Genesis 16-18   Listen

Two women, one Abram (Genesis 16)

1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.
3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.
4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The LORD judge between you and me.”
6 So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.
7 Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
8 And He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
9 The Angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.”
10 Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.”
11 And the Angel of the LORD said to her: “Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
13 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?”
14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

They've been in Canaan now for 10 years and still no child. Sarai gets an idea; take Hagar my Egyptian handmaid as your second wife; she'll give us a son. Abraham's good with that idea, and Hagar conceives. That's where the trouble really begins. Hagar gets a little snooty with Sarai (verse 4). Abraham grants Sarai permission to deal with his second wife causing Hagar to fly the coop. After being intercepted by "the angel of the LORD" on her way back to Egypt, she willingly returns to Abram and Sarai for the birth of her child...with an attitude adjustment I assume. It's interesting what the angel told her about her not-yet-born son, Ishmael, in Genesis 16:12, "He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." As it turns out, Ishmael had twelve sons (Genesis 17:20, see below) who dispersed all over the Arabian Peninsula. And just as the angel said in verse 10, his descendants, the Arabs, are too plenteous to number. Come to think of it, they're a scrappy bunch too...just as the angel said (verse 12). Not just scrappy, but history reveals that, indeed, verse 12 is validated among Ishmael's Arab descendants even today.

We see in verse 13 that this "angel of the LORD" is identified as "Jehovah/Yahweh" himself. As a matter of fact, Hagar expresses concern in that she has seen God. Later on, we see in Exodus 33:20 (see notes), "But He said, 'You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.'"

Whoa...here's an interesting comparison: Notice how similar this incident is to Eve's encouragement to Adam in the garden with regard to the fruit. Both ideas were conjured up by the women, offered to the men, and both had bad outcomes. Incidentally, according to verse 16, Abraham is 86 years old when Ishmael is born, and Sarai is 76 or so.

Abram gets a name change...and Sarai too! (Genesis 17)

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.
2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.
5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.
8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
9 And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.
10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.
13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”
17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”
22 Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.
23 So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him.
24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
26 That very same day Abraham was circumcised, and his son Ishmael;
27 and all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Let's do an age recap for Abraham. He was 75 years old when he left Haran, 86 when Ishmael was born, and now he's 99 years old without a child between Sarah and himself. Sarah's 90 years old. God speaks to Abraham and reiterates his covenant with him while changing his name from Abram to Abraham and Sarai's name from Sarai to Sarah. In verse 8 God once again states that all of Canaan will be his possession and that he will be the father of many nations (verses 4-6). Now here's the token of that covenant - circumcision of male children on the eighth day. What about the adults in Abraham's household? It's retroactive; they get circumcised also. As a matter of fact, notice how much importance is stressed by God himself regarding this practice for the descendants of Abraham in verse 14, "And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant." The "token" of God's covenant with Abraham would continue to be circumcision - still recognized as such in Jesus' day among the Jews and even among Jews today. In verses 23-27 we see that every male under Abraham's domain was circumcised that very same day. What a day!

Lest we underestimate the significance and importance of ritual circumcision note this entry to be found in a Jewish work, the Jewish Study Bible.

Just as the rainbow is the sign of the Noahide covenant (9:12-17), so is circumcision the sign of the Abrahamic. It thus becomes a matter of the highest importance in Judaism. A Second Temple source reports that when the Seleucid King Antiochus IV prohibited circumcision (a favorite target of anti–Semites), Jewish mothers chose martyrdom over neglect of the commandment (1 Macc. 1:60–61). Rabbinic law requires that a (healthy) Jewish boy be circumcised on the eighth day of his life (v. 12) even if it is the Sabbath. Although arguments for the hygienic value of circumcision have been made since the mid–19th century, the Torah knows nothing of these and sees circumcision ("berit milah") as a religious duty incumbent only on Jews. The procedure of hygienic circumcision is not identical to that performed by a "mohel" (ritual circumciser) in a "berit milah."

