Abraham is a significant figure in Judaism, including the form that has evolved into the mutated form we know today as Christianity. The gospel of Jesus was first preached to Abraham as God sovereignly chose to set his redemption plans in motion through Abraham. Generations of Bible readers have also noted the atypical commitment of Abraham to perform what God required of him in the Aqedah story. This story raises many moral questions, as we discussed elsewhere. These points, along with many others, including Abraham’s mention in the “Hall of Faith” chapter of the book of Hebrews, have led many in the church to downplay his not-quite godly episodes. One of such episodes is how he treated Hagar.

Genesis introduces Hagar this way:

Genesis 16:1-2 ESV
[1] Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. [2] And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

A few points are worth dwelling on. Despite the promises of the Almighty God, Sarah had remained barren and felt it was time to take action. Apparently, she was aware of the Yoruba theory that Orí ọmọ ní ń pe ọmọ wá’yé, so she reasoned that the birth of a child in her home might be the trick for her. In any case, since Hagar was Sarah’s slave, whatever children she birthed would legally be Sarah’s. So, she made a move by offering Hagar to her husband.

We should inquire about how Hagar became Sarah’s slave. The text does not explicitly state this, but we have a strong candidate and an accompanying illuminating narrative. Back in Genesis 12, Abraham traveled with his household to Egypt. Apparently, Abraham was aware of the Egyptians’ reputation for beautiful women. He concluded that they would kill him so their king could have his comely Sarah. Rather than consulting Yahweh for help, Abraham devised a plan: he would lie about her actual status and introduce her as his sister. For reasons explored elsewhere, Sarah went along with the plan. The point is worth pointedly reiterating: Abraham risked Sarah’s sexual integrity and life to save his own. And, no, this was not a mere mistake but a premeditated idea (Genesis 12:11 – 13). Indeed, Abraham would repeat the same ruse some years later (Genesis 20:2).

Since Sarah was introduced as unmarried, the king took her as a wife. In what seems like a dowry, we read:

Genesis 12:16 NRSV
And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys, and camels.

Hagar is likely one of the female Egyptian slaves that Pharaoh gave to Abraham.

Many scholars believe Hagar would have been most likely under 20. Abraham was about 85 years old at the time he impregnated Hagar. It is crucial to discuss the circumstances of this sexual encounter. The first point worth stressing is that a woman, Sarah, was the source of pain for another woman, Hagar. Hagar’s thoughts or wishes did not matter. Indeed, the only thing about Hagar that mattered was her exploitable fertility. She was a slave and a possession. She also became a tool used to “solve” her mistress’s problems.

In all of this, the man of God had no sanctified wisdom to offer. He did not push back. He did not consult with the Lord, who had promised to give Abraham children. Indeed, it is very likely that Abraham believed this was the way Yahweh meant to give him a posterity. In today’s world, this would qualify as rape. This is even more so if Hagar was the typical age at which the ancients married off their daughters, 15 years of age. The text actually describes her as a girl. In ancient times, men were typically much older than their wives, often twice their age. But Abraham would have been about 6 times as old as Hagar.

Things would get worse. As soon as Hagar realized she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. She probably saw her pregnancy as a sign of the gods’ approval of her and a punishment of Sarah. If that was the case, this would not be senseless, especially given how she has been treated. Alternatively, she could just have been an immature teenager. Sarah could not handle the new development, and she complained bitterly to Abraham. What did Abraham do?

Genesis 16:6 NRSV
But Abram said to Sarai, “Your slave-girl is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away from her.

He approved of sending a slave girl pregnant with his child away, knowing that unmarried pregnant women had little chance of surviving in that world! This raises so many questions. Why agree to impregnate the girl (without her consent) if he would not care whether she lived or died afterwards? As we explored elsewhere, Abraham’s family was very dysfunctional. He seemed like an abused husband just as much as Sarah seemed like a traumatized wife. This dysfunction would also be passed down to the descendants of this couple.

Where is God in all of this? After Hagar left the house, we read:

Genesis 16:7-9 NRSV
[7] The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. [8] And he said, “Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.” [9] The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her.”

There are so many points to make from this passage. First, as I have argued elsewhere, this “Angel of the LORD” character is the pre-incarnate Jesus. No, it is not in every instance where an angel of God is described in the Hebrew Bible that we have a pre-incarnate Jesus. However, in Angelomorphic Christology, scholars have identified several Old Testament passages where the angel of the LORD speaks as Yahweh.

Second, the angel’s charge to Hagar to return to Sarah’s house is not meant to communicate divine approval of her maltreatment. No, on the contrary, returning to Sarah’s house – as terrible as that might be – offered a chance for Hagar and her baby to be cared for; it was a chance at survival. The angel knew Hagar was afflicted (verse 11). Indeed, the divinely chosen name for Hagar’s boy, Ishmael, communicates that God had heard Hagar’s unrecorded prayers. Nevertheless, God thought it better for Hagar to return.

Third, it is pretty fascinating that Hagar, the slave-girl, was the only person God appeared to in the midst of all the mess. He did not appear to Abraham or Sarah—at least, not immediately. This divine appearance by itself was sure to have energized Hagar to endure whatever came her way. People handle tribulations better if they know God is on their  side.

Fourth, after the angelic message, we read about Hagar:

Genesis 16:13 NRSV
So she named the LORD who spoke to her, “You are El-roi”; for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?”

Notice what this text says. It does not say Hagar named the angel representing the LORD. No, it says Hagar named the LORD who spoke to her. That is, the redactors of Genesis have Hagar believing that she had seen, not a mere messenger, but God himself. And since it was a widely held belief that nobody could see God and live, a fascinating biblical theme we have explored elsewhere, Hagar was shocked that she lived.

It is worth noting that Hagar was also the first woman in the Bible to name Yahweh. God allowed the slave-girl, maltreated by the àgbàyà in her life, the rare honor of naming the divine. Hagar discerned the message. She realized the LORD had seen her suffering and had come to empower her in her troubles.