†. Gen 16:4 . . He cohabited with Hagar and she conceived; and
when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became lower in
her esteem.
It would seem that where before Hagar knew her place and was humble and
self effacing around Sarai, she now regarded her mistress as somewhat less
of a woman than herself. There's no record of Hagar gloating over Sarah,
but sometimes women communicate just as effectively with "looks" as they
do with words.
†. Gen 16:5 . . And Sarai said to Abram: The wrong done me is your
fault! I myself put my maid in your bosom; and now that she sees
that she is expecting, I am lowered in her esteem. The Lord decide
between you and me!
You know, anybody can fabricate an outright falsehood; but dissembling
requires a bit of sophistication. This feigned indignation of Sarai's is nothing
in the world but a smoke screen hiding the fact that she's disappointed with
herself for suggesting Abram sleep with the maid; but you think she'd admit
it? But Hagar is carrying Abram's child: how could he do anything to hurt her
now? What did Sarai expect Abram to do: whup Hagar with a knotted plow
line?
†. Gen 16:6a . . Abram said to Sarai: Your maid is in your hands. Deal
with her as you think right.
Abram should never have given Sarai carte blanche to do as she pleased
with Hagar. In her mood, it would surely get out of hand and go too far. But
he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Abram had to live with Sarai.
He could get by without Hagar's good will; so hers was sacrificed to keep
peace in the home. Most men would do the very same thing in his place
because it isn't easy for a man to live with an indignant woman. In point of
fact, I would put an indignant woman even higher on the graph of difficulty
than a weeping woman.
Note that Abram didn't refer to Hagar as "my wife"; nor even as "my
concubine". He referred to her as "your maid". It's sad, but obvious that
Abram was ashamed of himself for sleeping with Hagar just to make his wife
happy; and took care to distance himself from Sarai's maid so she wouldn't
get any ideas that Abram had an attachment for her.
†. Gen 16:6b-7 . .Then Sarai treated her harshly, and she [Hagar]
ran away from her. An angel of the Lord found her by a spring of
water in the wilderness, the spring on the road to Shur,
For the very first time in the Bible, the word "angel" appears. The Hebrew
word is mal'ak (mal-awk') which corresponds to the New Testament word
aggelos (ang'-el-os) which mean: a dispatched deputy; a messenger;
specifically, of God, viz: an angel, a prophet, priest, or teacher.
Mal'ak has pretty wide latitude. It can be a for-real angel, or even something
as simple as the White House press secretary-- either a celestial being or a
human being. The first three chapters in the book of Revelation are
comprised of letters written to the angels of specific churches that existed in
the first century. The "angels" no doubt being church managers.
The road to Shur went south from Abram's camp; so possibly Hagar's intent
was to return home to Egypt. At this point, she was a runaway slave and
must have been feeling very lonely, very unimportant, and very unsure of
her future. No one cared for her soul, whether she lived or died-- and, where
was she to go? Maybe her parents would take her back in when she got
home. But how was she to explain the baby?
Genesis doesn't say, but Hagar could have hitch-hiked a ride with a caravan.
It's hard to believe a woman in that day would dare attempt a journey that
far on foot, and all by herself.
Shur is the name of a desert region east of the Suez Canal and extending
down along the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez. Shur means "wall" and
may refer to the mountain wall of the Tih plateau as visible from the shore
plains. The position of Shur is defined as being "opposite Egypt on the way
to Assyria" (Gen 25:18). After crossing the Red Sea, the people of Israel
entered the desert of Shur (Ex 15:22) which extended southward a distance
of three days' journey. The region is referred as being close, or adjacent, to
Egypt. (1Sam 15:7 and 1Sam 27:8)
†. Gen 16:8a . . the angel said: Hagar, slave of Sarai,
It should be pointed out that the angel didn't refer to Hagar as Abram's wife;
but as Sarai's slave-- additional clues that Hagar and Abram were never
married otherwise her status would be that of Abram's spouse rather than
Sarai's slave.
