Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

2And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

3And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

4And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

5And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

6But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

7And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

8And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

9And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.

10And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

11And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

12And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

13And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

14Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

15And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

16And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

Now Sarai Abrams wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaide, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

2And Sarai said vnto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee go in vnto my maid: it may bee that I may obtaine children by her: and Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

3And Sarai Abrams wife, tooke Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten yeeres in the land of Canaan, and gaue her to her husband Abram, to be his wife.

4 And he went in vnto Hagar, and she conceiued: And when shee saw that shee had conceiued, her mistresse was despised in her eyes.

5And Sarai said vnto Abram, My wrong be vpon thee: I haue giuen my maid into thy bosome, and when shee saw that she had conceiued, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD iudge betweene me and thee.

6But Abram said vnto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; doe to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, shee fled from her face.

7 And the Angel of the LORD found her by a fountaine of water, in the wildernesse, by the fountaine, in the way to Shur:

8And he said, Hagar Sarais maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou goe? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistresse Sarai.

9And the Angel of the LORD said vnto her, Returne to thy mistresse, and submit thy selfe vnder her hands.

10And the Angel of the LORD said vnto her, I will multiply thy seede exceedingly, that it shall not be numbred for multitude.

11And the Angel of the LORD said vnto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt beare a sonne, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

12And he will be a wilde man; his hand will be against euery man, and euery mans hand against him: & he shal dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

13And shee called the name of the LORD that spake vnto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Haue I also here looked after him that seeth me?

14Wherefore the well was called, Beer-lahai-roi: Behold, It is betweene Cadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bare Abram a sonne: and Abram called his sonnes name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.

16And Abram was fourescore and sixe yeeres old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

I == Gen 15:2-3 ; 21:9 ; Acts 7:5 Gal 4:24

II == Gen 3:17 ; 20:18 ; 30:2-3 , 9 ; 1st Sam 1:5-6

 

 

 

III == Gen 12:5

 

 

IV == 2nd SAm 6:16 ; Prov 30:21 , 23

 

 

V == Gen 31:53 ; 1st Sam 24:12

 

 

 

VI == Ex 2:15 ; Job 2:6 ; Ps 106:41-42 ; Prov 15:1 ; Jer 38:5 ; 1st Peter 3:7

VII == Gen 25:18 ; Ex 15:22

 

 

 

 

 

IX == Titus 2:9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XII == Gen 21:20 ; 25:18

 

 

 

 

XV == Deut 10:17 ; 18:13

 

1 Abram's wife Sarai had borne him no children. She had, however, an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.

2 Sarai said to Abram: "The LORD has kept me from bearing children. Have intercourse, then, with my maid; perhaps I shall have sons through her." Abram heeded Sarai's request.

3 Thus, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, his wife Sarai took her maid, Hagar the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his concubine.

4 He had intercourse with her, and she became pregnant. When she became aware of her pregnancy, she looked on her mistress with disdain.

5 So Sarai said to Abram: "You are responsible for this outrage against me. I myself gave my maid to your embrace; but ever since she became aware of her pregnancy, she has been looking on me with disdain. May the LORD decide between you and me!"

6 Abram told Sarai: "Your maid is in your power. Do to her whatever you please." Sarai then abused her so much that Hagar ran away from her.

7 The LORD'S messenger found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the road to Shur,

8 and he asked, "Hagar, maid of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She answered, "I am running away from my mistress, Sarai."

9 But the LORD'S messenger told her: "Go back to your mistress and submit to her abusive treatment.

10 I will make your descendants so numerous," added the LORD'S messenger, "that they will be too many to count.

11 Besides," the LORD'S messenger said to her: "You are now pregnant and shall bear a son; you shall name him Ishmael, For the LORD has heard you, God has answered you.

12 He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; In opposition to all his kin shall he encamp."

13 To the LORD who spoke to her she gave a name, saying, "You are the God of Vision"; she meant, "Have I really seen God and remained alive after my vision?"

14 That is why the well is called Beer-lahai-roi. It is between Kadesh and Bered.

15 Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram named the son whom Hagar bore him Ishmael.

16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

v 1, Hagar was probably one of the gifts Abram got from Pharaoh.

v 2,3. As many of us do, Sarai and Abram felt they needed to help the Lord along instead of continuing to wait. It was a custom in those days that when a woman was childless, her husband could obtain a child through a concubine. At the time of birth, the wife sat near the concubine. The baby was passed between her knees and could be considered hers. Jacob and others had concubines, and family problems followed.

v 4,5. Achievement goes to the head of some people, and apparently Hagar showed contempt for Sarai. In her vexation she in turn blamed Abram for the problem created by her own suggestion.

v 6. Abram shows little regard in the situation, but followed custom that Sarai could do with her maid as she chose, whip her, turn her back to slavery, sell her or otherwise dispose of her. Hagar was probably both mistreated and humiliated and ended up running away from the effects of her own attitudes and actions.

v 7. Abram and Sarai hadn’t gone looking for the runaway. Perhaps they were relieved that the problem had taken care of itself, but the Lord cared. She may have gone 80-100 miles trying to return to Egypt and found this water in the dry country east of the gulf of Suez. Perhaps the well was why the road to Shur led that way.

v 8,9. Hagar means “The God who permits Himself to be seen”. She admits to the angel of the Lord why she was there and was told to return. In following verses he points out how it will be worth her while.

v 10-12. She is promised innumerable descendants, specifically, a son, Ishmael. He is the father of the ferocious warriors, the Arabs and their Islam religion. Because they trace back to Abram and have similarities to Christianity, they are very hard to reach spiritually. In fact, they desire to stamp out both the Jews and Christianity.

v 13,14. The angel was Christ in pre incarnate form, see also Gen. 48:15,16. (RSV "Thou art a God of seeing"; for she said, "Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?) Beer-lahai-roi = "well of the Living One seeing me" It is a well west of Kadesh, south of Israel.

V 15,16. Ishmael means “God hears”. He is the first recorded child that God named before birth. Others were Isaac, Gen. 17:19; Josiah, 1 Kings 13:2; Solomon, 1 Chron. 22:9; Jesus, Matt. 1:21; and John the Baptist, Luke 1:13. Abram no doubt named him Ishmael after Hagar told of her experience. At age 86, Abram must have become quite attached to Ishmael. He would have to wait another 14 years for a son from Sarai