Hagar, as told in Genesis, Chapter 21, was an Egyptian slave to Abraham with whom she had a son, Ishmael. Abraham's wife became jealous and asked her husband to banish them to the desert. Sent away with only small rations of food and water, Hagar and Ishmael were miraculously saved from dying of thirst by an angel.
At a celebration after Isaac was weaned, Sarah found the teenage Ishmael mocking her son (Genesis 21:9). She was so upset by the idea of Ishmael inheriting their wealth, that she demanded that Abraham send Hagar and her son away. She declared that Ishmael would not share in Isaac's inheritance.
Hagar is both a minor character and an important figure within Genesis. She is the mother of Abraham's first-born son, and she experiences a theophany and names God. Commentaries on Genesis provide historical and literary context regarding the Abraham stories and the role of Hagar within those stories.
Purchased in Egypt, she served as a maid to Abraham's childless wife, Sarah, who gave her to Abraham to conceive an heir. When Hagar became pregnant, her meek manner changed to arrogance; with Abraham's reluctant permission, Sarah treated her so harshly that she fled into the wilderness.
God told Hagar to go back to Abraham's house, not because God condoned Sarai's mistreatment of her, but because there was no other way for Hagar to be saved. She would die in that wilderness. But in Abraham's house she would still be covered by the blessing.
Hagar and Ishmael I Genesis 16:1-16; Genesis 21:8-21
What did the angel tell Hagar to do?
And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?" "I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered. Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her."
“And the angel of the Lord said to her, 'I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too many to count. '” At best, we think this angel is speaking on behalf of Yahweh—that is, until the narrator tells us it was Yahweh who spoke to her! And Hagar calls this angel “God.”
At the climax of the story, Hagar, who has found comfort and courage in God's concern for her plight, speaks boldly to God and gives God a new name. 'She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are EL ROY: the God who sees me.” She said, “I have now seen the One who sees me”' (Genesis 16:13).
Hagar was so overwhelmed by having been seen and heard, perhaps for the first time in her life, that she gave the Lord a name, You are El-roi”; (God who Sees), for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?”
Hagar, as told in Genesis, Chapter 21, was an Egyptian slave to Abraham with whom she had a son, Ishmael. Abraham's wife became jealous and asked her husband to banish them to the desert. Sent away with only small rations of food and water, Hagar and Ishmael were miraculously saved from dying of thirst by an angel.
Hagar shows us that even when we wander in wilderness places, even when life circumstances and systems of power push us down and toss us out, God is drawing near to us.
On the day that she weaned Isaac there was a great banquet at which Ishmael behaved badly, for which reason Sarah asked Abraham to expel him from their house together with his mother Hagar. This decision was hard for Abraham but he obeyed God's command to do what his wife had asked him.
In the midrashic depiction, after Abraham divorces Hagar and sends her into the wilderness she sits by the well and cries to God: “See my shame!” Hagar's demand for justice was accepted by God, who revealed Himself to Abraham after Sarah's death and commanded him to take back his divorcée, Hagar-Keturah (Gen.
Hagar is primarily a girl's name of Hebrew origin, meaning “flight” or “forsaken.” Hagar was a prominent Biblical figure in the Old Testament and the handmaid of Abraham's wife, Sarah.
Hagar, who would bear children to Abraham, was herself a princess, and was a fitting match for the father of the Israelite nation. She likewise was suited to be the mother of Ishmael, from whom twelve chieftains would issue (in accordance with the divine promise in Gen. 17:20).
Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.
Azrael (/ˈæzriəl/; Hebrew: עֲזַרְאֵל, romanized: ʿǍzarʾēl, 'God has helped'; Arabic: عزرائيل, romanized: ʿAzrāʾīl or ʿIzrāʾīl) is the angel of death in some Abrahamic religions, namely Islam and Christian popular culture.
In Genesis 21, God's promise to Abraham is finally fulfilled, as Sarah gives birth to Isaac. But she frets over whether Ishmael will also be Abraham's heir. God tells Abraham to do as Sarah wishes, so he sends Hagar and Ishmael into the desert with only meager food and water.
God's blessing in Genesis 16.12 was a promise that Hagar's son would be as free as a wild ass. He would never be accountable to others. For a woman trapped in slavery, this was indeed a promise with hope. With the promise that her son would be free, Hagar could return to her place as Sarah's slave.
“Then God opened her [Hagar's] eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.” – Genesis 21:19 Father, we need an encounter with You like Hagar had.
God told Abraham that He would establish his covenant through Isaac, and when Abraham inquired as to Ishmael's role, God answered that Ishmael has been blessed and that he "will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." (Genesis 17).
And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.
Ishmael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin, meaning “God will hear.” Gifting baby this biblical title is a lovely way to honor one's faith and remind baby of their religious roots.