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Yahweh’s angel found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur.
Genesis 16:7 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
  • BSB Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
  • NKJV Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
  • NASB Now the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
  • NLT The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur.

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

The angel of Yahweh found Hagar by a spring in the wilderness. God sought out the fleeing, afflicted servant.

Overview

The angel of the Lord, often understood as a special manifestation of God Himself, finds Hagar in her distress. That God pursues a runaway Egyptian servant reveals His compassion for the lowly and forgotten. This seeking grace anticipates the gospel, where God in Christ seeks and saves the lost and outcast.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Exod 15:22Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
  • Gen 25:18They lived from Havilah to Shur that is before Egypt, as you go toward Assyria. He lived opposite all his relatives.
  • Gen 21:17God heard the voice of the boy. The angel of God called to Hagar out of the sky, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.
  • Prov 15:3Yahweh’s eyes are everywhere, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
  • Gen 31:11The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob,’ and I said, ‘Here I am.’
  • 1 Sam 15:7Saul struck the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, that is before Egypt.
  • Gen 20:1Abraham traveled from there toward the land of the South, and lived between Kadesh and Shur. He lived as a foreigner in Gerar.
  • Gen 22:15Yahweh’s angel called to Abraham a second time out of the sky,
  • Gen 22:11Yahweh’s angel called to him out of the sky, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 16:7YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 16:7 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.