Genesis 16:9

9 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, "You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment."[a]

Genesis 16:9 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 16:9

And the angel of the Lord said unto her
The same angel; though Jarchi thinks that one angel after another was sent, and that at every speech there was a fresh angel; and because this phrase is repeated again and again, some of the Rabbins have fancied there were four angels F18, and others five, but without any reason:

return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands;
go back to her, humble thyself before her, acknowledge thy fault, enter into her service again, and be subject to her; do her work and business, bear her corrections and chastisements; and "suffer thyself to be afflicted" {s}, by her, as the word may be rendered; take all patiently from her, which will be much more to thy profit and advantage than to pursue the course thou art in: and the more to encourage her to take his advice, he promises the following things, ( Genesis 16:10-12 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F18 Bereshit Rabba, ut supra. (sect. 45. fol. 41. 1.)
F19 (yneth) "te patere affligi", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "quid si, patere te affligi?" Drusius.

Genesis 16:9 In-Context

7 The Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.
8 He said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She replied, "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai."
9 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, "You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment."
10 The Angel of the Lord also said to her, "I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count."
11 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her: You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your [cry of] affliction.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Lit to mistreatment under her hand
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