Genesis 16:5-7

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 16:5 tn Heb “my wrong is because of you.”
2. Genesis 16:5 tn Heb “bosom” or “lap.”
3. Genesis 16:5 tn Heb “saw.”
4. Genesis 16:5 tn Heb “I was despised in her eyes.” The passive verb has been translated as active for stylistic reasons. Sarai was made to feel supplanted and worthless by Hagar the servant girl.
5. Genesis 16:5 tn Heb “me and you.”sn May the Lord judge between you and me. Sarai blamed Abram for Hagar’s attitude, not the pregnancy. Here she expects to be vindicated by the Lord who will prove Abram responsible. A colloquial rendering might be, “God will get you for this.” It may mean that she thought Abram had encouraged the servant girl in her elevated status.
6. Genesis 16:6 tn The clause is introduced with the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh), introducing a foundational clause for the coming imperative: “since…do.”
7. Genesis 16:6 tn Heb “in your hand.”
8. Genesis 16:6 tn Heb “what is good in your eyes.”
9. Genesis 16:6 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Hagar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10. Genesis 16:6 tn In the Piel stem the verb עָנָה (ʿanah) means “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly, to mistreat.”
11. Genesis 16:6 tn Heb “and she fled from her presence.” The referent of “her” (Sarai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12. Genesis 16:7 tn Heb “the messenger of the Lord.” Some identify the angel of the Lord as the preincarnate Christ because in some texts the angel is identified with the Lord himself. However, it is more likely that the angel merely represents the Lord; he can speak for the Lord because he is sent with the Lord’s full authority. In some cases the angel is clearly distinct from the Lord (see Judg 6:11-23). It is not certain if the same angel is always in view. Though the proper name following the noun “angel” makes the construction definite, this may simply indicate that a definite angel sent from the Lord is referred to in any given context. It need not be the same angel on every occasion. Note the analogous expression “the servant of the Lord,” which refers to various individuals in the OT (see BDB 714 s.v. עֶבֶד).
13. Genesis 16:7 tn Heb “And the angel of the Lord found her near the spring of water in the desert, near the spring on the way to Shur.”