Genesis 16:1-16

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 8:1

8:1 But God remembered ⁴⁹  Noah and all the wild animals and domestic animals that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to blow over ⁵⁰  the earth and the waters receded.

Genesis 14:1

The Blessing of Victory for God’s People

14:1 At that time ⁵¹  Amraphel king of Shinar, ⁵²  Arioch king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations ⁵³ 

Genesis 18:30

18:30 Then Abraham ⁵⁴  said, “May the Lord not be angry ⁵⁵  so that I may speak! ⁵⁶  What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

Genesis 19:6

19:6 Lot went outside to them, shutting the door behind him.

Mark 15:28

15:28 [[EMPTY]] ⁵⁷ 

Romans 8:3

8:3 For God achieved what the law could not do because ⁵⁸  it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

Romans 8:2

8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit ⁵⁹  in Christ Jesus has set you ⁶⁰  free from the law of sin and death.

Colossians 1:21

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

1:21 And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your ⁶¹  minds ⁶²  as expressed through ⁶³  your evil deeds,

[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 (vÿhit’anni) 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, bÿ’er lakhay ro’i) 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.

[8:1]  ⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew word translated “remembered” often carries the sense of acting in accordance with what is remembered, i.e., fulfilling covenant promises (see B. S. Childs, Memory and Tradition in Israel [SBT], especially p. 34).

[8:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “to pass over.”

[14:1]  ⁵¹ tn The sentence begins with the temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) followed by “in the days of.”

[14:1]  ⁵² sn Shinar (also in v. 9) is the region of Babylonia.

[14:1]  ⁵³ tn Or “king of Goyim.” The Hebrew term גּוֹיִם (goyim) means “nations,” but a number of modern translations merely transliterate the Hebrew (cf. NEB “Goyim”; NIV, NRSV “Goiim”).

[18:30]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Abraham) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:30]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “let it not be hot to the Lord.” This is an idiom which means “may the Lord not be angry.”

[18:30]  ⁵⁶ tn After the jussive, the cohortative indicates purpose/result.

[15:28]  ⁵⁷ tc Most later mss add 15:28 “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘He was counted with the lawless ones.’” Verse 28 is included in L Θ 083 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat, but is lacking in important Alexandrian and Western mss and some others (א A B C D Ψ pc). The addition of the verse with its quotation from Isa 53:12 probably represents a scribal assimilation from Luke 22:37. It was almost certainly not an original part of Mark’s Gospel. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

[8:3]  ⁵⁸ tn Grk “in that.”

[8:2]  ⁵⁹ tn Grk “for the law of the Spirit of life.”

[8:2]  ⁶⁰ tc Most mss read the first person singular pronoun με (me) here (A D 1739^c 1881 Ï lat sa). The second person singular pronoun σε (se) is superior because of external support (א B {F which reads σαι} G 1506* 1739*) and internal support (it is the harder reading since ch. 7 was narrated in the first person). At the same time, it could have arisen via dittography from the final syllable of the verb preceding it (ἠλευθέρωσεν, hleuqerwsen; “has set free”). But for this to happen in such early and diverse witnesses is unlikely, especially as it depends on various scribes repeatedly overlooking either the nu or the nu-bar at the end of the verb.

[1:21]  ⁶¹ tn The article τῇ (th) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[1:21]  ⁶² tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (ecqrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.

[1:21]  ⁶³ tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en toi" ergoi" toi" ponhroi") is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.