Hagar (Bible)

Hagar (Arabic هاجر; Hajar; Hebrew הָגָר "Stranger", Standard Hebrew Hagar, Tiberian Hebrew Hāḡār) is an Egyptian-born handmaiden of Sarah, wife of Abraham. Her history is narrated in the Book of Genesis in the Torah (Hebrew Bible).

Hagar in the Hebrew Bible

The story of Hagar is found in Genesis 16 and 21. The narrative states that Hagar was an Egyptian servant belonging to Sarah, who, being barren, gave her to Abraham for a wife, that by her, as a substitute, might bear him children. Because Sarah treated her poorly, Hagar fled from the dwelling of Abraham, but an angel of the Lord, finding her in the wilderness, commanded her to return. She obeyed this voice and submitted to Sarah, and was delivered of a son, whom she named Ishmael.

Fourteen years after this, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. When the child was weaned, Sarah observed Ishmael, who was then seventeen years of age, teasing Isaac; consequently, she urged Abraham to expel Hagar and her son. This proposal upset Abraham; but God commanded him to comply with Sarah's request. Rising early in the morning, therefore, Abraham took bread and a bottle of water and sent away Hagar and Ishmael.

Hagar intended to return to Egypt, but lost her way, and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. The water in her bottle failing, she left Ishmael under one of the trees in the wilderness to cry a small distance away from him. God ended up rescuing them by showing Hagar a well. She eventually settled in Desert of Paran.

Hagar in the New Testament

Hagar, according to Paul, may symbolize the synagogue, which produces only slaves - the offspring always following the condition of the mother (Galatians 4:24)

Hagar in Islamic tradition

Hagar (Hajar) founded the Islamic civilization in the same place that is now called Mecca (Makkah). She brought a wife for Ishmael from her country (Egypt) and from them descended the Arab people. According to Islamic tradition, Ishmael was a fully legitimate son of Abraham and inherited equally from his father the legacy of prophethood and religion of Allah. From Ishmael decended the Prophet Muhammad, 300 years after the end of the last Israelite mission of prophet (and messenger) Jesus.

Hagar in Jewish mysticism

Hagar is sometimes identified in Jewish mysticism with the succubi Lilith and Naˤmā.

Hajar in Islamic Lore

The infant Ismā'īl (Ishmael) filled Ibrahim (Abraham) with joy. Sara, however, was tormented by jealousy. She soon reached the point that she could no longer tolerate seeing Hajar and the child, so she asked her husband to send them to a place so remote that there would be no news of them.

Ibrahim, by God's command, accepted Sara's request. He took Hajar and Ismā'īl with him and began journeying until, under the guidance of God, they entered the land of Mecca. He left them there and returned to Sara.

Hajar, that helpless woman with her suckling baby, was left alone in that waterless and bare desert far from any city or town. But Hajar had learned the way of trust in and reliance on God from Ibrahim, so with faith in God, she followed the path of patience and tolerance. She lived on the provisions that she had until they were used up and hunger and thirst overcame her. Her milk dried up, leaving her baby hungry and thirsty.

Hoping to find water to save her baby's life, Hajar began to search in the desert but found nothing. Hopelessly, she returned to Ismā'īl and found him crying restlessly. Seeing her baby in this condition broke her heart. She, too, began weeping; she didn't know what to do.

The baby was overcome with weakness; it seemed that he was passing the last moments of life. Hagar ran seven times back and forth in the scorching heat between the two hills of Safa and Marwa, looking for water until, completely disappointed and with tear-filled eyes, she returned to her baby.

Standing beside her baby, weeping and wailing, Hajar was watching that heartbreaking scene. God then sent the angel Gabriel, who scraped the ground. From that spot, a clear spring gushed out from the ground and began to flow under Ismā'īl's feet. Hajar was delighted. But she was also anxious about the water flowing away. Hence, she confined the pool of water with sand and stones, remarking at the same time: Zam Zam ("Stop, Stop"). She then sat on the ground next to her baby, wet his lips and poured some of the water into his parched mouth, refreshing him. The danger to his life was over. Hajar also drank some water, recovered her strength, and praised God.(Other versions of the story say Ishmael scraped the ground with his heel and the ZamZam appeared.)

Little by little, birds came to use the water of the spring. The tribe of Jorham, who dwelt in the area, discovered the spring because of the birds flying overhead and the tribe then settled beside it. Hajar became acquainted with them, and her fear and loneliness were removed. In this way, the prayer of Ibrahim was answered; when he left them in that desert, he had prayed to God, saying, "Lord, I have settled some of my offspring in a barren valley near your sacred house, so that they could be steadfast in prayer. Lord, fill the hearts of the people with love for them and produce fruits for their sustenance, so that they may give thanks." From time to time, Ibrahim would go to see Hajar and his child. Visiting them made him happy and reinvigorated him.

The spring that burst forth when Gabriel struck the ground on the orders of God still exists today and is called the Zamzam Well.

Hagar in popular culture

A character named Hagar is prominently featured in Toni Morrison's novel Song of Solomon, which features numerous Biblical themes and allusions.

W. C. Handy's song "Aunt Hagar's Blues" immortalizes Hagar as the "mother" of the African Americans:

Just hear Aunt Hagar's children harmonizin' to that old mournful tune!

It's like choir from on high broke loose!

If the devil brought it, the good Lord sent it right down to me,

Let the congregation join while I sing those lovin' Aunt Hagar's Blues!

Hagar in contemporary Israel

The story of Hagar's expulsion to the desert has acquired some political connotations in modern Israel, being taken up as a symbol of the massive expuslsion of Palestinians during the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, being depicted as such by some Israeli writers and artists.

It was also the subject of a famous debate on the floor of the Knesset between two women parlimentarians - Shulamit Aloni, founder of Meretz (Civil Rights Movement) and Geulah Cohen of Tehiya (National Awakening Party) - who argued about the right interpretation which the Bible in general and Hagar's story in particular should be given in curriculum of Israeli schools.

Since the 1970's the custom has arisen of giving the name "Hagar" to newborn female babies. The giving of this name is often taken as a controversial political act, marking the parents as being left-leaning and supporters of reconciliation with the Palestinians and Arab World, and is frowned upon by nationalists and the religious.

The Israeli Women in Black movement has unofficially renamed Jerusalem's Paris Square, where the movement has been holding anti-occupation vigils every Friday since 1988, as "Hagar Square". The name commorates the late Hagar Rublev, a prominent Israeli feminist and peace activist, who was among the founders of these Friday vigils.

A figure for contemporary times

Contemporary readings often discuss the tension between women that is induced by linking women's status to the male heirs they produce. Hagar is often used as example of the silently victimized, since her only recorded statement is a plea for death. Later Liberation and Womanist traditions find identity with Hagar for these reasons. The conflict between Sarah and Hagar is often shown as a classic example of conflicts between women under patriarchal systems.

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Hagar (Bible)