And Sarai said to Abram, Behold now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing: I pray you, go in to my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
the Lord.
Genesis 17:16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
Genesis 18:10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.
Genesis 20:18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.
obtain children.
Genesis 30:3,6 And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her…
Exodus 21:4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.
Ruth 4:11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
hearkened.
Genesis 3:1-6,12,17 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? …
“Look now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children.
Sarai acknowledges the sovereignty of the LORD in her situation, attributing her barrenness to divine will. In the ancient Near East, childlessness was often seen as a source of shame and a sign of divine disfavor. Sarai's statement reflects her understanding of God's control over fertility, a theme that recurs throughout the Bible, such as in the stories of Rachel and Hannah.
Please go to my maidservant;
Sarai proposes a culturally accepted solution to her barrenness by offering her maidservant, Hagar, to Abram. This practice, known as surrogacy, was common in ancient Mesopotamian societies, as evidenced by legal texts like the Code of Hammurabi. It was a way to ensure the continuation of a family line when the wife was unable to conceive.
perhaps I can build a family by her.”
Sarai's hope is that through Hagar, she might have a child that would be considered her own. This reflects the deep desire for offspring in biblical times, not only for personal fulfillment but also for the continuation of one's lineage and inheritance. The phrase "build a family" indicates the importance of progeny in establishing one's legacy and fulfilling God's promise to Abram of numerous descendants.
And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
Abram's decision to heed Sarai's suggestion demonstrates his willingness to follow her plan, despite God's earlier promise of an heir. This action can be compared to Adam listening to Eve in Genesis 3, where human initiative leads to unintended consequences. Abram's compliance sets the stage for future conflict and highlights the tension between human plans and divine promises.
• After ten years in Canaan (Genesis 16:3), the couple feels the weight of unanswered promises (Genesis 12:2; 15:5).
• Sarai initiates the conversation, underscoring the shared struggle yet revealing her own plan.
• Throughout Scripture wives and husbands confer about God’s promises (cf. Judges 13:8–12; 1 Samuel 1:22–23). Here the dialogue exposes impatience rather than prayerful waiting.
• Sarai rightly acknowledges God’s sovereignty over the womb—“the LORD had closed her womb” (1 Samuel 1:5; cf. Genesis 11:30; Psalm 127:3).
• Her words carry disappointment that the promise of Genesis 15:4 remains unfulfilled.
• Scripture shows God often delays to deepen faith (Romans 4:18–21; James 1:3–4). Sarai voices the delay but not the faith.
• Hagar, an Egyptian servant (Genesis 16:1), becomes the proposed surrogate. Ancient custom allowed this (cf. Genesis 30:3 with Bilhah), yet custom never overrides God’s design (Genesis 2:24).
• Instead of seeking the LORD (Psalm 37:5), Sarai devises a human solution.
• Whenever believers lean on culture over covenant, complications follow (Proverbs 14:12).
• Sarai’s goal—“build a family”—mirrors God’s promise but shifts the means from divine to human (Genesis 15:2–5).
• Scripture contrasts trusting schemes (Isaiah 30:1–2) with trusting God (Proverbs 3:5–6).
• The plan produces Ishmael, whose line will later clash with Isaac’s (Genesis 16:12; 21:9–10), illustrating the lasting fallout of self-made fixes.
• Like Adam who “listened to the voice of your wife” apart from God’s word (Genesis 3:17), Abram complies without consulting the LORD (Genesis 16:2b).
• Spiritual leadership involves weighing counsel against God’s revelation (Ephesians 5:23; Acts 17:11).
• Abram’s acquiescence births conflict (Genesis 16:4–6) and necessitates divine correction (Genesis 17:1–2, 18–19).
Genesis 16:2 records Sarai’s proposal and Abram’s acceptance—a moment where impatience eclipses faith. Sarai recognizes God’s control yet tries to achieve His promise through human means; Abram consents rather than seeking God’s guidance. The episode affirms that while the LORD sovereignly opens and closes wombs, His purposes are realized by trusting obedience, not self-directed schemes.
(2) That I may obtain children by her.--Heb., that I may be builded by her. The words, ben=a son, bath (originally banth)=a daughter, baith (banith) =a house, and banah=to build, all belong to the same root in Hebrew, the idea being that the children build the house, and give a man the pledge of continuance. Until late times the tent was the habitation, while the house was the family (Genesis 7:1). Thus the phrase "to build a man a sure house" meant, to give him lasting prosperity (1Samuel 2:35). Hence, too, the close connection between building and the bestowal of children in Psalms 127. As then the children of a woman bestowed by her mistress upon the husband were regarded as belonging to the wife (Genesis 30:3), Sarah, despairing of bearing a son herself, as she was now seventy-five, and had been ten years in Canaan, concluded that her heir was to be born of a substitute.As regards the morality of the act, we find that marriage with one wife was the original law (Genesis 2:24), and that when polygamy was introduced it was coupled by the inspired narrator with violence and licence (Genesis 4:19). Monogamy was the rule, as we see in the households of Noah, Terah, Isaac, and others; but many, like Esau and Jacob, allowed themselves a greater latitude. In so doing, their conduct falls below the level of Christian morality, but everyone's actions are strongly influenced by the general views of the people among whom he lives; and in Abram's case it must be said in his defence that, with so much depending on his having offspring, he took no steps to obtain another wife, but remained content with the barren Sarai. When he did take Hagar it was at his wife's request, and for a reason which seemed to them adequate, and even religious. Rachel subsequently did the same for a much lower motive. The consent of the wife was in such cases all-important; and so in India, in ancient times, it was necessary to make a second marriage valid (see Wilson's Hindu Theatre, i. 179). . . .
Verse 2. - And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained us from bearing. Literally, hath shut me up (i.e. my womb, Genesis 20:18; συνέκλεισέ με, LXX.) from bearing. Her advancing age was rendering this every day more and more apparent. I pray thee go in unto my maid (cf. Genesis 30:3, 9). It is so far satisfactory that the proposal to make a secondary wife of Hagar did not originate with Abram; though, as Sarai's guilt in making it cannot altogether. be excused, so neither can Abram be entirely freed from fault in yielding to her solicitations. It may be that I may obtain children by her. Literally, be built up by her; from banah, to build, whence ben, a son (Deuteronomy 25:9; Ruth 4:11). Calvin notes that Sarai s desire of offspring was not prompted by natural impulse, but by the zeal of faith which made her wish to secure the promised benediction. As yet it had not been clearly intimated that Sarai was to be the mother of Abram's child; and hence her recourse to what was a prevalent practice of the times, while unjustifiable in itself, was a signal proof of her humility, of her devotion to her husband, and perhaps also of her faith in God. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. "The faith of both was defective; not indeed with regard to the substance of the premise, but with regard to the method in which they proceeded" (Calvin).