Tyndale Open Study NotesGenesis 16

While they waited for their promised son to be born, Abram and Sarai tried another plan. This plan did not show trust in God.

Abram 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 in God. God’s promises would be fulfilled by faith.

Hagar might have thought Abram would favor her instead of Sarai (compare Proverbs 30:21–23).

the angel of the LORD: The angel of the Lord was the Lord himself in some passages (16:13; 21:17; 22:11–12; 31:11–13; 48:16; Exodus 3:2; 32:34; Judges 6:11, 16, 22; 13:22–23; Zechariah 3:1–2). But in other passages he is distinct from the Lord (Genesis 24:7; 2 Samuel 24:16; Zechariah 1:12).

This figure is often understood as a theophany (a visible appearance of God) or a Christophany (an appearance of the Messiah before he became human (see Genesis 18:1–2; 19:1; Numbers 22:22; Judges 2:1–4; 5:23; Zechariah 12:8). In these cases, he speaks with the authority of the Lord himself.

The angel asked Hagar questions that helped her speak openly to God. When she did, God told her to return and submit to Sarai (16:9). He also promised that her son would have many descendants, so many that they could not be counted.

The angel of the Lord did not call Hagar Abram’s wife. Instead, he called her Sarai’s servant. Hagar would bear Abram’s child, but Ishmael was not part of God’s covenant with Abram.

Hagar’s son would become the father of a large nation. This nation would be strong but often hostile, living in the Arabian Desert and frequently in conflict with Israel (compare 25:18).

God blessed Ishmael as Abram's descendant. But God did not choose Ishmael to continue the covenant. God kept that blessing for Abram's heir based on God's promise.

Names in Genesis often emphasize the message of a passage. They help the people of God remember the events and their importance in the history of faith. The name Ishmael means "God hears." It marks the moment when the LORD … heard Hagar's cry of distress (see also study note on 16:14–15). This name would have greatly comforted Hagar. God listened to her prayers and acknowledged her complaint.

• Hagar showed faith in God through her words and obedience.

• the God who sees me: God understood Hagar's situation and protected her.

The name Beer-lahai-roi means “well of the Living One who sees me.” This name and Ishmael were a message and a rebuke for Abram and Sarai (see 16:11). God notices suffering and listens to those crying out in need.

Sarai and Abram should have prayed instead of trying to fulfill the promise themselves by following a social custom (compare 25:21). Giving children to a woman who cannot have them is God's work (Psalm 113:9; compare 1 Samuel 1:1–28; Luke 1:1–25). Humans cannot solve impossible problems. The Lord hears those who suffer, sees their needs, and will provide for them in miraculous ways.