This meeting is strikingly similar to the New Testament's encounter between
Jesus and a female inhabitant of Samaria in the Gospel of John. In both
cases, the women were lone, unmarried Gentile women, both cases took
place at a source of water, both occurred along a major north/south road
through Palestine; and both meetings were private and the topic intimate.
This is the very first instance in the Bible record where somebody addressed
Ms. Hagar by name. What I like best is that although her human masters
aren't recorded calling her by name, a messenger of God who is higher in
dignity and rank than either Abram and Sarai, did call out to her by own
name.
†. Gen 16:8b . . where have you come from, and where are you
going?
Didn't the angel already know of her situation? Clearly. But you know, it's
not impossible that this angel is the Yhvh who came down to inspect the
Tower of Babel back in 11:5 or possibly one of the "us" who confused the
languages in 11:7.
At first the angel probably impressed Hagar as just another friendly traveler.
But there was something very unusual about this mysterious stranger. He
knew Hagar's name, and he knew she was a slave; and he knew her
mistress' name too. And he also knew Ms. Hagar was preggers. That had to
break the ice quite nicely don't you think?
†. Gen 16:8c . . And she said: I am running away from my mistress
Sarai.
Somehow the angel won Ms. Hagar's confidence, and she was comfortable
talking about herself. There's a very real possibility that the angel was the
first person to take a genuine interest in Hagar's feelings for a long, long
time.
In my 68+ years journeying through this life, I've discovered there are lots
of people out there aching for someone to take them seriously. They don't
like being marginalized; they don't like being made to feel unimportant,
inferior, unnecessary, expendable, mediocre, and stupid-- they want to
count; they want to matter. I've no doubt that is the very reason behind the
success of social networking; e.g. blogs, twittering, online forums, FaceBook,
MySpace, et al.
One of the four common characteristics of seemingly level-headed Muslim
men who become suicide bombers is the wish to devote themselves to a
cause higher than themselves; viz: they desire to make their lives count for
something.
By this time, Hagar surely perceived this was not your everyday stranger.
He knew her far too much about her.
Cont.
/
when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became lower in
her esteem.
It would seem that where before Hagar knew her place and was humble and
self effacing around Sarai, she now regarded her mistress as somewhat less
of a woman than herself. There's no record of Hagar gloating over Sarah,
but sometimes women communicate just as effectively with "looks" as they
do with words.
†. Gen 16:5 . . And Sarai said to Abram: The wrong done me is your
fault! I myself put my maid in your bosom; and now that she sees
that she is expecting, I am lowered in her esteem. The Lord decide
between you and me!
You know, anybody can fabricate an outright falsehood; but dissembling
requires a bit of sophistication. This feigned indignation of Sarai's is nothing
in the world but a smoke screen hiding the fact that she's disappointed with
herself for suggesting Abram sleep with the maid; but you think she'd admit
it? But Hagar is carrying Abram's child: how could he do anything to hurt her
now? What did Sarai expect Abram to do: whup Hagar with a knotted plow
line?
†. Gen 16:6a . . Abram said to Sarai: Your maid is in your hands. Deal
with her as you think right.
Abram should never have given Sarai carte blanche to do as she pleased
with Hagar. In her mood, it would surely get out of hand and go too far. But
he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Abram had to live with Sarai.
He could get by without Hagar's good will; so hers was sacrificed to keep
peace in the home. Most men would do the very same thing in his place
because it isn't easy for a man to live with an indignant woman. In point of
fact, I would put an indignant woman even higher on the graph of difficulty
than a weeping woman.
Note that Abram didn't refer to Hagar as "my wife"; nor even as "my
concubine". He referred to her as "your maid". It's sad, but obvious that
Abram was ashamed of himself for sleeping with Hagar just to make his wife
happy; and took care to distance himself from Sarai's maid so she wouldn't
get any ideas that Abram had an attachment for her.
