Passage Research
Genesis 16 — Sermon Preparation
Sarai's Egyptian servant Hagar bears Abram a son named Ishmael, and an angel meets her in the wilderness with a promise. Below is a research summary for Genesis 16, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.
- 16
- verses
- 223 / 92
- Hebrew words / lemmas
- 9
- classic sermon excerpts
- 4
- preachers & commentators
Genesis 16 in the Hebrew
Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Strong's | Count | Glosses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַבְרָם | ʼAbrâm | H87 | 12 | Abram |
| שָׂרַי | Sâray | H8297 | 9 | Sarai |
| הָגָר | Hâgâr | H1904 | 7 | Hagar |
| שִׁפְחָה | shiphchâh | H8198 | 6 | female slave |
| יָלַד | yâlad | H3205 | 6 | bear young, beget |
| בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי | Bᵉʼêr la-Chay Rôʼîy | H883 | 3 | Beer-Lachai-Roi |
| גְּבֶרֶת | gᵉbereth | H1404 | 3 | mistress |
How preachers through history handled this text
9 public-domain excerpts on Genesis 16, from the church fathers to the Puritans.
“Hagar was out of her place, and out of the way of her duty, and going further astray, when the Angel found her. It is a great mercy to be stopped in a sinful way, either by conscience or by providence. Whence comest thou? Consider that thou art running from duty, and the privileges thou wast blest with in Abram's tent. It is good to live in a religious family, which those ought to consider who have this advantage. Whither wilt thou go? Thou art running into sin; …”
— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise), on Genesis 16:7–35 (Public Domain)
Places in the text
Based on ancient-geography data
- Beer-lahai-roi— Gen 16:14
- Bered— Gen 16:14
- Kadesh-barnea— Gen 16:14
- Canaan— Gen 16:3
- Shur— Gen 16:7
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