Genesis 16:1
“Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.”
KJV
Read in Genesis 16Meaning
Sarai has borne Abram no children, and the narrator introduces Hagar, her Egyptian servant, as a member of the household.
Read carefully
The verse describes an ancient household structure involving servitude; description is not moral endorsement of slavery or coercive power.
Reflection
Unresolved waiting can create pressure for human solutions, but vulnerable people must never be reduced to instruments for another person's goals.