Genesis 16:15 · Bible study
Genesis 16:15 Commentary: Abram Names Ishmael in Obedience
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does Abram name Hagar's son Ishmael? This study explores the naming act as an expression of faith and obedience to God's promise.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Abram obediently names his son Ishmael, acknowledging the child as his own and honoring the divine message delivered through Hagar.
- Key words: yalad (bear/beget), qara (call/name), shem (name/reputation). The naming establishes paternity and identity.
- Main debate: Whether Abram regarded Ishmael as the promised seed or was still awaiting clearer revelation, a tension resolved in Genesis 17.
- Theological theme: God's faithfulness amid human impatience; the fulfillment of a promise through the “child of the flesh” before the “child of the promise.”
- Best use: A Lenten or Old Testament narrative sermon on trusting God's timing and the way God uses flawed human decisions to advance His plan.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Hagar bore a son for Abram. Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
KJV King James Version 1769
And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bare, Ishmael.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And Hagar beareth to Abram a son; and Abram calleth the name of his son, whom Hagar hath borne, Ishmael;
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And Agar brought forth a son to Abram: who called his name Ismael.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y parió Agar á Abram un hijo, y llamó Abram el nombre de su hijo que le parió Agar, Ismael.
E Agar deu à luz um filho a Abrão, e Abrão chamou o nome do seu filho que Agar lhe deu à luz Ismael.
Agar enfanta un fils à Abram; et Abram donna le nom d’ Ismaël au fils qu’ Agar lui enfanta.
Und Hagar gebar einen Sohn; und Abram hieß den Sohn, den ihm Hagar gebar, Ismael.
En Hagar baarde Abram een zoon; en Abram noemde den naam zijns zoons, die Hagar gebaard had, Ismael.
E Agar partorì un figliuolo ad Abramo; e Abramo, al figliuolo che Agar gli avea partorito, pose nome Ismaele.
I urodziła Agar Abramowi syna, i nazwał Abram imię syna swego, którego urodziła Agar, Ismael.
Агарь родила Авраму сына; и нарек [Аврам] имя сыну своему, рожденному от Агари: Измаил.
後來夏甲 給亞伯蘭 生了 一個兒子；亞伯蘭 給他 起名 叫 以實瑪利。
And Hagar gave birth to a child, the son of Abram, to whom Abram gave the name of Ishmael.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Genesis 16:15
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that Abram's naming of his son Ishmael is an act of obedience to the divine instruction given to Hagar (Gen 16:11). Adam Clarke notes that Hagar returned at the angel's command and reported the conversation; Abram, believing the promise, named the boy accordingly. Calvin states that Abram “shows himself to be obedient and grateful to God” by naming his son according to the angel's command and by celebrating God's goodness. Gill adds that it is “highly reasonable” that Hagar related the entire encounter and that Abram acted in obedience to the angel's order. Keil and Delitzsch observe that Abram “regarded it probably as the promised seed” at this point, awaiting clearer revelation thirteen years later. Matthew Henry connects the birth to the allegory in Galatians 4, where Ishmael represents those “born after the flesh,” yet also acknowledges that those who obey divine precepts receive the comfort of divine promises. No commentator disputes that Abram accepted the child as his own and named him in faith; the act itself is presented as a straightforward response to God's word.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: It is clear that Abram named his son Ishmael in obedience to God's command, thereby accepting the child as his own and honoring the divine promise.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Abram's faith in naming Ishmael | All commentators agree that Abram named Ishmael in obedience to the angel's command as reported by Hagar, showing trust in God's word. | Some emphasize that Abram likely saw Ishmael as the fulfillment of the promise (Keil), while others stress that his understanding would be corrected later (Clarke, Calvin). |
| Source of the name | The name Ishmael ('God hears') originates from the angel's instruction to Hagar (Gen 16:11). | Whether Abram was directly inspired by the Holy Spirit (Jarchi via Gill) or acting on Hagar's report (Gill, Clarke) is discussed, but the outcome is the same. |
| Significance of the birth | The birth marks the beginning of Abrahamic descendants but not the covenant line. | For Paul (Gal 4) Ishmael represents the 'flesh' and Isaac the 'spirit'; some Christian readings emphasize this allegorical tension, while others focus on God's blessing of Ishmael (Gen 17:20). |
| Abram's passivity and action | Abram had earlier passively followed Sarai's plan (Gen 16:2-4); now he actively names the child. | Some see this as growth in faith (Calvin), others as still operating within the 'fleshly' means of the time (Matthew Henry). |
Historical & Cultural Context
In the ancient Near East, a father's act of naming his child was a formal declaration of paternity and authority. Calvin remarks that “fathers, by the imposition of the name, declare the power which they have over their sons.” Abram therefore legitimizes Ishmael as his heir through this naming.
The name Ishmael means “God hears,” echoing the angel's promise in 16:11: “because Yahweh has heard your affliction.” Hagar had fled from Sarai's harsh treatment and encountered the angel at a spring on the road to Shur, the route to Egypt. After receiving the angel's command to return and submit, she came back to Abram's household and bore her son. Clarke suggests that Hagar must have told Abram everything, leading him to name the boy as the angel had instructed.
