Hagar

Hagar was originally the maid of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. However, when Sarah saw that she was unable to bear children, she encouraged Abraham to take Hagar as his second wife. Hagar then gave birth to Ishmael, Abraham’s eldest son and the patriarch of the Arab nations. Later, when, at Sarah’s request, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away, they became lost in the desert and were dying of thirst when an angel appeared to Hagar with the assurance that her son would not only survive but would become the father of a great nation. The Muslim rite of sa’i developed from the Biblical story of Hagar’s quest to find water for her son.

According to Jewish and some Islamic traditions, Hagar was the daughter of King Pharaoh of Egypt. Hagar is not named in the Koran but is mentioned several times in the books of hadiths. In the Christian tradition, Saint Augustine depicts Hagar as symbolizing the unredeemable elements of humanity.

Hagar is mentioned later in the Bible indirectly as the mother of several tribes of Hagarites, neighbors of the tribes of Israel who resided in Trans-Jordan.

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