Genesis 16
King James Version
16 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.
Genesis 16
Amplified Bible
Sarai and Hagar
16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him any children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See here, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. I am asking you to go in to [the bed of] my maid [so that she may bear you a child]; perhaps I will [a]obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to Sarai and did as she said. 3 After Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian [maid], and gave her to her husband Abram to be his [secondary] wife. 4 He went in to [the bed of] Hagar, and she conceived; and when she realized that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress [regarding Sarai as insignificant because of her infertility]. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “May [the responsibility for] the wrong done to me [by the arrogant behavior of Hagar] be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, and when she realized that she had conceived, I was despised and looked on with disrespect. May the Lord judge [who has done right] between you and me.” 6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Look, your maid is entirely in your hands and subject to your authority; do as you please with her.” So Sarai treated her harshly and humiliated her, and Hagar fled from her.
7 But [b]the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, on the road to [Egypt by way of] Shur. 8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where did you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.” 9 The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress, and submit [c]humbly to her authority.” 10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.” 11 The Angel of the Lord continued,
“Behold, you are with child,
And you will bear a son;
And you shall name him Ishmael (God hears),
Because the Lord has heard and paid attention to your persecution (suffering).
12
“He (Ishmael) will be a wild donkey of a man;
His hand will be against every man [continually fighting]
And every man’s hand against him;
And he will dwell in defiance of all his brothers.”
13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are [d]God Who Sees”; for she said, “Have I not even here [in the wilderness] remained alive after [e]seeing Him [who sees me with understanding and compassion]?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi (Well of the Living One Who Sees Me); it is [f]between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son; and Abram named his son, to whom Hagar gave birth, [g]Ishmael (God hears). 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.
Footnotes
- Genesis 16:2 This must have been an acceptable practice in that time and culture, based on the idea that the children of such a union would belong to the owner of the slave-girl. Abram undoubtedly had informed Sarai of God’s promise to him, and Sarai perhaps thought that this was necessary in order to bring about God’s plan for them.
- Genesis 16:7 This is the first occurrence of “Angel of the Lord (YHWH)” in Scripture. The Hebrew word for “angel” means “messenger” (an angel of God is a special messenger from God who speaks for and is closely identified with Him) and context determines whether the messenger is an angel or a human. The same is true for Greek, and the word “angel” is an English form (transliteration) of the Gr aggelos. The Angel of the Lord can be a special case, however. Many Bible scholars believe that this Angel may be a theophany, that is, a physical manifestation of God, in which case the word Angel is capitalized. The Angel of the Lord may, based on context, be the pre-incarnate Christ, the Son of God.
- Genesis 16:9 Lit under her hands.
- Genesis 16:13 Heb El roi; God never sleeps, He sees, He is aware, He is the great Omnipresent God.
- Genesis 16:13 Or seen the back of Him who sees me, which would suggest that at some point in their conversation Hagar requested to see the divine Angel (see note v 7) and, as in Moses’ encounter with God (Ex 33:18-23), was granted the privilege of seeing His back. The wording of the Hebrew is not clear enough to further narrow the possibilities.
- Genesis 16:14 This, “it is between Kadesh and Bered,” is further proof of the antiquity of the original names, since the place had to be identified to the reader in the time of Moses.
- Genesis 16:15 Ishmael was the first person whom God named before his birth (Gen 16:11). Others were: Isaac (Gen 17:19); Josiah (1 Kin 13:2); Solomon (1 Chr 22:9); Jesus (Matt 1:21); and John the Baptist (Luke 1:13).
Genesis 16
English Standard Version
Sarai and Hagar
16 (A)Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was (B)Hagar. 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[a] by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So, after Abram (C)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. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, (D)she looked with contempt on her mistress.[b] 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 (E)the Lord judge between you and me!” 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.
7 The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to (F)Shur. 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.” 9 The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said to her, (G)“I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Behold, you are pregnant
and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,[c]
(H)because the Lord has listened to your affliction.
12 He shall be (I)a wild donkey of a man,
his hand against everyone
and everyone's hand against him,
and he shall dwell (J)over against all his kinsmen.”
