Lesson date: 11/17/5858AA

Around 1979 Arnold  Schwarzenegger made a movie named “The Villain,” also starring Kirk Douglas and Ann Margret. It was pretty silly and based on a Bugs Bunny or Roadrunner cartoon backdrop with real people. Anyway, Arnold’s character’s name in the movie was Handsome Stranger and Ann-Margret asked him how he got his name and he told her that his mother named him after his father, who was a handsome stranger. ((No, I don’t smoke anything so we’re not going there.)) It sounds funny (weird) and, even funny (ha-ha) but just suppose it is also applicable to one of the best known stories of Torah? What story is that, pray tell? Abram and Sarai, oops, and Hagar.

Let’s call this a case of mistaken identity. How so? Is Hagar a name or a title? Let’s look at her name: Hagar = הָגָר – H/G/R – H1904 – hâgâr –  haw-gawr’ – Of uncertain (perhaps foreign) derivation; Hagar, the mother of Ishmael: – Hagar.

But what if Hagar was not her name but rather a title, like The Unforgiven, The Way Home, The Outlaw Josey Wales. That would mean that the first letter of her name would have to be a Hey for “The”. Well, it is. In that case what does G/R spell? It will blow you away: H1616 – גֵּיר  גֵּר – gêr  gêyr -gare, gare From H1481; properly a guest; by implication a foreigner: – alien, sojourner, stranger.

I am presuming that you are still with me at this point or have you already turned on Gilligan’s Island instead? If you are still with me then let’s review what we have discussed about Hagar in the past:

1. She is an Egyptian.
2. She may have been a young daughter of Pharaoh who was not in line to inherit the throne.
3. She was most probably >20 years old, probably 12-18.
4. She was Sarah’s handmaiden and lowly regarded by Sarah.

Stop and think about this, Abram is considered, by many, to be the first Hebrew and Sarai his wife would also have been considered a Hebrew since she was the matriarch of the Hebrew people and Abram’s sister. As far as Abram and Sarai were concerned Hagar was a “stranger” to their clan. Think of Eli’ezer the Syrian, born in Damascus: Gen 15:2 And Aḇram said, “Master יהוה, what would You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eli‛ezer of Dammeseq?” This means that Abraham regarded Eli’ezer as his own son, his first born. In Abram’s view a Syrian was as good as family, even his first born, who could inherit his estate.

Once again, let’s look at Hagar. Do we have any evidence that she had another name other than Hagar? Yes, we do: 1Ch 1:32 And the sons born to Qeturah, Aḇraham’s concubine: Zimran, and Yoqshan, and Meḏan, and Miḏyan, and Yishbaq, and Shuwaḥ. The sons of Yoqshan: Sheḇa and Deḏan.

Now, is it possible that Hagar’s real name was Qeturah ((Perfume or incense. Did she add “spice” to Abraham later life?)) and that she was called “the stranger” because she was outside of Abraham’s current family? Who knows but, let’s examine some aspects of Hagar’s/Qeturah’s life to see if it matches “something else” in the history of the Children of Yisra’el.

Here is my hypothesis: Hagar was a type and shadow of the Exodus of the Children of Yisra’el. Prove it. Okay here we go: Gen 16:6 And Aḇram said to Sarai, “See, your female servant is in your hand, do to her what is good in your eyes.” And Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.

Harshly = H6031 – עָנָה –  ‛ânâh –  aw-naw’ A primitive root (possibly rather identical with H6030 through the idea of looking down or browbeating); to depress literally or figuratively, transitively or intransitively (in various applications). (sing is by mistake for H6030.): – abase self, afflict (-ion, self), answer [by mistake for H6030], chasten self, deal hardly with, defile, exercise, force, gentleness, humble (self), hurt, ravish, sing [by mistake for H6030], speak [by mistake for H6030], submit self, weaken, X in any wise.

‘anah = afflict ((Please remember this.))

Fled = H1272 – בָּרַח – bârach – baw-rakh’ – A primitive root; to bolt, that is, figuratively to flee suddenly: – chase (away); drive away, fain, flee (away), put to flight, make haste, reach, run away, shoot.

Alright, let’s look at this in detail: Sarah (Hebrew) treated Hagar (Egyptian) harshly and oppressed Hagar and then she fled from the oppression of the Hebrew woman and Hagar fled from Sarah. In other words “An Egyptian fled from the oppression of the Hebrews.” Coincidence, right? Let’s look and see.

We know the story well, Sarai cannot conceive so she gives her handmaiden Hagar to Abram and she does conceive and now looks down on Sarai so Hagar flees (barach) into the wilderness near a fountain where she is found by YHVH’s Messenger. Now because YHVH shows kindness and mercy to Hagar she calls YHVH the “El that sees” and the well is named Be’er Lahai Roi (The Well of the Living One who sees me).

Now, fast forward to the time of Moses: Exo 1:11 So they set slave-masters over them to afflict (‘anah) them with their burdens, and they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Ra‛amses.

Now, look at what YHVH tells Moshe: Exo 3:7 And יהוה said, “I have indeed seen (R’oi from Ra’ah same as Hagar but used twice here for emphasis) the oppression (‘oniy from ‘anah) of My people who are in Mitsrayim, and have heard their cry because of their slave-drivers, for I know their sorrows.

Exo 4:31 And the people believed. And they heard that יהוה had visited the children of Yisra’ěl and that He had looked (ra’ah) on their affliction (‘anah), and they bowed their heads and did obeisance.

Is it just a coincidence that these two stories use the same verbs to tell the stories? Sure, it could be but let’s look at one last piece of the story: Deu 10:19 “And you shall love the stranger (הָגָר), for you were strangers in the land of Mitsrayim.

Lev 19:34 ‘Let the stranger (הָגָר) who dwells among you be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself. For you were strangers in the land of Mitsrayim. I am יהוה your Elohim.

If Hagar’s real name was Qeturah then I ask the question was “the stranger” loved? So much so, that she had 6 more sons for Abraham before he died.

Once again, Who’s the stranger now?

Ahavah vberakhot,