Georgia O’Keeffe
Sunday, March 31, 2024
“Modern readers are offended by the story of Hagar, the Egyptian servant girl who, as a surrogate for childless Sarah, is given by her to Abraham as a wife. She bears him a son, then, at Sarah’s behest, is cast out into the wilderness with the child. This is indeed an ugly act, which Abraham permits and the Lord approves — perplexingly, if the proper frame of interpretation is the interactions within Abraham’s household. But Hagar’s story is, among other things, an account of the origins of the Ishmaelites, dwellers in the wilderness who are acknowledged to be descendants of Abraham, close kin of the Hebrews…
“In the narrative of Genesis, Hagar has more in common with Abraham by far than does anyone else. This should be a factor in considering how those who are ‘chosen’ are singular and how they are not. This is relevant to the much larger question of His relationship to the whole human world. That she is a woman, a slave and a foreigner makes this question especially interesting…”
Hagar from an Egyptian Christian Perspective – Safwat Marzouk/Bible Odyssey
“A rereading of the story of Hagar and Sarah that offers Christian Egyptians a way to speak against their marginalization while avowing their political identity as Egyptians could have a ripple effect. What other privileged and powerful community members might be held accountable, as Sarah and Abraham should be, because of their gender, social status, or abuse of power?”