1 And Sarai the wife of Abram bore him no children; and she had an Egyptian maid, whose name was Hagar. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, Behold, the Lord has restrained me from bearing, go therefore in to my maid, that I may get children for myself through her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. 3 So Sarai the wife of Abram having taken Hagar the Egyptian her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, gave her to Abram her husband as a wife to him. 4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived, and saw that she was with child, and her mistress was dishonored before her. 5 And Sarai said to Abram, I am injured by thee; I gave my handmaid into thy bosom, and when I saw that she was with child, I was dishonored before her. The Lord judge between me and thee. 6 And Abram said to Sarai, Behold thy handmaid is in thy hands, use her as it may seem good to thee. And Sarai afflicted her, and she fled from her face. 7 And an angel of the Lord found her by the fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. 8 And the angel of the Lord said to her, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence comest thou, and whither goest thou? and she said, I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai. 9 And the angel of the Lord said to her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. 10 And the angel of the Lord said to her, I will surely multiply thy seed, and it shall not be numbered for multitude. 11 And the angel of the Lord said to her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael, for the Lord hath hearkened to thy humiliation. 12 He shall be a wild man, his hands against all, and the hands of all against him, and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. 13 And she called the name of the Lord God who spoke to her, Thou art God who seest me; for she said, For I have openly seen him that appeared to me. 14 Therefore she called the well, The well of him whom I have openly seen; behold it is between Kadesh and Bered. 15 And Hagar bore a son to Abram; and Abram called the name of his son which Hagar bore to him, Ishmael. 16 And Abram was eighty-six years old, when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Genesis · Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Genesis 16 Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Same Septuagint text as Brenton, with modernised spelling.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Abraham
Called by God, he left home in faith to become the father of a chosen people.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 12–25
Hagar
Sarah's Egyptian servant who bore Ishmael and met God in the wilderness.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 16, 21
Ishmael
Abraham's son by Hagar, blessed by God to become a great nation.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 16; 17:20; 21; 25:12–18
Cross references (15)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Galatians 4:24; Genesis 12:16; Genesis 15:2–3; Genesis 21:9–10; Genesis 21:12
- 2 Genesis 18:10; Genesis 3:17; Exodus 21:4; Genesis 25:21; Genesis 20:18
- 3 Genesis 16:5; Genesis 12:4–5; 2 Samuel 5:13; Genesis 25:6; Genesis 30:9
- 4 2 Samuel 6:16; Proverbs 30:23; 1 Samuel 1:6–8; 1 Corinthians 13:4–5; Proverbs 30:20–21
- 5 Genesis 31:53; Exodus 5:21; Luke 10:40–41; Psalm 7:8; 1 Samuel 24:12–15
- 6 Jeremiah 38:5; Job 2:6; Proverbs 14:29; Psalm 106:41–42; 1 Peter 3:7
- 7 Exodus 15:22; Genesis 25:18; Genesis 21:17; Proverbs 15:3; Genesis 31:11
- 8 Genesis 3:9; Genesis 4:10; Ecclesiastes 10:4; Jeremiah 2:17–18; Ephesians 6:5–8
- 9 1 Peter 5:5–6; Ecclesiastes 10:4; Ephesians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:18–25; Ephesians 6:5–6
- 10 Genesis 17:20; Psalm 83:6–7; Genesis 21:18; Genesis 21:13; Genesis 25:12–18
- 11 Exodus 2:23–24; Exodus 3:7; Isaiah 7:14; Genesis 17:19; Genesis 41:51–52
- 12 Genesis 25:18; Genesis 21:20; Job 39:5–8; Genesis 27:40; Job 11:12
- 13 Psalm 139:1–12; Genesis 32:30; Proverbs 15:3; Proverbs 5:21; Genesis 16:7
- 14 Genesis 25:11; Genesis 24:62; Numbers 13:26; Genesis 21:31; Genesis 14:7
- 15 Genesis 25:12; Genesis 28:9; Genesis 17:18; 1 Chronicles 1:28; Genesis 17:25–26
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… Sarah his wife, and had gratified her will and not his own,--had received her without seeking, had gone in to her without being attached, had impregnated without loving her,--for he says, "Behold thy maid is in thy hands: do to her as it pleaseth thee;" a man able to use women as a man should,--his wife temperately, his handmaid compliantly, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
"And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abraham had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife." And of Keturah, whom he took after Sarah's departure, we read, "Then again Abraham took a wife, whose name was Keturah." Lo!
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
… neck: for when, after being humiliated, she departed from her mistress, an angel met her, and said to her, "What is the matter with thee, Hagar, Sarah's handmaid?" When she complained of her mistress, what did she hear from the angel? "Return to thy mistress." It is for this that she is afflicted, that she may return; and would that …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)