Women of the OT: Deborah

We are told relatively little about Deborah in the Old Testament. However, the little we do learn comes to life when we see Deborah in context, as part of a broader picture of God guiding and teaching his people. The book of Judges begins with two prologues. The first is more historical in tone and gives an account of the conquest of the Promised  Land after the death of Joshua. In broad brush-strokes it summarises how the twelve tribes, strengthened by God, claimed one victory after another over the local Canaanite tribes. However, rather than dispossessing these conquered peoples as the Lord commanded, Israel instead enslaved her neighbours and subjected them to forced labour. For this disobedience, Judges tells us, God withdraw his support for Israel's armies. Instead, the nations became Israel's "oppressors" and their gods "snares" (Judges 2:1-5).

The second prologue offers a theological interpretation of this history. In an analysis that has echoes of Eden and the fall of Adam, we read that after the death of Joshua Israel succombed to the temptation of idolatry. The enslavement that followed is the inevitable result of worshipping a false god. Israel's military victory over the Canaanite tribes, like their escape from Egypt, had not been by their own strength but by the power of God. On her own, Israel was not able to resist her enemies: to be free, she must be obedient to God's commands. Yet God did not abandon his people to slavery. He raised up Judges, charasmatic leaders that would recreate Israel's freedom and call her back to odedience to the covenant. Yet just as the people went astray after the death of Joshua, so they continually went astray once more after the death of a judge.

It is against this axis of obedience and freedom vs sin and slavery that we best understand Deborah. We meet her in chapter 4 of the book of Judges, the fourth Judge to be identified by name and the second to have their story told in detail. We are told that she was a prophetess who sat under a palm tree in the highlands of Ephraim. There the people would come to her for justice. The fact that a woman was treated with such esteem and respect must surely tell us something about the quality of her judgements and decisions: Deborah must have had a profound insight into what was truly right and just, a profound insight into the true meaning of the law; her judgements must have been liberating.

In Judges 4:6 Deborah summons Barak from Kadesh in Naphtali and orders him to attack Sisera, the commander of the army of Jabin King of Canaan. Jabin was at this time cruelly oppressing Israel. Barak refuses to go unless Deborah comes with him. He perhaps understands that victory is impossible unless God fights for Israel and wants the prophetess Deborah to be at his side discerning the will of God. Deborah agrees and the battle is won. Sisera dies at the hand of Jael, another women, who drives a tent peg through his temple while he sleeps. As well as offering a liberating vision of the law, then, Deborah also offers her people military liberation from an oppressing enemy.   

Deborah's authority to lead in matters of law and war stemmed not  from her social status or institutional position, but directly from God. Like the other judges, she was blessed with charismatic gifts that enabled her to liberate her people, and crucially the people of God recognised that she had been given this authority and followed her.  The problem was that though they followed her, they did not learn. Her teaching was not internalized. Whilst Deborah's victory gave Israel forty years of peace, after her death the people sinned once more and became oppressed.

RAHAB THE PROSTITUTE

Joshua 2:1-24, 6:17-25. (See also Matthew 1:5, Hebrews 11:31 & James 2:25.)

Rahab’s story is told in the book of Joshua. She is a prostitute in Jericho. The spies who Joshua sent to spy out the land and the city lodge with her. The king of Jericho mounts a search for them, having heard the spies are with her. She hides them, throws the Jericho authorities off their trail, and gives them good advise on how to escape, at the same time striking a deal with them by which she and her father’s family can have their lives saved when the Israelites attack and take the city. The spies insist that anyone staying in her house during the attack will be protected, and this will be indicated by a red sash that she will hang in the window (ch 2). This all comes to pass (ch 6).

These bare narrative bones do not tell us much by which to explain the inclusion of this episode in Sacred Scripture or her wider significance in texts of faith. Is she any more than a worldly woman looking after her own self-interest and that of her nearest relatives, even at the ‘cost’ of betraying her own city and wider ethnic group? Does her ‘virtue’ lie only in reading correctly (as it turns out) the political and military situation that is unfolding and choosing to side with the side she thinks will be victorious?

