Genesis 16:7

And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

And the angel ... found her by a fountain. This well (see the note at Genesis 16:14), pointed out by tradition, lay on the side of the caravan road, in the midst of Shur (now Difar), a sandy desert on the west of Arabia Petraea, to the extent of 150 miles, between Palestine and Egypt. By taking that direction, she seems to have intended to return to her relatives in that country. Nothing but pride, passion, and sullen obstinacy could have driven any solitary person to brave the dangers of such an inhospitable wild; and she must have died, had not the timely appearance and words of the angel recalled her to reflection and duty.

The angel of the Lord. Angel means messenger, and the term is frequently used in Scripture to denote some natural phenomenon, or visible symbol, betokening the presence and agency of the Divine Majesty (Exodus 14:19; 2 Kings 19:35; Psalms 104:4). That the whole tenor of this narrative, however, indicates a living personal being, is allowed on all hands; but a variety of opinions are entertained respecting the essential standing of this messenger of Yahweh. Some think that he was a created angel, one of those celestial spirits who were frequently delegated under the ancient economies to execute the purposes of God's grace to his chosen; while others, convinced that things are predicated of this angel involving the possession of attributes and powers superior to those of the most exalted creatures, maintain that this must be considered a real theophany, a visible manifestation of God, without reference to any distinction of persons. To each of these hypotheses insuperable objections have been urged: against the latter, on the ground that "no man hath seen God at any time" (John 1:18; Colossians 1:5); and against the former, founded on the historical circumstances of this narrative, in which "the angel of the Lord" promises to do what was manifestly beyond the capabilities of any created being (Genesis 16:10), and also did himself what he afterward ascribed to the Lord (cf. Genesis 16:7-8 with Genesis 16:11, last clause).

The conclusion, therefore, to which, on a full consideration of the facts, the most eminent Biblical critics and divines have come is, that this was an appearance of the Logos, or divine person of the Messiah, prelusive, as in many subsequent instances, to his actually incarnate manifestation in the fullness of time (cf. Micah 5:2). Such was "the angel of the Lord," the Revealer of the invisible God to the Church, usually designated by this and the analogous titles of "the messenger of the covenant" and "the angel of His presence." This is the first occasion on which the name occurs; and it has been pronounced a myth, or at least a traditionary legend, intended to throw a halo of dignity and mysterious interest on the origin of the Arabs, by recording the special interposition of heaven in behalf of a poor, destitute Egyptian bondwoman, their humble ancestress. But the objection is groundless: the divine manifestation will appear in keeping with the occasion, when it is borne in mind that "the angel of the Lord," in guiding and encouraging Hagar, was taking a care about the seed of Abraham.