Genesis 16:9
in Genesis 16So the angel of the LORD told her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
KJV
And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
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This verse in Genesis 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseNote, Those that have gone away from their place and duty, when they are convinced of their error, must hasten their return and reformation, how mortifying soever it may be. The Promise Concerning Ishmael.
This site's exposition
submit to her authority
on Genesis 16:9-10
The command comes first and it is the hard one, back under the hand that afflicted her. The promise follows after it, offspring too numerous to count, the words God had already spoken over Abram at 13:16 and 15:5. Clarke notes that the speaker promises this on his own authority, speaking as God. She is sent back with a promise.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
The literal sense is clear enough. From the point of view of allegory, it is suggested that even in the case of one who has done a purposeless act that he believes to be obligatory for those who revere the shadow of the law and …
As in concrete image, we see here foreshadowed the fact that once the Emmanuel has appeared and his mystery has been shown to the world, the types of the Mosaic cult necessarily disappear, giving way to the evangelical teachings, the better and more perfect precepts. Of what image am I speaking? Because Sarah had not had children, Hagar, after having given birth to Ishmael, began to show arrogant contempt for her owner, the free woman. Sarah was unable to bear that arrogance and began also to mistreat the Egyptian woman.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) to return to her mistress she immediately promised to do so, and was setting her face homeward; and then the angel went on to encourage her with an assurance of the mercy God had in store for her and her seed: for God will meet those with mercy that are returning to their duty.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the angel of the Lord said unto her,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
הרבה ארבה, the angel being G'd's messenger, may speak in the first person as if he were to do what he says, seeing that he delivers G'd's message. It is as if G'd Himself had spoken.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The angel of Adonoy said to her: I will greatly multiply your descendants that they can not be counted because of their great number.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָהּ֙ | lah | to <the> her | ||
| מַלְאַ֣ךְ | malakh | [the] angel of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| שׁ֖וּבִי | shuvi | return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| גְּבִרְתֵּ֑ךְ | gevirtekh | mistress your | H1404 → | 9 times |
| וְהִתְעַנִּ֖י | vehitani | and humble yourself | H6031 → | 82 times |
| תַּ֥חַת | tachat | under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| יָדֶֽיהָ׃ | yadeiha | hands her | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לָהּ֙to <the> her
lah
מַלְאַ֣ךְ[the] angel of
malakhH4397 →213 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
שׁ֖וּבִיreturn
shuviH7725 →1056 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
גְּבִרְתֵּ֑ךְmistress your
gevirtekhH1404 →9 times
וְהִתְעַנִּ֖יand humble yourself
vehitaniH6031 →82 times
תַּ֥חַתunder
tachatH8478 →505 times
יָדֶֽיהָ׃hands her
yadeihaH3027 →1618 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
Ephesians 5:21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:24
Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.
- Ephesians 5:22
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
- Hebrews 13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch over your souls as those who must give an account. To this end, allow them to lead with joy and not with grief, for…
- 1 Peter 5:5
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Ephesians 5:24
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.
- 1 Samuel 25:24–44
She fell at his feet and said, “My lord, may the blame be on me alone, but please let your servant speak to you; hear the words of your servant.
- Proverbs 25:15
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Cyril of Alexandria, GLAPHYRA ON GENESIS, 3.79.9; Didymus the Blind, ON GENESIS 244; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.