Genesis 16:1
“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.”
What does Genesis 16:1 mean?
Sarai and Abram had been waiting for the child God promised them, but year after year passed with no pregnancy. In their culture and time, childlessness was deeply painful, often seen as a sign of shame or divine disfavor. Sarai's decision to offer her servant Hagar as a surrogate was actually a legal practice of that era, but it reveals how desperate she'd become and how ready she was to take matters into her own hands rather than wait. This moment marks a turning point where trust gives way to human scheming, setting off consequences that would ripple through the rest of their family's story.