Genesis 16:2-3

16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Since ¹  the Lord has prevented me from having children, have sexual relations with ²  my servant. Perhaps I can have a family by her.” ³  Abram did what ⁴  Sarai told him.

16:3 So after Abram had lived ⁵  in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram’s wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, ⁶  to her husband to be his wife. ⁷ 

Genesis 16:5

16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! ⁸  I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, ⁹  but when she realized ¹⁰  that she was pregnant, she despised me. ¹¹  May the Lord judge between you and me!” ¹² 

Genesis 32:22

32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took ¹³  his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons ¹⁴  and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ¹⁵ 

Genesis 33:1

Jacob Meets Esau

33:1 Jacob looked up ¹⁶  and saw that Esau was coming ¹⁷  along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants.

[16:2]  ¹ tn Heb “look.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) introduces the foundational clause for the imperative to follow.

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

[16:2]  ³ tn Heb “perhaps I will be built from her.” Sarai hopes to have a family established through this surrogate mother.

[16:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “listened to the voice of,” which is an idiom meaning “obeyed.”

[16:3]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”

[16:3]  ⁷ 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.

[16:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”

[16:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”

[16:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “saw.”

[16:5]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “me and you.”

[32:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “and he arose in that night and he took.” The first verb is adverbial, indicating that he carried out the crossing right away.

[32:22]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew term used here is יֶלֶד (yeled) which typically describes male offspring. Some translations render the term “children” but this is a problem because by this time Jacob had twelve children in all, including one daughter, Dinah, born to Leah (Gen 30:21). Benjamin, his twelfth son and thirteenth child, was not born until later (Gen 35:16-19).

[32:22]  ¹⁵ sn Hebrew narrative style often includes a summary statement of the whole passage followed by a more detailed report of the event. Here v. 22 is the summary statement, while v. 23 begins the detailed account.

[33:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and Jacob lifted up his eyes.”

[33:1]  ¹⁸ tn Or “and look, Esau was coming.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to view the scene through Jacob’s eyes.