Hagar Flees from Sarai

Genesis 16

The Lord had promised repeatedly to raise up a great nation from Abram’s descendants (Genesis 12:2; 13:16; 15:5), but several years passed from the time this promise was given until Abram’s wife Sarai bore a child. During this time, Sarai sought to acquire a child for Abram through Hagar, her Egyptian servant-girl–a common practice at this time. When Hagar conceived, she began to regard Sarai with contempt, and Sarai responded by treating her harshly. Eventually Hagar ran away, heading south from Hebron (see Genesis 13:18) and following the way to Shur toward the wilderness and Kadesh-barnea. Along the way the angel of the Lord found her by a spring (also called a well in verse 14). He told her to return to her mistress Sarai, but he also promised that Hagar would bear a son, Ishmael, and that his descendants would become a great nation. In response, Hagar named the well Beer-lahai-roi, meaning “the well of the Living One who sees me.” She then returned to Sarai at Hebron and gave birth to Ishmael. The well at Beer-lahai-roi may also be the place where Hagar later found water to give to Ishmael after they were sent away from Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 21). Isaac also moved to Beer-lai-roi for a time after his father Abraham died (Genesis 25:11). Some scholars locate Beer-lahai-roi at a well called Ain Muweileh, about 6 miles (9.5 km) northwest of Kadesh-barnea, based on speculation that the modern name is a corruption of an Arabic phrase meaning “water of the living one seeing.” But the Bible makes it clear that Beer-lai-roi “lies between Kadesh and Bered,” and Bered was likely located at what was later called Elusa (based on the Jerusalem Targum and possibly Jerome), as shown on this map. Given this location for Bered, this author has identified the most likely location for Beer-lahai-roi to be Bi’ren–the only well located along the way to Shur between Bered and Kadesh-barnea.