I. Name
The name ʾĒl roʾî (El/god of seeing/vision) is attested only once in the OT, in Gen. 16.13. It is best interpreted as a pseudo-archaic divine name inserted by a later redactor of Gen. 16.
II. Identity
The name El-roi is given by Hagar, Sarah’s runaway and pregnant maid, after her flight into the desert and her encounter with a divine messenger. The messenger foretold the birth of a son whom she is instructed to name Ishmael (v 12), a theophoric name of a common type constructed with El and the imperfect of šmʿ (‘may El hear’). Vv 13–…