Single lesson
Hagar and the Birth of Ishmael
Genesis 16:1–16
This lesson follows Genesis 16 carefully and soberly. Students will trace the sequence of choices, conflict, flight and God’s words to Hagar, then reflect on what the passage says about human actions and about God seeing and hearing affliction.
Before you teach
Genesis 16 opens with Sarai having borne no children and introduces Hagar, her Egyptian servant. The passage records Sarai’s proposal, Abram’s agreement, Hagar’s conception, rising conflict, Sarai’s harsh treatment of Hagar, Hagar’s flight, and the message Yahweh’s angel gives about Hagar and her son Ishmael.
Students will sequence Genesis 16:1–16 accurately and explain from the text both the outcomes of the characters’ choices and what Hagar’s encounter says about God.
Welcome: Track the account carefully
5 minIntroduce the passage as a serious account that needs close reading. Ask students to listen for each step in order and to notice who speaks and acts. Start with the opening problem: Sarai had borne no children, and Hagar is identified as Sarai’s Egyptian servant. This prepares students to follow the account without guessing beyond the text.
Genesis 16:1, Genesis 16:2
Read and explain: Sarai’s proposal and the conflict
10 minRead Genesis 16:1–6 aloud. Explain the sequence plainly: Sarai proposed that Abram go in to Hagar, Abram listened, Sarai gave Hagar to Abram, and Hagar conceived. Then the conflict is described in stages: Hagar despised Sarai, Sarai blamed Abram, Abram left Hagar in Sarai’s hand, Sarai dealt harshly with Hagar, and Hagar fled.
Genesis 16:2, Genesis 16:3, Genesis 16:4, Genesis 16:5, Genesis 16:6
Discuss: Hagar in the wilderness
9 minRead Genesis 16:7–12. Ask students to identify what Yahweh’s angel does and says. He finds Hagar, asks where she came from and where she is going, tells her to return and submit, and speaks about her offspring and her son. The name Ishmael is explained in the text: Yahweh has heard Hagar’s affliction.
Genesis 16:7, Genesis 16:8, Genesis 16:9, Genesis 16:10, Genesis 16:11, Genesis 16:12
Respond: Text-tracing sequence and observation chart
10 minStudents work in pairs to build a six-step sequence from the passage using exact verse references. Then they make two columns: ‘Human actions’ and ‘What God says or does’. In the first, they list actions such as proposing, listening, despising, blaming, dealing harshly and fleeing. In the second, they list finding, speaking, hearing affliction and naming Ishmael.
Genesis 16:2, Genesis 16:4, Genesis 16:5, Genesis 16:6, Genesis 16:7, Genesis 16:11, Genesis 16:13, Genesis 16:15
Closing: Key statements from the passage
6 minFinish by rereading the end of the passage. Students choose one exact statement from Hagar or from Yahweh’s angel and explain where it belongs in the sequence and why it matters in the account. Conclude with the final outcome recorded: Hagar bore a son, Abram named him Ishmael, and Abram’s age is given.
Genesis 16:11, Genesis 16:13, Genesis 16:15, Genesis 16:16
Questions to explore
What exact steps in Genesis 16 show how the conflict developed after Sarai’s proposal?
Trace the order from Sarai’s words, to Abram listening, to Hagar conceiving, then notice the text’s own descriptions: Hagar despised Sarai, Sarai blamed Abram, Sarai dealt harshly with Hagar, and Hagar fled.
Genesis 16:2, Genesis 16:4, Genesis 16:5, Genesis 16:6
What does Yahweh’s angel say about Hagar’s son, and what reason does the text give for his name?
Use the angel’s words about the child, his name Ishmael, and the explanation that Yahweh has heard Hagar’s affliction.
Genesis 16:10, Genesis 16:11, Genesis 16:12
How does Hagar describe God after this encounter, and what in the passage leads to that response?
Quote Hagar’s words about God seeing, and connect them with the angel finding her and speaking to her in her affliction.
Genesis 16:7, Genesis 16:11, Genesis 16:13
Make, think or respond
Genesis 16 Text-Trace Chart
What you’ll need
- Bible
- plain paper
- pens or pencils
- ruler
Try it together
- Draw a line down the middle of a page to make two columns titled 'Human actions' and 'What God says or does'.
- Read Genesis 16:2–15 and list short observations with exact verse references in the correct column.
- On the back, write a six-step sequence of the account using verse references only.
- Choose one statement from Genesis 16:11 or Genesis 16:13 and write two sentences explaining its place in the passage.
- Share your chart with a partner and compare whether your sequence follows the text exactly.
This activity keeps the response close to Genesis 16 by tracing the order of events and distinguishing the characters’ actions from what God says and does.
Adapt for your group
- For students who need more support, provide the six verse references to order first: Genesis 16:2, Genesis 16:4, Genesis 16:6, Genesis 16:7, Genesis 16:11, Genesis 16:15.
- For stronger readers, add a third column titled 'Outcomes' and ask them to link each outcome to the action or word that comes before it.
An optional closing prayer
'God, thank you that this passage shows you saw Hagar and heard her affliction. Help us read your word truthfully, think carefully about our choices, and remember what you have said.'
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Genesis 16
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2 Sarai said to Abram, “See now, Yahweh has restrained me from bearing. Please go in to my servant. It may be that I will obtain children by her.” Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
3 Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his wife.
4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived. When she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5 Sarai said to Abram, “This wrong is your fault. I gave my servant into your bosom, and when she saw that she had conceived, she despised me. May Yahweh judge between me and you.”
6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your hand. Do to her whatever is good in your eyes.” Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her face.
7 Yahweh’s angel found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain on the way to Shur.
8 He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where did you come from? Where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.”
9 Yahweh’s angel said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hands.”
10 Yahweh’s angel said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, that they will not be counted for multitude.”
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.
12 He will be like a wild donkey among men. His hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. He will live opposed to all of his brothers.”
13 She called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees,” for she said, “Have I even stayed alive after seeing him?”
14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi. Behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 Hagar bore a son for Abram. Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.