What's Hagar Got to Do with Israel's Exodus?

By Dr. Nicholas J. Schaser

September 08, 2022

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Genesis 16 introduces us to Sarai’s Egyptian maidservant, Hagar. After Hagar conceives by Abram, she begins to hold Sarai in less esteem (16:4). As a result, Sarai begins to mistreat Hagar so that she flees (16:6). This account of an Egyptian (Hagar) being mistreated and fleeing from a Hebrew (Sarai) is the inverse of the Hebrews being mistreated and fleeing from the Egyptians in Exodus—Genesis 16 foreshadows future events by offering the reader a mirrored image of what will happen to Israel during Egyptian captivity.

 When Hagar disrespects her mistress, Sarai begins to “afflict” (ענה; anah) her until she “flees” (ברח; barach). Exodus uses the same Hebrew words to describe Pharaoh “afflicting” (ענתו; anoto, 1:11) the Israelites until they “flee” (ברח; barach) from Egypt in the exodus (14:5). Hagar’s affliction and escape from Sarai foreshadows Israel’s affliction and escape from Pharaoh. Moreover, “Hagar” consists of two Hebrew words: הָ (ha; “the”), and גֵר (ger; “stranger”). Hagar, “the stranger” from Egypt, provides a foundation for God’s later injunction upon Israel to “love the stranger (הַגֵּר; hager) for you were strangers (גרים; gerim) in the land of Egypt” (Deut 10:19 cf. Lev 19:34).

Finally, after God cares for Hagar in the wilderness, she calls the Lord a “God of seeing (ראי; roi)” (Gen 16:13). This scene anticipates the use of the same Hebrew word in Exod 3:7, when God says, “I have surely seen (ראה ראיתי; raoh raiti) the affliction of my people who are in Egypt” (cf. 3:9; 4:31). The story of Sarai and Hagar points to what God will make more explicit as Israel’s story unfolds: Israel is God’s specially chosen and beloved people, but God also provides loving care for those outside of Israel—for people like Hagar, the very embodiment of “the stranger.”