Genesis 16:8
in Genesis 16“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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s handmaid, whence camest thou? and whither goest thou? And she said, I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Genesis 16
Commentary
10 notes on this verseHagar, Sarai’s maid - This mode of address is used to show her that she was known, and to remind her that she was the property of another.
This site's exposition
found Hagar by a spring of water
on Genesis 16:7-8
This is the first appearance of the angel of the LORD in Scripture, and it comes to a runaway Egyptian slave. Jerome notes that the road to Shur runs through the desert toward Egypt, so she is heading home. He calls her Hagar, servant of Sarai, naming both who she is and what she ran from. She answers the first question and skips the second.
This site's exposition
where are you going
Matthew Henry hears a warning in the second question. The road to Shur ran back to Egypt and its gods, through a dangerous desert. John Wesley notes that Hagar owns her fault when she says she is running away from her mistress.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
From this text one gains insight into the virtue of Hagar as well, and one becomes aware that she is a woman not to be despised since an angel converses with her and shows concern for her that is hardly superficial, for it is evidently …
Moreover, when the beauty of the spiritual law is illuminated, that which is no more than shadow flees. Sacrifices that are luminous compared with those of "the shadow" were in fact announced in the transmitted teaching and have been effectively introduced in practice.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
(2.) " Whither wilt thou go? Thou art running thyself into sin, in Egypt" (if she return to that people, she will return to their gods), "and into danger, in the wilderness," through which she must travel, Deut. viii. Note, Those who are forsaking God and their duty would do well to remember not only whence they have fallen, but whither they are falling.
And Whither wilt thou go? - Thou art running thyself into sin in Egypt; if she return to that people, she will return to their gods. And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress - She acknowledges her fault in fleeing from her mistress; and yet, excuses it, that it was from the face, or displeasure, of her mistress.
And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3525: “God's Overtaking Mercy” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
HAGAR had lived for many years in Abraham's family. This was no small advantage. While all the rest of the world was in heathendom, the Light of God shone brightly in Abraham's tent. Not only was Abraham, himself, a worshipper of the Most High God, but he commanded his household after him. We may rest assured that there were family gatherings for devotion—that the Patriarch took occasion, both by precept and example, to teach the knowledge of the true God to all who were in his service. His was the central spot of the Light of God in the world—and all around him was the thick gloom of heathenism. Yet I do not find that Hager, during the years she lived with Abraham, even when she saw his faith in going forth from his kindred and his country, and dwelling in tents in the promised land—I do not find that she, herself, received any personal call from God, or had a word from the Angel of Mercy to her own soul. And truly in this she is like very many servants, yes, and sons and daughters, too, in godly families who are surrounded by the Light of God, but yet see not—who are where God speaks—and yet He has not spoken personally to them. Who enjoy the means of Grace, but have never yet got the Grace of the means—who are themselves strangers in the midst of Israel, foreigners, though they dwell in the land, itself! Now it would be a source of the greatest imaginable joy to many of us if some of these should be called as Hagar was—should hear the voice from Heaven and be enabled to make the double discovery which she made, namely, that God saw her, and that she might come into contact with God—might look to Him who had seen her! At this time I shall first direct your attention to a very interesting circumstance, namely— I. THE SINGULAR SEASON CHOSEN BY GOD FOR THE INTERPOSITION OF HIS MERCY. Let us dwell on that a moment.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3525: “God's Overtaking Mercy” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
HAGAR had lived for many years in Abraham's family. This was no small advantage. While all the rest of the world was in heathendom, the Light of God shone brightly in Abraham's tent. Not only was Abraham, himself, a worshipper of the Most High God, but he commanded his household after him. We may rest assured that there were family gatherings for devotion—that the Patriarch took occasion, both by precept and example, to teach the knowledge of the true God to all who were in his service.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמַ֗ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הָגָ֞ר | hagar | O Hagar | H1904 → | 12 times |
| שִׁפְחַ֥ת | shifchat | [the] maidservant of | H8198 → | 63 times |
| שָׂרַ֛י | sarai | Sarai | H8297 → | 17 times |
| אֵֽי־ | ʾei- | where? | H335 → | 39 times |
| מִזֶּ֥ה | mizeh | from this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| בָ֖את | vat | have you come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וְאָ֣נָה | veanah | and where? | H575 → | 41 times |
| תֵלֵ֑כִי | telekhi | are you going | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וַתֹּ֕אמֶר | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מִפְּנֵי֙ | mipenei | from before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| שָׂרַ֣י | sarai | Sarai | H8297 → | 17 times |
| גְּבִרְתִּ֔י | gevirti | mistress my | H1404 → | 9 times |
| אָנֹכִ֖י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| בֹּרַֽחַת׃ | borachat | [am] fleeing | H1272 → | 63 times |
וַיֹּאמַ֗רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
הָגָ֞רO Hagar
hagarH1904 →12 times
שִׁפְחַ֥ת[the] maidservant of
shifchatH8198 →63 times
שָׂרַ֛יSarai
saraiH8297 →17 times
אֵֽי־where?
ʾei-H335 →39 times
מִזֶּ֥הfrom this
mizehH2088 →1180 times
בָ֖אתhave you come
vatH935 →2568 times
וְאָ֣נָהand where?
veanahH575 →41 times
תֵלֵ֑כִיare you going
telekhiH1980 →1546 times
וַתֹּ֕אמֶרand she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
מִפְּנֵי֙from before
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
שָׂרַ֣יSarai
saraiH8297 →17 times
גְּבִרְתִּ֔יmistress my
gevirtiH1404 →9 times
אָנֹכִ֖יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
בֹּרַֽחַת׃[am] fleeing
borachatH1272 →63 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 4:10“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
it leads to
- Hebrews 12:24
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
- Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he…
- Psalms 72:14
He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their blood is precious in his sight.
- Isaiah 5:7
For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but…
- James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
- Hebrews 12:24
Through
Genesis 3:9But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”
it leads to
- Genesis 4:9
And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
- Genesis 4:9
Through
Ecclesiastes 10:4If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post, for calmness lays great offenses to rest.
it leads to
- Proverbs 25:15
Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
- Ecclesiastes 8:3
Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
- Proverbs 25:15
Where this verse is studied
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; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3525: “God's Overtaking Mercy” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Didymus the Blind, ON GENESIS 242-43; Didymus the Blind, ON GENESIS 243; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.