of this time, Abram has chosen not to speed up God’s timetable by marrying other wives. He has been waiting for God to fulfill the promise through Sarai, who was barren. Sarai thought the time had come to follow the custom of the day and marry her own servant to Abram to produce an heir. By that same custom, any heir would belong to Sarai as the “owner” of Hagar, her slave girl.

What Sarai seems to have failed to anticipate was Hagar growing contemptuous of her. Perhaps with good reason, Hagar would not relish the idea of giving up her child to Sarai and remaining the servant. She was Abram’s wife, too, after all. Also, in that culture a woman’s fertility was seen as a sign of her worth. So, Hagar’s ability to conceive immediately for Abram, when Sarai had been childless for decades, could have been a source of pride or contempt for Hagar. Regardless of the reasons, or how Hagar might have acted, this contempt was not lost on Sarai.

Wounded by Hagar’s attitude, Sarai complains to Abram. Her speech suggests she held him responsible for what had happened. In truth, though the plan was Sarai’s idea (Genesis 16:2), Abram was responsible. He approved of the plan, he allowed it to happen, and he followed through with it. It was his responsibility to declare whether or not Sarai retained her authority over Hagar.

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. That was enough for Abram, as the next verse will reveal.

Verse 6. But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

The text suggests Sarai was requesting Abram settle the question of whether Hagar was still bound under Sarai by a servant-master authority. Sarai was the one who had given Hagar to be Abram’s wife in hopes of getting a child for herself. Sarai did not, apparently, anticipate that Abram’s new wife would come to look on her mistress with contempt. When Sarai came to Abram to hold him responsible for this imbalance in power, Abram gave Sarai exactly what she wanted. He tells Sarai to do to Hagar as she pleases and makes it clear that the woman is still under Sarai’s full authority.

Abram might not have anticipated how harsh Sarai’s response to Hagar would be. Scripture doesn’t specifically reveal all the emotions in play. Perhaps Abram was feeling guilty for agreeing to the plan in the first place. Sarai certainly seems to be holding over his head that he “embraced” this woman, even though it was at her urging. In addition, Sarai was likely stung with grief and jealousy that another woman had so easily become the bearer of Abram’s child, something she had always hoped to be. Even worse, this woman had become smug and contemptuous of her.

Whatever the feelings, Sarai seems to have unleashed them on Hagar by dealing harshly with her. Hagar ran, possibly even fearing for her life.

Verse 7. The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.

Over the last few verses, Abram and Sarai’s plan to speed up God’s timetable has gone terribly wrong. Sarai’s idea was to follow the customs of her time. She would give her Egyptian servant girl Hagar to Abram as his wife. When Hagar bore a child, the child would, belong to Sarai. This, in her mind, would solve the problem of her own barrenness.

Of course, this alternate route to God’s promise backfired. Once pregnant and married to Abram, Hagar became contemptuous of Sarai. In the context of that culture, this is hardly a surprise. After all, she had accomplished, seemingly immediately, what Sarai never could. Sarai had to force Abram to confirm that she was still in authority over Hagar. Once he agreed, she “dealt with” Hagar very harshly. And so, Hagar ran, maybe for her life.

Now pregnant and alone, Hagar escapes into the wilderness, to a spring on the road to Shur. Hagar may have been heading back to her homeland of Egypt. The “angel of the Lord” found her by that spring. This “angel of Yahweh” may have been a theophany: God taking on a human form on earth to accomplish a specific purpose. Alternatively, this might have been some other angel or angelic being. The context and phrasing of this chapter seem to suggest this was, in fact, the Lord Himself (Genesis 16:10, 13).

Verse 8. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.”

Hagar, an Egyptian servant girl pregnant with Abram’s first child (Genesis 16:4), is on the run from the mistreatment of Sarai, Abram’s first wife (Genesis 16:6). Sarai and Abram have attempted to speed up God’s promises by seeking a child through Hagar. Unfortunately, Hagar’s new status as Abram’s wife and her immediate pregnancy create friction. Specifically, Hagar has become contemptuous towards Sarai, resulting in no small measure of revenge. Sarai begins to “deal harshly” with Hagar.

