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Hagar and Ishmael

16 Sarai, Abram’s wife, had no children. She had a slave girl from Egypt named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram, “Look, the Lord has not allowed me to have children. So have physical relations with my slave girl. If she has a child, maybe I can have my own family through her.”

Abram did what Sarai said. This was after Abram lived ten years in Canaan. And Sarai gave Hagar to her husband Abram. (Hagar was her slave girl from Egypt.)

Abram had physical relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When Hagar learned she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress Sarai badly. Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is your fault. I gave my slave girl to you. And when she became pregnant, she began to treat me badly. Let the Lord decide who is right—you or me.”

But Abram said to Sarai, “You are Hagar’s mistress. Do anything you want to her.” Then Sarai was hard on Hagar, and Hagar ran away.

The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the desert. The spring was by the road to Shur. The angel said, “Hagar, you are Sarai’s slave girl. Where have you come from? Where are you going?”

Hagar answered, “I am running from my mistress Sarai.”

The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go home to your mistress and obey her.” 10 The angel of the Lord also said, “I will give you so many descendants they cannot be counted.”

11 The angel also said to her,

“You are now pregnant,
    and you will have a son.
You will name him Ishmael,[a]
    because the Lord has heard your cries.
12 Ishmael will be like a wild donkey.
    He will be against everyone.
    And everyone will be against him.
He will attack all his brothers.”

13 The slave girl gave a name to the Lord who spoke to her. She said to him, “You are ‘God who sees me.’” This is because she said to herself, “Have I really seen God who sees me?” 14 So the well there was called Beer Lahai Roi.[b] It is between Kadesh and Bered.

15 Hagar gave birth to a son for Abram. And Abram named him Ishmael. 16 Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

Footnotes

  1. 16:11 Ishmael The Hebrew words for “Ishmael” and “has heard” sound similar.
  2. 16:14 Beer Lahai Roi This means “the well of the Living One who sees me.”

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.