Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 21:10

"Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this handmaid and her son. For the son of this handmaid shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac." — Genesis 21:10 (ASV)

Bondwoman.—Hebrew, ammâh. This word is rightly translated handmaid in Galatians 4:22 and following, Revised Version. It is rendered maid in Genesis 30:3, and in the plural, maidservants, in Genesis 20:17, where, as we have seen, it means Abimelech’s inferior wives. So also in 1 Samuel 25:41, Abigail professes her willingness to descend from the position of an ammâh to that of a maidservant in David’s honour. The rendering “bondwoman” unduly depresses Hagar’s condition, and with it that of the Jewish Church in the allegory contained in Galatians 4:22-31.