Genesis 16:3

16:3 So after Abram had lived ¹  in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, ²  to her husband to be his wife. ³ 

Genesis 25:6

25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines ⁴  and sent them off to the east, away from his son Isaac. ⁵ 

Proverbs 15:25

15:25 The Lord tears down the house of the proud, ⁶ 

but he maintains the boundaries of the widow. ⁷ 

¹ tn Heb “at the end of ten years, to live, Abram.” The prepositional phrase introduces the temporal clause, the infinitive construct serves as the verb, and the name “Abram” is the subject.

² tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”

³ sn To be his wife. Hagar became a slave wife, not on equal standing with Sarai. However, if Hagar produced the heir, she would be the primary wife in the eyes of society. When this eventually happened, Hagar become insolent, prompting Sarai’s anger.

⁴ tn Heb “the sons of the concubines who [belonged] to Abraham.”

⁵ tn Heb “And he sent them away from upon Isaac his son, while he was still living, eastward to the land of the east.”

⁶ sn The “proud” have to be understood here in contrast to the widow, and their “house” has to be interpreted in contrast to the widow’s territory. The implication may be that the “proud” make their gain from the needy, and so God will set the balance right.

⁷ sn The Lord administers justice in his time. The Lord champions the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the needy. These people were often the prey of the proud, who would take and devour their houses and lands (e.g., 1 Kgs 21; Prov 16:19; Isa 5:8-10).