Women of the Bible - Hagar

Hagar The Egyptian

On their journey into Egypt Abraham and Sarah acquired a slave girl named Hagar as a servant for Sarah. As it happened Sarah was frustrated that she was unable to become pregnant and give Abraham a son. In the culture of those days that was a big problem for a wife and she had passed the normal age for childbearing. Sarah came up with the idea of a “Surrogate Mother” to produce a son for her and Abraham.

Sarah took her slave girl Hagar to her husband and proposed the idea. Abraham was agreeable and a son Ishmael was born. All was well for a while but then low and behold Sarah conceived and bore Isaac. In those days the first son inherited everything and that meant Ishmael. Sarah begged Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away so that Isaac could be the first son.

Hagar realized that they would starve to death but an angel showed her a water well and promised that Ishmael would be the father of a great nation. Today we call them Arabs.