Genesis 12:16

12:16 and he did treat Abram well ¹  on account of her. Abram received ²  sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

Genesis 16:1

The Birth of Ishmael

16:1 Now Sarai, ³  Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, ⁴  but she had an Egyptian servant ⁵  named Hagar. ⁶ 

Genesis 25:12

The Sons of Ishmael

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ⁷  whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.

Genesis 30:4

30:4 So Rachel ⁸  gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with ⁹  her.

Genesis 30:7

30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. ¹⁰ 

Genesis 30:18

30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward ¹¹  because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” ¹²  So she named him Issachar. ¹³ 

Genesis 30:43

30:43 In this way Jacob ¹⁴  became extremely prosperous. He owned ¹⁵  large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

¹ sn He did treat Abram well. The construction of the parenthetical disjunctive clause, beginning with the conjunction on the prepositional phrase, draws attention to the irony of the story. Abram wanted Sarai to lie “so that it would go well” with him. Though he lost Sarai to Pharaoh, it did go well for him – he received a lavish bride price. See also G. W. Coats, “Despoiling the Egyptians,” VT 18 (1968): 450-57.

² tn Heb “and there was to him.”

³ tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.

⁴ sn On the cultural background of the story of Sarai’s childlessness see J. Van Seters, “The Problem of Childlessness in Near Eastern Law and the Patriarchs of Israel,” JBL 87 (1968): 401-8.

⁵ tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.

⁶ sn The passage records the birth of Ishmael to Abram through an Egyptian woman. The story illustrates the limits of Abram’s faith as he tries to obtain a son through social custom. The barrenness of Sarai poses a challenge to Abram’s faith, just as the famine did in chap. 12. As in chap. 12, an Egyptian figures prominently. (Perhaps Hagar was obtained as a slave during Abram’s stay in Egypt.)

⁵ sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36).

⁷ tn Heb “and she”; the referent (Rachel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Heb “went in to.” The expression “went in to” in this context refers to sexual intercourse.

⁹ tn Heb “and she became pregnant again and Bilhah, the servant of Rachel, bore a second son for Jacob.”

¹¹ tn Heb “God has given my reward.”

¹² tn The words “as a wife” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarity (cf. v. 9).

¹³ sn The name Issachar (יְשָּׁשכָר, yishakhar) appears to mean “man of reward” or possibly “there is reward.” The name plays on the word used in the statement made earlier in the verse. The Hebrew noun translated “reward” is derived from the same root as the name Issachar. The irony is that Rachel thought the mandrakes would work for her, and she was willing to trade one night for them. But in that one night Leah became pregnant.

¹³ tn Heb “the man”; Jacob’s name has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ tn Heb “and there were to him.”