Genesis 16:1-4

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 16:1-3

I. The maker of this match (would one think it?) was Sarai herself: she said to Abram, I pray thee, go in unto my maid, Gen. 16:2. Note, 1. It is the policy of Satan to tempt us by our nearest and dearest relations, or those friends that we have an opinion of and an affection for. The temptation is most dangerous when it is sent by a hand that is least suspected: it is our wisdom therefore to consider, not so much who speaks as what is spoken. 2. God's commands consult our comfort and honour... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 16:4-6

We have here the immediate bad consequences of Abram's unhappy marriage to Hagar. A great deal of mischief it made quickly. When we do not well both sin and trouble lie at the door; and we may thank ourselves for the guilt and grief that follow us when we go out of the way of our duty. See it in this story. I. Sarai is despised, and thereby provoked and put into a passion, Gen. 16:4. Hagar no sooner perceives herself with child by her master than she looks scornfully upon her mistress,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 16:1

Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bare him no children ,.... She is before said to be barren, and he to be childless, Genesis 11:30 ; God had promised him a seed, but as yet he had none, which was a trial of his faith; he had been married many years to Sarai his wife, she was his wife when they came out of Ur of the Chaldees, and how long before cannot be said; they stayed and dwelt some time at Haran, the Jews F24 Seder Olam Rabba, p. 2. say five years, and they had been now ten years in the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 16:2

And Sarai said unto Abram, behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing ,.... Or, "hath shut me up" F4 עצרני "couclusit me", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Schmidt; "occlusit me", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius. ; that is, her womb, as were the wombs of the house of Abimelech, Genesis 20:18 ; so that she could not conceive and bear children; she now at this age despaired of having children, perceiving very probably that it ceased to be with her... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 16:3

And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian ,.... Took her by the hand, it is probable, and led her into the apartment where Abram was, and presented her to him; their characters are very exactly described, and the contrast beautifully given, that the affair might be the more remarkable and observable: after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan ; so that he was now eighty five years of age, for he was sventy five when he departed from Haran and came into Canaan,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 16:4

And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived ,.... The formality of the marriage being over, he enjoyed her as his wife, and she immediately conceived by him: and when she saw that she had conceived ; when she perceived that she was with child: her mistress was despised in her eyes ; she thought herself above her, and treated her as her inferior, with contempt, and reproached her for her barrenness, as Peninnah did Hannah, 1 Samuel 1:6 ; and it was the more ungrateful, as it was at... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 16:1

She had a handmaid, an Egyptian - As Hagar was an Egyptian, St. Chrysostom's conjecture is very probable. that she was one of those female slaves which Pharaoh gave to Abram when he sojourned in Egypt; see Genesis 12:16 . Her name הגר hagar signifies a stranger or sojourner, and it is likely she got this name in the family of Abram, as the word is pure Hebrew. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 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 case. I may obtain children by her - The slave being the absolute property of the mistress, not only her person, but the fruits of her labor, with all her children, were her owner's property also. The children,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 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 common - Ward read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 16:1

Verse 1 1.Now Sarai, Abram’s wife. Moses here recites a new history, namely, that Sarai, through the impatience of long delay, resorted to a method of obtaining seed by her husband, at variance with the word of God. She saw that she was barren, and had passed the age of bearing. And she inferred the necessity of a new remedy, in order that Abram might obtain the promised blessing. Moses expressly relates, that the design of marrying a second wife did not originate with Abram himself, but with... read more

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