Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 16:5

And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong [be] upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

5. My wrong ] i.e. may the wrong done to me be visited on thee! Sarai’s passionate and unjust complaint is the utterance of jealousy. Abram is not to blame for the step which she herself had recommended in accordance with the custom of the age. The possibility, that in these cases the position of the mistress might be compromised by the insolence of the handmaid, formed the subject of special provision in the Code of Hammurabi. “Branding was the punishment inflicted upon the owner’s handmaid who arrogantly set herself on an equality with her mistress” ( 146: see S. A. Cook, p. 160).

LXX , Lat. inique agis contra me.

judge between me and thee ] Cf. Gen 31:53; 1Sa 24:12. The latter passage adds “and the Lord avenge me of thee.” The “judgement” of the Lord may be the source of punishment: see note on Gen 15:14.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 5. My wrong be upon thee] This appears to be intended as a reproof to Abram, containing an insinuation that it was his fault that she herself had not been a mother, and that now he carried himself more affectionately towards Hagar than he did to her, in consequence of which conduct the slave became petulant. To remove all suspicion of this kind, Abram delivers up Hagar into her hand, who was certainly under his protection while his concubine or secondary wife; but this right given to him by Sarai he restores, to prevent her jealousy and uneasiness.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

i.e. The injury done to me by Hagar, who thus wickedly requites my kindness to her, be upon thee. i.e. is to be imputed to thee; thou art the cause of it, because thou dost not maintain my reputation, and repress her arrogancy.

The Lord give forth a righteous sentence between us, and deal with each of us according to our guilt or innocency in this matter. Compare 1Sa 24:12,15.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

5. And Sarai said . . . My wrong beupon theeBursts of temper, or blows, as the original may bear,took place till at length Hagar, perceiving the hopelessness ofmaintaining the unequal strife, resolved to escape from what hadbecome to her in reality, as well as in name, a house of bondage.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And Sarai said to Abram,…. Being affronted with the behaviour of her maid to her, she applies to Abram for the redress of her grievance, judging it, perhaps, below her dignity to enter into an altercation with her maid:

my wrong [be] upon thee; in her passion imprecating evil on him, as a just punishment upon him for suffering wrong to be done her by her maid; or, “is upon thee” i; pointing at his duty, and suggesting to him what he ought to do; that it was incumbent on him as her husband to right her wrongs, and do her justice, and vindicate her from the calumnies and reproaches of her servant; and tacitly complaining of him, and accusing him with indolence and unconcern at the injury done her, being silent when it became him to check her insolence and chide her for it: or, “is for thee” k; for thy sake; it was for the sake of Abram chiefly, that he might have a son and heir, which he was very solicitous, that she gave him her maid to wife; the consequence of which was, that she was now insulted and abused by her, and so suffered wrong for his sake; and the rather she might be tempted to say it was on his account, as she might be jealous of a growing affection in him to Hagar, and that he showed greater respect to her, being likely to have a child by her, and so connived at her haughtiness and arrogance:

I have given my maid into thy bosom; to be his wife, Mic 7:5; Sarai had no reason to upbraid Abram with this, since it was not at his solicitations she gave her to him, but it was her own motion:

and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes; when she found herself with child, and hoped to bring forth a son, that should be heir to Abram’s large possessions, and inherit the land of Canaan, given to his seed, she began to think highly of herself, and looked with disdain upon her mistress, set lightly by her, made no account of her, showed her no respect, carried it haughtily to her, as if she was beneath her, and as if she had more authority in the house, and a better claim to the affection of Abram, and deserving of more honour and respect, as she was favoured of God with conception, a blessing Sarai never enjoyed:

the Lord judge between me and thee: which was very rashly and hastily said, as if Abram was not inclined and was unwilling to do her justice, and therefore she appeals to God against him, as an unrighteous man, and desires that he would interpose, and by his providence show who was in the right and who in the wrong: or “the Lord will judge” l; expressing her confidence not only in the justness of her cause, but in the appearance of divine Providence in her favour; believing that the Lord would arise and help her, and defend her against the insults made upon her, and resent the injury done her.

