Genesis 16:3

Genesis 16:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And 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.
• New International Version (NIV)So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.

Context of Genesis 16:3

1Sarai, Abram’s wife, was not able to have children. She owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Why don’t you sleep with my slave? Maybe I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed with Sarai. After Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years, Abram’s wife Sarai took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. 4He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to be disrespectful to Sarai, her owner. 5So Sarai complained to Abram, “I’m being treated unfairly! And it’s your fault! I know that I gave my slave to you, but now that she’s pregnant, she’s being disrespectful to me. May the Lord decide who is right—you or me.”

Genesis 16:3 word by word

וַתִּקַּ֞ח שָׂרַ֣י אֵֽשֶׁת־אַבְרָ֗ם אֶת־הָגָ֤ר הַמִּצְרִית֙ שִׁפְחָתָ֔הּ מִקֵּץ֙ עֶ֣שֶׂר שָׁנִ֔ים לְשֶׁ֥בֶת אַבְרָ֖ם בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן וַתִּתֵּ֥ן אֹתָ֛הּ לְאַבְרָ֥ם אִישָׁ֖הּ ל֥וֹ לְאִשָּֽׁה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Saraiשָׂרַיώâray · SaraiH8297
• Abram’sאַבְרָם'abrâm · AbramH87
• wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
• tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• Hagarהָגָרhâgâr · HagarH1904
• her maidשִׁפְחָהshiphchâh · maidservantH8198
• the Egyptianמִצְרִיmitsrîy · EgyptianH4713
• afterקֵץqêts · endH7093
• had dweltיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• tenעֶשֶׂר‛eώer ‛ăώârâh · tenH6235
• yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
• in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Canaanכְּנַ֫עַןkena‛an · CanaanH3667
• and gaveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• her to her husbandאִישׁ'îysh · man: husbandH376

Cross-references for Genesis 16:3

• Genesis 12:4So Abram left, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.
• Genesis 16:5So Sarai complained to Abram, “I’m being treated unfairly! And it’s your fault! I know that I gave my slave to you, but now that she’s pregnant, she’s being disrespectful to me. May the Lord decide who is right—you or me.”
• Genesis 30:4So she gave him her slave Bilhah as his wife, and Jacob slept with her.
• Genesis 25:6But while he was still living, Abraham had given gifts to the sons of his concubines. He sent them away from his son Isaac to a land in the east.
• Genesis 28:9So he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth, in addition to the wives he had.
• Genesis 32:22During that night he got up and gathered his two wives, his two slaves and his eleven children and crossed at the shallow part of the Jabbok River.
• Genesis 35:22While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went to bed with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had 12 sons.
• Judges 19:1In those days when Israel didn’t have a king, there was a Levite who lived in a remote area in the mountains of Ephraim. He took a woman from Bethlehem in Judah to be his concubine.
• 2 Samuel 5:13David married more concubines and wives from Jerusalem after he had come there from Hebron, and he fathered more sons and daughters.
• 1 Kings 11:3He had 700 wives who were princesses and 300 wives who were concubines.
• Galatians 4:25Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She is like Jerusalem today because she and her children are slaves.

Commentaries on Genesis 16:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar - and gave her to her husband - to be his wife - There are instances of Hindoo women, when barren, consenting to their husbands marrying a second wife for the sake of children; and second marriages on this account, without consent, are very common - WardRead the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-16Verses 1-16 - The Birth of Ishmael 1. הנר hāgār Hagar, “flight.” Hejrah, the flight of Muhammed. 7. מלאך mal'ak “messenger, angel.” A deputy commissioned to discharge a certain duty for the principal whom he represents. As the most usual task is that of bearing messages, commands, or tidings, he is commonly called a “messenger” ̓́ angelos ). The word is therefore a term of office, and does not further distinguish the office-bearer than as an intelligent…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3Abram and Sarai dealt with the stress of Sarai not being able to have children and being too old to give birth. According to the custom in that culture, a woman unable to have children could give her servant as a secondary wife to her husband. The child from this union became the primary wife's child. They adopted the child as the heir. Sarai's suggestion was acceptable according to the culture's custom. But it was a human plan that showed a lack of faith…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Sarai ... gave her to ... Abram to be his wife--"Wife" is here used to describe an inferior, though not degrading, relation, in countries where polygamy prevails. In the case of these female slaves, who are the personal property of his lady, being purchased before her marriage or given as a special present to her, no one can become the husband's secondary wife without her mistress consent or permission. This usage seems to have prevailed in patriarchal…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 16:3

• Abraham
• Bastard
• Concubinage
• Sarah

In the dictionaries

• Abram
• Canaan
• Egyptian
• Hagar
• Sarai
• Canaan; Canaanites
• Sarah; Sarai
• Abraham, Abram
• Canaan, Canaanite
• Egypt, Egyptian

Commentaries on Genesis 16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings