Genesis 16:2
And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
Genesis 16:2 in other translations
| BSB | So Sarai said to Abram, “Look now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. |
|---|---|
| WEB | Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing. Please go in to my servant. It may be that I will obtain children by her.” Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. |
| ASV | And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, Jehovah hath restrained me from bearing; go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid; it may be that I shall obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. |
| YLT | and Sarai saith unto Abram, ‘Lo, I pray thee, Jehovah hath restrained me from bearing, go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid; perhaps I am built up from her;' and Abram hearkeneth to the voice of Sarai. |
| DARBY | And Sarai said to Abram, Behold now, Jehovah has shut me up, that I do not bear. Go in, I pray thee, to my maidservant: it may be that I shall be built up by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. |
| BBE | And Sarai said to Abram, See, the Lord has not let me have children; go in to my servant, for I may get a family through her. And Abram did as Sarai said. |
| Webster | And Sarai said to Abram, Behold, now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee go in to my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. |
What does Genesis 16:2 mean?
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Genesis 16:1-3
Sarai, no longer expecting to have children herself, proposed to Abram to take another wife, whose children she might; her slave, whose children would be her property. This was done without asking counsel of the Lord. Unbelief worked, God's almighty power was forgotten. It was a bad example, and a source of manifold uneasiness. In every relation and situation in life there is some cross for us to bear: much of the…
Genesis 16:2 in the original Hebrew
Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.
Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for Genesis 16:2
- Genesis 18:10
And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
- Genesis 3:17
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
- Exodus 21:4
If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.
- Genesis 25:21
And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
- Genesis 20:18
For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.
- Genesis 3:1-6
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: …
- Genesis 30:22
And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb.
- Genesis 30:9-10
When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife. And Zilpah Leah’s maid bare Jacob a son.
- Genesis 17:16
And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
- Genesis 3:12
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
- Psalms 127:3
Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
- Genesis 30:2-4
And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Context
- Genesis 16:1
Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
- Genesis 16:2
And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
- Genesis 16:3
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.
Genesis 16:2 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Dijo, pues, Sarai á Abram: Ya ves que Jehová me ha hecho estéril: ruégote que entres á mi sierva; quizá tendré hijos de ella. Y atendió Abram al dicho de Sarai. |
|---|---|
| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Et Saraï dit à Abram: Tu vois que l’ Éternel m’a empêchée d’avoir des enfants; va, je te prie, vers ma servante; peut-être me bâtirai-je une maison par elle. Et Abram écouta la voix de Saraï. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Und Sarai sprach zu Abram: Siehe doch, Jehova hat mich verschlossen, daß ich nicht gebäre; gehe doch ein zu meiner Magd, vielleicht werde ich aus ihr erbaut werden. Und Abram hörte auf die Stimme Sarais. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | dixit marito suo: Ecce, conclusit me Dominus, ne parerem. Ingredere ad ancillam meam, si forte saltem ex illa suscipiam filios. Cumque ille acquiesceret deprecanti, |