Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 16:9

"And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands." — Genesis 16:9 (ASV)

Submit yourself. —Hebrew, humble yourself. It is the verb translated dealt hardly in Genesis 16:6. The angel therefore commands her to take the position which Sarai was forcing upon her; and by so doing proves to us that there had been no personal maltreatment. Commentators have taken this notion, not from the Hebrew, but from the English Version.