In running away, Hagar is most likely heading back to her homeland in Egypt (Genesis 12:15–16; 16:1). Along the way, the “angel of the Lord” finds her at a spring beside the road. He immediately identifies that he knows her, addressing her as Hagar, the servant of Sarai. He asks where she has come from and where she is going, things he likely already knows, as well.

Hagar answers honestly. She is fleeing from Sarai. The “angel of Yahweh,” which seems to be the Lord Himself (Genesis 16:10, 13), will have some surprising instructions and prophecies for Hagar in the following verses.

Verse 9. The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.”

The angel of the Lord, apparently the Lord Himself (Genesis 16:10, 13), has “found” Hagar alone and vulnerable along the road to Egypt. She is on the run from the harsh mistreatment of Sarai, and she is pregnant with Abram’s first child. This pregnancy and Hagar’s resulting contempt are the reason why Sarai has begun to mistreat Hagar (Genesis 16:6). When Hagar became contemptuous, Sarai demanded that Abram reassert the master-servant relationship between her and Hagar. Abram does this, essentially telling Sarai to do with Hagar as she pleases, as with any other servant.

First, the angel of the Lord tells Hagar to return to Sarai and to submit to her. In the following verses, he will give her a surprising glimpse into her unborn son’s future. The nation who comes from this son—Ishmael—will be influential, but marked by perpetual conflict. Abram and Sarai’s attempt to hurry God’s promises will have drastic consequences for human history.

Verse 10. The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.”

The angel of the Lord found Hagar at a spring along the road, possibly on her way back to her homeland in Egypt. She was fleeing from the harsh mistreatment by her mistress Sarai, and she was pregnant with Abram’s first child (Genesis 16:6). Sarai’s abuse came in response to Hagar’s contempt for Sarai, which itself was caused by Hagar immediately conceiving a child for Abram, when Sarai had been barren for decades. Abram allows Sarai to assert her ownership over Hagar, and as a result, Hagar runs away.

After telling Hagar to return and submit to Sarai, the angel of the Lord now makes a familiar promise to this slave girl. It’s familiar because it’s the same promise the Lord made to Abram himself multiple times over the last few chapters. Specifically, that He—this angel of the Lord—will multiply Hagar’s offspring so that they become uncountable. Of course, only the Lord Himself could likely make such a promise. This is a primary reason most scholars presume this “angel of Yahweh” to be a theophany, the Lord Himself in a physical form.

All the same, this child is not the promised heir for Abram and he will not inherit the blessings which God has guaranteed for Abram’s descendants. In the following verses, this promise is followed by a prophecy explaining that the future is not entirely good news for Hagar and her unborn son, Ishmael.

Verse 11. And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnantand shall bear a son.You shall call his name Ishmael,because the Lord has listened to your affliction.

In the previous verse, the angel of the Lord—most likely a pre-incarnate Christ Himself—made a surprising promise to the servant girl carrying Abram’s first child. This pregnancy is the result of Abram and Sarai scheming to speed up God’s fulfillment of His promises to Abram. While this child is not the heir God intends to give Abram, the angel of the Lord still has good news for Hagar: her offspring would become so numerous as to be uncountable. This is very similar to the promise given to Abram regarding his eventual descendants.

Here, that promise is followed by a formal prophecy, something occasionally referred to as a “birth oracle” and often delivered by angels. First, the angel of the Lord reveals that Hagar’s child is a boy, and she will call him Ishmael. Ishmael means “God has heard.” In this case, it meant that the Lord listened to Hagar’s affliction and stepped in to help.

The oracle continues in the following verse.

Verse 12. He shall be a wild donkey of a man,his hand against everyoneand everyone ‘s hand against him,and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.”

In the previous verse, the angel of the Lord–perhaps Christ Himself, given the phrasing used (Genesis 16:10; Genesis 16:13)—began a prophecy or “birth oracle” about the baby Hagar is carrying. It is a boy and she is to call him Ishmael, a name referring to this moment when God has heard and helped her.

The rest of the oracle is less favorable. Even though Ishmael will be the first son born to Abram, he is not the promised child which God has guaranteed. This was not the way God intended to fulfill His vows to Abram. And so, this firstborn boy of Abram will become a wild donkey of a man. He won’t be a people person. His hand will be against everyone and everyone will be against him. He will live in hostility to his kinsmen.