13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,”[d] for she said, (K)“Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”[e] 14 Therefore the well was called (L)Beer-lahai-roi;[f] it lies between (M)Kadesh and Bered.
15 And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Footnotes
- Genesis 16:2 Hebrew be built up, which sounds like the Hebrew for children
- Genesis 16:4 Hebrew her mistress was dishonorable in her eyes; similarly in verse 5
- Genesis 16:11 Ishmael means God hears
- Genesis 16:13 Or You are a God who sees me
- Genesis 16:13 Hebrew Have I really seen him here who sees me? or Would I have looked here for the one who sees me?
- Genesis 16:14 Beer-lahai-roi means the well of the Living One who sees me
Génesis 16
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Sarai y Agar
16 Sarai, mujer de Abram, no le había dado a luz hijo(A) alguno. Pero ella tenía una sierva egipcia(B) que se llamaba Agar. 2 Entonces Sarai dijo a Abram: «Mira, el Señor me ha impedido tener hijos. Llégate, te ruego, a mi sierva(C); quizá por medio de ella yo tenga hijos». Y Abram escuchó la voz de Sarai. 3 Después de diez años de habitar Abram en la tierra de Canaán(D), Sarai, mujer de Abram, tomó a su sierva Agar la egipcia, y se la dio a su marido Abram por mujer.
4 Y Abram se llegó a Agar, y ella concibió. Cuando ella vio que había concebido, miraba con desprecio a su señora. 5 Entonces Sarai dijo a Abram: «Recaiga sobre ti mi agravio(E). Yo entregué a mi sierva en tus brazos[a]. Pero cuando ella vio que había concebido, me miró con desprecio[b]. Juzgue el Señor entre tú y yo(F)». 6 Pero Abram dijo a Sarai: «Mira, tu sierva está bajo tu poder[c](G); haz con ella lo que mejor te parezca[d]». Y Sarai trató muy mal a Agar y ella huyó de su presencia.
Nacimiento de Ismael
7 El ángel del Señor(H) la encontró junto a una fuente de agua en el desierto, junto a la fuente en el camino de Shur(I), 8 y le dijo: «Agar, sierva de Sarai, ¿de dónde has venido y a dónde vas(J)?». Ella le respondió: «Huyo de la presencia de mi señora Sarai». 9 «Vuelve a tu señora y sométete a su autoridad[e]», le dijo el ángel del Señor.
10 El ángel del Señor añadió(K): «Multiplicaré de tal manera tu descendencia[f](L) que no se podrá contar por su multitud». 11 El ángel del Señor le dijo además:
«Has concebido
Y darás a luz un hijo;
Y le llamarás Ismael[g],
Porque el Señor ha oído tu aflicción(M).
12 Él será hombre indómito como asno montés(N);
Su mano será contra todos,
Y la mano de todos contra él,
Y habitará separado de[h] todos sus hermanos(O)».
13 Agar llamó el nombre del Señor que le había hablado: «Tú eres un Dios que ve[i]»; porque dijo: «¿Estoy todavía con vida después de ver a Dios?[j](P)». 14 Por eso se llamó a aquel pozo Beer Lajai Roi[k], el cual está entre Cades(Q) y Bered.
15 Agar le dio un hijo a Abram, y Abram le puso el nombre de Ismael al hijo que Agar le había dado. 16 Abram tenía 86 años(R) cuando Agar dio a luz a Ismael.
Footnotes
- Génesis 16:5 Lit. tu seno.
- Génesis 16:5 Lit. fui despreciada en sus ojos.
- Génesis 16:6 Lit. en tu mano.
- Génesis 16:6 Lit. lo que sea bueno a tus ojos.
- Génesis 16:9 Lit. bajo sus manos.
- Génesis 16:10 Lit. simiente.
- Génesis 16:11 I.e. Dios oye.
- Génesis 16:12 Lit. ante la faz de o en desafío de.
- Génesis 16:13 O Tú, Dios, me ves.
- Génesis 16:13 Lit. ¿Aun aquí he podido ver después del que me vio?
- Génesis 16:14 I.e. pozo del Viviente que me ve.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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