It is possible that the material about her reflects an alternative account, and thus a different source, about the fall of Jericho than the miraculous, and liturgically presented dramatic version that now dominates the book of Joshua, by which, obeying divine instructions, the walls come tumbling down after Joshua’s troops have marched around the city with the Ark of the Covenant. The story involving Rahab points to an initiative by Joshua (2:1), reminiscent of the spying trip he himself had made earlier (Numbers 13), and one in which the rope from the window may well have provided troops with an easy, unresisted, entrance to the city in order to sack it. This truly would be information the spies would not want passed back to the king of Jericho. None of this helps to explain Rahab’s inclusion or significance in a sacred text, but it would explain the ongoing presence of such Canaanite groups in the land (6:25), despite the general instruction that such peoples were to be wiped out (6:17-18 and elsewhere).

If such a theory of Rahab’s active role has some merit it has been worked into the wider concerns and reflections of the book of Joshua as we now have it. These put the emphasis on the Lord’s sovereignty. As such the Lord, not Joshua, is the true leader of the conquest. Palestine belongs to the Lord and he gives it to those whom he pleases. He makes covenant with this chosen people and only such people are to inherit it, and then only if they keep the terms of the covenant, other peoples coming under divine judgement. This judgement (which need not be seen as arbitrary but one reflecting God’s awareness of human sinfulness in general) and the total destruction of such peoples that expresses it are to prevent the (re)contamination of the covenanted people of Israel. Within such a theological view, the fact of the survival of Rahab and other such groups needed explaining.

Rahab is presented as grasping this theological overview and to acting upon it. She has a profound grasp of it, though the reason for this is not given. She knows of God’s saving action at the Red Sea, and thereafter against other nations (2:10). She recognises the Lord’s power and sovereignty. Crucially she then appeals for her family in terms of a kindness to be remembered and acted on (2:12), using the term ‘hesed’ which the Bible often uses of God’s mercy, at the heart of the covenants God makes with his people. The pact she makes with the spies has a covenantal form, binding both parties to certain actions and certain penalties.

Rahab, then, is presented as a woman of faith and righteousness, one who had a true sense of God and divine power, and who chose to enter into covenant with such a God and his covenanted people. As such she had every reason to live in the land with those Israelites who kept the covenant, despite her different ethnic origins and indeed her sinful past. God has chosen her, just as God chose the Israelites. Her faith and inclusion among those who inherit the land point to divine favour, if one that has to be co-operated with, but one capable of wiping away the impact of a sinful past. Ethnicity and sin are not barriers to being chosen and blessed by God. Rahab moved from being a prostitute to being a faithful believer, believers who came to be portrayed as the spouse of their God, bound to God in covenant.

This reflection on Rahab had already taken place by the time the account of her life is written down in the book of Joshua. It is also found in the New Testament which mentions her no less than three times. One can well imagine that the close, and often transforming, relationships that Jesus had with prostitutes, may have been a stimulus for this notable inclusion of her in the seminal texts of the Church. The Letter to the Hebrews (11:31) notes her faith in receiving the spies. James (2:25) notes that her faith was real because it issued in the good deed of helping the spies escape. The other reference to Rahab is in Matthew’s Genealogy of Jesus (1:5). Though it is not extant in our records of that period, Jewish thought by the time of Jesus, aware of her high standing as a heroine of the Jewish faith, must have already included her in the genealogy of David (quite probably drawing on 1 Chronicles 4 & 5). Mathew could not have made a persuasive argument from her if he had originated the idea. Matthew’s point is to see in Rahab something of the situation of Mary. Both share faith, issuing in good deeds, and are persons who take the initiative, over and above their peers, in co-operating with God. Rahab did this despite her sexual past and was still part of the line that led to the Messiah. Matthew is most probably offering assurance to anyone worried about the timing of the pregnancy of Mary, beginning as it did before she came to live with Joseph, that this ought not disturb their faith, let alone destroy it. The Jews had learned not to be scandalised by Rahab and Christians ought not to be scandalised by when God acted to bring about the Incarnation in Mary.

