Genesis 16:3-6

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  16:4 He had sexual relations with ⁴  Hagar, and she became pregnant. ⁵  Once Hagar realized she was pregnant, she despised Sarai. ⁶  16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! ⁷  I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, ⁸  but when she realized ⁹  that she was pregnant, she despised me. ¹⁰  May the Lord judge between you and me!” ¹¹ 

16:6 Abram said to Sarai, “Since your ¹²  servant is under your authority, ¹³  do to her whatever you think best.” ¹⁴  Then Sarai treated Hagar ¹⁵  harshly, ¹⁶  so she ran away from Sarai. ¹⁷ 

Genesis 16:15

16:15 So Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son, whom Abram named Ishmael. ¹⁸ 

[16:3]  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.

[16:3]  ² tn Heb “the Egyptian, her female servant.”

[16:3]  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.

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

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

[16:4]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”

[16:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “I placed my female servant in your bosom.”

[16:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “saw.”

[16:5]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “me and you.”

[16:6]  ¹² tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”

[16:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “in your hand.”

[16:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”

[16:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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

[16:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.”