Genesis 16:15

Genesis 16:15, in plain English

Hagar goes back to Abram and has the baby—a son—and Abram names him Ishmael, the name the angel gave him.

Why it's here

Hagar returned to the household, just as the angel told her. She carried her son to term despite everything she'd been through. And when the baby is born, Abram participates by giving him the name that God had already given him through the angel. This is Abram accepting Ishmael as his son, honoring the promise God made to Hagar.

Who's speaking

The narrator describes the birth and naming of Ishmael.

Where it sits in the story

Ishmael is born. He's real, he's here, and he's claimed by God and by his father. This child, born from Abram and Sarai's lack of faith, becomes the first of Abram's descendants—though not the child of promise yet to come.

The scholarly reading

Hagar bears Abram a son, and Abram names him Ishmael, fulfilling the angel's announcement and establishing him within the patriarchal household.

Language and setting

The birth narrative employs the standard Genesis formula (וילד את־הבן, 'and she bore the son'), normalizing Ishmael's arrival within the genealogical records. Abram's naming of the child—an act establishing paternal authority and acknowledgment—confirms his acceptance of the angel's declaration. The text does not indicate Abram's emotional response, but the simple naming suggests recognition of obligation if not full parental investment. Ishmael becomes part of the genealogical record through this act.

Voice

The narrator, recording the fulfillment of the divine promise.

Significance

Ishmael's birth fulfills the angel's word, yet it remains incomplete—the promise of Isaac, the covenantal heir, has not yet occurred. Genesis 16 ends with a son born outside the promised line, a reminder that divine blessing operates on multiple registers. Ishmael's existence will complicate the later narrative of election (Genesis 17), as readers must hold together God's multiple purposes.

13So Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen the One who sees me!”

14Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. It is located between Kadesh and Bered.

15And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.

16Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

Read all of Genesis 16 — Sarai grows impatient with God's timing and takes matters into her own hands. The consequences ripple across centuries — but God sees the woman everyone else overlooks.