Genesis Chapter 16 in Simple English

Updated on October 1, 2026

Read Genesis Chapter 16

1Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a servant girl from Egypt, whose name was Hagar.

2Sarai said to Abram, "Look, the LORD has kept me from having children. Please, go in to my servant. Perhaps I may get children through her." And Abram listened to what Sarai said.

3So Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. This was after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan.

4He went in to Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she saw that she was pregnant, she looked down on her mistress.

5Sarai said to Abram, "The wrong done to me is your fault. I gave my servant into your arms. Now she sees that she is pregnant, and she looks down on me. May the LORD judge between you and me."

6But Abram said to Sarai, "Look, your servant is in your hands. Do to her whatever you think is right." Then Sarai treated her harshly, and Hagar ran away from her.

7The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring beside the road to Shur.

8He said, "Hagar, Sarai's servant, where have you come from? And where are you going?" She said, "I am running away from my mistress Sarai."

9The angel of the LORD said to her, "Go back to your mistress, and put yourself under her hands."

10The angel of the LORD said to her, "I will greatly increase your descendants, so many that no one will be able to count them."

11The angel of the LORD said to her, "Look, you are pregnant, and you will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, because the LORD has heard your suffering."

12"He will be a wild man. His hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him. And he will live in the presence of all his brothers."

13She called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are the God who sees me." For she said, "Have I here also looked after him who sees me?"

14That is why the well was called Beerlahairoi. It is between Kadesh and Bered.

15Hagar bore Abram a son. Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

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Explanation

Genesis 16

In short

Abram and Sarai try to solve their childlessness by having Abram sleep with Sarai's Egyptian servant Hagar. When Hagar becomes pregnant, tension erupts, and she runs away. An angel finds Hagar in the wilderness, tells her to return, and promises her son will become a great nation.

Context

This passage comes early in Genesis, after Abram and Sarai have moved to Canaan but remain childless despite God's promise of descendants. Ten years have passed since their arrival, and Sarai, who cannot bear children, takes matters into her own hands. Her proposal to Abram reflects a practice accepted in the ancient Near East where a barren wife might offer her servant to her husband to bear children on the wife's behalf. Abram agrees.

What the text says

Verse 1 establishes that Sarai is barren and introduces Hagar, her Egyptian handmaid. In verse 2, Sarai tells Abram that God has prevented her from bearing and asks him to sleep with Hagar so she may have children through her. Abram agrees (verse 2). In verse 3, Sarai gives Hagar to Abram as his wife after they have lived ten years in Canaan. Hagar conceives (verse 4), and upon learning she is pregnant, she despises Sarai.

Sarai blames Abram in verse 5, saying he is at fault for her humiliation. Abram responds in verse 6 by placing Hagar entirely under Sarai's control. Sarai then treats Hagar harshly, causing her to flee into the wilderness.

The angel of the Lord finds Hagar at a spring (verse 7) and asks where she came from and where she is going (verse 8). She explains she is fleeing from Sarai. The angel commands her to return and submit to Sarai (verse 9). He then promises to multiply her descendants so greatly they cannot be counted (verse 10) and tells her she will bear a son named Ishmael, "because the LORD hath heard thy affliction" (verse 11). Verse 12 describes the son's character: he will be independent and live apart from his relatives.

In verse 13, Hagar responds by naming God "Thou God seest me," recognizing that God has seen her suffering. Verse 14 names the well "Beerlahairoi" and locates it geographically. Verses 15 and 16 conclude by stating that Hagar bears Ishmael when Abram is eighty-six years old.

Takeaways

Human schemes to fulfill God's promises can create conflict and harm, even when culturally acceptable.
God sees and hears the afflicted, even those in flight and despair.
God's promises extend beyond the immediate family and include unexpected descendants.

Genesis 16 - Simple English