El Roi
El Roi (Template:Langx) is one of the names of God in the Hebrew Bible meaning "The God who sees me" or "The God who sees". This name appears in the Book of Genesis, specifically in Genesis 16:13,[1] and is of particular interest because it is spoken by Hagar, an Egyptian servant of Sarai (Sarah), Abraham's wife.
Context
In Genesis 16, Sarai, the wife of Abram (later Abraham), is barren. She suggests that Abram takes Hagar as a concubine, but after Hagar becomes pregnant she begins to experience mistreatment and jealousy from Sarai. Feeling oppressed, Hagar flees into the wilderness.
There, an angel of the Lord appears to her near a spring and tells her to return to Sarai, while also delivering a prophecy that her son, Ishmael, will become the father of a great nation. After this encounter, Hagar is deeply moved, and she says:
Hagar then says to "the LORD who spoke to her, "You are El Roi",[2] recognizing that even as a lowly, mistreated servant, she was seen and acknowledged by God. This is profound because it shows a deeply personal and intimate understanding of God’s attention and care, even for someone on the margins.[citation needed]
The biblical account relates El roi to the name of the place where Hagar met the angel: "Wherefore the well was called 'Beer-lahai-roi'; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered".[3]
Translations
In Jewish writings, Rashi translates El roi as "god of sight",[4] Joseph b. Isaac Bekhor Shor translates it "god saw me",[5] Abraham Ibn Ezra, Bahya b. Asher, and Obadiah b. Jacob Sforno, "god who appears",[6][7][8] David Kimhi, "god I saw"[9] or "visible god",[10] and Levi b. Gershon as "all-seeing god".[11]
In English bibles, the English Standard Version says "You are a God of seeing",[12] and the New King James Version has "You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees".[13] The Common English Bible and the Jerusalem Bible retain the untranslated wording "El Roi".[2][14]
References
Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.
- ^ Script error: No such module "Bibleverse".: JPS 1917 translation
- ^ a b Script error: No such module "Bibleverse".: Common English Bible
- ^ Script error: No such module "Bibleverse".: JPS 1917 translation
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Rashi on Genesis 16:13:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Bekhor Shor, Genesis 16:13". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ibn Ezra on Genesis 16:13:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Rabbeinu Bahya, Bereshit 16:13:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sforno on Genesis 16:13:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Radak on Genesis 16:13:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Sefer HaShorashim, ראה 1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ralbag Beur HaMilot on Torah, Genesis 16:13:2". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
- ^ Script error: No such module "Bibleverse".: ESV
- ^ Script error: No such module "Bibleverse".: NKJV
- ^ Jerusalem Bible (1966), Genesis 16:13
