Genesis 16:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

NIV: He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.

NASB: Then he had relations with Hagar, and she conceived; and when Hagar became aware that she had conceived, her mistress was insignificant in her sight.

CSB: He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she saw that she was pregnant, her mistress became contemptible to her.

NLT: So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt.

KJV: And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

NKJV: So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.

Sarai's plan to obtain a son, both for Abram and for herself, through her own servant Hagar, seems to be working. Hagar became Abram's second wife and she quickly becomes pregnant with his son. This is something which had not happened for Sarai in her entire life with Abram, including the 10 years in Canaan after God's latest promise of an heir (Genesis 16:3).

However, this immediate pregnancy complicates Abram's family life. Hagar, now wife of Abram and bearer of his only child, begins to resent the woman who will claim that child as her own. Hagar may have wondered what she and Abram even needed Sarai for. If Hagar could give him children, wasn't Sarai unnecessary? Also, in that culture, barrenness was considered a sign of a defect, even divine disapproval. The fact that Hagar could immediately conceive, when Sarai could not after years and years, might have tempted Hagar to see herself as superior to her master. However it was motivated, Sarai feels Hagar's contempt, and it wounds her deeply, as the following verses will reveal.

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 5/6/2024 1:59:55 PM