Chapter Summary
Genesis 16 recounts Sarai's plan to obtain a child through her Egyptian servant Hagar. Abram agrees, and Hagar conceives. Tension arises between the women, and Sarai treats Hagar harshly, causing her to flee. The Angel of the Lord finds Hagar by a spring, tells her to return, and promises her son Ishmael will become a great nation. This is the first appearance of the Angel of the Lord in Scripture.
Key Verses in This Chapter
Genesis Chapter 16
Chapter 16 of Genesis from the Holy Bible
Verses
Genesis 16:1
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
Genesis 16:2
Sarai said to Abram, “See now, Yahweh has restrained me from bearing. Please go in to my servant. It may be that I will obtain children by her.” Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
Genesis 16:3
Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.
Genesis 16:4
He went in to Hagar, and she conceived. When she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
Genesis 16:5
Sarai said to Abram, “This wrong is your fault. I gave my servant into your bosom, and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes. Yahweh judge between me and you.”
Genesis 16:6
But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your hand. Do to her whatever is good in your eyes.” Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her face.
Genesis 16:7
Yahweh’s angel found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur.
Genesis 16:8
He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where did you come from? Where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.”
Genesis 16:9
Yahweh’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hands.”
Genesis 16:10
Yahweh’s angel said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, that they will not be counted for multitude.”
Genesis 16:11
Yahweh’s angel said to her, “Behold, you are with child, and will bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because Yahweh has heard your affliction.
Genesis 16:12
He will be like a wild donkey among men. His hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. He will live opposite all of his brothers.”
Genesis 16:13
She called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees,” for she said, “Have I even stayed alive after seeing him?”
Genesis 16:14
Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi. Behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
Genesis 16:15
Hagar bore a son for Abram. Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
Genesis 16:16
Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
People Also Ask
Who was Ishmael and what is his significance?
Ishmael was the son of Abram and Hagar, born when Abram was 86. God promised he would become a great nation with twelve princes. Islamic tradition regards Ishmael as an ancestor of Muhammad and the Arab peoples. In Galatians 4, Paul uses Ishmael allegorically to represent the covenant of law versus the covenant of promise (Isaac).