Therefore, Rahab, despite the brief incident in which she features, is a very important figure for our own faith. We should not overlook the relatively brief reference to her. Nor should we be dismissive of prostitutes or others in sexually irregular situations. We often do not know the circumstances that led to their situation and should avoid judging them as persons. It is often abuse and other hardships in life that leads to such lifestyles. God knows the hearts of all, and is able to stir up a response to grace, and one that saves. He did it with Rahab, he did it through the ministry of Jesus, he did it in the lives of many saints, and he seeks to do it again in our day. Are we open to this? Nor should we despair of our own sexual tensions and difficulties: God loves us in the totality of who we are, and can work with all of who we are, transforming it, to God’s greater glory and serving his purposes. Like Rahab, let us have faith in the mercy of God and act in such ways that this may be a blessing to others.

Women of the OT: Miriam

We meet the sister of Moses three times in the course of the Pentateuch: her first appearance is perhaps her best known, when she keeps watch over the baby Moses in his basket in the Nile, and then volunteers her own and the baby’s mother as a wet nurse when Pharaoh’s daughter decides to adopt him. The girl is not in fact named at this point (Ex 2: 4-8), but tradition has identified her with Miriam, the sister of Moses, whom we come across in two more episodes later on in the story of the Exodus.

First, there is the song of victory after the crossing of the Red Sea, in which Miriam leads all the women in rejoicing with tambourines and dancing (Ex 15: 20-21). Secondly, we have the episode in the Book of Numbers in which Miriam and Aaron complain about their brother Moses, as a result of which Miriam contracts leprosy (Num 12), before being healed at Moses’ intercession.

What is striking about all three appearances is how the presence of Miriam renders the story more vivid and concrete: this is perhaps most obvious in her first appearance among the bulrushes, but after the crossing of the Red Sea, too, it wasn’t just “the people" or “the women” who rejoiced, but a group following the lead of a particular individual, Miriam, the sister of Moses. Likewise, in the case of her being struck with leprosy, it wasn't just “the people” complaining about Moses’ closeness to God but his own sister. The presence of such people in the narrative helps us to remember that the story of our salvation is a history, a process that was worked out in the world over time, culminating in the Incarnation of the Son of God in Jesus Christ.

Invocation 2012

The Invocation festival is going from strength to strength. Last weekend (6-8 July), this national discernment festival for young adults – part conference, part retreat – was held once again at Oscott College in Birmingham. The format of Invocation 2012 had been honed to provide the maximum opportunity for young Catholics to pray, hear thought-provoking talks, and meet priests and members of religious orders. Here, young men and women could discuss their joys and hopes, ask difficult questions, and make new friends.

Keynote talks were given by Canon Luiz Ruscillo, Sr Catherine Holum (a former champion speed skater), and Bishop Mark Davies. There was also a reflection on Reconciliation by Canon John Udris and a closing homily by the Apostolic Nuncio, Antonio Menini.

   Sr. Catherine Hol

The emphasis on reconciliation was particularly poignant in the presence of the relic of the heart of St John Mary Vianney, that outstanding confessor and patron of priests.

Many different religious orders were present at the festival, reflecting the diversity of vocations and spiritualities within the universal Church.

The participants could join in several workshops to discover more of the spiritual riches of the Catholic tradition and explore their own possible callings. Here, fr. Lawrence Lew OP and Sr. Hyacinthe OP give a workshop on the Gospel-centred spirituality of St. Dominic.

Besides helpful conversations with several discerners, it was the times of prayer and the Eucharistic procession that I found particularly special. These are the best opportunities to meet Jesus Christ: they can strengthen our love for him and renew our commitment to serve him in whichever way of life he has planned for us.

If you missed the festival, you can hear the talks and other podcasts on the blog. Don't forget to check out the Facebook page to see other photos and watch the space for Invocation 2013!

Photographs: CBCEW & Lawrence Lew OP.

Women of the OT: Tamar

Readings: Genesis 38.

I imagine that when the rather racy story of Tamar and her three husbands appears as the First Reading at Mass, most preachers choose to focus on the gospel. Perhaps we can have some sympathy with the early Rabbis, who thought that some biblical texts were a bit too provocative to be read in family worship, and devised two lists of 'censored' texts: the first - a sort of ‘PG’ rating - contained texts that should be read aloud in Hebrew but not translated into the vernacular (such as the David and Bathsheba story), and a second - a sort of ‘X’ rated list - of those that should not be read aloud at all (including the incestuous relationship of Amnon and his half-sister). Tamar’s story, however, appears on neither of these lists. It is to be read aloud, and it is to be translated.

To modern readers, this seems a bit odd: both Tamar’s story and those of David and Amnon narrate irregular sexual behaviour, and if anything Tamar’s behaviour is more provocative even than Reuben’s liaison with his father’s concubine (which is also ‘listed’!). The answer, it seems, is that the Rabbis weren’t simply prudes, scandalised by any reference to sex, but recognised that sexual relations have the potential to either build up society, or to disrupt it. David’s adultery ends in the murder of Uriah, and Amnon’s incest with his half-sister leads to a bitter dispute between two families, and yet Tamar’s eventual marriage to Judah – bizarre as the behaviour that brought it about might be – actually leads to the healing of a social wound. Tamar, the victim of abuse and injustice, brings about her own restoration.

As a young childless widow, the law required the brother of Tamar's husband to take her in Levirate marriage as his own wife, so that she would continue to have a place and role within society, and would not be left abandoned. After her first husband’s perfunctory demise (‘he was a wicked man’) Tamar is duly taken as a wife by his brother Onan. Onan, however, abuses his responsibilities, seeing Tamar simply as an opportunity for sexual pleasure, distorting the purpose of marriage as instituted by God, using it instead as a means of fulfilling his own selfish desires. For this, he too is punished with death, and the third brother - Judah – is (perhaps understandably) reluctant to take Tamar as his wife, for fear that he too would have an early demise. Ultimately, he is duped into living up to his responsibilities by Tamar, who disguises herself as a prostitute and tricks him into providing proof that the child she bears is his. Ironically, it may well be the fact that the ruse succeeds, and thus that Judah ultimately fulfils his obligations under the law, that saves him from the punishment that befell his brothers. Tamar doesn’t just save herself, she brings about Judah’s conformity with the law.

The practice of Levirate marriages is part of the cultic dispensation that passed away with the coming of Christ, so we can’t take Tamar’s behaviour paradigmatically, nor can we use it as evidence that a moral end justifies an immoral means. Nonetheless, the story affirms our sexuality as a divine gift, and one that we are called to use for the up-building of the community of God’s people. Onan's sin (38:4) points to the fact that fertility lies at the heart of the purpose of marriage, a teaching which is not – as some suggest – an invention of the medieval casuists, but fundamental to the ancient teachings of God’s chosen people, reflecting the natural structure of marriage.

However, fertility is not simply reducible to ‘having children’. The story of Tamar reveals that the virtue of chastity (to which all are called) is not primarily about individual purity, but civic virtue, and the ways in which we contribute to the social fabric of our world. Sins against chastity not only impede our relationship with God, they distort our relationships to others. For this reason, the Church, with the Rabbis, recognises that sexual relations outside of their proper context in marriage can be corrosive and destructive. So too the authentic celibate vocation (whether lived as a professed religious or not) is not an individual’s choice made for themselves alone, but a self-offering in the service of community, especially for the building up of the Church, and – like marriage - exists for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

Ordinations at Blackfriars 2012

There are certain joyful occasions in our community life which might seem to rival even the great feasts of Easter, Christmas and Pentecost. Last Saturday, 7 July 2012, was such an auspicious day.

On this day, our brothers, Gustave Noël Ineza (Province of Canada) and Gregory Pearson were ordained to the diaconate by Bishop William Kenney CP.

On this day, our brother, Robert William Verrill, was ordained to the sacred priesthood.