Eventually, we will learn that Ishmael’s descendants become the Arabic people. These cultures have been at odds with the Jewish people for millennia. The descendants of Ishmael soon take on a bedouin lifestyle, on the fringes of society, committed to their personal freedom above the need to be accepted by others.

Verse 13. So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”

After the angel of the Lord found Hagar in the desert and told her to go back to Sarai and submit to her, he also told her that her descendants would become so numerous as to be uncountable. Then he gave to her a prophecy about the child she carried, a boy she was to name Ishmael. This boy would not be the promised heir for Abram, since his birth was not part of God’s plan for fulfilling that vow. Despite being successful, Ishmael’s descendants would be characterized by their conflict with others, especially their “kinsmen,” meaning Abram’s other children. Historically, we see that this proves true: the (Arabic) children of Ishmael have been at odds with the (Jewish) children of Abram’s son Isaac for millennia.

In spite of the negative conclusion to the prophecy, Hagar speaks of the Lord in glowing terms. She names Him “a God of seeing.” He saw and looked after her, and she was allowed to see Him. She appears to be rightly astonished by the whole experience.

Verse 14. Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

In her astonishment and gratitude that the Lord has seen and heard her in her distress, Hagar gives a commemorative name to the well where the Lord found her in the desert. She calls it Beer-lahai-roi, which means “well of the living who sees me.” Putting the name of the well together with the meaning of God’s name for Hagar’s son, Ishmael, the troubling events of Hagar’s life include the powerful declaration that God hears (“Ishmael”) and God sees (“Beer-lahai-roi”). God is not silent or absent. He is paying attention. He cares and provides.

We’re told the location of the well is between Kadesh and Bered, but the precise spot is currently unknown. Abram’s son Isaac later settled there for a time (Genesis 25:11).

History bears out the angel’s prophecy for Ishmael: his descendants will become the Arabic peoples. This culture will become numerous and powerful, but will also be renowned for conflict, especially against the Jewish people.

Verse 15. And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

In obedience to the angel of the Lord (“Yahweh”), Hagar returned to Abram and Sarai. What must they have thought and felt when she reported that the Lord had found her, and explained the promises He had made to her? Her running away was triggered by harsh treatment from Sarai (Genesis 16:6), who was angered by Hagar’s newfound contempt (Genesis 16:4). Whatever Sarai might be thinking at this moment, her relationship with Hagar will, it seems, never become warm. In fact, in chapter 21, we will see Sarai—by then renamed Sarah—demand that Abram cast Hagar and her son out of the family (Genesis 21:9–10).

In any case, Abram does indeed name the boy Ishmael, which means “God hears.” The name certainly has meaning for Hagar (Genesis 16:10–13). And, it might have also sent a message to Abram and Sarai. Through their experiment attempting to bring about God’s promise on their own timeline, they have learned He was still listening, still seeing, and would still keep His promises to Abram.

In any case, it’s clear both that God was acting in the birth of Ishmael and that, though this son would be blessed, he was not the child of God’s covenant promises to Abram.

Verse 16. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Genesis 16 ends by reporting Abram’s age at the time Ishmael was born. God had promised to make of Abram a great nation and to give to him the land of Canaan. The initial promises had been given when Abram was already seventy-five years old (Genesis 12:4). The arrival of an heir had not happened, yet, and from a human perspective seemed more and more unlikely. Even ten years after God’s further promises (Genesis 16:3), Abram and Sarai were childless.

And so, Abram, at Sarai’s urging, attempted to move things along through scheming and struggling on their own. The result was both conflict and blessing, with the promise of more conflict and blessing for generations to come. Hagar immediately conceived a son, but was at odds with Sarai (Genesis 16:4–6). And the child born to Sarai’s servant Hagar was not the child of Abram’s covenant with God. Ishmael would be blessed by God, but his descendants would be forever in conflict with others, especially their “kinsmen:” the other descendants of Abram (Genesis 16:11–12).

So, at 86 years old, Abram would obtain a son, but not the son of promise. In fact, Abram will wait another 13 years before God would reveal the details of His plan for the next stage of Abram’s life.

End of Chapter 16.

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