i “injuria mea super te est”, Cocceius; so Ainsworth. k “Vel injuria mea est propter te”, Cocceius; “quid si legamus propter te?” Drusius. l “judicabit”, Junius & Tremellius.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

5. My wrong be upon thee. This also was a part of her punishment, that Sarai was brought so low as to forget herself for a while; and being vehemently excited, conducted herself with so much weakness. Certainly, to the utmost of her power, she had impelled her husband to act rashly; and now she petulantly insults him, although innocent. For she adduces nothing for which Abram was to be blamed. She reproaches him with the fact, that she had given her maid into his bosom; and complains that she is condemned by this maid, without having first ascertained, whether he intended to assist the bad cause, by his countenance, or not. Thus blind is the assault of anger; it rushes impetuously hither and thither; and condemns, without inquiry, those who are entirely free from blame. If ever any woman was of a meek and gentle spirit, Sarai excelled in that virtue. Whereas, therefore, we see that her patience was violently shaken by a single offense, let every one of us he so much the more resolved to govern his own passions.

The Lord judge between me and thee. She makes improper use of the name of God, and almost forgets that due reverence, which is so strongly enforced on those who are godly. She makes her appeal to the judgment of God. What else is this, than to call down destruction on her own head? For if God had interposed as judge, he must of necessity have executed punishment upon one or other of them. But Abram had done no injury. It remains, therefore, that she must have felt the vengeance of God, whose anger she had so rashly imprecated upon herself, or her husband. Had Moses spoken this of any heathen woman, it might have been passed over as a common thing. But now, the Lord shows us, in the person of the mother of the faithful; first, how vehement is the flame of anger, and to what lengths it will hurry men; then, how greatly they are blinded who, in their own affairs, are too indulgent to themselves; whence we should learn to suspect ourselves, whenever our own concerns are treated of. Another thing also is here chiefly worthy of remark; namely, that the best ordered families are sometimes not free from contentions; nay, that this evil reaches even to the Church of God; for we know that the family of Abram, which was disturbed with strifes, was the living representation of the Church. As to domestic broils, we know that the principal part of social life, which God hallowed among men, is spent in marriage; and yet various inconveniences intervene, which defile that good state, as with spots. It behoves the faithful to prepare themselves to cut off these occasions of trouble. For this end, it is of great importance to reflect on the origin of the evil; for all the troubles men find in marriage, they ought to impute to sin.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(5) My wrong be upon thee.That is, May the wrong done to me be avenged upon thee. Sarais act had been one of self-denial for Abrams sake, and now that it has led to her being treated insolently she makes Abram answerable for it.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

5. My wrong be upon thee Sarai, stung by feelings of jealousy, and suspecting that Abram’s affections were turned from herself to her handmaid, complains to him of the wrong she suffers . She assumes that it is his place to redress the wrong, and in passionate haste implies that he has failed to do so because of his devotion to Hagar .

The Lord judge “She would leave his conduct to the judgment of Jehovah, more as an appeal to his conscience than as a decided condemnation . ” Lange .

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And Sarai said to Abram, “My wrong be on you. I gave my handmaid for you to make love to (into your bosom) and when she saw that she had conceived I was of little account in her eyes. Yahweh judge between you and me”.’

“My wrong be on you.” This is an official plea for legal protection. Sarai now wants Abram as head of the family tribe to remedy the situation. She dare not act on her own. She has given her slave to her husband and her slave is now no longer just a handmaid. He is the one who has the authority, and all that is done in the tribe is in his hands. He must be the one to put right the wrong done to her.

