In Genesis 16: 1-12, Abram is worried about carrying on his bloodline. He has no son to speak of and is already around 90 years old. God has promised Abram that he would be the "father of many". His wife Sarai knows this and also knows that he is not happy and would like a son, but she cannot bear him any children. She did, however, have an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar with whom she told Abram to consummate. Hagar was undoubtedly part of what Abram received during his time in Egypt as seen in Genesis 12: 16.
[...] However, now that Hagar has conceived, Sarai looks at her with disdain and resentment and she exiles Hagar. I think the main reason for this was that now Sarai felt as if it was definitely her fault and not Abram's, since he was able to successfully impregnate Hagar. Sarai took her anger out on both Abram and Hagar, saying to Abram, wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes.” Abram simply responds that Hagar is Sarai's maid and she can do with her as she pleases. [...]
[...] In the article I read, Sarah and Hagar: Genesis 16 and 21 by James C. Okoye, the topic of Africans in the Bible is discussed. This twisted my view a little bit, because it threw another conflict into the mix, since Hagar, the maidservant, is Egyptian. Although slaves and servants were commonplace during this time, there is always resentment and tension between those serving and those lording over them. African Americans have always had a strong sense of religion and ties with God. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
