Genesis 16:3 NIV

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

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

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 16:3

Verse 3 3.And gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. Moses states what was the design of Sarai; for neither did she intend to make her house a brothel, nor to be the betrayer of her maid’s chastity, nor a pander for her husband. Yet Hagar is improperly called a wife; because she was brought into another person’s bed, against the law of God. Wherefore, let us know that this connection was so far illicit, as to be something between fornication and marriage. The same thing takes place with... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 16:1-6

The maid, the mistress, and the master. I. HAGAR 'S SINS . 1. Pride. 2. Contempt. 3. Insubordination. 4. Flight. II. SARAI 'S FAULTS . 1. Tempting her husband. 2. Excusing herself. 3. Appealing to God. 4. Afflicting her servant. III. ABRAM 'S INFIRMITY . 1. Yielding to temptation. 2. Perpetrating injustice. 3. Acquiescing in oppression.— W . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 16:1-16

Hagar. The history of Hagar has its two sides—that which is turned towards God and illustrates Divine grace, that which is turned towards man and illustrates human infirmity and sinfulness. Jehovah brought forth compassionate bestowments of revelation and promise out of his people's errors. Abram and Sarah both sinned. Hagar sinned. The angel of the Lord, representative of the continuous gracious revelation of Jehovah as a covenant God, appeared in the cloud of family sorrow, drawing once... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 16:3

And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ton years in the land of Canaan ( i.e. in his eighty-fifth, and her seventy-fifth year; a note of time introduced, probably, to account for their impatience in waiting for the promised seed), and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. Afterwards styled a pilgash or concubine ( Genesis 25:6 ), she is here improperly called a wife quae praeterDei legem is alienum thorum inducitur (Calvin), from whom... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 16:3

Crooked ways, or marrying with Hagar. I. THE SPECIOUS PROPOSAL . 1. The author of it; Sarai, the wife of Abram, a daughter of the faith, the mistress of a household. To the first, the suggestion referred to in the narrative should have been impossible; in the second, it was inconsistent; while, proceeding from the third, it was calculated to be harmful. 2. The wickedness of it. It was 3. The extenuations of it. II. THE SINFUL COMPLIANCE . "Abram hearkened unto... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 16:1-16

- The Birth of Ishmael1. הנר hāgār, Hagar, “flight.” Hejrah, the flight of Muhammed.7. מלאך mal'ak “messenger, angel.” A deputy commissioned to discharge a certain duty for the principal whom he represents. As the most usual task is that of bearing messages, commands, or tidings, he is commonly called a “messenger” ἄγγελος angelos). The word is therefore a term of office, and does not further distinguish the office-bearer than as an intelligent being. Hence, a מלאך mal'ak may be a man... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 16:1-16

16:1-25:18 ABRAM AND THE PROMISED HEIRBirth of Ishmael (16:1-16)When Abram earlier suggested adopting his slave as his heir, God reassured him that his heir would be a son of his own (see 15:2-4). But after ten years in Canaan, Sarai was still childless. Weakened in faith, she suggested that Abram obtain his son through their slave-girl Hagar. This was not God’s way, but it followed an accepted custom among the people of the region. All legal rights over the child belonged to the wife, not to... read more

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

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 16:3

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 16:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 16:1-6

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 16:1-16

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 16:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 16:3

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 16:1-16

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 16:1-16

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