“The angel of the Lord found her in the wilderness, at the spring of water on the road to Shur” (Genesis 16:7). “The angel of the Lord found her…at the spring of water [on the road to Shur]…” – on the road to Ḥalutza. “He said: Hagar, Sarai’s maidservant, from where did you come, and where are you going? She said: From my mistress Sarai I am fleeing” (Genesis 16:8).
“He said: Hagar, Sarai’s maidservant” – if one says to you: Your ears are like those of a donkey, pay him no mind; if two [people tell you this], make a bridle for yourself.32If one person points out a fault to you, pay him no heed. If two people tell you, realize that the critique is true. So, Abram said: “Behold, your maidservant is in your hand.” The angel said: “Hagar, Sarai’s maidservant.”
So she said: “From my mistress Sarai I am fleeing.”33Both Abraham and the angel referred to her as a mere maidservant; as a result she regarded herself as a mere maidservant, by referring to Sarah as “my mistress.” “The angel of the Lord said to her: Return to your mistress and suffer under her hands” (Genesis 16:9). “The angel of the Lord said to her: I will multiply your descendants, and they shall not be counted due to their great number” (Genesis 16:10).
“The angel of the Lord said to her: Return to your mistress and suffer…The angel of the Lord said to her: I will multiply…” How many [different] angels encountered her? Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: Five – every time “saying” is stated, there was another angel.34The words: “The angel of the Lord found her” is also counted as a “saying.” The Rabbis say: Four – every time “angel” is stated [there was another angel].
Rabbi Ḥiyya said: Come and see how great the difference is between the earlier generations and the later generations. Manoaḥ said to his wife [upon seeing an angel]: “We will die because we have seen God” (Judges 13:22). But Hagar, Sarai’s maidservant, saw five angels one after the other and did not fear them. Rabbi Ḥiyya said: [Better] the fingernail of the forefathers and not the belly of the descendants.35The preceding generations are so much greater than their descendants that even the former’s fingernails are most substantial than the latter’s torso.
Rabbi Yitzḥak said: “She supervises [tzofiya] the proceedings of her household” (Proverbs 31:27)36This verse is expounded as a reference to Abraham and Sarah in the Midrash of Proverbs. – the members of Abraham’s household were prophets [tzofim], so she was accustomed to seeing them [angels].