NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible | Page 45
Genesis 16:11 | 49
15:13 r Ex 1:11
15:14 s Ac 7:7*
t Ex 12:32‑38
15:15 u Ge 25:8
15:16 v 1Ki 21:26
15:17 w ver 10
15:18 x Ge 12:7
y Nu 34:5
16:1 z Ge 11:30;
Gal 4:24-25 a Ge 21:9
16:2 b Ge 30:3-4, 9‑10
16:3 c Ge 12:5
16:5 d Ge 31:53
16:7 e Ge 21:17; 22:11,
15; 31:11 f Ge 20:1
16:10 g Ge 13:16; 17:20
16:11 h Ex 2:24; 3:7, 9
enslaved r and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and af
terward they will come out s with great possessions. t 15 You, however, will go to your ances
tors in peace and be buried at a good old age. u 16 In the fourth generation your descendants
will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites v has not yet reached its full measure.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch
appeared and p
assed between the pieces. w 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with
Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, x from the Wadi a of Egypt y to the
great river, the Euphrates — 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites,
Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
Hagar and Ishmael
16
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had b
orne him no children. z But she had an Egyptian slave a
named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children.
Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” b
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan c ten years,
Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.
4 He s lept with Hagar, and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said
to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms,
and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between
you and me.” d
6 “Your slave is in your h
ands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you t hink best.” Then
Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
7 The angel of the Lord e found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is
beside the road to Shur. f 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from,
and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.”
10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too nu
merous to count.” g
11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:
“You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael, b
for the Lord has heard of your misery. h
a 18 Or
river b 11 Ishmael means God hears.
round number, equivalent to the expression
“four centuries” in English. Although Exod
12:40 states that the Israelites were in Egypt
for 430 years, for at least 70 of these years
they enjoyed protection from oppression
while Joseph was still alive.
15:16 the sin of the Amorites. The population
of Canaan consisted of various ethnic groups,
among whom the Amorites appear to have
been well established (vv. 19 – 21), especially
in the hill country where the Israelites settled
first (Num 13:29; Deut 1:7). God will dispos-
sess the Amorites of their territory because
of their immoral behavior. While God displays
patience in not punishing them immediately,
he will not tolerate their immorality forever.
Later, the populations of both the northern
kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom
of Judah will experience similar punishment
for living immorally and disregarding their
covenant commitments to God.
15:17 Assuming that vv. 1 – 6 are set during the
night, Abram must have taken most of the
day to prepare the animals. a smoking firepot
with a blazing torch. After sunset this passes
between the pieces. Since God’s presence is
frequently linked directly to fire (e.g., Exod
3:2; 13:21 – 22; 14:24; 19:18), it may be assumed
that he is the one who passes between the
divided animals.
15:18 – 21 The chapter concludes with a sum-
mary confirming that God made a covenant
through which he pledged unconditionally
to give to Abram’s descendants the land of
Canaan. This covenant guarantees that God
will fulfill his earlier promise to make Abram
into a great nation (12:2). All that is solemnly
pledged here comes to fulfillment for a brief
period during the reign of Solomon (1 Kgs
4:21). The boundaries of the land extend from
the Euphrates in the north to the Wadi of
Egypt in the south (see v. 18 and note).
15:18 Wadi of Egypt. May refer to the eastern
branch of the Nile (although this is not the
usual Hebrew word for the Nile). Alternatively,
it may refer to the Wadi el Arish, which lies to
the east of the Nile.
16:1 – 16 Hagar and Ishmael. Sarai’s desire to
provide an heir for Abram prompts her to
adopt a custom referred to in a few ancient
Near Eastern texts. Sarai offers her Egyptian
maidservant Hagar to Abram in the hope that
Hagar will bear a son on her behalf. After Hagar
conceives, friction develops between the two
women, causing Hagar to run away. In the end
God sees Hagar’s plight and persuades her to
return. Perhaps Abram mistakenly assumes
that Ishmael is the heir God promised.
16:3 wife. Hagar’s status changes from ser-
vant to wife, although she still has a second-
ary position within the household in relation
to Sarai (25:6). Abram’s taking a second wife
does not indicate that God sanctions bigamy.
This was not something God required in order
to fulfill his promises. Abram’s actions hinder
rather than help the outworking of God’s
plan for Abram. Scripture always portrays
taking additional wives as problematic and
less than the ideal.
16:5 – 6 Responding to the rift that develops
between the two women, Abram acquiesces
to Sarai’s demand. As a result, Sarai treats
Hagar harshly. Of Egyptian descent, Hagar
flees toward her homeland.
16:7 angel of the Lord. The Hebrew word for
“angel” may also denote a “messenger,” and
angels may have the appearance of human
beings (18:2). While the expression “angel of
the Lord” may denote a creature other than
the Lord, it seems more likely in this instance,
as sometimes elsewhere (e.g., Exod 3:2 – 4),
that this is God himself. Not only does the
angel speak with divine authority, but after-
ward Hagar refers to her experience in terms
of having seen God (v. 13).
16:10 As a reward, the angel promises Hagar
numerous descendants. This may have en-
couraged Abram to see Hagar’s child as the
divinely promised heir.
16:11 Ishmael. Hagar calls her son “God hears”
(see NIV text note) in recognition of God’s
intervention.