Who was Hagar?
Quick answer
Hagar was Sarah’s Egyptian servant who bore Abraham’s son Ishmael. Mistreated and driven into the wilderness, she became the first person in the Bible to give God a name: "You are a God of seeing" (Genesis 16:13).
Hagar’s story is one of suffering and divine compassion. Twice cast out, twice God met her in the desert and provided for her and her son.
She is a powerful witness that God sees the overlooked — the servant, the foreigner, the single mother, the desperate.
Paul later uses Hagar as an allegory of the old covenant (Galatians 4), but the narrative itself shines with mercy: "the God who sees me."
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Original BibleDawn answer · reviewed 2026-06. Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.