What does Genesis 16:13 mean?
After the angel of the Lord found Hagar in the desert and told her to go back to Sarai and submit to her, he also told her that her descendants would become so numerous as to be uncountable. Then he gave to her a prophecy about the child she carried, a boy she was to name Ishmael. This boy would not be the promised heir for Abram, since his birth was not part of God's plan for fulfilling that vow. Despite being successful, Ishmael's descendants would be characterized by their conflict with others, especially their "kinsmen," meaning Abram's other children. Historically, we see that this proves true: the (Arabic) children of Ishmael have been at odds with the (Jewish) children of Abram's son Isaac for millennia.In spite of the negative conclusion to the prophecy, Hagar speaks of the Lord in glowing terms. She names Him "a God of seeing." He saw and looked after her, and she was allowed to see Him. She appears to be rightly astonished by the whole experience.