Genesis 16:6

16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your¹ servant is under your authority,² do to her whatever you think best.”³ Then Sarai treated Hagar⁴ harshly,⁵ so she ran away from Sarai.⁶

Genesis 16:8

16:8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from⁷ my mistress, Sarai.”

Genesis 20:14

20:14 So Abimelech gave⁸ sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him.

Genesis 24:35

24:35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy.⁹ The Lord¹⁰ has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

Genesis 30:9

30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave¹¹ her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife.

Genesis 32:5

32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent¹² this message¹³ to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”

Genesis 33:2

33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them.¹⁴

Genesis 35:26

35:26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.

These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

¹tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”

²tn Heb “in your hand.”

³tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

⁴tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”

⁶tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷tn Heb “from the presence of.”

¹³tn Heb “took and gave.”

¹⁹tn Heb “great.” In this context the statement refers primarily to Abraham’s material wealth, although reputation and influence are not excluded.

²⁰tn Heb “and he.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁵tn Heb “she took her servant Zilpah and gave her.” The verbs “took” and “gave” are treated as a hendiadys in the translation: “she gave.”

³¹tn Or “I am sending.” The form is a preterite with the vav consecutive; it could be rendered as an English present tense – as the Hebrew perfect/preterite allows – much like an epistolary aorist in Greek. The form assumes the temporal perspective of the one who reads the message.

³²tn The words “this message” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³⁷sn This kind of ranking according to favoritism no doubt fed the jealousy over Joseph that later becomes an important element in the narrative. It must have been painful to the family to see that they were expendable.