Genesis 16:7
Read Genesis 16:7 Using Other Translations
What does Genesis 16:7 mean?
And the angel of the Lord found her
This is the first time that mention is made of an angel in
Scripture, but is not to be understood of a created angel, but of
a divine Person, as appears from ( Genesis
16:10 Genesis
16:13 ) , the uncreated angel, the Logos or Son of God,
called the Angel of God's presence, and the Angel of the
covenant, ( Isaiah 63:9 ) (
Malachi 3:1 )
; who often appeared in an human form before his incarnation,
being sent by his divine Father on one account or another; and
hence called an angel, a messenger, or one sent, as in the
fulness of time he was sent in human nature to be the Redeemer of
his people; though many of the Jewish writers take this angel to
be a man sent of God. Gersom
F14 says he was one of the prophets that lived in those times, and observes, that some of their Rabbins say F15 he was Shem, the son of Noah; and Maimonides F16 suggests, that this angel was but a mere man, by comparing this passage with that in ( Genesis 37:15 ) , "a certain man found him" but the context most clearly confutes this notion, and proves him to be the almighty and omniscient God; since he promises to do what none but the omnipotent Being could do, and declares such things as none but the omniscient God could know: and when it is said he "found Hagar", it is not to be understood as if it was a chance matter, or the fruit and effect of search and inquiry, or as if he had not seen her before; but rather it shows that his eye was upon her, and he had a concern for her, and at a proper time and place appeared to her at once, and unawares, and unthought of by her. And the place where he found her was
by a
fountain of water in the wilderness;
which lay between Egypt and Canaan, the same through which the
Israelites passed afterwards from the one to the other: here was
a fountain of water, and meeting with it she stopped to refresh
herself,
by the
fountain in the way to Shur;
a place before or over against Egypt, from whence the wilderness
had its name, see ( Genesis
25:18 ) ( 1 Samuel
15:7 ) ( Exodus 15:22
) , which shows that she was making her way to Egypt, as fast as
she could, her native country, where in all probability she
proposed to continue, and never return more: what the name of the
place the angel found her at was, at that time, is not certain,
or whether it had any; for it seems to be so called from the
Lord's "looking" upon her here, which "Shur" signifies: the
Jerusalem Targum calls it Chalaza; and both the Targums of
Onkelos and Jonathan name it Chagra or Hagra, after her own name,
as it should seem: and it is remarkable, that this very place,
and the wilderness, and parts adjacent, were the habitation of
her posterity, the sons of Ishmael, ( Genesis
25:18 ) ; and must be in Arabia Petraea, which they
inhabited; and Ptolemy F17 speaks of a city called Suratta, in
that country.
F14 Comment in loc.
F15 Bereshit Rabba, sect. 45. fol. 41.
1.
F16 Moreh Nevochim, par. 2. c. 42. p.
311.
F17 Geograph. l. 5. c. 17.
