The Meaning of Genesis 16:4 Explained

Genesis 16:4

KJV: And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

YLT: and he goeth in unto Hagar, and she conceiveth, and she seeth that she hath conceived, and her mistress is lightly esteemed in her eyes.

Darby: And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was lightly esteemed in her eyes.

ASV: And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he went in  unto Hagar,  and she conceived:  and when she saw  that she had conceived,  her mistress  was despised  in her eyes. 

What does Genesis 16:4 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 16:1-16 - Abram's Son Ishmael
Poor Hagar! What contrasts met in her life! Bought in an Egyptian slave-mart, but destined to be the mother of a great people! She is not the last to suffer from the mistakes and sins of God's children, but she was abundantly recompensed. Abram did her a great wrong. Human policy will often suggest a course which seems right in our own eyes, but the end is death. How remarkable is the advice given to Hagar by the angel: return and submit! Does not the child of God often seek to evade the cross! "Let me but get away from this intolerable trouble," we cry. But God meets us. "No stranger He to all our wanderings wild!" We have to take up the cross, and sit down again on the hard stool. Some day we shall be permitted to go out, but not till we have learned our lesson perfectly. In the meanwhile, we are assured that our life shall be prolific in great results. In an outburst of awe and joy, the slave-girl learned that God sees and hears. Note 2 Chronicles 16:9; 1 Peter 3:12.
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Chapter Summary: Genesis 16

1  Sarai, being barren, gives Hagar to Abram
4  Hagar, being afflicted for despising her mistress, runs away
7  An angel commands her to return and submit herself,
10  promises her a numerous posterity,
12  and shows their character and condition
13  Hagar names the place, and returns to Sarai
15  Ishmael is born
16  The age of Abram

What do the individual words in Genesis 16:4 mean?

So he went in to Hagar and she conceived and when she saw that she had conceived then became despised her mistress in her eyes
וַיָּבֹ֥א אֶל־ הָגָ֖ר וַתַּ֑הַר וַתֵּ֙רֶא֙ כִּ֣י הָרָ֔תָה וַתֵּקַ֥ל גְּבִרְתָּ֖הּ בְּעֵינֶֽיהָ

וַיָּבֹ֥א  So  he  went  in 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
הָגָ֖ר  Hagar 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: הָגָר  
Sense: Sarah’s Egyptian slave girl, Abraham’s concubine, Ishmael’s mother.
וַתַּ֑הַר  and  she  conceived 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: הֹור 
Sense: to conceive, become pregnant, bear, be with child, be conceived, progenitor.
וַתֵּ֙רֶא֙  and  when  she  saw 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
כִּ֣י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
הָרָ֔תָה  she  had  conceived 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: הֹור 
Sense: to conceive, become pregnant, bear, be with child, be conceived, progenitor.
וַתֵּקַ֥ל  then  became  despised 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: קָלַל  
Sense: to be slight, be swift, be trifling, be of little account, be light.
גְּבִרְתָּ֖הּ  her  mistress 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: גְּבֶרֶת  
Sense: lady, queen.
בְּעֵינֶֽיהָ  in  her  eyes 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, cdc, third person feminine singular
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.