Hagar

Hagar is a figure in the Abrahamic religious traditions, appearing most prominently in the Hebrew Bible. In the Genesis narrative, she is described as the Egyptian maidservant of Sarah, the wife of Abram (later renamed Abraham). At Sarah’s urging, Hagar becomes Abram’s secondary wife, and she bears a son, Ishmael. The story, which unfolds in Genesis 16, leads to tension within the household. Hagar flees into the wilderness but is encountered by an angel who instructs her to return and submit to Sarah. The angel also promises that her son will become the ancestor of a great nation. Ishmael is born when Abram is eighty-six; after the later birth of Isaac to Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael are sent away into the desert. God provides a well of water for them, and Ishmael is assured to thrive.

In Jewish and Christian traditions, Hagar’s story is often read as a meditation on faith, divine promise, and human dependence on God. In Islamic tradition, Hajar (Hajar or Hajar bint Ibrahim) is honored as the wife of Ibrahim and the mother of Ismail, with the well-known narrative of her search for water at the Well of Zamzam during the Meccan pilgrimage.

The name Hagar has been used as a given name in various cultures. In popular culture, Hägar the Horrible is a long-running comic strip character whose name is a distinct, fictional usage of the term.