What Does the Bible Say About the Name El-Roi?
The Bible gives many names of God, each highlighting different aspects of His character and relationship with His people. One of the most unique is the name El-Roi, which means “the God who sees.” This title is found only once, in Genesis 16:13, where Hagar, the servant of Sarah, encounters God in the wilderness. The story of El-Roi shows that God sees, knows, and cares even for the outcast and afflicted.
This article explores the meaning of El-Roi, its background, and its significance for understanding God’s character. By examining how the Bible portrays this name, we see a reminder of God’s personal attention to His people, especially the vulnerable.
1. The Story of Hagar and the God Who Sees
Genesis 16 tells the story of Sarah’s Egyptian maidservant, Hagar. When Sarah could not conceive, she gave Hagar to Abraham as a concubine. After Hagar became pregnant, conflict arose, and she fled into the wilderness. It was there, by a spring of water, that the angel of the Lord appeared to her.
The messenger gave Hagar a promise: she would bear a son and name him Ishmael, meaning “God hears.” This showed that God had not ignored her suffering. In response, Hagar gave a name to God: El-Roi. She said, “You are the God who sees me,” and the place was named Beer-lahai-roi, “the well of the Living One who sees me” (Genesis 16:13–14).
This moment shows that God does not overlook those whom society rejects. Hagar, an Egyptian slave and a woman without power, was personally met by God and given dignity through His attention.
2. Meaning and Background of El-Roi
The name El-Roi is unique in the Bible. It combines “El,” the common Semitic word for God, with “Roi,” from the Hebrew root ra’ah, meaning “to see.” Thus, El-Roi can be translated as:
“The God who sees me”
“The God of vision”
“The God who looks after me”
Unlike titles such as El-Shaddai or El-Olam, El-Roi does not appear in other biblical texts or inscriptions from the ancient Near East. Some scholars suggest it was a way of expressing God’s personal involvement in this specific story. Others argue it may have been added later to emphasize that Hagar’s encounter was with Israel’s God, not a foreign deity.
Regardless of the historical questions, the Bible presents El-Roi as a declaration that God sees human pain and responds with care.
3. God’s Seeing in the Old Testament
The theme of God seeing is not limited to Genesis 16. The Bible often emphasizes that God sees His people:
In Exodus 3:7, God tells Moses, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt.”
In 2 Chronicles 16:9, we read that “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.”
Psalm 33:18 says, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love.”
These passages confirm that El-Roi is not just Hagar’s God, but the God of all who suffer and call upon Him. His seeing is not passive observation; it is active care that leads to deliverance and salvation.
4. Theological Significance of El-Roi
The name El-Roi teaches several important truths about God:
God is personal – He does not merely govern the universe from afar but sees each individual. Hagar’s story reminds us that God knows each person by name and circumstance.
God cares for the marginalized – Hagar was a foreigner, a servant, and a woman in distress. Yet she received a divine encounter. The Bible repeatedly shows God as the defender of the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger (Deuteronomy 10:18).
God reveals Himself through His actions – Hagar named God not because she had learned theology but because she had experienced His mercy. In the Bible, God’s names often arise from what He does for His people.
This makes El-Roi a profoundly comforting name. It assures believers that even in isolation, oppression, or wilderness moments, God sees.
5. El-Roi and Christian Reflection
While the name El-Roi appears only once, its theme continues throughout Scripture and finds deeper fulfillment in the New Testament. Jesus, described as the Good Shepherd (John 10:14), knows His sheep and calls them by name. He saw the marginalized—blind beggars, tax collectors, lepers, and Samaritans—and gave them dignity by His attention.
In Matthew 6:8, Jesus assured His disciples that “your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” This echoes the same truth Hagar discovered: the God who sees is also the God who provides.
Christians can take comfort in knowing that the same God who saw Hagar in her distress still sees His people today. He is El-Roi, the God who sees, hears, and saves.
Conclusion
The Bible presents El-Roi as a name that emerges from a moment of desperation and hope. Hagar, cast out and alone, discovered that God was not blind to her pain. By calling Him El-Roi, she declared that God is the One who sees and saves.
Though this title appears only once in Scripture, its truth runs throughout the Bible: God’s eyes are on His people, and His gaze is full of compassion and power. For all who feel unseen or forgotten, El-Roi is a reminder that the living God knows, cares, and acts.
Bible Verses About El-Roi
Genesis 16:13 – “So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing,’ for she said, ‘Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.’”
Genesis 16:14 – “Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered.”
Exodus 3:7 – “Then the Lord said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings.’”
2 Chronicles 16:9 – “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.”
Job 34:21 – “For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.”
Psalm 33:18 – “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love.”
Psalm 139:16 – “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.”
Proverbs 15:3 – “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”
Matthew 6:8 – “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Luke 12:6–7 – “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