The day also includes a laugh line: Ol' Sarah is going to be a mommy. Abraham must have felt pretty comfortable talking with God to laugh out loud as he did in verse 17 when told by God that a couple of near-centenarians were going to have a baby. You must admit, God's promises had unfolded pretty slowly for Abraham over the last 24 years - at least by today's fast-food standards. Abraham was content to have Ishmael only as his heir, but God had something better. He was to have a pre-named son, Isaac, through whom all the promises of the covenant would flow. This is an important point. Look at what verse 19 tells us about God's covenant through Isaac, "Then God said: 'No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.'" Poor Ishmael; all this time he thought he was going to be the sole heir to Abraham. What a difference a day makes! But before you feel too sorry for Ishmael, he does get a handsome guarantee in verse 20, "And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation." That's right...there are your Arabs of today - fulfilling the prophecy of 16:12 and still plotting the destruction of Abraham's descendants through Isaac, the Jewish nation of Israel. We see those "twelve princes" of Ishmael in Genesis 25:12-16 (see notes).

Sarah finds out she's expecting (Genesis 18:1-19)

1 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
3 and said, “My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.
4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant.” They said, “Do as you have said.”
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes.”
7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it.
8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
9 Then they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.”
10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
13 And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’
14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”
16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.
17 And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,
18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”

Keep in mind, Sarah is 90 years old. Abraham had already been told she would bear a son, but he apparently had not passed that information on to her. I guess in a day filled with several hundred circumcisions, he just didn't get around to it.

When the LORD (aka Jehovah aka Yahweh) appears along with two other men here, Sarah is listening in on the conversation with her husband when the Lord tells Abraham that she will bear a son next year, even though all the child-bearing-age symptoms had long departed from her. Verse 11 clearly says, "Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing." The notion of a 90-year-old woman bearing a child is just...well...too funny to take seriously. Sarah laughs, but only to herself. I guess, technically, she felt she was correct when accused by the angel of laughing and denying it.

There's a very high commendation for Abraham here in verse 19 when the angel says, "For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him." Well, that's it for the good news; now the conversation turns solemn. By the way...angels can't read minds, but God can. When it says in verse 12, "Sarah laughed within herself," the LORD knew it. Sarah denies it in verse 15, but you can't fool God.

OK...let's get it straight! Is it "Jehovah" or "Yahweh?" Now is a good time to establish an important key for reading the Old Testament. Today's translations of the Old Testament capitalize all four letters in the name "LORD" to indicate that the Hebrew word from which it is translated is "Jehovah" (aka "Yahweh"). When only the first letter ("L") is capitalized, it is a translation of the Hebrew word "adonay." The distinction in Hebrew is clear; "adonay" is the general term for reference to a master while "Jehovah" is reserved in the Old Testament as the formal name of the God of the Hebrews, the one true God.

There is no question in this passage that Abraham is meeting with Jehovah himself (as the word reflects) just as he did in Genesis 12 (see notes) when he originally received his first promise from God (Genesis 12:7). Incidentally, the consonants that form the word "Jehovah/Yahweh" can be pronounced both ways. Since observant Jews through the ages did not pronounce the word as a practice, the exact pronunciation was not preserved. That is why some people today pronounce it "Jehovah," while others pronounce it "Yahweh." Technically speaking, however, there is no "j" sound in Hebrew; those words actually begin with a hard "y" consonant. Observant Jews today still do not pronounce the name of God. Additionally, you may have noticed that observant Jews today likewise write the word "God" as "G-D" for the same reason. It is felt by them that the name of God should not be spoken or written casually - only in prayer.

What are we going to do about Sodom and Gomorrah? (Genesis 18:20-33)

20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?
25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
26 And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
27 And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
28 Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.
29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.
30 And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.
31 And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty’s sake.
32 And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.
33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

The LORD is on his way to Sodom and Gomorrah, a place that has turned very wicked; God is ready to destroy it. Then an amusing negotiation takes place between the LORD and Abraham. Really, it's only a negotiation in Abraham's own mind; God, of course, knows that there are not even 10 righteous people in this wicked city. Now for the hard part...finding 10 righteous people there. The LORD departs. By the way, we don't have an exact location for Sodom and Gomorrah. Most agree that it was in the vicinity of the Dead Sea; some say southern edge and some northern. One thing's for sure - complete destruction in Genesis 19 (see notes). Incidentally, the LORD does not accompany the two angels to Sodom and Gomorrah (verse 22).

We should note that God's treatment of Abraham in this passage is as a prophet. God supernaturally reveals his plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham intercedes on behalf of the people. As a matter of fact, God identifies Abraham as a prophet in Genesis 20:7 (see notes).