Bible Timeline · Traditional count about 2080 BC

Hagar and Ishmael

When Sarai had no children, she gave her Egyptian servant Hagar to Abram, and Hagar gave birth to Ishmael when Abram was 86. God met Hagar in the wilderness, and she called Him the God who sees me. Later Hagar and Ishmael were sent away, but God promised to make Ishmael a great nation.

Read it in the Bible: Genesis 16:1-16 Genesis 17:18-20 Genesis 21:8-21 Genesis 25:9-18 Galatians 4:21-31

Hagar was Sarai's Egyptian servant. After ten years in Canaan with no children, Sarai gave Hagar to Abram as a wife so she could have a family through her. Hagar gave birth to a son named Ishmael when Abram was 86, which the traditional count puts about 2080 BC. Twice Hagar ended up alone in the wilderness, and twice God met her there. She gave God a beautiful name, "the God who sees me." God promised that Ishmael would become a great nation, and many Arab peoples trace their family back to him.

Why Did Sarai Give Hagar to Abram?

God had promised Abram a son, but years went by and nothing happened. So Sarai came up with a plan.

Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “Look now, Yahweh has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. Genesis 16:1 to 2

To us this sounds shocking, but it was a normal custom back then. Ancient marriage contracts from places like Nuzi in Mesopotamia say that a wife who could not have children should give her husband a servant, and the child would count as hers. So Sarai was following the culture. The problem was that she and Abram were trying to make God's promise happen their own way. It is the oldest version of "Let's help God out," and it rarely goes well.

What Happened Between Sarai and Hagar?

Once Hagar was pregnant, she began to look down on Sarai. Sarai blamed Abram, and Abram told her to do whatever she wanted. Sarai treated Hagar harshly, and Hagar ran away into the desert. Nobody in this scene comes out looking great, and the Bible is honest about that.

Who Is the God Who Sees?

Hagar was pregnant, alone, a foreign servant on the run. And the angel of Yahweh found her by a spring on the road to Shur. He told her to go back, and He gave her a promise.

The angel of Yahweh proceeded: “Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son. And you shall name him Ishmael, for Yahweh has heard your cry of affliction. Genesis 16:11

Ishmael means "God hears." Then Hagar did something remarkable. She became the first person in the Bible to give God a name.

So Hagar gave this name to Yahweh who had spoken to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “Here I have seen the One who sees me!” Genesis 16:13

In Hebrew this is El Roi. The first person in the Bible to name God was not a king or a priest. It was a mistreated servant woman from Egypt. God sees the people everyone else overlooks.

Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him. Genesis 16:16

Why Were Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away?

Fourteen years later, Isaac was born to Sarah, the son God had promised. When Isaac was weaned, Abraham threw a big feast. Then trouble came.

But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking her son, 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!” Genesis 21:9 to 10

Abraham was deeply upset, because he loved Ishmael. But God told him to listen to Sarah, because the promise would continue through Isaac. God also told him that He would make Ishmael a nation too, since he was Abraham's son. Early in the morning, Abraham gave Hagar bread and water and sent them away.

What Did God Promise Ishmael?

In the wilderness of Beersheba the water ran out. Hagar put the boy under a bush and sat a little way off, because she could not bear to watch him die. And once again, God heard.

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. Get up, lift up the boy, and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Genesis 21:17 to 18

God opened her eyes to a well of water. Genesis 21:20 says "God was with the boy." Ishmael grew up in the desert of Paran and became an archer. God had already promised Abraham that Ishmael would have twelve princes, in Genesis 17:20, and Genesis 25:13 to 16 lists them. When Abraham died, Isaac and Ishmael buried their father together in Genesis 25:9. That small detail is easy to miss, and it is beautiful.

Are Arabs Descended From Ishmael?

Many Arab peoples have long traced their family line back to Ishmael, and Islam honors him as a prophet, calling him Ismail. Muslims and Christians tell some parts of the story differently. In the Bible, God blesses Ishmael and his family, while the covenant promise of the Messiah goes through Isaac. Both brothers are sons of Abraham, and God cared for both of them. The God who heard Ishmael crying under a bush cares about his descendants today.

What Does Paul Say About Hagar and Sarah?

In Galatians 4:21 to 31, Paul uses Hagar and Sarah as a picture of two ways of relating to God. Hagar's son was born the ordinary way, by human planning. Sarah's son was born by God's promise. Paul is not talking about ethnic groups. He is talking about trying to earn God's favor versus receiving it by grace. Anyone of any nation who trusts Christ is a child of promise.

Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. Galatians 4:28

Why Hagar's Story Matters for You Today

Hagar's story is a comfort to anyone who feels used, forgotten or alone. She was a foreigner, a servant and a single mom in the desert, and God found her twice. He heard her son's cries, and He gave her a well when she thought it was the end. Jesus showed the same heart when He went out of His way to meet people others ignored. The God who sees still sees you.

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Questions People Ask

Who was Hagar in the Bible?

Hagar was an Egyptian servant of Sarai, Abraham's wife. Sarai gave her to Abram so she could have a child through her, and Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. God met her twice in the wilderness and promised that her son would become a great nation.

What does El Roi mean?

El Roi means the God who sees. Hagar gave God this name in Genesis 16:13 after the angel of Yahweh found her alone in the desert. She is the first person in the Bible to give God a name.

How old was Abraham when Ishmael was born?

Genesis 16:16 says Abram was 86 years old. By the traditional count that is about 2080 BC. Ishmael was about 14 when Isaac was born.

Are Arabs descendants of Ishmael?

Many Arab peoples have traditionally traced their ancestry to Ishmael, and Islam honors him as a prophet. The Bible says God blessed Ishmael with twelve princes and a great nation, in Genesis 17:20 and 25:13 to 16.

Sources

The Nuzi Tablets, Biblical Archaeology Society

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