Show Bible Commentary For A Bible Verse

Click here to show/hide instructions.

Selected Verse: Genesis 16:3 - King James

Verse	Translation	Text
Ge 16:3	King James	And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

Open All | Close All Open All | Close All

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
Sarai . . . gave her to . . . Abram to be his wife--"Wife" is here used to describe an inferior, though not degrading, relation, in countries where polygamy prevails. In the case of these female slaves, who are the personal property of his lady, being purchased before her marriage or given as a special present to her, no one can become the husband's secondary wife without her mistress consent or permission. This usage seems to have prevailed in patriarchal times; and Hagar, Sarai's slave, of whom she had the entire right of disposing, was given by her mistress' spontaneous offer, to be the secondary wife of Abram, in the hope of obtaining the long-looked-for heir. It was a wrong step--indicating a want of simple reliance on God--and Sarai was the first to reap the bitter fruits of her device.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

Sarai . . . gave her to . . . Abram to be his wife--"Wife" is here used to describe an inferior, though not degrading, relation, in countries where polygamy prevails. In the case of these female slaves, who are the personal property of his lady, being purchased before her marriage or given as a special present to her, no one can become the husband's secondary wife without her mistress consent or permission. This usage seems to have prevailed in patriarchal times; and Hagar, Sarai's slave, of whom she had the entire right of disposing, was given by her mistress' spontaneous offer, to be the secondary wife of Abram, in the hope of obtaining the long-looked-for heir. It was a wrong step--indicating a want of simple reliance on God--and Sarai was the first to reap the bitter fruits of her device.

The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917]
Hagar Hagar is a type of the law "which gendereth to bondage" (Gal 4:24); (Gal 4:25).

The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917]

Hagar

Hagar is a type of the law "which gendereth to bondage" (Gal 4:24); (Gal 4:25).

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar - and gave her to her husband - to be his wife - There are instances of Hindoo women, when barren, consenting to their husbands marrying a second wife for the sake of children; and second marriages on this account, without consent, are very common - Ward

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826

And Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar - and gave her to her husband - to be his wife - There are instances of Hindoo women, when barren, consenting to their husbands marrying a second wife for the sake of children; and second marriages on this account, without consent, are very common - Ward

Top