Genesis 16:13 kjv

And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

Genesis 16:13 nkjv

Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?"

Genesis 16:13 niv

She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."

Genesis 16:13 esv

So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "You are a God of seeing," for she said, "Truly here I have seen him who looks after me."

Genesis 16:13 nlt

Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, "You are the God who sees me." She also said, "Have I truly seen the One who sees me?"

Genesis 16 verses

Genesis 16 13 Meaning

Genesis 16:13 conveys Hagar's profound spiritual awakening and identification of God as the one who actively and personally "sees" her in her affliction. After her encounter with the Angel of the LORD in the wilderness, she names Him "El Roi," meaning "God of Seeing" or "God Who Sees Me." This name encapsulates her realization that God's omnipresence is not a distant concept but an intimate awareness of her suffering and her very being, even when she felt abandoned and overlooked by humanity. Her follow-up statement expresses astonishment at surviving a direct encounter with the divine while truly being seen by Him.

Genesis 16 13 Context

Genesis chapter 16 unfolds against the backdrop of Sarai's barrenness and her cultural custom-bound decision to give her Egyptian slave Hagar to Abram to bear a child. This act, while socially acceptable in the ancient Near East, quickly led to domestic strife when Hagar conceived and began to despise her mistress, Sarai. Sarai then severely mistreated Hagar, leading Hagar to flee into the harsh wilderness. Verse 13 marks a pivotal moment in this narrative. The Angel of the LORD finds Hagar by a spring, instructs her to return to Sarai and submit, and promises her an innumerable progeny through her unborn son, Ishmael. It is after receiving these divine promises and direct instructions that Hagar responds with profound awe and understanding, bestowing a unique name upon the God who revealed Himself to her in her vulnerability.

Genesis 16 13 Word analysis

• And she called the name: Hagar's active response and acknowledgment. In ancient cultures, naming was often an act of definition, possession, or revelation of character. Here, it signifies Hagar's personal identification of a specific attribute of God.

• of the LORD (יְהוָה, YHWH, Yahweh): This is the personal, covenant name of God, indicating His self-existent, faithful, and relational nature. It is significant that an Egyptian slave, outside the Abrahamic covenant, encounters and refers to God by His sacred name, usually associated with Israel.

• that spake unto her (הַדֹּבֵר אֵלֶיהָ, haddōḇēr ’êleyhā): Emphasizes direct, personal, and verbal communication from God. This was not a general providence but a specific, articulate encounter.

• Thou God seest me: (אַתָּה אֵל רֳאִי, ’attāh ’Ēl Rō’î)

  • Thou (’attāh): A direct, intimate, second-person address, signifying a personal relationship and acknowledgment.
  • God (’Ēl): A common Semitic term for deity, often used with an attribute to denote a specific aspect of God's character (e.g., El Shaddai – God Almighty).
  • seest me (Rō’î): From the verb ra’ah (רָאָה) meaning "to see." Here it's a noun phrase meaning "of seeing" or "who sees." Hagar doesn't merely say "God sees me" but names Him "God of seeing," indicating that "seeing" is a core attribute of His being, profoundly experienced by her.

• for she said: Introduces her inner reasoning and the basis for the name she gave God, deepening the understanding of her spiritual encounter.

• Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?: (הֲגַם הֲלֹם רָאִיתִי אַחֲרֵי רֹאִי) This is a complex and debated Hebrew phrase, often rendered variously:

  • Have I also here: An expression of profound surprise and awe at the location ("here" - the desolate wilderness). "Also" implies even in this unexpected, lowly place.
  • looked after him that seeth me? (rō’î again refers to "the one who sees" or "my seer"): This could mean:
    • "Have I truly seen here the One who sees me?" - A statement of astonishment at beholding God directly and surviving, knowing His intimate gaze was upon her.
    • "Do I still see here after the one who sees me?" - Suggests a continuous vision or an ongoing awareness of God's presence after the immediate encounter.
    • "Have I even here looked for him who sees me?" - Implies seeking God in the wilderness.
    • The most prevalent understanding emphasizes her amazement at both being seen by God and being able to see God (or His messenger) and live, in a place she expected only death or neglect. It speaks to the reciprocity of divine presence and human awareness.

• Words-group by words-group analysis:

  • "And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, 'Thou God seest me'": This action signifies Hagar's unique and personal appropriation of God's identity based on her experience. She is a disenfranchised foreign slave, yet she experiences a direct, caring revelation from the covenant God, YHWH. Her naming of God, "El Roi," acknowledges not merely His general omniscience but His specific, active, and sympathetic observation of her desperate state. This becomes an enduring theological descriptor for God's personal concern for the outcast.
  • "for she said, 'Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?'": This rhetorical question highlights Hagar's utter astonishment and awe. It articulates the double wonder: that God would "see" (i.e., care for and interact with) someone as insignificant as herself, and that she, a mere human, was permitted to "see" God's manifestation and live, particularly in a desolate and abandoned location. This expression underlines the profound reversal of her circumstances—from forgotten to intimately known by the Creator.

Genesis 16 13 Bonus section

• Hagar's encounter is one of the first explicit theological statements about God's attribute of "seeing" affliction in the Bible.
• The place where Hagar encountered the Angel was named Beer-lahai-roi (Gen 16:14), meaning "Well of the Living One Who Sees Me," ensuring that this unique attribute of God experienced by Hagar would be remembered and associated with that location.
• The appearance of "the Angel of the LORD" is often interpreted as a theophany or Christophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ, further emphasizing God's direct and personal intervention in human history.
• Hagar, a foreign handmaiden, becomes one of the few individuals in the Old Testament, outside of the direct patriarchs, to directly name an aspect of God based on a revelatory experience, affirming God's universal care.

Genesis 16 13 Commentary

Genesis 16:13 encapsulates a foundational truth about God: His eyes are perpetually open to the plight of the marginalized and suffering. Hagar's wilderness encounter reveals God's active involvement even in domestic disputes and His compassion for those cast aside. By naming God "El Roi," she immortalizes a moment where God moved from abstract deity to personal intervener. Her astonishment ("Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?") points to the extraordinary nature of her divine encounter—not only was she seen by the God who knew her deep pain, but she was privileged to witness the One who saw her, a reciprocal seeing that was both intimate and astonishing. This encounter prefigures God's consistent care for the vulnerable throughout biblical history, assuring believers that no individual, no matter how low or lost, is beyond God's watchful and caring gaze.