†. Gen 16:6b-7 . .Then Sarai treated her harshly, and she [Hagar]
ran away from her. An angel of the Lord found her by a spring of
water in the wilderness, the spring on the road to Shur,
For the very first time in the Bible, the word "angel" appears. The Hebrew
word is mal'ak (mal-awk') which corresponds to the New Testament word
aggelos (ang'-el-os) which mean: a dispatched deputy; a messenger;
specifically, of God, viz: an angel, a prophet, priest, or teacher.
Mal'ak has pretty wide latitude. It can be a for-real angel, or even something
as simple as the White House press secretary-- either a celestial being or a
human being. The first three chapters in the book of Revelation are
comprised of letters written to the angels of specific churches that existed in
the first century. The "angels" no doubt being church managers.
The road to Shur went south from Abram's camp; so possibly Hagar's intent
was to return home to Egypt. At this point, she was a runaway slave and
must have been feeling very lonely, very unimportant, and very unsure of
her future. No one cared for her soul, whether she lived or died-- and, where
was she to go? Maybe her parents would take her back in when she got
home. But how was she to explain the baby?
Genesis doesn't say, but Hagar could have hitch-hiked a ride with a caravan.
It's hard to believe a woman in that day would dare attempt a journey that
far on foot, and all by herself.
Shur is the name of a desert region east of the Suez Canal and extending
down along the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez. Shur means "wall" and
may refer to the mountain wall of the Tih plateau as visible from the shore
plains. The position of Shur is defined as being "opposite Egypt on the way
to Assyria" (Gen 25:18). After crossing the Red Sea, the people of Israel
entered the desert of Shur (Ex 15:22) which extended southward a distance
of three days' journey. The region is referred as being close, or adjacent, to
Egypt. (1Sam 15:7 and 1Sam 27:8)
†. Gen 16:8a . . the angel said: Hagar, slave of Sarai,
It should be pointed out that the angel didn't refer to Hagar as Abram's wife;
but as Sarai's slave-- additional clues that Hagar and Abram were never
married otherwise her status would be that of Abram's spouse rather than
Sarai's slave.
This meeting is strikingly similar to the New Testament's encounter between
Jesus and a female inhabitant of Samaria in the Gospel of John. In both
cases, the women were lone, unmarried Gentile women, both cases took
place at a source of water, both occurred along a major north/south road
through Palestine; and both meetings were private and the topic intimate.
This is the very first instance in the Bible record where somebody addressed
Ms. Hagar by name. What I like best is that although her human masters
aren't recorded calling her by name, a messenger of God who is higher in
dignity and rank than either Abram and Sarai, did call out to her by own
name.
†. Gen 16:8b . . where have you come from, and where are you
going?
Didn't the angel already know of her situation? Clearly. But you know, it's
not impossible that this angel is the Yhvh who came down to inspect the
Tower of Babel back in 11:5 or possibly one of the "us" who confused the
languages in 11:7.
At first the angel probably impressed Hagar as just another friendly traveler.
But there was something very unusual about this mysterious stranger. He
knew Hagar's name, and he knew she was a slave; and he knew her
mistress' name too. And he also knew Ms. Hagar was preggers. That had to
break the ice quite nicely don't you think?
†. Gen 16:8c . . And she said: I am running away from my mistress
Sarai.
Somehow the angel won Ms. Hagar's confidence, and she was comfortable
talking about herself. There's a very real possibility that the angel was the
first person to take a genuine interest in Hagar's feelings for a long, long
time.
In my 68+ years journeying through this life, I've discovered there are lots
of people out there aching for someone to take them seriously. They don't
like being marginalized; they don't like being made to feel unimportant,
inferior, unnecessary, expendable, mediocre, and stupid-- they want to
count; they want to matter. I've no doubt that is the very reason behind the
success of social networking; e.g. blogs, twittering, online forums, FaceBook,
MySpace, et al.
One of the four common characteristics of seemingly level-headed Muslim
men who become suicide bombers is the wish to devote themselves to a
cause higher than themselves; viz: they desire to make their lives count for
something.
By this time, Hagar surely perceived this was not your everyday stranger.
He knew her far too much about her.
Cont.
/
