And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
English Standard Version (ESV)
What's easily missed is that Abram is the one who names the child, despite the angel having instructed Hagar to name him Ishmael in the previous chapter. This shows Abram's active obedience and acknowledgment of God's word through Hagar's divine encounter.
And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Following Hagar's return to Abram's household after her distressed flight and angelic encounter, she gives birth to Abram's son. Abram names the boy Ishmael, a name given by the angel, acknowledging God's hearing of Hagar's suffering and the divine promise for his descendants.
The birth of Ishmael wasn't a surprise to God, and His direction extended even to the name.
Genesis 16:15 marks a significant moment: the birth of Ishmael, the first son born to Abram. This wasn't an unplanned event. The angel of the Lord had previously met Hagar in the wilderness, revealing that she was pregnant and instructing her to name the child Ishmael (Genesis 16:11). The name itself, Ishmael, means 'God hears.' It was a direct reminder from God that He had heard Hagar's cry of affliction.
This divine foreknowledge and instruction highlight God's active involvement, even in the midst of human error and weakness. Abram's act of naming his son Ishmael, as instructed, demonstrates his obedience to the divine message Hagar had brought back.
Was Abram's decision to have a child with Hagar a step of faith or a lapse in it?
The birth of Ishmael arises from a complex situation involving Abram, Sarai, and Hagar. Sarai, unable to bear children and growing old, suggested Abram take Hagar as a concubine to have an heir. Abram agreed, and Hagar conceived. While concubinage was permissible in that era, this action was born out of impatience and a desire to 'help' God fulfill His promise of offspring, rather than fully trusting His timing and method.
This situation highlights a tension: God had promised Abram an heir (Genesis 15:4), and Abram believed that promise. However, Abram and Sarai attempted to bring about the fulfillment through human means, driven by their own anxieties. Ishmael, though a significant figure and the father of a great nation, was not the heir through whom God’s covenant promise of salvation would be fulfilled. This underscores the principle that God's promises are ultimately fulfilled by His grace and power, not by human scheming, even when initiated with good intentions.
Ask a follow-up
The birth of Ishmael, while a fulfillment of God's promise to Abram concerning descendants, occurs outside the direct line of the covenant. This highlights the theme that God's promises are realized through divine appointment and not merely human effort or arrangement, even when those arrangements seem logical.
c. 2166 BC
Abram Migrates to Canaan
Abram, later renamed Abraham, leaves his homeland in Mesopotamia and settles in Canaan, following God's call. This marks the beginning of God's covenantal relationship with Abram and his descendants.
c. 2156 BC
Abram Enters Egypt
Fleeing famine, Abram and his wife Sarai travel to Egypt, where Sarai is taken into Pharaoh's harem due to her beauty, leading to a divine plague upon Egypt and Abram's departure.
c. 2155 BC
Abram and Lot Separate
Abram's nephew Lot and Abram's own possessions and followers become too numerous to coexist in the same land, leading to a peaceful separation of their territories.
c. 2145 BC
God Establishes Covenant with Abram
God makes a solemn covenant with Abram, promising him numerous descendants who will inherit the land of Canaan. This promise is ratified by a divine ceremony.
c. 2144 BC— this verse
Hagar Conceives Ishmael
After ten years in Canaan with no child, Sarai gives her Egyptian servant Hagar to Abram as a concubine. Hagar conceives Abram's son, Ishmael.
c. 2143 BC
Birth of Ishmael
Hagar gives birth to Ishmael. Abram is eighty-six years old at this time. This event is the focus of Genesis 16:15.
c. 2138 BC
Birth of Isaac
God fulfills his promise, and Sarai, despite her old age, conceives and gives birth to Isaac, the son of the covenant. Ishmael is around 14 years old at this time.
This passage directly parallels the naming of Ishmael by reiterating God's promise to make Ishmael the father of twelve princes, emphasizing his future significance as foretold in his name.
Galatians 4:22-25This New Testament passage uses the story of Hagar and Ishmael as an allegory for the tension between the old covenant (law) and the new covenant (grace), showing how their story is interpreted theologically.
Genesis 21:12-13This passage shows God's continued care for Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, even after they were sent away, underscoring the divine promise associated with Ishmael's birth.
Isaiah 54:1-3This prophetic passage is seen as a spiritual parallel to Hagar's story, calling barren women (or the church) to rejoice and expand, echoing the unexpected fruitfulness promised to Hagar.
gillGenesis 16:15: "And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael."
And Hagar bare Abram a son,.... Being returned to his house, and received by him, and reconciled to Sarai, she brought forth a son to Abram, according to the prediction of the angel: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael; and this name Jarchi suggests he gave by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that dwelt in him: but it is highly reasonable to suppose, that Hagar upon…
clarkeGenesis 16:15: "And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael."
And Hagar bare Abram a son, etc. - It appears, therefore, that Hagar returned at the command of the angel, believing the promise that God had made to her. Called his son's name - Ishmael - Finding by the account of Hagar, that God had designed that he should be so called. "Ishmael," says Ainsworth, "is the first man in the world whose name was given him of God before he was born." In the pre…
What's easily missed is that Abram is the one who names the child, despite the angel having instructed Hagar to name him Ishmael in the previous chapter. This shows Abram's active obedience and acknowledgment of God's word through Hagar's divine encounter.
Following Hagar's return to Abram's household after her distressed flight and angelic encounter, she gives birth to Abram's son. Abram names the boy Ishmael, a name given by the angel, acknowledging God's hearing of Hagar's suffering and the divine promise for his descendants.
Following Hagar's return to Abram's household after her distressed flight and angelic encounter, she gives birth to Abram's son. Abram names the boy Ishmael, a name given by the angel, acknowledging God's hearing of Hagar's suffering and the divine promise for his descendants.
"And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael." — What's easily missed is that Abram is the one who names the child, despite the angel having instructed Hagar to name him Ishmael in the previous chapter. This shows Abram's active obedience and a…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026