Abram was eighty-six years old at this birth (16:16). For twenty-five years he had awaited the fulfillment of God's promise of a son. Now a child is born, but through an Egyptian slave, a situation born of Sarai's impatience and Abram's compliance. The child would be the progenitor of a great nation (Gen 17:20), but not the covenant heir. The well where Hagar met the angel was called Beer Lahai Roi, “the well of the Living One who sees me” (Gen 16:14), a lasting memorial of God's care for the outcast. Concubinage was a lawful practice at this time, as Clarke notes, so Abram's action was not morally or legally questionable within his cultural context. Yet the narrative subtly underscores human attempts to fulfill divine promise through natural means, a theme that will be resolved when Isaac is born.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Genesis 16:15. The verse is stable in the Masoretic Text and across ancient versions. All major English translations render the verse similarly.
Reception History
In early Jewish interpretation, Ishmael is seen as the ancestor of the Arab peoples, and the name “God hears” is celebrated as a sign of divine mercy toward an outcast. The Apostle Paul in Galatians 4 uses Hagar and Ishmael as an allegory for the old covenant from Mount Sinai, contrasting the child of the slave woman with the child of the free woman. Matthew Henry and other Protestant commentators continue this typological reading, seeing Ishmael as representing the fleshly seed that appears before the spiritual seed. In the broader Christian tradition, the verse is cited to show God's care for the marginalized and His sovereignty over human attempts to fulfill His promises. Later writers, such as Keil and Delitzsch, note that Abram's naming of Ishmael shows a willing reception of the child as his heir, until the fuller revelation of God's plan.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Trusting the messenger of God. Abram acts on Hagar's report of the angel's words, showing that faith often comes through unexpected witnesses.
- Obedience that names God's goodness. Abram both obeys the command to call the child Ishmael and honors God for hearing Hagar's affliction.
- God works through messy human choices. Sarai's impatience, Abram's compliance, and Hagar's flight all lead to a child God had already promised to bless.
Five-point outline
- The child of human impatience: Sarai's plan to have a child through Hagar.
- The return of the outcast: Hagar obeys the angel and comes back to submit.
- The father's embrace: Abram names Ishmael, accepting him as his son and heir.
- The meaning of the name: God hears, a reminder of divine mercy toward the afflicted.
- The waiting continues: Abram still expects the promised seed, a revelation yet to come.
Illustration hooks
- A family adopts a child after years of infertility, only to later conceive. How do they navigate love for both children?
- A leader makes an important decision based on partial information, trusting that God is at work even in uncertainty.
- A person acts on a word of encouragement from an unlikely source, choosing to believe and obey despite the odds.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How do I know if my actions are from faith or from impatience?
- Can God use my mistakes to accomplish His purposes?
- What does it mean to 'name' a situation as God sees it, even when the outcome is unclear?
Leading a Discussion
Genesis 16:15 marks a turning point: the child of promise (as it then appeared) is born and named. Yet this son is not the one through whom the covenant will be fully realized. The small group can explore how this naming act reveals Abram's faith and the tension between human plans and divine timing.
Discussion questions
- Why does Abram name the child Ishmael, and what does this tell us about his relationship with God?
- What might Hagar have reported to Abram about her encounter with the angel? How does her testimony shape Abram's response?
- Read Genesis 16:11. How does the meaning of Ishmael (“God hears”) apply to the entire story so far?
- In what ways does Abram's obedience in this verse contrast with his earlier passivity in the conflict between Sarai and Hagar?
- How does the birth of Ishmael both fulfill and complicate the promise given in Genesis 15?
- Why does the narrator include Abram's age (86) at this point? What does that detail emphasize?
- How does this passage challenge us to trust God's timing, especially when we have tried to “help” things along?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 16:11 | Yahweh’s angel said to her, “Behold, you are with child, and will bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because Yahweh has heard your affliction. |
| Genesis 17:18 | Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!” |
| Genesis 17:20 | As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. |
| Genesis 17:25 | Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. |
| Genesis 17:26 | In the same day both Abraham and Ishmael, his son, were circumcised. |
| Genesis 21:9 | Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking. |
| Genesis 21:21 | He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother got a wife for him out of the land of Egypt. |
| Genesis 25:9 | Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is near Mamre, |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke defends Abram's decision to take Hagar, arguing it was not blameworthy since concubinage was lawful under that dispensation and God had not yet specified that the promised heir must come through Sarai. He also notes Ishmael is the first person in Scripture named by God before his birth.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin notes that Abram names his son Ishmael in obedience to the angel's earlier command, showing both submission and gratitude. He infers that Hagar must have told Abram what happened, and that by giving the name, Abram publicly acknowledges God's care for her distress.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible observes that Abram, not Hagar, gives the name Ishmael to his son. This pattern of the father naming the child is characteristic of the Priestly source, as seen in earlier passages where the father also bestows the name.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Bible highlights that Abram personally named the child Ishmael rather than leaving it to Hagar. This act signifies Abram’s acceptance of the son despite the complex circumstances of their union. The name itself reflects the divine response to Hagar’s affliction, marking the boy as one whom God has heard.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill argues that Abram named his son Ishmael not by direct divine inspiration, as Jarchi suggests, but because Hagar had reported the angel's instruction to him. Abram believed her account and obediently followed the angel's command when he gave the boy that name.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch note that Abram likely regarded Ishmael as the promised seed when he was born. Only thirteen years later, when God revealed His plan more clearly, did Abram understand that the promised heir was still to come.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange interprets Sarai’s action as a tragic error born of heroic self-denial rather than simple ambition. He argues that her attempt to build a house through Hagar temporarily blinded Abram, who failed to recognize the servant’s growing pride and subsequent flight. This dynamic highlights how human impatience can distort divine promises, leading to complex family conflicts even among the patriarchs.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that Hagar's obedience to the angel brought her the promised son, illustrating that obeying God's commands secures the comfort of His promises. His main point is the contrast: Ishmael