On this day, their families, friends, and the whole community rejoiced to see them raised to these new ministries, to serve at God's altar for the building up of his Church. Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad!

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Here, those to be ordained deacons promise obedience to their ordinary.

The newly-ordained deacons are vested with the stole and dalmatic.

The bishop says the prayer of priestly consecration over fr. Robert.

After the laying on of hands and vesting with the chasuble, fr. Robert receives the gifts of 

bread and wine which he will offer at the altar.

The Eucharistic Prayer:

After Mass, fr. Robert gives his first blessings to the brethren, his family, 

and all the assembled people of God.

Dominican brothers and sisters travelled from all over the country to join the celebration.

Please keep frs. Robert, Gustave and Gregory, and Bishop William, in your prayers.

Women of the OT: Dinah

Reading: Genesis chapter 34, The Rape of Dinah

The dramatic story of Dinah is one where hermeneutics will have much to say for our understanding of what really happened. First, let us begin with the narrative as we find it in New Jerusalem Bible translation.

Dinah is the daughter of Jacob. We read in Genesis chapter 34 that Dinah went out to visit some of the women of the region, but the story suddenly takes a dramatic turn as Shechem meets Dinah:

‘Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, headman of the region, saw her, seized her and forced her to sleep with him. He was captivated by Dinah daughter of Jacob; he fell in love with the girl and tried to win her heart.’ (Gn. 34.2-3, NJB)

Shechem then wanted to marry the girl, but as the brothers of Dinah heard of this, they laid plans to betray him, saying that in order to accept the marriage, he and all his men need to be circumcised. On the third day, still suffering from the circumcision, two of the brothers of Dinah, Simeon and Levi, slaughtered all the men in the town, and ‘they took all their children and wives captive and looted everything to be found in the houses’ (Gn 34.29). When Jacob opposed to his sons, seeing that they had jeopardised the relation to the peoples in the region, Simeon and Levi answered: ‘Should our sister be treated like a whore?’ (v. 31)

The story is often interpreted as being about the relation between Israel and the surrounding peoples, and the Israelites’ attempt to establish social boundaries for marriage. In this view, the main concern in the relation between Shechem and Dinah is more a question of formally social acceptance than of violation. Since sexual intercourse should only find place within the marital bonding, it is shameful for an unmarried woman like Dinah to have sex. We end up with a story about an inner conflict in Israel, where we find on one side those who advocate an inclusive perspective to the surrounding people where mutual respect, cooperation and bonding is advocated (represented by Jacob and Dinah herself -- the fact that Dinah stays in the house of Shechem may indicate that she freely chooses to stay with him (v. 29)). On the other side, we find separatist tendencies which fight against intermarriage by all means, as the dramatic outcome of the story shows.

It may all sound plausible, but the key question remains: What really happened in the first contact between Shechem and Dinah? The interpretation we have presented seems to tone down the violation committed against Dinah to a degree where this is no longer the real issue. Against such an interpretation, Susanne Scholz, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Perkins School of Theology, US, presents an alternative interpretation with a closer reading of the first verses of chapter 34. Here it is no longer a question of various viewpoints on intermarriage among the Israelites. It is a story about a rape.

In an article called ‘What “Really” Happened to Dinah’ (see link below), Scholz analyses closely the Hebrew language which brings her to a very different way of expressing the original text. Here, we do not find the ambiguity that might be read into the first translation we have looked at. After Shechem has seen Dinah, the story continues:

And he took her, and he laid her, and he raped her,
And he stayed close to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob,

and he lusted after the young woman,

and he tried to soothe her.

(Gn. 34.2-3, translated by Susanne Scholz)

Here, we are confronted with a story of a raw and brutal rape, followed by desire, lust and an attempt at manipulation, where the rapist finally forces her to stay in his house. The following story is then a response to the injustice committed to Dinah, and the radical revenge underlines the severity of the initial crime. Shechem cannot buy his way out of the rape he has committed, and the brothers argue that if they accept the marriage, Dinah will be treated like a whore.

