Meaning of the Name Hagar
Its origin is uncertain; a common explanation links it with the Hebrew ger, 'stranger, sojourner', giving the meaning 'stranger'. Another view recalls the Arabic root h-j-r, 'to emigrate, to depart', from which the word hijra also comes. Both fit Hagar's story as an Egyptian woman living far from home, but neither is certain.
Origin
The name Hagar is of Hebrew; the exact origin is debated origin.
Who is Hagar in the Bible?
Hagar is Sarah's Egyptian servant; when Sarah remains childless she is given to Abraham and bears Ishmael. Twice in the wilderness she meets God's care, and she names him as the God who sees her. Paul mentions her in Galatians in his comparison of the two covenants.
The story of Hagar in the Bible
Hagar's story begins with the pain of childlessness. When Sarai (Sarah) bears no children to Abram (Abraham), she gives him her Egyptian servant Hagar; a known practice of the era that soon breeds deep tension in the household. Once pregnant, Hagar looks down on her mistress, Sarai treats her harshly, and Hagar flees into the wilderness. By a spring on the road to Shur the angel of the LORD appears to her, tells her to return, and says she is to name her son Ishmael, meaning God hears. Hagar in turn gives a name to the God who sees her, becoming one of the few people in Scripture to name God in this way. After Isaac is born, tension flares again, and Abraham sends Hagar away with her son, some bread and a skin of water. In the wilderness of Beersheba the water runs out, and Hagar sits at a distance, weeping, so as not to watch her child die. God hears the boy, the angel calls to Hagar, and God opens her eyes to a well; the boy is promised to become a great nation. Paul later uses Hagar and Sarah in Galatians as figures of two covenants.
Is Hagar mentioned in the Quran?
The name Hagar does not appear in the Quran; in Islamic tradition, however, Hajar is greatly honored as the mother of Ishmael and is associated with Mecca and with the walk between Safa and Marwa during the pilgrimage. In the Bible, Hagar appears in Genesis as Sarah's Egyptian servant and the mother of Ishmael.
Verses where Hagar appears
- Genesis 16:1 —
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
- Genesis 16:13 —
She called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees,” for she said, “Have I even stayed alive after seeing him?”
- Genesis 21:17 —
God heard the voice of the boy. The angel of God called to Hagar out of the sky, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.