Genesis 16:13 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

Thou God seest me; thou hast been pleased to take notice and care of me, and graciously to manifest thyself unto me. After him that seeth me, i.e. after that God whose eye is upon me for good. So she chides herself for her neglect of God, and of his providence, and that not only in her master's house, but even here in the wilderness, where her desolate and miserable condition should have made her look after and call upon God for help. Or rather, these are words of admiration: q.d. Have I also here, i.e. in this desolate wilderness, looked after him that seeth me, i.e. seen the face of my gracious God! That God should appear to me in my master's house, where he used to manifest himself, was not strange; but that I should have such a favour here, that God should not only look upon me, but admit me to look upon him, and visibly appear to me after I had run away from him, and from my godly master, this was more than I could hope or expect! Others thus, Have I here seen after him that sees me? i.e. after the vision of him that hath appeared to me? i.e. Do I yet see and live after I have seen God? She wonders at it, because it was then the common opinion that an appearance of God to any person was a forerunner of death. See Genesis 32:30 Exodus 33:20 Judges 6:22, Judges 13:22. And seeing is here put for living, one function of life for life itself, as Exodus 24:11 Ecclesiastes 11:7,8. But the word seeing put by itself, as here it is, is neither in those places, nor elsewhere, used for living. And had that been her meaning, she would have expressed it plainly, as they do in the places alleged, and not have used so dark and dubious a metaphor, nor would have said, after him that sees me, but rather, after I have seen him.