| Hagar | |
|---|---|
Expulsion of Ishmael and His Mother |
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| Born | c. 2000 BCE Egypt |
| Died | Desert of Paran |
| Children | Ishmael |
Hagar (Hebrew: הָגָר, Modern Hagar Tiberian Hāḡār, "Stranger"; Greek: Άγαρ Agar; Latin: Agar; Arabic: هاجر; Hājar), according to the Abrahamic faiths, was the second wife of Abraham, (Genesis 16:3) and the mother of his first son, Ishmael. Her story is recorded in the Book of Genesis, mentioned in Hadith, and alluded to in the Qur'an. Hagar's son, Ishmael, is the patriarch of the Ishmaelites.
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This is a summary of the account of Hagar from Genesis 16,21
Hagar was an Egyptian handmaiden of Sarai, the first wife of Abram, who served her mistress less than ten years since coming out of Egypt. Hagar was offered, by her mistress, to Abram to be as a second “wife”.[Gen.16:3] Sarai presented this offering to her husband because she had been barren for so long and sought a way to fulfill God's promise, especially since they were getting older. (Genesis 16:1-3)
When Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Sarai sensed her slave's attitude which caused her to suffer greatly. Sarai then consulted her husband about the matter who gave her permission to do with Hagar as she saw fit. Sarah dealt with her harshly, which resulted in Hagar fleeing from Abram’s settlement. (Genesis 16:4-6)
Hagar fled into the desert on her way to Shur. En route, an angel of Yahweh appeared to Hagar at the well of a spring. He instructed her to return to Sarai her mistress, so that she may bear a child who "shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen." [Gen.16:12] Then she was told to call her son: Ishmael. Afterward, Hagar referred to God as "El-roi," meaning that she had gone on living after God saw her.[1] From that day, the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. She then did as she was instructed by returning to Abram in order to have her child. When Abram was eighty-six years of age, Hagar gave birth to his firstborn son named Ishmael. (Genesis 16:7-16)
When Isaac was born to Sarah (Sarai), the relationship between Hagar and her mistress had come to a climax. At a celebration after Isaac was weaned, Sarah found the teenage Ishmael mocking her son. She was so upset by it that she demanded from her husband, who was now referred to as Abraham, to send Hagar and her son away. She declared that Ishmael would not share in Isaac's inheritance. Abraham was greatly distressed by his wife's words and sought the advice of his God. Yahweh told Abraham not to be distressed but to do as his wife commanded because not only would Isaac carry the Abrahamic line, but also a nation would come from the line of Ishmael as well. (Genesis 21:9-13)
Early the next morning, Abraham brought Hagar and Ishmael out together. He released Hagar and her son from being slaves of their household. Hagar would now be a free woman, and Ishmael a free man as a teenager. Under Mesopotamian law, their freedom absolved them from laying claim to any inheritance that Abraham and Sarah had. Abraham gave Hagar bread and water for a journey into the wilderness of Beersheba. She and her son wandered aimlessly until the bottle of water was completely consumed. In a moment of despair, she burst in tears. Her son then called to God and upon hearing him, an angel of Yahweh confirmed to Hagar that her son would become a great nation. A well of water then appeared so that it saved their lives. Hagar found her son a wife from her native home in the land of Egypt and they settled in the Desert of Paran. (Genesis 21:14-21)
Rabbinical commentators asserted that Hagar was "Pharaoh's daughter". The midrash Genesis Rabbah states it was when Sarah was in Pharaoh's harem that he gave her his daughter Hagar as slave, saying: "It is better that my daughter should be a slave in the house of such a woman than mistress in another house"; Abimelech acted likewise (16:2). Sarah treated Hagar well, and induced women who came to visit her to visit Hagar also. However Hagar, when pregnant by Abraham, began to act superciliously toward Sarah, provoking the latter to treat her harshly, to impose heavy work upon her, and even to strike her (ib. 16:9).[2]
Some Jewish commentators identify Hagar with Keturah, the woman Abraham married after the death of Sarah, stating that Abraham sought her out after Sarah's death. It is suggested that Keturah was Hagar's personal name, and that "Hagar" was a descriptive label meaning "stranger".[3][4][5] This interpretation is discussed in the Midrash[6] and is supported by Rashi, Gur Aryeh, Keli Yakar, and Obadiah of Bertinoro. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Itzhaki) argues that "Keturah" was a name given to Hagar because her deeds were as beautiful as incense (hence: ketores), and/or that she remained chaste from the time she was separated from Abraham—keturah [ קְטוּרָה Q'turah ] derives from Aramaic word for restrained. The contrary view (that Keturah was someone other than Hagar) is advocated by Rashbam, Abraham ibn Ezra, Radak, and Ramban. They were listed as two different people in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles.[7]
Hājar (Arabic: هاجر), is the Arabic name used to identify the wife of the Islamic prophet Ibrāhīm (Abraham) and the mother of the prophet Ismā'īl (Ishmael). Though not mentioned by name in the Qur'an, she is referenced and alluded to via the story of her husband. She is a revered woman in the Islamic faith.
