Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Genesis 16:13 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 13. 13And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Hagar calls the LORD who spoke to her El Roi—commonly, 'God who sees me'—and marvels that she has seen or remained seen after the encounter. The exact Hebrew question is difficult, but divine seeing is the secure center.
Read It With
- Genesis 16:1–16
Read verses 7–14. The messenger finds and names Hagar; the LORD hears her affliction; Hagar names the LORD who spoke; and the well's name preserves the encounter.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Having been found, addressed, heard, and promised a future, Hagar responds by naming the LORD through the experience of divine seeing.
Read Genesis 16:13–14 together
Why these verses belong together: Hagar's El Roi response and the related well name preserve one divine-seeing encounter.
Verse 13. 13 And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
Verse 14. 14 Wherefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
Follow the Context
- Sarai's barrenness and Hagar's enslaved Egyptian identity frame the problem before anyone proposes a solution (16:1).
- Sarai proposes building a household through Hagar; Abram listens; Sarai takes Hagar and gives her to Abram as a wife after ten years in Canaan (16:2–3).
- Hagar conceives, her mistress becomes diminished in her eyes, Sarai blames Abram, Abram returns Hagar to Sarai's power, Sarai oppresses her, and Hagar flees (16:4–6).
- The LORD's messenger finds Hagar by a spring on the road to Shur, names her, questions her, and tells her to return and submit under Sarai's hand (16:7–9).
- The messenger promises innumerable offspring, instructs Hagar to name her son Ishmael because the LORD heard her affliction, and describes the son's future in difficult, disputed language (16:10–12).
- Hagar calls the LORD who spoke to her El Roi and the well receives a name remembering the Living One who sees; the exact wording and location remain disputed (16:13–14).
- Hagar bears Abram a son, Abram names him Ishmael, and the narrator dates the birth when Abram is eighty-six (16:15–16).
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“she called the name of the LORD”
In plain language: Hagar gives a title to the LORD who spoke to her.
The enslaved fugitive interprets her own encounter.
Why it matters: Her theological voice is part of the biblical narrative rather than an aside.
How certain? very strong“Thou God seest me”
In plain language: You are the God who sees me, or God of seeing.
Hagar understands the encounter through divine attention.
Why it matters: Seeing answers the social invisibility exposed throughout the chapter.
How certain? probable“have I also here looked after him that seeth me”
In plain language: A difficult question about seeing God after being seen and surviving or continuing.
Hagar marvels at the encounter.
Why it matters: The wording should be explained with humility rather than one overconfident translation.
How certain? uncertainWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The verse does not teach that being seen by God makes oppression harmless.
It does not guarantee immediate escape from every dangerous circumstance.
The title El Roi does not settle every grammatical option in Hagar's following question.
The verse does not require readers to treat Hagar's title as the only valid name for God.
What Remains True
God's seeing reaches people whose suffering and personhood powerful communities overlook.
How It Can Shape Life
- Practice attention that restores personhood: learn the name, hear the story, recognize the harm, and help secure safety rather than merely observing from a distance.
Teach It Back
Explain Genesis 16:13's contribution to Genesis 16:1–16. Include why the nearby verses are required, what the verse clearly says, and one conclusion it does not justify.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 16:1–16 — Hagar Flees and Encounters the God Who SeesSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The precise syntax and translation of El Roi and Hagar's question are disputed; the text does not give enough information to choose every nuance with certainty.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, narrative sequence, names, promises, birth, chronology, and canonical connections.
Exact location: Genesis 16:1–16 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 12:10–20; 15; 17; 21; 25; Exodus 1–3; and Galatians 4:21–31
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Enslaved-woman terminology, built-up wordplay, wife status, light-in-eyes idiom, oppression and submission verbs, messenger language, Ishmael, verse 12, El Roi, and well name.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 16:1–16
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Household-building idiom, wife and servant terminology, contempt, accusation, oppression, Shur, messenger, submission, Ishmael, verse 12 alternatives, El Roi, and Beer-lahai-roi.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 16 and translator notes 1–33
Open NET Genesis 16 ↗peer reviewed open affective literary and theological study
Seeing and Hearing Hagar: An Affective Reading of Genesis 16
Lee R. Martin
In die Skriflig 58.1, article a3016, 2024
Supports: Open affective reading of Hagar's enslavement, lack of naming, oppression language, wilderness flight, divine address, hearing, and return-command tension.
Exact location: In die Skriflig 58.1 (2024), article a3016, pp. 1–7, DOI 10.4102/ids.v58i1.3016
Open source ↗