And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.

GENESIS 16:11KJV
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Genesis 16:11 (KJV)

What does Genesis 16:11 mean?

Genesis 16:11 records the angel of the LORD telling Hagar that she is pregnant and will give birth to a son named Ishmael, because the LORD has heard her suffering. The verse explains the reason for the child's name and shows that God is aware of Hagar's distress.

In this scene, the angel (a messenger from God) speaks directly to Hagar, who is an Egyptian servant fleeing from Sarai. The message is both a prophecy and a comfort: Hagar will have a son, and his name, Ishmael, means "God hears," reflecting that God has noticed her hardship. This moment highlights God's attention to individuals in distress, even those on the margins.

The Hebrew behind Genesis 16:11

  • The word for "angel" is מַלְאָךְ (mal’akh), which means "messenger." Here, it refers to a divine messenger, emphasizing that the message comes directly from God.
  • The name "Ishmael" is יִשְׁמָעֵאל (Yishma‘el), meaning "God hears." The explanation given in the verse ties the name directly to Hagar's experience, showing that names in the Bible often carry deep meaning connected to events.
  • The word for "heard" is שָׁמַע (shama‘), which means "to hear" or "to listen." The verse stresses that God is attentive to Hagar's "affliction" (עָנִי, ‘oni), meaning her suffering or misery.

Why Genesis 16:11 matters

  • Genesis 16:11 clarifies that God is not distant but attentive to the suffering of individuals, even those who might feel overlooked, like Hagar.
  • The verse shows the importance of names in the Bible, as Ishmael's name is a lasting reminder that God hears and responds to human pain.
  • This moment sets up the future story of Ishmael and his descendants, connecting Hagar's personal experience to larger themes in Genesis about God's promises and care.

Where else these words appear

“Behold” Hebrew H2009 · used in 16 verses

  • Genesis 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
  • Genesis 50:5 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.
  • 1 Chronicles 11:25 Behold, he was honourable among the thirty, but attained not to the first three: and David set him over his guard.

“child” Hebrew H2030 · used in 16 verses

  • Genesis 38:24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
  • 1 Samuel 4:19 And his daughter in law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered: and when she heard the tidings that the ark of God was taken, and that her father in law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and travailed; for her pains came upon her.
  • Isaiah 26:17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.

“affliction” Hebrew H6040 · used in 37 verses

  • Genesis 29:32 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.
  • Nehemiah 9:9 And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;
  • Psalms 107:10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;

“Ishmael” Hebrew H3458 · used in 44 verses

  • Genesis 16:15 And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
  • 2 Kings 25:23 And when all the captains of the armies, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
  • Jeremiah 41:1 Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah.