Chapter 16

1 Sarai, being barren, giveth Hagar to Abram. 4 Hagar, being afflicted for despising her mistress, runneth away. 7 An angel sendeth her back to submit herself, 11 and telleth her of her child. 15 Ishmael is born.

1. An handmaid. Notwithstanding all the promises of God, the fact remained that Abram was still without a child ten years after the first promise had been made to him (v. 3). Hagar, an Egyptian servant of Sarai, is introduced. Since the Egyptians were a powerful nation in Abram’s time, it is most singular to find an Egyptian servant in a Palestinian household. Hagar was probably the personal attendant given to Sarai when she was taken to Pharaoh (see ch. 12:15, 16). That she was still in Abram’s house tends to show that Pharaoh had not taken back the gifts he had given Abram.

Hagar. This is not an Egyptian name. Her original name is not given. The name Hagar, meaning “flight” in Arabic, may have been given to her after her flight from her mistress.

2. Go in unto my maid. Faithlessly concluding that there was no hope of her bearing children, Sarai decided to follow the practice of her native country in order to provide an heir for the family. The legal codes of Mesopotamia recognized the practice whereby a childless wife might give one of her slaves to her husband and obtain children by means of her, and determined precisely the rights of such offspring. Regulations were needed particularly in the case of a first wife who would bear children after the servant had done so, or when a servant would become overbearing after being honored by giving birth to an heir (see the code of Hammurabi, sections 144-146, 170, 171).

Abram hearkened. Faith may be genuine and yet prove to be weak in moments of stress and perplexity. A vigorous faith will cling to the promise, and to that alone, trusting entirely to God for its accomplishment. Such was Abram’s faith, except upon three or four brief occasions, throughout a long and eventful life. God had no need of Abram’s devices for the accomplishment of His promise. Trust and obedience alone were required. In complying with Sarai’s rash suggestion, Abram followed in the footsteps of Adam. In both instances the result was suffering and disappointment, and the imagined blessing proved to be a curse. By listening to Sarai’s suggestion Abram created for himself difficulties far reaching in their consequences. There ensued domestic trouble and heartache, and hatred between the future offspring of both wives. Again, in the present day, how bitterly the modern representatives of Sarai’s and Hagar’s descendants, the Jews and the Arabs, have contended for the possession of the Holy Land!

3. Ten years. The faith of Abram and Sarai, which had remained constant for ten years, now gave way. This comment is introduced probably to account for their impatience at the delay in the arrival of an heir. Little did Abram realize that the delay was divinely appointed to test his faith and to develop his character.

4. Her mistress was despised. Barrenness among the Hebrews was ever regarded as a dishonor and a reproach (Gen. 30:1, 23; Lev. 20:20; see on Luke 1:25), whereas fecundity was considered a special mark of divine favor (see Gen. 21:6; 24:60; Ex. 23:26; etc.). That the Egyptian maid, honored by admission to the rank of a wife (v. 3), should forget her privileged status and become haughty, was precisely the conduct that might have been expected. She would not assent to the plan of her mistress; why should her child be passed off as Sarai’s son? The maid who had served Sarai so faithfully through the years as to be considered eligible to become Abram’s wife began to despise her whom she had honored heretofore. Homes where the divinely approved marriage status is interfered with are homes where heartache, jealousy, and bitter strife prevail. Abram’s home was no exception, and the harmony of earlier times was transformed into discord.

5. My wrong be upon thee. Sarai uses the language of passionate irritation, indicating regret for her previous decision and the intention to blame her husband for the act and for its bitter consequences. She even makes an irreverent use of the name of Jehovah, invoking His judgment upon Abram.

6. Do to her as it pleaseth thee. Section 146 of the ancient Mesopotamian code of Hammurabi says that “if later that female slave has claimed equality with her mistress because she bore children, her mistress may not sell her; she may mark her with the slave-mark and count her among the slaves.” This law permitted the humiliation of an overbearing slave-concubine, but also laid certain restrictions upon her owner. Abram, a Mesopotamian by birth and education, was certainly well acquainted with the laws and customs of his homeland, and complied therefore with the law, which allowed his wife to humiliate Hagar but not to sell her. Abram’s conciliatory disposition is also apparent from the permission he gave Sarai. He suppressed his own feelings in order to restore harmony to the troubled home. On the other hand, he exhibited weakness in yielding to Sarai’s passionate purpose to inflict unjustifiable punishment on the future mother of his child.

