CHAPTER XVI _Sarai, having no child, gives Hagar her maid to Abram_ _for wife_, 1-3. _She conceives and despises her mistress_, 4. _Sarai is offended and upbraids Abram_, 5. _Abram vindicates himself; and Hagar, being hardly used_ _by her mistress, runs away_, 6. _She is met by an angel, and... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 16:2. _GO IN UNTO MY MAID._] It must not be forgotten that female slaves constituted a part of the private patrimony or possessions of a wife, and that she had a right, according to the usages of those times, to dispose of them as she pleased, the husband having no authority in the cas... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 16:3. _AND SARAI, ABRAM'S WIFE, TOOK HAGAR - AND GAVE HER TO HER_ _HUSBAND - TO BE HIS WIFE._] There are instances of Hindoo women, when barren, consenting to their husbands marrying a second wife for the sake of children; and second marriages on this account, without consent, are very... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 16:5. _MY WRONG BE UPON THEE_] This appears to be intended as a reproof to Abram, containing an insinuation that it was his fault that she herself had not been a mother, and that now he carried himself more affectionately towards Hagar than he did to her, in consequence of which conduc... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 16:6. _SARAH DEALT HARDLY WITH HER_] תאנה _teanneha, she_ _afflicted her_; the term implying _stripes_ and _hard usage_, to _bring down_ the _body_ and _humble_ the _mind_. If the slave was to blame in this business the mistress is not less liable to censure. _She_ alone had brought he... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 16:7. _THE ANGEL OF THE LORD_] That Jesus Christ, in a body suited to the dignity of his nature, frequently appeared to the patriarchs, has been already intimated. That the person mentioned here was greater than any created being is sufficiently evident from the following particulars:... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 16:8. _HAGAR, SARAI'S MAID_] This mode of address is used to show her that she was _known_, and to remind her that she was the _property_ of _another_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 16:10. _I WILL MULTIPLY THY SEED EXCEEDINGLY_] Who says this? The person who is called the Angel of the Lord; and he certainly speaks with all the authority which is proper to God.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 16:11. _AND SHALT CALL HIS NAME ISHMAEL_] ישמאעל _Yishmael_, from שמע _shama_, he heard, and אל _El_, God; for, says the Angel, THE LORD HATH HEARD thy _affliction_. Thus the name of the child must ever keep the mother in remembrance of God's merciful interposition in her behalf, and r... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 16:12. _HE WILL BE A WILD MAN_] פרא אדם _pere adam_. As the root of this word does not appear in the Hebrew Bible, it is probably found in the Arabic [Arabic] _farra_, to _run away_, to _run_ _wild_; and hence the _wild ass_, from its _fleetness_ and its _untamable_ nature. What is sa... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 16:13. _AND SHE CALLED THE NAME OF THE LORD_] She invoked (ותקרא _vattikra_) _the name of Jehovah who spake unto her_, thus: Thou _God seest me_! She found that the eye of a merciful God had been upon her in all her wanderings and afflictions; and her words seem to intimate that _she h... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 16:14. _WHEREFORE THE WELL WAS CALLED BEER-LAHAI-ROI_] It appears, from Genesis 16:7, that Hagar had sat down by a fountain or well of water in the wilderness of Shur, at which the Angel of the Lord found her; and, to commemorate the wonderful discovery which God had made of himself, s... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Genesis 16:15. _AND HAGAR BARE ABRAM A SON, C._] It appears, therefore, that Hagar returned at the command of the angel, believing the promise that God had made to her. _CALLED HIS SON'S NAME - ISHMAEL._] Finding by the account of Hagar, that God had designed that he should be so called. "Ish... [ Continue Reading ]