Abraham had grown old, eighty-five years, and his wife was but ten years his junior, and they were childless. There seemed little hope that after all the years of waiting, they would yet have children. So Sarah made a noble sacrifice in keeping wit the cutsoms of those days She brought to Abraham a servant of her own, a young Egyptian servant of her own, and she bade Abraham take the Egyptian to also be his wife, so that he might thave the children he desired.
Having Hagar in household was not without its difficulties. She would have had to be very humble to have avoided arousing her mistress's jealous anger. Abraham, with steadfast loyalty, upheld Sarah as his first, his true wife and lifelong comrade. He allowed Sarah to deal with Hagar as she saw fit, and Sarah dealt with her harshly, so harshly that Hagar fled in fear into the wilderness.
An angel came to Hagar as she crouched in weariness beside a well. She was bidden to return to Sarah and submit to her. She was promised a son who should also be the ancestor of a vast people. So she returned to the tents of Abraham, and when her son was born, he was named Ishmael, which means "God hears," because God had heard and comforted her in her distress.
These illustrations of Hagar from the Bible, are from several Bible books in my collection. Feel free to use these pictures of Hagar in your artistic creations. Click on the drawings of Hagar below to see more details about saving a free Hagar image or about purchasing a Hagar picture at a higher resolution.