Skip to main content
Psalmlog Logo

Genesis 16

Genesis 16 follows a household’s conflict into the wilderness, where God finds Hagar and hears her affliction.

Sarai has borne Abram no children, so she gives her Egyptian servant Hagar to him as a wife, hoping to obtain children through her. Hagar conceives, contempt enters the household, and Sarai’s harsh treatment drives her into the wilderness. YHWH’s angel finds Hagar beside a spring, tells her to return, and promises descendants beyond counting. Hagar names YHWH as the God who sees her. She bears Ishmael when Abram is eighty-six.

family conflictmiscarriage or infertilityloneliness
Read
1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD 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.
3Sarai, 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.
4He went in to Hagar, and she conceived. When she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5Sarai said to Abram, “This wrong is your fault. I gave my servant into your bosom, and when she saw that she had conceived, she despised me. May the LORD judge between me and you.”
6But 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.
7The LORD’s angel found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur.
8He 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.”
9The LORD’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hands.”
10The LORD’s angel said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, that they will not be counted for multitude.”
11The LORD’s angel said to her, “Behold, you are with child, and will bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your affliction.
12He 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 opposed to all of his brothers.”
13She called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees,” for she said, “Have I even stayed alive after seeing him?”
15Hagar bore a son for Abram. Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Genesis 16:13Hagar’s naming of YHWH centers the account on God’s attention to a servant who has fled harsh treatment.
Genesis 16:7YHWH’s angel finds Hagar outside Abram’s household, making the wilderness the setting for divine speech and promise.
Genesis 16:11Ishmael’s name ties his birth to YHWH’s hearing of Hagar’s affliction, even as conflict remains in his future.
Where this chapter reaches

Exodus shares the theme of God hearing affliction and seeing the suffering of people under harsh treatment, as God hears and sees Hagar here. Galatians takes up Hagar and her son in its contrast between slavery and freedom.

Genesis 16's chapter linksAll strongest linksHover or tap a book
Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What do you notice about who speaks, who decides, and who bears the consequences in Abram’s household?

Write on this

How does Hagar’s encounter at the spring shape your understanding of God’s attention to suffering?

Write on this

Questions people ask about Genesis 16

What does Hagar mean by “You are a God who sees”?

Hagar names YHWH after his angel finds her in the wilderness and speaks about her affliction and her child’s future. Her words recognize God’s sight of her. Her next question expresses wonder that she has remained alive after seeing him, linking divine attention with an encounter she regards as extraordinary.

What does the name Ishmael mean in Genesis 16?

Ishmael means God hears. The angel connects the name to YHWH having heard Hagar’s affliction. The name preserves that attention within the story of her son’s birth. The promise of many descendants stands alongside a description of Ishmael’s future marked by opposition and conflict.

Why did God tell Hagar to return to Sarai?

The text records the command alongside promises about Hagar’s descendants and her son, without explaining why return was required. It also names Sarai’s harsh treatment. This specific command to Hagar provides no blanket warrant for sending people back into abuse or treating submission as permission to harm.

Read it. Now write it.

Start an entry on Genesis 16. Your words go beside the text, and you get one next step for the week.

Genesis · 50 chapters
1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950
What the Bible says about loneliness →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).