There is no time to go further into the various arguments for the different interpretations. But I believe we should reflect on one aspect that is just as relevant in our contemporary time that it is in this story: it is remarkable to observe how easy we turn our focus from the initial violation that sets of this story, turning the assault into something hardly significant at all. Even in the first translation, an injustice has definitely been committed. Still, we lose sight of the story of Dinah, forgetting what she has gone through, and when we try to bring her back in the front of the narrative, there seems to be many creative arguments opposing to it, both by biblical scholars and by ourselves.

We find the same when it comes to the question of rape in our time. A recently released survey (see link below) reveals dramatic figures: statistics shows that one in 20 women in England and Wales say they have been raped at least once since they were 16. Now, the interesting thing is that this shockingly high number of violation is often met with the question: ‘Yes, but this is surely not only street assaults?’ No, the report shows that most attacks have been carried out in their home by someone they knew. Nearly half of the rapes involved a husband or boyfriend. And so what? A rape is an extreme violation of basic human rights, no matter how, no matter who. There is reason to raise a warning to a tendency which undermines the dignity of the women and of humanity. The narratives of such situations found in story of Dinah may help us to reflect critically on a culture that too easily accepts this kind of injustice in our society.

Susanne Scholz: ‘What “Really” Happened to Dinah’

DailyMail article 7th July 2012: One in 20 women are rape victims

Women of the OT: Rachel & Leah

If we think family life can be a complicated affair in these times, the Old Testament can always seem to go one better. The story of Leah and Rachel is a complex tale of sisterhood, displaying a kaleidoscope of emotions, sandwiched between the more brotherly tales of Esau and Jacob and Joseph and his brothers. Often, it is simply seen as a tale of rivalry and bitterness between two women, but it is not so simple. It is one of love and resentment; jealousy and deception; loyalty and betrayal. Much more lies behind the tale than one would think at first glance.

We meet Rachel and Leah following the journey of Jacob to Haran. Jacob had followed the instructions of his mother, Rebekah, to leave the family and go to the house of her brother Laban, as a result of Jacob’s deception of Esau, his brother, and the disquiet that followed upon it. Arriving in Haran, Jacob first met Rachel at a well, and immediately fell in love with her. After a month working for her father, Jacob asked for Rachel’s hand, and this was agreed providing Jacob worked for Laban for a period of seven years. This he did, and then asked for his wife. Jacob, the deceiver of Esau, then became the deceived. With the complicity of the sisters, Laban substituted Leah for Rachel at the wedding ceremony. Leah was Rachel’s elder sister, and though Rachel loved Jacob very much, she did not frustrate the deception. When the morning after the wedding came, Jacob realised he had been deceived and confronted Laban. Laban claimed that though it was a deception it was justified, as Leah was his eldest, and pledged Rachel as a second wife if only Jacob would remain in his service for another seven years. This was agreed and after a week Jacob married Rachel and worked on for Laban.

Jacob’s love for Rachel was all too evident, and Leah felt betrayed by God but determined to win the love of her husband. God ‘opened Leah’s womb’ and she bore Jacob four son’s in succession; Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. Rachel could not conceive, and in her jealousy, she gave her handmaid, Bilhah, to Jacob as a surrogate, and Bilhah bore Dan and Naphtali. Leah then did likewise, giving her handmaid Zilpah, who gave birth to Gad and Asher. Leah then became fertile again and gave birth to Issachar, Zebulun, and Dinah, Jacob's first and only daughter. Only after many years without fertility did God grant Rachel two sons, Joseph and Benjamin – the latter would be the cause of her death in childbirth on the road back to Canaan. Of all the children, Rachel's son Joseph was Jacob’s favourite, and destined to be the leader of Israel's tribes between exile and nationhood.