According to Muslim belief, she was the Egyptian handmaiden of Abraham's first wife Sara (Sarah). She eventually settled in the Desert of Paran with her son Ishmael. Hagar is honoured as an especially important matriarch of monotheism, as it was through Ishmael that the prophet Muhammad would come.
Neither Sarah nor Hagar are mentioned by name in the Qur'an, but the story is traditionally understood to be referred to in a line from Abraham's prayer in Sura Ibrahim (14:37): "I have settled some of my family in a barren valley near your Sacred House."[8] While Hagar is not named, the reader lives Hagar's predicament indirectly through the eyes of Abraham.[9] She is also frequently mentioned in the books of hadiths.
According to Qisas Al-Anbiya, a collection of tales about the prophets, Hagar was the daughter of the King of Maghreb, a descendant of the prophet Salih. Her father was killed by Pharaoh Dhu l-'arsh and she was captured and taken as slave. Later, because of her royal blood, she was made mistress of the female slaves and given access to all of Pharaoh's wealth. Upon conversion to Abraham's faith, the Pharaoh gave Hagar to Sarah who gave her to Abraham. In this account, the name "Hagar" (called Hajar in Arabic) comes from Ha ajruka, Arabic for "here is your recompense".[9]
According to another tradition, Hagar was the daughter of the Egyptian king, who gifted her to Abraham as a wife, thinking Sarah was his sister.[10] According to Ibn Abbas, Ishmael's birth to Hagar caused strife between her and Sarah, who was still barren. Abraham brought Hagar and their son to a land called Paran-aram or (Faran in Arabic, in latter days held to be the land surrounding Mecca).[11] The objective of this journey was to "resettle" rather than "expel" Hagar.[9] Abraham left Hagar and Ishmael under a tree and provided them with water.[11] Hagar, learning that God had ordered Abraham to leave her in the desert of Paran, respected his decision.[10] Muslims believe that God ordered Abraham to leave Hagar in order to test his obedience to God's commands.[12]
Hagar soon ran out of water, and Ishmael began to die. Hagar panicked and ran between two nearby hills, Al-Safa and Al-Marwah repeatedly in search for water. After her seventh run, Ishmael hit the ground with his heel and caused a miraculous well to spring out of the ground. This is called Zamzam Well and is located a few metres from the Kaaba in Mecca.[11]
The incident[13] of her running between the Al-Safa and Al-Marwah hills is remembered by Muslims when they perform their pilgrimage (Hajj) at Mecca. Part of the pilgrimage is to run seven times between the hills, in commemoration of Hagar's courage and to symbolize the celebration of motherhood in Islam as well as the leadership of women. To complete the task, some Muslims also drink from the Zamzam Well and take some of the water back home from pilgrimage in memory of Hagar.[14]
Christian commentary on Hagar begins with Paul the Apostle's Epistle to the Galatians, which asserts that the story of Hagar is a complex allegory:
For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Paul has been interpreted by some to mean that Mount Sinai was also called "Agar", and that it was named after Hagar.[15] He links the laws of the Torah, given on Mount Sinai, to the bondage of the Israelite people, implying that it was signified by Hagar's condition as a bondswoman, while the "free" heavenly Jerusalem is signified by Sarah and her child.
Saint Augustine developed this view, by saying that Hagar symbolised the earthly "city", or sinful condition of humanity: "In the earthly city (symbolised by Hagar) ... we find two things, its own obvious presence and the symbolic presence of the heavenly city. New citizens are begotten to the earthly city by nature vitiated by sin but to the heavenly city by grace freeing nature from sin." (City of God 15:2)[16] This view was developed by medieval theologians such as Thomas Aquinas and John Wycliffe. The latter compared the children of Sarah to the redeemed, and those of Hagar to the unredeemed, who are "carnal by nature and mere exiles".[16]
Paul's view was also used to link Hagar to Judaism, on the basis that the bondswoman Hagar represented bondage to the "old law", which the Christian dispensation had supplanted. In this respect Jews were seen – spiritually speaking – as descendants of Hagar, not Sarah.[17] The equation of Jews with descendants of Hagar was also used to justify the subordination of Jews in medieval Christian kingdoms, and even their expulsion, on the model of the subjection and expulsion of Hagar.[17]
Many artists have painted scenes from the story of Hagar and Ismael in the desert, including Pieter Lastman, Gustave Doré, Frederick Goodall and James Eckford Lauder.
