Birth of Ishmael
|
Genesis
16:1 |
Abram's wife Sarai had not
borne him any children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl by the name of
Hagar. |
| 16:2 |
Sarai said to Abram, 'God has
kept me from having children. Come to my slave, and hopefully I will have
sons through her.' Abram heeded Sarai. |
| 16:3 |
After Abram had lived in Canaan
for ten years, his wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian her slave, and gave
her to her husband Abram as a wife. |
| 16:4 |
[Abram] came to her, and she
conceived. When she realized that she was pregnant, she looked at her
mistress with contempt. |
| 16:5 |
Sarai said to Abram, 'It's all
your fault! I myself placed my slave in your arms! Now that she sees
herself pregnant, she looks at me with disrespect. Let God judge between
me and you!' |
| 16:6 |
Abram replied to Sarai, 'Your
slave is in your hands. Do with her as you see fit.' Sarai abused her, and
[Hagar] ran away from her. |
| 16:7 |
An angel of God encountered her
by a spring in the desert, in the oasis on the road to Shur. |
| 16:8 |
[The angel] said, 'Hagar, maid
of Sarai! From where are you coming, and where are you going?'
'I am running away from my mistress, Sarai,' she replied.
|
| 16:9 |
The angel of God said to her,
'Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her.' |
| 16:10 |
[Another] angel said in God's
name, 'I will grant you many descendants. They will be so many that they
will be uncountable.' |
| 16:11 |
[Still another] angel of God
said to her, 'You are pregnant, and will give birth to a son. You must
name him Ishmael, for God has heard your prayer. |
| 16:12 |
He will be a rebel. His hand
will be against everyone, and everyone's hand will be against him. Still,
he will dwell undisturbed near all his brothers.' |
| 16:13 |
[Hagar] gave a name to God who
had spoken to her, [saying], 'You are a Vision God,' for she said, 'Didn't
I [still] see here after my vision?' |
| 16:14 |
She therefore named the
oasis, 'Oasis to Life my Vision' (Be'er LaChai Ro'i). It is between
Kadesh and Bered. |
| 16:15 |
Hagar bore Abram's son. Abram
gave the name Ishmael to his son, who had been born to Hagar. |
| 16:16 |
He was 86 years old when Hagar
bore his son Ishmael. |
