Keraia
People

Hagar

Hagar, Sarah's Egyptian maidservant, bore Abraham a son named Ishmael and is also mentioned in Paul's allegory in Galatians.

The name Hagar means “a stranger; one that fears”

FemalePatriarchs eraOld & New Testaments2 books23 verses

Summary

A concubine living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Genesis 16:1; referred to as Hagar (הָגָר) or Hagar (Ἄγαρ); concubine of Abraham; mother of Ishmael.

Profile

Hagar was the Egyptian servant of Sarai, Abram’s wife. When God told Abram to leave Mesopotamia, He promised Abram many descendants and a new land (Genesis 12:2, 7). After ten years in Canaan without children, Sarai followed a Mesopotamian custom. She gave Hagar to Abram as a concubine (secondary wife). Any son from this union was considered the wife's child (see Genesis 30:1–8).

Hagar became pregnant and started disrespecting Sarai. Sarai reacted by treating her harshly, so Hagar ran away into the desert (Genesis 16:4–6). An angel of the Lord appeared to her at a desert well and told her to return to Abram's house and obey Sarai.

Hagar gave birth to a son named Ishmael when Abram was eighty-six years old (Genesis 16:1–16).

Fourteen years later, God gave Abraham and Sarah their promised son, Isaac. When Isaac was weaned, around age three, they held a traditional feast. During the event, Ishmael mocked Isaac (Genesis 21:9), so Sarah insisted that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away. God supported this decision (Genesis 21:12), so Hagar and Ishmael left to wander in the wilderness of Beersheba. When their water ran out, God miraculously saved them and promised Hagar that Ishmael would become the father of a great nation (Genesis 21:17–19).

Paul used an analogy in Galatians 4:22–31 where Hagar symbolizes Mount Sinai, the place of the old covenant (God's special agreement with the Israelites). Sarah symbolizes the heavenly Jerusalem, the community of those who gain salvation through faith in Christ. Just as Isaac was Abraham’s son through faith in God's promise, Christians who are free from the law are spiritual children of Sarah.

Passages for Further Study

Genesis 16:1–16; 21:9–21; 25:12; Galatians 4:22–31

Events

Dates are approximate

Glossary entries

Hagar

Family members

Spouse

Abraham

Children

Ishmael

Alternative names

Mentions

Includes 11 verses that refer to Hagar without naming them, as “he”, “she”, or the subject of a verb.

  1. Genesis 16:1
    Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
  2. Genesis 16:3
    So after he had lived in Canaan for ten years, his wife Sarai took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to Abram to be his wife.
  3. Genesis 16:4
    And he slept with Hagar, and she conceived. But when Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
  4. Genesis 16:6Referred to, not named
    “Here,” said Abram, “your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her.
  5. Genesis 16:7Referred to, not named
    Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
  6. Genesis 16:8
    “Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I am running away from my mistress Sarai,” she replied.
  7. Genesis 16:9Referred to, not named
    So the angel of the LORD told her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her authority.”
  8. Genesis 16:10Referred to, not named
    Then the angel added, “I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count.”
  9. Genesis 16:11Referred to, not named
    The angel of the LORD proceeded: “Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son. And you shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction.
  10. Genesis 16:13Referred to, not named
    So Hagar gave this name to the LORD who had spoken to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen the One who sees me!”
  11. Genesis 16:15
    And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.
  12. Genesis 16:16
    Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.
  13. Genesis 21:9
    But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking her son,
  14. Genesis 21:10Referred to, not named
    …and she said to Abraham, “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac!”
  15. Genesis 21:14
    Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.
  16. Genesis 21:15Referred to, not named
    When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes.
  17. Genesis 21:16Referred to, not named
    Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I cannot bear to watch the boy die!” And as she sat nearby, she lifted up her voice and wept.
  18. Genesis 21:17
    Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies.
  19. Genesis 21:18Referred to, not named
    Get up, lift up the boy, and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”
  20. Genesis 21:19Referred to, not named
    Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
  21. Genesis 25:12
    This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maidservant, bore to Abraham.
  22. Galatians 4:24
    These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar.
  23. Galatians 4:25
    Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.