夏甲與以實瑪利

16 亞伯蘭的妻子撒萊沒有生育,她有個婢女名叫夏甲,是埃及人。 撒萊對亞伯蘭說:「耶和華不讓我生育,請你與我的婢女同房,也許我可以藉著她生子立後。」亞伯蘭同意了撒萊的話。 於是,撒萊把埃及婢女夏甲給亞伯蘭做妾。那時亞伯蘭已經在迦南住了十年。 亞伯蘭與夏甲同房,她就懷了孕。夏甲知道自己懷了孕,就輕視女主人撒萊。 撒萊對亞伯蘭說:「我受氣都是因為你。我把婢女放在你懷裡,她仗著自己懷了孕就輕視我,願耶和華在你我之間主持公道。」 亞伯蘭對撒萊說:「婢女在你手中,隨你處置。」於是,撒萊苦待夏甲,夏甲就逃走了。

耶和華的天使在曠野中通往書珥之路的水泉旁找到了夏甲, 便問她:「撒萊的婢女夏甲,你從哪裡來?要到哪裡去?」她回答說:「我是從女主人撒萊那裡逃出來的。」 耶和華的天使對她說:「你要回到女主人那裡順服她。」 10 又說:「我必使你的後代多得不可勝數。」 11 接著又說:「你現在懷了孕,將來會生一個男孩,你要給他取名叫以實瑪利[a],因為耶和華已經聽見你痛苦的哀聲。 12 這孩子性情必像野驢,他要跟人作對,人也要跟他作對。他必與他所有的弟兄為敵。」 13 夏甲稱對她說話的耶和華為「看顧人的上帝」,她說:「我竟然在這裡看見了看顧我的上帝。」 14 因此,她稱加低斯和巴列之間的那口井為庇耳·拉海·萊[b]

15 後來夏甲為亞伯蘭生了一個兒子,亞伯蘭給他取名叫以實瑪利。 16 夏甲生以實瑪利時,亞伯蘭八十六歲。

Footnotes

  1. 16·11 以實瑪利」意思是「上帝聽見了」。
  2. 16·14 庇耳·拉海·萊」意思是「看顧我的永恆上帝之井」。

Chapter 16

Abram’s Son Ishmael.[a] Now Sarai, the wife of Abram, did not have any children. She had an Egyptian slave named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram, “Behold, the Lord has kept me from having children; sleep with my slave. Maybe I can have children through her.”

Abram did what Sarai had told him to do. Thus, ten years after Abram had begun to live in the land of Canaan, Sarai, the wife of Abram, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant.

But once she realized that she was pregnant, she no longer treated her mistress with respect. Therefore, Sarai said to Abram, “May this affront fall upon you! I gave you my maid to embrace, but when she realized that she was pregnant, she stopped treating me with respect. Let the Lord judge between you and me.”

Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your slave is in your hands. Do with her as you see fit.” Sarai then maltreated her so much that Hagar ran away.

The angel of the Lord[b] found her near a spring in the desert. The spring was on the road to Shur. The angel said to her, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She answered, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.”

The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and be obedient to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord continued, “I will multiply the number of your descendants so much that you will not be able to count them.”

11 The angel of the Lord added,

“Behold, you are pregnant:
    you will bear a son
and call him Ishmael,
    for the Lord has listened to you in your distress.
12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
his hand will be against all
and the hands of all will be against him.
He will be opposed to all of his brothers.”

13 Hagar gave a name to the Lord who had spoken to her, “You are the God of the Vision.”[c] Therefore, she said, “Here I remained alive after having received this vision.” 14 Because of this, the well is called Beer-lahai-roi. It is between Kedesh and Bered.

15 Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son. Abram named the son whom Hagar had borne Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 16:1 The passage is Yahwist with additions from the Priestly tradition. By personal choice Abraham is monogamous and ready to die without sons rather than show disrespect to his wife Sarai (see Gen 15:2-3).
    He does, however, yield to Sarai’s insistence that he follow an ancient practice that was acceptable in cases of barrenness and found a place in Mesopotamian codes of law.
  2. Genesis 16:7 The angel of the Lord: in these ancient stories this is a conventional way of signifying sensible manifestations of God himself, “the God of the Vision” (v. 13).
  3. Genesis 16:13 The God of the Vision: in Hebrew, El-Roi. Hagar was amazed that she remained alive after seeing God—in contrast to the ancient belief that a person died upon seeing God (see Gen 32:31; Ex 20:19; Deut 4:33; Jdg 13:22).

Hagar and Ishmael

16 Now Sarai,(A) Abram’s wife, had borne him no children.(B) But she had an Egyptian slave(C) named Hagar;(D) so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children.(E) Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”(F)

Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan(G) ten years,(H) Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar,(I) and she conceived.

When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.(J) 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.”(K)

“Your slave is in your hands,(L)” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated(M) Hagar; so she fled from her.

The angel of the Lord(N) found Hagar near a spring(O) in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.(P) And he said, “Hagar,(Q) slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”(R)

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.

Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”(S)

11 The angel of the Lord(T) also said to her:

“You are now pregnant
    and you will give birth to a son.(U)
You shall name him(V) Ishmael,[a](W)
    for the Lord has heard of your misery.(X)
12 He will be a wild donkey(Y) of a man;
    his hand will be against everyone
    and everyone’s hand against him,
and he will live in hostility
    toward[b] all his brothers.(Z)

13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,(AA)” for she said, “I have now seen[c] the One who sees me.”(AB) 14 That is why the well(AC) was called Beer Lahai Roi[d];(AD) it is still there, between Kadesh(AE) and Bered.

15 So Hagar(AF) bore Abram a son,(AG) and Abram gave the name Ishmael(AH) to the son she had borne. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old(AI) when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 16:11 Ishmael means God hears.
  2. Genesis 16:12 Or live to the east / of
  3. Genesis 16:13 Or seen the back of
  4. Genesis 16:14 Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me.

16 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

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.

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.

And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

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.

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.

And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

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.

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.