Genesis 16:1
in Genesis 16Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bare him no children: and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
KJV
Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
⋯
This verse in Genesis 16
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
- The Birth of Ishmael 1. הנר hāgār, Hagar, “flight.” Hejrah, the flight of Muhammed. 7. מלאך mal'ak “messenger, angel.” A deputy commissioned to discharge a certain duty for the principal whom he represents. As the most usual task is that of bearing messages, commands, or tidings, he is commonly called a “messenger” ἄγγελος angelos). The word is therefore a term of office, and does not further distinguish the office-bearer than as an intelligent being.
This site's exposition
had borne him no children
on Genesis 16:1-2
Hagar is an Egyptian, and the last maidservants Genesis named were the ones Pharaoh loaded on Abram at the end of chapter 12. Sarai proposes a family built through her servant, and Abram listens to the voice of Sarai, the wording of the charge God laid against Adam at 3:17. Hagar has no voice in the plan.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Therefore Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar. She said to her husband, "Behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, so go into my maidservant; perhaps I shall obtain children by her."
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bare him no children,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
She had a handmaid, an Egyptian - As Hagar was an Egyptian, St. Chrysostom’s conjecture is very probable. that she was one of those female slaves which Pharaoh gave to Abram when he sojourned in Egypt; see Gen 12:16. Her name הגר hagar signifies a stranger or sojourner, and it is likely she got this name in the family of Abram, as the word is pure Hebrew.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשָׂרַי֙ | vesarai | and Sarai | H8297 → | 17 times |
| אֵ֣שֶׁת | ʾeshet | [the] wife of | H802 → | 781 times |
| אַבְרָ֔ם | ʾavram | Abram | H87 → | 61 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָלְדָ֖ה | yaldah | she had borne children | H3205 → | 496 times |
| ל֑וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| וְלָ֛הּ | velah | and [belonged] to <the> her | ||
| שִׁפְחָ֥ה | shifchah | a maidservant | H8198 → | 63 times |
| מִצְרִ֖ית | mitzrit | Egyptian | H4713 → | 70 times |
| וּשְׁמָ֥הּ | ushemah | and name her | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הָגָֽר׃ | hagar | [was] Hagar | H1904 → | 12 times |
וְשָׂרַי֙and Sarai
vesaraiH8297 →17 times
אֵ֣שֶׁת[the] wife of
ʾeshetH802 →781 times
אַבְרָ֔םAbram
ʾavramH87 →61 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָלְדָ֖הshe had borne children
yaldahH3205 →496 times
ל֑וֹto <the> him
lo
וְלָ֛הּand [belonged] to <the> her
velah
שִׁפְחָ֥הa maidservant
shifchahH8198 →63 times
מִצְרִ֖יתEgyptian
mitzritH4713 →70 times
וּשְׁמָ֥הּand name her
ushemahH8034 →864 times
הָגָֽר׃[was] Hagar
hagarH1904 →12 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 21:12But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to everything that Sarah tells you, for through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.
it leads to
- Hebrews 11:18
even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”
- Romans 9:7–8
Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”
- Genesis 17:19
But God replied, “Your wife Sarah will indeed bear you a son, and you are to name him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after…
- Hebrews 11:18
Through
Genesis 12:16He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
it leads to
- Genesis 20:14
So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him.
- Genesis 20:14
Through
Galatians 4:24These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar.
it leads to
- Genesis 21:9–13
But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking her son,
- Genesis 16:8
“Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.
- Genesis 25:12
This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.
- Hebrews 10:15–18
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First He says:
- Genesis 21:9–13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.