God’s Promise to Hagar in Genesis 16: Rethinking a Problematic Text

Abstract

God made an incredible promise to Hagar in Gen 16.12; however, the beauty of the promise gets lost in translation. Our English Bibles typically render this promise in a pejorative manner, which has led to centuries of stigmatizing Arabs, primarily Muslim Arabs. The polyvalence of the Hebrew in the verse opens the door for significantly different renderings of God’s promise. Thus, the assumptions translators bring to the text can easily shape their understandings. This paper works through the Hebrew and proposes a suitable alternative to traditional renderings, one that is sensitive to the immediate narrative context and to the broader biblical record. Fresh reflection on this verse can lead to corrected translations and the intentional elimination of any sacred justification for this stigmatization.

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