Genesis 16:11

11 The angel of the LORD also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael,^[a]for the LORD has heard of your misery.

Genesis 16:11 in Other Translations

11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

11 And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction.

11 And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the LORD has heard your cry of distress.

11 From this pregnancy, you'll get a son: Name him Ishmael; for God heard you, God answered you.

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.

Genesis 16:11 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 16:11

And the angel of the Lord said unto her
Continued his discourse with her, informing her she should have a son, and what his name should be, and what his character, and the place of his habitation:

behold, thou [art] with child;
this she knew, and it is said, not for her information, as to this respect, but to lead on to something else he had to acquaint her with, she did not know. Jarchi indeed would have the sense to be, "thou shall conceive" or "be with child", as was said to Manoah's wife, ( Judges 13:5 ) ; for it is a fancy of his, that Hagar had miscarried, and he, supposes the angel to promise her, that if she would return, or when she should return, she should conceive again; but this is said and supposed without any foundation:

and shalt bear a son;
this was what she hoped for, but was not certain of; but the angel assures her of it, that the child she went with was a son, which none could foretell but God, that is omniscient:

and shall call his name Ishmael;
the Jews ^F19 observe, there were six persons who had their names given them before they were born, and Ishmael is one of them; the six were Isaac, ( Genesis 17:19 ) ; Ishmael, here; Moses, ( Exodus 2:10 ) ; Solomon, ( 2 Samuel 12:24 ) ; Josiah, ( 1 Kings 13:2 ) ; and the Messiah, ( Isaiah 7:14 ) ( Matthew 1:21 ) ( Luke 1:31 ) : the reason of his name follows,

because the Lord hath heard thy affliction:
heard of it, had took notice of it, and observed, and fully understood the nature and cause of it; he had heard her groans and sighs under it, and her prayer and cries for deliverance from it; and so the Targum of Onkelos,

``for the Lord hath received thy prayer,''

which she had put up in her affliction, both when in the service of her mistress, and since her flight from her.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F19 Pirke Eliezer, c. 32. Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 2. 1.

Genesis 16:11 In-Context

9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.”

10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

11 The angel of the LORD also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael,for the LORD has heard of your misery.

12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”

13 She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”

Cross References

• 1. S ver 7; S Acts 5:19
• 2. S Genesis 3:15
• 3. Genesis 12:2-3; Genesis 18:19; Nehemiah 9:7; Isaiah 44:1; Amos 3:2; Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:13,31
• 4. Genesis 17:19; Genesis 21:3; Genesis 37:25,28; Genesis 39:1; Judges 8:24
• 5. Genesis 29:32; Genesis 31:42; Exodus 2:24; Exodus 3:7,9; Exodus 4:31; Numbers 20:16; Deuteronomy 26:7; 1 Samuel 9:16

Footnotes

• [a]. "Ishmael" means "God hears."