She called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees,” for she said, “Have I even stayed alive after seeing him?”
Parallel translations
- KJV And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
- BSB So Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen the One who sees me!”
- NKJV Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”
- NASB Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees me”; for she said, “Have I even seen Him here and lived after He saw me?”
- NLT Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Hagar named the Lord the God who sees, marveling that she had seen Him and lived. She testified to God's personal attention to her.
Overview
Hagar responds to God's care by naming Him El Roi, the God who sees, the only person in Scripture to give God a name. Her wonder at surviving an encounter with God reflects the awe of meeting the holy One. Her confession celebrates a God who sees the afflicted and overlooked, a comfort to all who feel unseen, and a foretaste of the God who draws near in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Ps 139:1–12For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me.
- Gen 32:30Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for, he said, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
- Prov 15:3Yahweh’s eyes are everywhere, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
- Prov 5:21For the ways of man are before Yahweh’s eyes. He examines all his paths.
- Gen 16:7Yahweh’s angel found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur.
- Gen 31:42Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”
- Gen 22:14Abraham called the name of that place Yahweh Will Provide. As it is said to this day, “On Yahweh’s mountain, it will be provided.”
- Exod 34:5–7Yahweh descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed Yahweh’s name.
- Gen 28:17He was afraid, and said, “How dreadful is this place! This is none other than God’s house, and this is the gate of heaven.”
- Exod 33:18–23He said, “Please show me your glory.”
- Gen 16:9–10Yahweh’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hands.”
- Judg 6:24Then Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh, and called it “Yahweh is Peace.” To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 16:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.