Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
- KJV Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
- NKJV Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
- NASB Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him a child, but she had an Egyptian slave woman whose name was Hagar.
- NLT Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar.
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
Sarai remained childless and had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. This sets up a flawed human attempt to fulfill God's promise.
Overview
The narrative reintroduces Sarai's barrenness, the very obstacle to the promised offspring, and introduces Hagar. The mention of Hagar's Egyptian origin recalls Abram's earlier sojourn in Egypt. The verse frames the impending decision to use Hagar as a human shortcut, contrasting impatient self-effort with the patient faith God desires.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Gal 4:24These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar.
- Gen 12:16He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.
- Gen 21:9–10But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking her son,
- Gen 15:2–3But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
- Judg 13:2Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children.
- Gen 21:12But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to everything that Sarah tells you, for through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.
- Gen 21:21And while he was dwelling in the Wilderness of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
- Gen 25:21Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.
- Luke 1:36Look, even Elizabeth your relative has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is in her sixth month.
- Gen 11:30But Sarai was barren; she had no children.
- Luke 1:7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years.
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 16:1 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.