“Yahweh judge between you and me.” She reminds him that he must consider what Yahweh’s verdict would be. Her insistence is that she be firmly reinstated as his principal wife with the authority going with such a position, a position that Hagar is undermining.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Gen 16:5. My wrong be upon thee, &c. Hagar, finding that she had conceived, immediately despised her mistress, not only imagining that she should thus stand first in Abram’s love, but also bring an heir to all his possessions. Sarai was indignant at her behaviour, which doubtless was insolent; upon which she applies to her husband: “My wrong be upon thee, says she, or is upon thee: i.e.. the injury I receive proceeds from thee: or as others interpret it, I have a subject of complaint against thee, which it is in thy power to remedy. Thy too great indulgence to Hagar, is the reason that I am despised and insolently treated by her. The Lord judge, or will judge between me and thee: I appeal to God for the equity of my cause, and I demand redress from thee, as thou wilt be answerable to our common Judge.” 1Sa 24:12. We have here an additional argument against polygamy and concubinage, from the altercations and dissensions which reigned between Sarai and Hagar, and which will always reign, more or less, to the destruction of domestic peace, in these cases.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Gen 16:5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong [be] upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the LORD judge between me and thee.

Ver. 5. My wrong be upon thee. ] The greatest wrong doers are the greatest complainers commonly; as Exo 2:13-14 guiltiness is ever exceptious and clamorous. Here be verba stomachantis atque imprecantis . Or, as some think rather, verba implorantis vindictam divinam seque consolantis spe defensionis divinae . Take it which way you will, as a passionate person, she “pours out foolishness,” Pro 15:2 and (besides the false charge she lays upon her husband) takes God’s name in vain. “Fret not thyself to do evil”. Psa 37:8

The Lord judge. ] He must not be sent for all in haste, to decide the controversy; who, if he had come, you may soon see which of them would have had the worst of it. The best, we see, have their domestic contentions; some household words will now and then pass between them: we match not with angels, but men and women. Two flints may as soon smite together, and not fire come forth, as two persons meet in marriage and not offences fall out. Publius Rubius Celer was held a happy man among the Romans, that commanded it to be engraven upon his gravestone, that he had lived three and forty years and eight months with C. Eunia, his wife, sine querela , without the least quarrel. Another I have read of, that complained that his coniugium marriage was a continual coniurgium quarrel ; and when he died, gave order it should be written upon his tomb, Heus, Viator, miraculum! hic vir et uxor non litigant ,& c. a This to prevent, Alphonsus, king of Arragon, was wont to say, that to procure a quiet life, the husband must be deaf and the wife blind. But they say better that advise to a mutual forbearance, that no offence be given on either side, or, if given, yet not taken. The second blow makes the fray, we say. Be not both incensed together. If Abram were to blame in conniving at Hagar’s contempt of her mistress (as it may be he was somewhat), yet it was his wisdom to bear with Sarai when she was in her passion. Let two fires meet, and it will be hard quenching them. A choleric couple being asked how they agreed so well, the husband made this answer, “When my wife’s fit is on her, I bear with her, as Abram did with Sarai, and when my fit is on me, she bears with me, and so we never chide together, but asunder.” b Those unkind husbands had much to answer for that caused their wives to “cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and with crying out, so that he regarded not the offering any more”. Mal 2:13 And those wives can never answer it to God that live customarily in the sin of frowardness or rebellion against their husbands. Among all the infirmities noted in any godly woman in the Scriptures, there is no example of any that did so. This of Sarai is but of one only fact: and for that of Zipporah, Exo 4:26 the error seems to be as much in her judgment as in her affections. Those couples that are ever warbling can neither be at peace within themselves, 1Co 7:15 nor pray as they should do to God, 1Pe 3:7 which, if they did often, as Isaac and Rebecca did, they could not disagree. For either praying together would make them leave jarring, or jarring will make them leave praying, which the apostle accounts no small hindrance.

a Legitur id Romae citante Phil. Camerar., cent. i. cap. 51

b Greenham.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

thee. Should be “her”. See App-31.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

My wrong: Luk 10:40, Luk 10:41

the Lord: Gen 31:53, Exo 5:21, 1Sa 24:12-15, 2Ch 24:22, Psa 7:8, Psa 35:23, Psa 43:1

Reciprocal: Gen 16:3 – gave Deu 13:6 – thy brother Jdg 11:10 – be witness Jdg 11:27 – be judge 1Sa 20:23 – the Lord 1Ki 1:2 – lie 1Ti 6:2 – let

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge