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Genesis 16:1-16

Context
The Birth of Ishmael

16:1 Now Sarai, 1  Abram’s wife, had not given birth to any children, 2  but she had an Egyptian servant 3  named Hagar. 4  16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since 5  the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with 6  my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” 7  Abram did what 8  Sarai told him.

16:3 So after Abram had lived 9  in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, 10  to her husband to be his wife. 11  16:4 He had sexual relations with 12  Hagar, and she became pregnant. 13  Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. 14  16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! 15  I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, 16  but when she realized 17  that she was pregnant, she despised me. 18  May the Lord judge between you and me!” 19 

16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your 20  servant is under your authority, 21  do to her whatever you think best.” 22  Then Sarai treated Hagar 23  harshly, 24  so she ran away from Sarai. 25 

16:7 The Lord’s angel 26  found Hagar near a spring of water in the desert – the spring that is along the road to Shur. 27  16:8 He said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from 28  my mistress, Sarai.”

16:9 Then the Lord’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit 29  to her authority. 16:10 I will greatly multiply your descendants,” the Lord’s angel added, 30  “so that they will be too numerous to count.” 31  16:11 Then the Lord’s angel said to her,

“You are now 32  pregnant

and are about to give birth 33  to a son.

You are to name him Ishmael, 34 

for the Lord has heard your painful groans. 35 

16:12 He will be a wild donkey 36  of a man.

He will be hostile to everyone, 37 

and everyone will be hostile to him. 38 

He will live away from 39  his brothers.”

16:13 So Hagar named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees me,” 40  for she said, “Here I have seen one who sees me!” 41  16:14 That is why the well was called 42  Beer Lahai Roi. 43  (It is located 44  between Kadesh and Bered.)

16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. 45  16:16 (Now 46  Abram was 86 years old 47  when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.) 48 

Genesis 1:15

Context
1:15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so.

Matthew 26:56

Context
26:56 But this has happened so that 49  the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Acts 13:13

Context
Paul and Barnabas at Pisidian Antioch

13:13 Then Paul and his companions put out to sea 50  from Paphos 51  and came to Perga 52  in Pamphylia, 53  but John 54  left them and returned to Jerusalem. 55 

Acts 15:38

Context
15:38 but Paul insisted 56  that they should not take along this one who had left them in Pamphylia 57  and had not accompanied them in the work.

Acts 15:2

Context
15:2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate 58  with them, the church 59  appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with 60  the apostles and elders in Jerusalem 61  about this point of disagreement. 62 

Acts 2:15

Context
2:15 In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk, 63  for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 64 
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[16:1]  1 tn The disjunctive clause signals the beginning of a new episode in the story.

[16:1]  2 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.

[16:1]  3 tn The Hebrew term שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah, translated “servant” here and in vv. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) refers to a menial female servant.

[16:1]  4 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.)

[16:2]  5 tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.

[16:2]  6 tn Heb “enter to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual relations (also in v. 4).

[16:2]  7 tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.

[16:2]  8 tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”

[16:3]  9 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.

[16:3]  10 tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”

[16:3]  11 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.

[16:4]  12 tn Heb “entered to.” See the note on the same expression in v. 2.

[16:4]  13 tn Or “she conceived” (also in v. 5)

[16:4]  14 tn Heb “and she saw that she was pregnant and her mistress was despised in her eyes.” The Hebrew verb קָלַל (qalal) means “to despise, to treat lightly, to treat with contempt.” In Hagar’s opinion Sarai had been demoted.

[16:5]  15 tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”

[16:5]  16 tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”

[16:5]  17 tn Heb “saw.”

[16:5]  18 tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.

[16:5]  19 tn Heb “me and you.”

[16:6]  20 tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”

[16:6]  21 tn Heb “in your hand.”

[16:6]  22 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

[16:6]  23 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:6]  24 tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (’anah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”

[16:6]  25 tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:7]  26 tn Heb “the messenger of the Lord.” Some identify the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ because in some texts the angel is identified with the Lord himself. However, it is more likely that the angel merely represents the Lord; he can speak for the Lord because he is sent with the Lord’s full authority. In some cases the angel is clearly distinct from the Lord (see Judg 6:11-23). It is not certain if the same angel is always in view. Though the proper name following the noun “angel” makes the construction definite, this may simply indicate that a definite angel sent from the Lord is referred to in any given context. It need not be the same angel on every occasion. Note the analogous expression “the servant of the Lord,” which refers to various individuals in the OT (see BDB 714 s.v. עֶבֶד).

[16:7]  27 tn Heb “And the angel of the Lord found her near the spring of water in the desert, near the spring on the way to Shur.”

[16:8]  28 tn Heb “from the presence of.”

[16:9]  29 tn The imperative וְהִתְעַנִּי (vÿhitanni) is the Hitpael of עָנָה (’anah, here translated “submit”), the same word used for Sarai’s harsh treatment of her. Hagar is instructed not only to submit to Sarai’s authority, but to whatever mistreatment that involves. God calls for Hagar to humble herself.

[16:10]  30 tn Heb “The Lord’s angel said, ‘I will greatly multiply your descendants….” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:10]  31 tn Heb “cannot be numbered because of abundance.”

[16:11]  32 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) focuses on her immediate situation: “Here you are pregnant.”

[16:11]  33 tn The active participle refers here to something that is about to happen.

[16:11]  34 sn The name Ishmael consists of the imperfect or jussive form of the Hebrew verb with the theophoric element added as the subject. It means “God hears” or “may God hear.”

[16:11]  35 tn Heb “affliction,” which must refer here to Hagar’s painful groans of anguish.

[16:12]  36 sn A wild donkey of a man. The prophecy is not an insult. The wild donkey lived a solitary existence in the desert away from society. Ishmael would be free-roaming, strong, and like a bedouin; he would enjoy the freedom his mother sought.

[16:12]  37 tn Heb “His hand will be against everyone.” The “hand” by metonymy represents strength. His free-roaming life style would put him in conflict with those who follow social conventions. There would not be open warfare, only friction because of his antagonism to their way of life.

[16:12]  38 tn Heb “And the hand of everyone will be against him.”

[16:12]  39 tn Heb “opposite, across from.” Ishmael would live on the edge of society (cf. NASB “to the east of”). Some take this as an idiom meaning “be at odds with” (cf. NRSV, NLT) or “live in hostility toward” (cf. NIV).

[16:13]  40 tn Heb “God of my seeing.” The pronominal suffix may be understood either as objective (“who sees me,” as in the translation) or subjective (“whom I see”).

[16:13]  41 tn Heb “after one who sees me.”

[16:14]  42 tn The verb does not have an expressed subject and so is rendered as passive in the translation.

[16:14]  43 sn The Hebrew name Beer Lahai Roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, bÿer lakhay roi) means “The well of the Living One who sees me.” The text suggests that God takes up the cause of those who are oppressed.

[16:14]  44 tn Heb “look.” The words “it is located” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[16:15]  45 tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”

[16:16]  46 tn The disjunctive clause gives information that is parenthetical to the narrative.

[16:16]  47 tn Heb “the son of eighty-six years.”

[16:16]  48 tn The Hebrew text adds, “for Abram.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is somewhat redundant given the three occurrences of Abram’s name in this and the previous verse.

[26:56]  49 tn Grk “But so that”; the verb “has happened” is implied.

[13:13]  50 tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4, “as a nautical t.t. (. τὴν ναῦν put a ship to sea), mid. or pass. ἀνάγεσθαι to begin to go by boat, put out to sea.”

[13:13]  51 sn Paphos was a city on the southwestern coast of the island of Cyprus. See Acts 13:6.

[13:13]  52 sn Perga was a city in Pamphylia near the southern coast of Asia Minor. The journey from Paphos to Perga is about 105 mi (175 km).

[13:13]  53 sn Pamphylia was a province in the southern part of Asia Minor.

[13:13]  54 sn That is, John Mark.

[13:13]  55 sn Returned to Jerusalem. John Mark had originally accompanied them from Jerusalem (see Acts 12:25). John Mark’s decision to leave became an issue later for Barnabas and Paul (Acts 15:36-39).

[15:38]  56 tn BDAG 94 s.v. ἀξιόω 2.a has “he insisted (impf.) that they should not take him along” for this phrase.

[15:38]  57 sn Pamphylia was a province in the southern part of Asia Minor. See Acts 13:13, where it was mentioned previously.

[15:2]  58 tn Grk “no little argument and debate” (an idiom).

[15:2]  59 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the church, or the rest of the believers at Antioch) has been specified to avoid confusion with the Judaizers mentioned in the preceding clause.

[15:2]  60 tn Grk “go up to,” but in this context a meeting is implied.

[15:2]  61 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:2]  62 tn Or “point of controversy.” It is unclear whether this event parallels Gal 2:1-10 or that Gal 2 fits with Acts 11:30. More than likely Gal 2:1-10 is to be related to Acts 11:30.

[2:15]  63 tn Grk “These men are not drunk, as you suppose.”

[2:15]  64 tn Grk “only the third hour.”



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