Though much evidently passed between the two sisters, a closer reading of the text shows more depth and subtlety in the relationship than might be immediately apparent. Each sister, though bearing their share of frustrations and disappointments remain loyal to Jacob and each other.  Jacob involves them both in the decisions on their future, such as the return to Canaan, and each shows an eagerness to grow in spiritual matters and draw closer to God. It is easy to dismiss the sisters’ eagerness to bear Jacob sons as mere rivalry, but that would be to judge too harshly. Both wanted the love of their husband, not to the exclusion of each other; both wanted to secure his love and the future of their people through their offspring; both were prepared to help each other in doing so and thus aimed at drawing closer to God in matters spiritual and in securing the future of Israel.  To present a clear-cut analysis of the Rachel and Leah’s motivations and intentions throughout their lives could easily be misleading; to do so would miss the point that God is working through all the confusion and turmoil we may often associate with family life.

Women of the OT: Hagar

Readings: Genesis 16-17, 21.


Most modern readers of the Hagar-Sarai-Abram novella would see Hagar as the victim of the story. She is used by two people who don’t even bother to refer to her by name, taken as a concubine to provide an heir to Abram (or, perhaps, to fulfil Sarai’s maternal instincts, see 16:2), only to have her son rejected in favour of an heir provided by Abram's wife. The injustice perpetrated against her in life is then compounded and prolonged by the violation of her memory by post-biblical theology, which has portrayed her as symbolic of the unredeemed, the mother of the earthly city, finding her identity only in relation to the one who perpetrates violence against her – Sarai, who becomes Sarah, the mother of God’s chosen, and matriarch of the City of God.

Indeed, there is truth in this reading: the text emphasises Hagar not only as foreign and enslaved, but as Egyptian, from the very nation that will ultimately enslave God’s people, the nation from which the Lord will liberate his elect by intervening in human history, as narrated in the Book of Exodus. The enmity between Sarai and Hagar, and Hagar’s cursing of Sarai, is thus paradigmatic of the future relationship between the descendent of Sarai and the descendents of Hagar. Hagar is not merely an outsider; she embodies sheer otherness. Perhaps it is for this reason that the narrative places Hagar – who lived on the margins of society  –  at Shur (16:7), a town on the border with Egypt, the homeland toward which she was heading, but – like Moses after her – she would never enter her homeland (16:9), settling instead in the wilderness of Paran (21:14-21).

Hagar doesn’t easily fit into the role of a despised, rejected, passive victim, however. Despite Hagar-Egypt being apparently antithetical to Sarah-Israel, Abram and the Israelites are not able to resist entirely the seeming allure of their antithesis. There is something mysterious about Hagar and the Egyptians, who are elsewhere in the Hebrew scriptures associated with fertility and wisdom (1 Kgs 4:30). Indeed, not only does the angel of the Lord appear to Hagar – as she herself remarks, she has “really seen God and remained alive after seeing him” – but it is also Hagar who is blessed with fertility, whilst the Lord has closed the womb of Sarai (16:2). Hagar is the first woman to receive an annunciation from the Lord, and the only person in the Pentateuch who dares to give God a name, calling him ‘El Roi’ (‘the God who sees’), only to be corrected by the Lord, who reveals himself as ‘El Shaddai’ (‘God Almighty’) in 17:1. Indeed, Hagar alone cannot be blamed for risking the ethnic purity of God’s chosen people, for Abram himself allowed Sarai to enter the Harem of Pharoah (12:9). 

Perhaps what is most interesting in the Sarai-Abram-Hagar triangle is the apparent weakness and passivity of Abram. Hagar is not straightforwardly the victim of a patriarchal oppression, but of a scheme cooked up by Sarai, to which Abram acquiesces, and the power struggle is fought between Sarai and Hagar, with Abram standing as an almost silent participant in the background. Certainly, Abram was a willing participant, and is thus guilty of participating in the abuse of Hagar, but the text does not portray him as a protagonist. Perhaps Sarai’s change of heart – cooking up the scheme and then seeming to be horrified when it works out – is because she suspected that the reason for the lack of children lay with Abram, rather than with herself. Whilst this would explain her incredulous laughter – when she remarks in 18:12, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” – this suggestion strays into the realms of speculation, beyond the boundaries of the text, which leaves us with an ambiguous portrayal of Hagar as a victim who nonetheless enjoys a curious degree of divine favour, and a surprisingly powerful prominence within the Genesis narrative.