Sarai dealt hardly with her. When Sarai restored her to the status of a slave, as the civil law of that time permitted, and even took recourse to corporal punishment as the Hebrew term “dealt hardly” implies, Hagar left the home of Abram and fled. If the slave was legally at fault in running away, her mistress was certainly liable to censure.

7. The angel of the Lord. Although most conservative expositors have here recognized the second person of the Godhead, it is far from certain that He appeared in person. Angels were frequently used to transmit divine messages to men, and this “angel of the Lord” may have been understood by Hagar either to be Jehovah Himself (v. 13), or perhaps simply a representative of Jehovah. Ellen G. White speaks of him simply as “an angel” (PP 145, 152). God Himself repeatedly appeared to Abram (Acts 7:2; Gen. 12:1; 13:14; 15:1; 17:1; 18:1; 21:12). Only once was an angel commissioned to speak to him (Gen. 22:11, 15). The account here closely resembles that of the visit of the angel, but differs greatly from those of God Himself.

In the way to Shur. Hagar was on the way to her native Egypt, and had almost reached the Egyptian border (see Gen. 25:18; 1 Sam. 15:7). “The fountain” implies a particular, well-known spring.

9. Submit thyself. The Hebrew verb translated “submit” is another form of the verb rendered “dealt hardly” in v. 6. Hagar was to return and submit meekly to Sarai, however, no matter how unkindly Sarai might treat her.

God did not condone Sarai’s harshness toward Hagar. He will punish those who misuse their authority, but He rarely entrusts this duty to those who are suffering under harsh and unjust treatment. Meekness is a trait of character God looks for in His children (see Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22; 1 Peter 2:18–23).

10. I will multiply thy seed. God recognized the difficult circumstances in which Hagar found herself, and for which she was not primarily to blame. Hagar honored the true God, and He would not abandon her in her extremity. The promise He there made to her, a slave, is without parallel. This promise greatly comforted Hagar. Although her son was not to be the son of the divine plan, he would nevertheless share in the promise made to Abram. God had promised to multiply Abram’s seed, without limiting it to the offspring of Sarai. Therefore He would abide by His promise to the very letter, but reserve the spiritual blessing for the seed originally intended by the promise, that is, Isaac (see Gal. 4:23–30; Rom. 9:7, 8).

11. Ishmael. This is the first time God named an unborn child (see Gen. 17:19; Luke 1:13, 31). He thus manifested to Hagar His interest in her and her offspring. The name of the child, Ishmael, “God shall hear,” was to remind her of God’s merciful interposition, and to remind Ishmael that he was an object of God’s gracious providence.

12. He will be a wild man. Literally, “a wild ass of a man,” as in the RSV. This figure of speech referring to the onager, a wild and untamable animal that roams at will in the desert, aptly depicts the Bedouin’s love of freedom as he rides, hardy and frugal, reveling in the varied beauty of nature and despising town life. A highly poetic description of the wild ass appears in Job 39:5–8.

His hand will be against every man. An accurate description of the Arabs, many of whom claim Ishmael as their father. Powerful nations have attempted to conquer Arabia, and subject it to their will, but none have met permanent success. The Arabs have maintained their independence, and God has preserved them as a lasting monument to His providential care. They stand today an incontestable argument to the truth of this divine prediction.

13. Thou God seest me. This experience convinced Hagar that God had spoken to her. Apparently believing that death must come to one who sees God (Ex. 20:19; 33:20), she was astonished to have seen Him and yet remain alive. Therefore she called Him “God of seeing,” for He not only had seen her and come to her in her affliction but had also permitted her to see Him and live.

14. Beer-lahai-roi. Thenceforth the well was known by a name meaning “well of the living One seeing me.” For generations Arabs refreshing themselves at this well were reminded that God here revealed Himself to their ancestor.

Between Kadesh and Bered. The location of the well, mentioned also in chs. 24:62 and 25:11, has been lost. Inasmuch as Bered is also unknown, all that can be said is that the well must have been west of Kadesh in the southwestern part of Canaan, on the way to Egypt. Some scholars have identified it with the well Ain Kadesh, which the Arabs call Moilahi Hagar.

15. Hagar bare Abram a son. In compliance with the divine order given to Hagar, Abram named his son Ishmael. For 13 years Abram seems to have remained under the illusion that Ishmael was the promised seed. When Abram was 99 the will of God was more clearly unfolded to him (see ch. 17:1, 18).

Ellen G. White comments

1-16PP 145-147; SR 77-83

3 PP 174

6, 8-11PP 145

12 AH 226; PP 174

13 EW 112; FE 348; ML 291; 5T 558, 627