Genesis 16 in the early church
76 passages quote, allude to, or echo Genesis 16, grouped by verse; passages on the same verse are in date order. Verse text from the Berean Standard Bible (public domain). References use the Protestant English Bible's numbering, with a writer's own numbering in brackets where it differs.
Verses: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 15
Genesis 16:1
Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
Genesis 16:2
So Sarai said to Abram, “Look now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 16:2–3 | Against Heresies 1.18.3 · Irenaeus of Lyons | allusion, high confidence | ca. 180–190 |
| Gen 16:2 | Miscellanies 1.5.30 · Clement of Alexandria | allusion, high confidence | ca. 198–203 |
| Gen 16:2 | Sermon 51.28 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 391-430 |
| Gen 16:2–6 | Homily 20.5 on Ephesians · John Chrysostom | allusion, high confidence | ca. 392-397 |
| Gen 16:2 | Against Faustus the Manichaean 3.3 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 398–400 |
| Gen 16:2 | Against Faustus the Manichaean 22.30 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 398–400 |
| Gen 16:2 | Against Faustus the Manichaean 22.31 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 398–400 |
| Gen 16:2 | Against Faustus the Manichaean 23.6 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 398–400 |
| Gen 16:2 | On the Good of Marriage 17 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | 401 |
| Gen 16:2 | Tractates on the Gospel of John 12.4 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 406–420 |
Genesis 16:3
So after he had lived in Canaan for ten years, his wife Sarai took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to Abram to be his wife.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 16:3 | On Monogamy 6 · Tertullian | allusion, high confidence | ca. 210–217 |
| Gen 16:3 | Fragment on 1 Corinthians (Jenkins § 35, part 1) · Origen | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 226-254 |
| Gen 16:3 | Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 34.16.8 · Epiphanius of Salamis | allusion, high confidence | 374-377 |
| Gen 16:3 | Commentary on Titus 1:6 · Jerome | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 387 |
| Gen 16:3 | City of God 16.34 · Augustine of Hippo | quotation, high confidence | 413–426 |
Genesis 16:4
And he slept with Hagar, and she conceived. But when Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 16:4 | Fragments on Genesis, column 115 · Origen | quotation, high confidence | ca. 220-254 |
| Gen 16:4 | On Paradise 65 · Ambrose | allusion, high confidence | ca. 375-378 |
| Gen 16:4 | Against Faustus the Manichaean 22.25 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 398–400 |
Genesis 16:5
Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 16:5 | Tractates on the Gospel of John 11.13 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 406–420 |
Genesis 16:6
“Here,” said Abram, “your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 16:6 | Miscellanies 1.5.32 · Clement of Alexandria | quotation, high confidence | ca. 198–203 |
| Gen 16:6 | Prophetic Extracts 1.4 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | before 325 (probably ca. 310–320) |
| Gen 16:6 | Letter 140.19 · Jerome | allusion, high confidence | ca. 370–419 |
| Gen 16:6 | Letter 93.6 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 386–430 |
| Gen 16:6 | Letter 185.9 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 386–430 |
| Gen 16:6 | Sermon 3.1 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 391-430 |
| Gen 16:6 | Tractates on the Gospel of John 11.13 · Augustine of Hippo | quotation, high confidence | ca. 406–420 |
| Gen 16:6–9 | Homilies on the First Epistle of John 10.10 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 407 |
| Gen 16:6 | City of God 16.25 · Augustine of Hippo | quotation, high confidence | 413–426 |
Genesis 16:7
Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 16:7 | On the Trinity 18 · Novatian | allusion, high confidence | ca. 240–250 |
| Gen 16:7 | Prophetic Extracts 1.3 · Eusebius of Caesarea | allusion, medium confidence | before 325 (probably ca. 310–320) |
| Gen 16:7 | Prophetic Extracts 1.4 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | before 325 (probably ca. 310–320) |
| Gen 16:7–13 | On the Trinity 5.11 · Hilary of Poitiers | allusion, high confidence | ca. 356–360 |
| Gen 16:7 | On the Trinity 12.46 · Hilary of Poitiers | allusion, high confidence | ca. 356–360 |
Genesis 16:8
“Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 16:8 | Tractates on the Gospel of John 11.13 · Augustine of Hippo | quotation, high confidence | ca. 406–420 |
Genesis 16:9
So the angel of the LORD told her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.”
