Genesis 16:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.

NIV: That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

NASB: Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

CSB: That is why the well is called Beer-lahai-roi. It is between Kadesh and Bered.

NLT: So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means 'well of the Living One who sees me'). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.

KJV: Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

NKJV: Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

In her astonishment and gratitude that the Lord has seen and heard her in her distress, Hagar gives a commemorative name to the well where the Lord found her in the desert. She calls it Beer-lahai-roi, which means "well of the living who sees me." Putting the name of the well together with the meaning of God's name for Hagar's son, Ishmael, the troubling events of Hagar's life include the powerful declaration that God hears ("Ishmael") and God sees ("Beer-lahai-roi"). God is not silent or absent. He is paying attention. He cares and provides.

We're told the location of the well is between Kadesh and Bered, but the precise spot is currently unknown. Abram's son Isaac later settled there for a time (Genesis 25:11).

History bears out the angel's prophecy for Ishmael: his descendants will become the Arabic peoples. This culture will become numerous and powerful, but will also be renowned for conflict, especially against the Jewish people.

Genesis 16:1–16 demonstrates that God hears and sees and cares, but that He won't be rushed or manipulated into keeping His promises. Sarai and Abram attempt to receive God's promised child through their own scheme. In this case, by marrying Abram to an Egyptian servant girl. The resulting pregnancy, though, leads to harsh conflict and a surprising revelation from the Lord to Hagar. Her son Ishmael will not be the child of the promise, though he will become a great nation, and his people will live in conflict with everyone. Abram and Sarai will continue to wait for the arrival of their own son.

Sarai, tired of waiting for a child, convinces Abram to go to plan B. She gives her Egyptian slave girl to Abram as a wife, with the understanding that any children will belong to Sarai. Once Hagar is pregnant, however, conflict sets in. Sarai deals harshly with Hagar, and she flees alone into the wilderness. The Lord finds her there and commands her to return and submit to Sarai. However, the Lord also reveals that Hagar's son will have an uncountable number of offspring and that they will live in conflict with everyone. Hagar praises God as the one who sees, returns to Abram and Sarai, and Ishmael is soon born.

After formally establishing His covenant promises with Abram in the previous chapter, the Lord still has not given Abram and Sarai a child. Sarai convinces Abram to take her slave girl as a wife in hopes of getting a child that way. Abram agrees. Pregnancy and conflict soon follow. Sarai treats Hagar so harshly that the girl runs off alone into the wilderness. The Lord finds her and commands her to return and submit. He also reveals, however, that Hagar's child Ishmael will become the father of a great people who will live in conflict with everyone.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 4/29/2024 5:13:57 AM