William Shakespeare refers to Hagar in The Merchant of Venice Act II Scene 4 line 40 when Shylock says "What says that fool of Hagar's offspring, ha?". This line refers to the character Launcelot, who Shylock is insulting by comparing him to the outcast Ishmael. It also reverses the conventional Christian interpretation by portraying the Christian character as the outcast.[16]
Hagar's destitution and desperation are used as an excuse for criminality by characters in the work of Daniel Defoe, such as Moll Flanders, and the conventional view of Hagar as the mother of outcasts is repeated in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's play Zapolya, whose heroine is assured that she is "no Hagar's offspring; thou art the rightful heir to an appointed king."[16]
In the nineteenth century a more sympathetic portrayal became prominent, especially in America. Edmonia Lewis, the early African American and Native American sculptor, made Hagar the subject of one of her most well-known works. She said it was inspired by "strong sympathy for all women who have struggled and suffered".[18] In novels and poems Hagar herself, or characters named Hagar, were depicted as unjustly suffering exiles. These include the long dramatic poem Hagar by Eliza Jane Poitevent Nicholson (pen name Pearl Rivers), president of the Women's National Press Association; Hagar in the Wilderness by Nathaniel Parker Willis, the highest-paid magazine writer of his day; and Hagar's Farewell by Augusta Moore.[16] In 1913 this was joined by the overtly feminist novel Hagar,[19] by the American Southern socialist and suffragist Mary Johnston's.[20]
A similarly sympathetic view prevails in more recent literature. The novel The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence has a protagonist named Hagar married to a man named Bram, whose life story loosely imitates that of the biblical Hagar. A character named Hagar is prominently featured in Toni Morrison's novel Song of Solomon, which features numerous Biblical themes and allusions. Hagar is mentioned briefly in Salman Rushdie's controversial novel The Satanic Verses, where Mecca is replaced with 'Jahilia', a desert village built on sand and served by Hagar's spring. Hagar is held up as a role model in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, a dystopian novel which centres around the women whose duty it is to produce children for their masters, assuming the place of their wives. In the recent book of nonfiction, The Woman Who Named God: Abraham's Dilemma and the Birth of Three Faiths, by Charlotte Gordon provides an account of Hagar's life from the perspectives of the three monotheistic religions, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.
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 Palestinian Nakba, 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 parliamentarians – Shulamit Aloni, founder of Meretz (Civil Rights Movement) and Geula 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 1970s 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 many, including nationalists and the religious. The connotations of the name were represented by the founding of the Israeli journal Hagar: Studies in Culture, Polity and Identities in 2000.[21]
Several black American feminists have written about Hagar, comparing her story to those of slaves in American history. Wilma Bailey, in an article entitled "Hagar: A Model for an Anabaptist Feminist", refers to her as a "maidservant" and "slave". She sees Hagar as a model of "power, skills, strength and drive". In the article "A Mistress, A Maid, and No Mercy", Renita Weems argues that the relationship between Sarah and Hagar exhibits "ethnic prejudice exacerbated by economic and social exploitation".[22] According to Susanne Scholz,
Enslaved, raped, but seen by God, Hagar has been a cherished biblical character in African-American communities. Womanist theologian Delores S. Williams explains:The story of Hagar demonstrates that survival is possible even under harshest conditions.[23]
- The African-American community has taken Hagar's story unto itself. Hagar has ‘spoken’ to generation after generation of black women because her story has been validated as true by suffering black people. She and Ishmael together, as family, model many black American families in which a lone woman/mother struggles to hold the family together in spite of the poverty to which ruling class economics consign it. Hagar, like many black women, goes into the wide world to make a living for herself and her child, with only God by her side.
Hagar bearing a child for an infertile woman is an example of what we now call surrogacy or contractual gestation. Critics of this and other assisted reproductive technologies have used Hagar in their analysis. As early as 1988, Anna Goldman-Amirav in Reproductive and Genetic Engineering wrote of Hagar within "the Biblical 'battle of the wombs' [which] lay the foundation for the view of women, fertility, and sexuality in the patriarchal society".[24] Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, as mentioned in a previous section, takes this feminist analysis into a futuristic dystopia.
Jewish tradition
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