Genesis 16:8

8 he said to her, From whence comest thou Hagar, the servantess of Sarai (Sarai's slave-girl), and whither goest thou? Which answered, I flee from the face of Sarai, my lady.

Genesis 16:8 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 16:8

And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid
He calls her by her name, which might surprise her, and describes her by her character and condition, in order to check her pride, and put her in mind of her duty to her mistress; and to suggest to her, that she ought to have been not where she was, but in the house of her mistress, and doing her service:

whence camest thou?
this question the angel asked, not as ignorant, for he that could call her by her name, and describe her character and state, knew from whence she came; but he said this not only to lead on to what he had further to say to her, but to put her upon considering from whence she came, what she had left behind, and what blessings she had deprived herself of; she had not only left her husband and her mistress, but the house of God; for such Abram's family was, where the worship of God was kept up, and where the Lord granted his presence, and indulged with communion with himself:

and whither wilt thou go?
he knew her intention and resolution was to go to Egypt, and he would have her think of the place whither she intended to go, as well as that she had left, as that her journey to it was dangerous, through a wilderness; that the country she was bound for was a wicked and an idolatrous one, where she would not have the free exercise of her religion she had embraced, nor any opportunity of attending the pure worship of God, and would be liable to be drawn into a sinful course of life, and into idolatrous worship:

and she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai;
this was very ingenuously said, she acknowledges Sarai to be her mistress, and owns that, she had displeased her, and caused her face to be against her; and confesses the truth, that she had fled from her, not being able to bear her frowns and corrections, at least her spirit was too high to submit to them.

Genesis 16:8 In-Context

6 And Abram answered and said to her, Lo! thy servantess is in thine hand; use thou her as thee liketh. Therefore for Sarai tormented her, she fled away. (And Abram answered and said to her, Lo! thy slave-girl is in thy hands; do thou with her as thou pleaseth. And so when Sarai tormented her, she fled away.)

7 And when the angel of the Lord had found her beside a well of water in (the) wilderness, which well is in the way of Shur in (the) desert,

8 he said to her, From whence comest thou Hagar, the servantess of Sarai (Sarai's slave-girl), and whither goest thou? Which answered, I flee from the face of Sarai, my lady.

9 And the angel of the Lord said to her, Turn thou again to thy lady (Return to thy lady), and be thou meeked under her hands.

10 And again he said, I multiplying shall multiply thy seed, and it shall not be numbered for multitude. (And again he said, I multiplying shall multiply thy descendants, and they shall not be able to be counted for all their multitude.)