Having not read the Bible before, Genesis 12-23 was very bizarre to read. There are many questions I have from reading these sections. Since I had not read this part of the Bible before, I had no prior notion of believing Hagar was a black woman until reading Reimagining Hagar. It is odd that Sarai was so adamant on having a child that she allowed her husband to have sex with another woman to have a child. It is also interesting that Sarah not only gave Hagar to Abram as a slave, she gave Hagar to him as a wife. Reimagining Hagar discusses how Hagar is only referred to as Abram’s wife when they are talking about sex. In all other instances, Hagar is a “slave-woman”, or another similar term. The Bible does not explicitly say that Hagar is black, it only mentions that she is from Egypt, which is a different area than where Sarai and Abram are from. I am curious as to how the interpretations have made Hagar a black woman instead of just an Egyptian woman. I also wonder why the divine messenger tells Hagar to go back after being “dealt with” by Sarai. Why would the messenger want Hagar to return to a place she was abused at? I have many more questions as to why certain things are said in this section of the Bible.
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