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 16:9 | Prophetic Extracts 1.4 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | before 325 (probably ca. 310–320) |
| Gen 16:9–10 | On the Trinity 4.23 · Hilary of Poitiers | quotation, high confidence | ca. 356–360 |
| Gen 16:9 | Sermon 3.1 · Augustine of Hippo | quotation, high confidence | ca. 391-430 |
| Gen 16:9 | Tractates on the Gospel of John 11.13 · Augustine of Hippo | quotation, high confidence | ca. 406–420 |
| Gen 16:9 | Tractates on the Gospel of John 11.15 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | ca. 406–420 |
Genesis 16:10
Then the angel added, “I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count.”
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 16:10 | On the Trinity 18 · Novatian | allusion, high confidence | ca. 240–250 |
| Gen 16:10 | Prophetic Extracts 1.4 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | before 325 (probably ca. 310–320) |
| Gen 16:10–13 | On the Trinity 4.26 · Hilary of Poitiers | allusion, high confidence | ca. 356–360 |
| Gen 16:10 | On the Trinity 5.13 · Hilary of Poitiers | allusion, high confidence | ca. 356–360 |
Genesis 16:11
The angel of the LORD proceeded: “Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son. And you shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 16:11 | Prophetic Extracts 1.4 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | before 325 (probably ca. 310–320) |
Genesis 16:12
He will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 16:12 | Demonstration 11.9 · Aphrahat | quotation, high confidence | 337-345 |
| Gen 16:12 | Demonstration 11.10 · Aphrahat | allusion, high confidence | 337-345 |
| Gen 16:12 | Letter 126.2 · Jerome | quotation, high confidence | ca. 370–419 |
| Gen 16:12 | Letter 129.4 · Jerome | quotation, high confidence | ca. 370–419 |
| Gen 16:12 | Letter 165.2 · Augustine of Hippo | quotation, high confidence | ca. 386–430 |
Genesis 16:13
So 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!”
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 16:13 | On the Trinity 18 · Novatian | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 240–250 |
| Gen 16:13 | Prophetic Extracts 1.4 · Eusebius of Caesarea | quotation, high confidence | before 325 (probably ca. 310–320) |
| Gen 16:13 | On the Trinity 4.23 · Hilary of Poitiers | quotation, high confidence | ca. 356–360 |
| Gen 16:13 | On the Trinity 12.46 · Hilary of Poitiers | allusion, high confidence | ca. 356–360 |
| Gen 16:13–14 | Genesis, lines 575–599 · Cyprianus Gallus | allusion, high confidence | early 5th cent. |
Genesis 16:15
And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.
| Reference | Passage | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gen 16:15 | Homilies 2.16 · Anonymous | allusion, medium confidence | 4th century (reworking earlier material) |
| Gen 16:15 | Recognitions 1.33 · Anonymous | allusion, medium confidence | Greek original 3rd–4th century; Rufinus's Latin translation before 407 |
| Gen 16:15 | Commentary on Galatians 4.22 · Marius Victorinus | allusion, high confidence | ca. 360–363 |
| Gen 16:15 | Commentary on Galatians 4:21–22 · Ambrosiaster | allusion, high confidence | ca. 366–384 |
| Gen 16:15 | Letter 60.8 · Jerome | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 370–419 |
| Gen 16:15 | Panarion (Adversus Haereses), Haer. 1-64 4.1.6 · Epiphanius of Salamis | allusion, high confidence | 374-377 |
| Gen 16:15 | Tractates on the Gospel of John 11.10 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, medium confidence | ca. 406–420 |
| Gen 16:15 | City of God 16.26 · Augustine of Hippo | allusion, high confidence | 413–426 |
| Gen 16:15–16 | Book 3, lines 580–605 · Claudius Marius Victor | allusion, high confidence | ca. 425-430 |