Genesis Chapter 16

The Birth of Ishmael

            ¹ Sarai, Abram’s wife, hadn’t had any children. She had an Egyptian maid named Hagar. ² Sarai told Abram, “Yahveh has kept me from having children. Sleep with my maid. Maybe I can have children through her.” Abram took her advice. ³ That happened after Abram had lived in Canaan for 10 years. ⁴ He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she saw she was pregnant, she started disrespecting her mistress. ⁵ Sarai told Abram,

“You’re responsible for the way she’s acting toward me. I gave you my servant; but when she saw she was pregnant, she started disrespecting me. Yahveh decide between you and me.”

⁶ Abram said, “She’s under your authority. Deal with her as you see fit.”

Sarai was so rough on her that she ran away.                                            

Gen 16:1-6

⁷ The angel of Yahveh found her by a spring in the desert on the way to Shur. ⁸ “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from? Where are you going?”

            “I’m getting away from my mistress.”

⁹ The angel told her,

“Go back and submit to her. ¹⁰ I’ll multiply your descendants till they’ll be too many to count. ¹¹ You’ll have a son. Call him Ishmael because ‘Yahveh has listened’ to your plight. ¹² He’ll be like a wild donkey, opposed to everybody and by everybody. He’ll live east of his relatives.”

¹³ She called Yahveh Elroi because she said, “I’m still alive after ‘I saw him.’” ¹⁴ So the well was called Beer-lahai-roi between Kadesh and Bered. ¹⁵ Hagar gave Abram a son he named Ishmael. ¹⁶ He was 86 when she had him.            

Gen 16:7-16