Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 16

Now Sarai. —The history of Abram is given in a succession of brief narratives, written possibly by the patriarch himself; and though papyrus was known at Ur (Trans. Soc. Bibl. Arch., i. 343, ii. 430), yet the absence of any convenient writing material for ordinary use would oblige men in those ancient days to content themselves with short inscriptions, like those tablets of clay brought from Ur, many of which now in the British Museum are said to be considerably older than the time of Abram. The narrator would naturally make but few alterations in such precious documents, and hence a certain amount of recapitulation, like that which we find in the Books of Samuel, where again we have not a narrative from one pen, but the arrangement of materials already ancient.

As, however, the Divine object was the revealing to mankind of the way by which God would raise up man from the fall, the narrator would be guided by inspiration in his choice of materials, and in the omission of such things as did not fall in with this purpose; and the evident reverence with which he deals with these records is a warrant to us of their genuineness. Such additions as the remark that the “Valley of Shaveh” was many centuries later called “the King’s Dale” (Genesis 14:17; 2 Samuel 18:18) are generally acknowledged to have been the work of Ezra and the men of the Great Synagogue, after the return from the exile.

Hagar. —As this word apparently comes from the Arabic verb to flee, it cannot have been her original name, unless we suppose that she really was an Arab fugitive who had taken refuge in Egypt. More probably she was an Egyptian woman who had escaped to Abram when he was in the Negeb, and had then received this appellation, which virtually means run-away.

That I may obtain children by her. —Hebrew, that I may be built by her. The words, ben = a son, bath (originally banth) = a daughter, bayith (banith) = a house, and bânâh = to build, all belong to the same root in Hebrew. The idea is that children build the house and give a man the pledge of continuance. Until late times, the tent was the dwelling, while the house was the family (Genesis 7:1).

Thus, the phrase “to build a man a sure house” meant to give him lasting prosperity (1 Samuel 2:35). Hence also, the close connection between building and the bestowal of children is found in Psalm 127:0. Since the children of a woman bestowed by her mistress upon the husband were regarded as belonging to the wife (Genesis 30:3), Sarah, despairing of bearing a son herself, as she was now seventy-five and had been ten years in Canaan, concluded that her heir was to be born of a substitute.

Regarding the morality of the act, we find that marriage with one wife was the original law (Genesis 2:24), and that when polygamy was introduced, it was coupled by the inspired narrator with violence and license (Genesis 4:19). Monogamy was the rule, as we see in the households of Noah, Terah, Isaac, and others; but many, like Esau and Jacob, allowed themselves greater latitude.

In doing so, their conduct falls below the standard of Christian morality. However, everyone’s actions are strongly influenced by the general views of the people among whom they live. In Abram’s case, it must be said in his defense that, with so much depending on his having offspring, he took no steps to obtain another wife but remained content with the barren Sarai. When he did take Hagar, it was at his wife’s request and for a reason that seemed to them adequate and even religious.

Rachel subsequently did the same for a much lower motive. The consent of the wife was all-important in such cases; similarly, in ancient India, such consent was necessary to make a second marriage valid (see Wilson’s Hindu Theatre, Vol. 1, p. 179).

Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. —He was now, therefore, eighty-five years of age (see Genesis 16:16 and Genesis 12:4), and this long delay had not only tried his faith, but brought him and Sarai to the conclusion that the promised seed was to be obtained by other means.

Her mistress was despised. —Hagar, we are told in Genesis 16:3, was to be, not Abram’s concubine, but his wife. She was to be Sarai’s representative; and although she would now hold the highest place in the household next to Sarai because of this relationship with Abram, she would nevertheless continue to be Sarai’s maid. But no sooner had she conceived than, proud of her superiority over her mistress, she wished to overthrow this arrangement and, in any case, acted as if she were Abram’s wife outright, and thrust Sarai aside.

My wrong be upon thee. —That is, May the wrong done to me be avenged upon you. Sarai’s act had been one of self-denial for Abram’s sake, and now that it has led to her being treated insolently she makes Abram answerable for it.