Genesis 16:3
New International Version
So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.

New Living Translation
So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.)

English Standard Version
So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.

Berean Standard Bible
So after he had lived in Canaan for ten years, his wife Sarai took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to Abram to be his wife.

King James Bible
And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

New King James Version
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.

New American Standard Bible
And so after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave woman, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife.

NASB 1995
After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife.

NASB 1977
And after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife.

Legacy Standard Bible
And after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant-woman, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife.

Amplified Bible
After Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian [maid], and gave her to her husband Abram to be his [secondary] wife.

Christian Standard Bible
So Abram’s wife, Sarai, took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
So Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan 10 years.

American Standard Version
And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Sarai, the wife of Abram, brought Hagar the Egyptian her Handmaid after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and she gave her as a wife to Abram her husband.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
So Sara the wife of Abram having taken Agar the Egyptian her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Chanaan, gave her to Abram her husband as a wife to him.

Contemporary English Version
and Sarai gave him Hagar to be his wife. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan for ten years.

Douay-Rheims Bible
She took Agar the Egyptian her handmaid, ten years after they first dwelt in the land of Chanaan, and gave her to her husband to wife.

English Revised Version
And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
After Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years, Abram's wife Sarai took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

Good News Translation
So she gave Hagar to him to be his concubine. (This happened after Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years.)

International Standard Version
so Abram's wife Sarai took her Egyptian servant, Hagar, and gave her as a wife to her husband Abram. This took place ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.

Literal Standard Version
And Sarai, Abram’s wife, takes Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, at the end of the tenth year of Abram’s dwelling in the land of Canaan, and gives her to her husband Abram—to him for a wife,

Majority Standard Bible
So after he had lived in Canaan for ten years, his wife Sarai took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to Abram to be his wife.

New American Bible
Thus, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, his wife Sarai took her maid, Hagar the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

NET Bible
So after Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years, Sarai, Abram's wife, gave Hagar, her Egyptian servant, to her husband to be his wife.

New Revised Standard Version
So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife.

New Heart English Bible
So Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

World English Bible
Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.

Young's Literal Translation
And Sarai, Abram's wife, taketh Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, at the end of the tenth year of Abram's dwelling in the land of Canaan, and giveth her to Abram her husband, to him for a wife,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Birth of Ishmael
2So Sarai said to Abram, “Look now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3So after he had lived in Canaan for ten years, his wife Sarai took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to Abram to be his wife. 4And he slept with Hagar, and she conceived. But when Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.…

Cross References
Genesis 12:4
So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

Genesis 16:4
And he slept with Hagar, and she conceived. But when Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.

Genesis 16:16
Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

Genesis 30:4
So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her,


Treasury of Scripture

And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelled ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

A.

Genesis 12:4,5
So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran…

gave.

Genesis 16:5
And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

Genesis 30:4,9
And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her…

his.

Genesis 25:6
But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.

Genesis 28:9
Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.

Genesis 32:22
And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.

Jump to Previous
Abram Abram's Canaan Dwelt Egyptian End Hagar Handmaid Husband Maid Sarai Sar'ai Servant Ten Wife
Jump to Next
Abram Abram's Canaan Dwelt Egyptian End Hagar Handmaid Husband Maid Sarai Sar'ai Servant Ten Wife
Genesis 16
1. Sarai, being barren, gives Hagar to Abram.
4. Hagar, being afflicted for despising her mistress, runs away.
7. An angel commands her to return and submit herself,
10. promises her a numerous posterity,
12. and shows their character and condition.
13. Hagar names the place, and returns to Sarai.
15. Ishmael is born.
16. The age of Abram.














(3) Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.--He was now, therefore, eighty-five years of age (see Genesis 16:16 and Genesis 12:4), and this long delay had not only tried his faith, but brought him and Sarai to the conclusion that the promised seed was to be obtained by other means.

Verse 3. - And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan (i.e. in his eighty-fifth, and her seventy-fifth year; a note of time introduced, probably, to account for their impatience in waiting for the promised seed), and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. Afterwards styled a pilgash or concubine (Genesis 25:6), she is here improperly called a wife quae praeterDei legem is alienum thorum inducitur (Calvin), from whom the pilgash or concubine differed

(1) in power over the family, which belonged solely to the true wife, not to the secondary;

(2) in the manner of espousal, which in the case of the former was accompanied with solemn rites of espousal and liberal gifts of dowry; and

(3) in privilege of issue, the offspring of the secondary wife having no title to inherit. The act of Sarai (cf. the similar behavior of Stratonice, the wife of King Deiotarus, who, according to Plutarch, gave her maid Electra to her husband, and so obtained an heir to the crown) is as little to be imitated as the conduct of Abram. The apparent repetitions in Vers. 1-3 do not require the hypothesis of different authorship (Tuch, Colenso, Bleek, Davidson) for their explanation, but are characteristic of the genius of Hebrew composition (cf. Genesis 7:1-10), and may even be considerably removed by connecting Vers. 1, 2 with Genesis 15, and commencing the new sub-section with Genesis 16:3 (Quarry, p. 331).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
So after
מִקֵּץ֙ (miq·qêṣ)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7093: An extremity, after

[he]
לְאַבְרָ֥ם (lə·’aḇ·rām)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 87: Abram -- 'exalted father', the original name of Abraham

had lived
לְשֶׁ֥בֶת (lə·še·ḇeṯ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry

in Canaan
כְּנָ֑עַן (kə·nā·‘an)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3667: Canaan -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their land West of the Jordan

for ten
עֶ֣שֶׂר (‘e·śer)
Number - feminine singular
Strong's 6235: Ten

years,
שָׁנִ֔ים (šā·nîm)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 8141: A year

[his]
אַבְרָ֗ם (’aḇ·rām)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 87: Abram -- 'exalted father', the original name of Abraham

wife
אֵֽשֶׁת־ (’ê·šeṯ-)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

Sarai
שָׂרַ֣י (śā·ray)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 8297: Sarai -- a wife of Abram

took
וַתִּקַּ֞ח (wat·tiq·qaḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

her Egyptian
הַמִּצְרִית֙ (ham·miṣ·rîṯ)
Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4713: Egyptian -- inhabitant of Egypt

maidservant
שִׁפְחָתָ֔הּ (šip̄·ḥā·ṯāh)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 8198: Maid, maidservant

Hagar
הָגָ֤ר (hā·ḡār)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1904: Hagar

and gave
וַתִּתֵּ֥ן (wat·tit·tên)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

her
אֹתָ֛הּ (’ō·ṯāh)
Direct object marker | third person feminine singular
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

to Abram
אַבְרָ֖ם (’aḇ·rām)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 87: Abram -- 'exalted father', the original name of Abraham

to be his wife.
לְאִשָּֽׁה׃ (lə·’iš·šāh)
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female


Links
Genesis 16:3 NIV
Genesis 16:3 NLT
Genesis 16:3 ESV
Genesis 16:3 NASB
Genesis 16:3 KJV

Genesis 16:3 BibleApps.com
Genesis 16:3 Biblia Paralela
Genesis 16:3 Chinese Bible
Genesis 16:3 French Bible
Genesis 16:3 Catholic Bible

OT Law: Genesis 16:3 Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar the Egyptian (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 16:2
Top of Page
Top of Page