Genesis 16:1-16
Hagar in the Wilderness
1Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
2So Sarai said to Abram, “Look now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
3So after he had lived in Canaan for ten years, his wife Sarai took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to Abram to be his wife.
4And he slept with Hagar, and she conceived. But when Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
5Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
6“Here,” said Abram, “your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her.
7Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
8“Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.
9So the angel of the LORD told her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.”
10Then the angel added, “I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count.”
11The angel of the LORD proceeded: “Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son. And you shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction.
12He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
13So Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen the One who sees me!”
14Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. It is located between Kadesh and Bered.
15And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.
16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.
Berean Standard Bible
Sarai has borne no children for Abram. She gives him her Egyptian servant Hagar, following a household custom that she believes may provide a child through Hagar. Abram agrees, and Hagar conceives. The arrangement quickly becomes a source of contempt and pain. Hagar looks at Sarai differently, and Sarai blames Abram for the situation. Abram tells Sarai that Hagar is in her power, and Sarai deals harshly with Hagar until Hagar runs away.
The story does not present this arrangement as a simple solution or as a model for using another person's body to solve a family problem. Hagar is a vulnerable servant caught inside decisions made by people with more power. The conflict between Sarai and Hagar is real, but the power imbalance must remain visible.
The angel of the LORD finds Hagar by a spring in the wilderness and calls her by name. He asks where she has come from and where she is going. Hagar says she is running away from Sarai. The angel tells her to return and submit to Sarai's treatment, then promises that her offspring will be too numerous to count. She will bear a son and name him Ishmael because the LORD has heard her affliction.
Hagar calls the LORD “a God who sees.” She gives God a name from her own encounter with him. She returns and gives birth to Ishmael, and Abram names him. God's care for Hagar does not erase the wrong done to her, but it makes clear that the powerful household is not the only household God sees.
Questions
1 Why did Sarai give Hagar to Abram?
AnswerSarai was childless and hoped to have a child through Hagar.
2 What happened after Hagar conceived?
AnswerConflict grew between Hagar and Sarai, and Sarai treated Hagar harshly.
3 Where did the angel find Hagar?
AnswerThe angel found Hagar by a spring in the wilderness.
4 Why was Hagar’s son named Ishmael?
AnswerHe was named Ishmael because the LORD had heard Hagar’s affliction.
What This Means for Us
God sees people who are easy for powerful households to overlook. Do not call a harmful arrangement acceptable merely because it follows a custom or solves a problem for the people in charge. When someone has less power, listen carefully, protect them from retaliation, and seek help that can change the situation rather than asking them to carry its cost alone.
Prayer
God who sees and hears, remember people who are mistreated or pushed aside. Keep us from using power to solve our problems at another person's expense. Give us courage to name unjust arrangements, protect vulnerable people, and receive your care with the humility Hagar found in the wilderness. Amen.