There are few Christians who are unfamiliar with the story of how Abram and Sarai took matters into their own hands to birth a child who could be Abram’s heir. Most look at this story with a bit of disdain for their actions. Here’s the biblical account:
“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar, and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.” – Gen. 16:1-2
Why would Sarai offer up her slave to be Abram’s wife and encourage him to have a child with her? From a 20th-century Western perspective, this is an atrocious idea. But, from the perspective of someone living in ancient times as part of a collective society, they would look at this situation differently. First, concubines and slaves were considered property of their masters and could be used for childbearing.[1] Second, and probably the most important part of this story, is that Abram’s responsibility to the community was so great that he needed an heir to ensure the community’s future success. Within a collective society, Abram as the leader, had a responsibility to care for his community. Abram and Sarai were not living by themselves out on the plains, they were part of a very large community. We have a few verses that clue us into this fact.
“Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.” – Gen. 13:2
Livestock requires people to manage the herds. A wealthy owner of livestock would have a significant number of employees working in the fields. We also know Abram’s nephew, Lot, who was sojourning with him owned a lot of livestock and his herdsmen fought with Abram’s herdsmen (Gen. 13:7). It seems the land was overcrowded so they split up. A little later in the story, Lot requires rescuing as the result of a regional war, and Abram already has men trained to take on the task.
“When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.” – Gen. 14:14
Where did these men come from? How were they trained for war? The only logical answer is that they were part of the community Abram was leading. Some were probably part of the herdsmen; some may have been guards to protect Abram’s possessions. Historical documents show that armies of a city-state at that time would not have been much larger than what Abram brought to the battlefield, so this must have been a sizeable force.[2] We can also surmise that many of these men were likely married and had children. We do not know that for sure, but if that were the case, an estimate of 700-1,000 people would not be out of the question for the size of Abram’s community. As their leader, he had a responsibility to care for each one.
This is where the issue of having an heir comes into play. Abram’s heir would have taken on the responsibility of the community leader. Think of this like a CEO passing a business onto his son or daughter. Those in the community would have based their long-term stability on Abram’s heir or lack thereof. Without an heir, community members may have considered moving on to another opportunity because they did not know what would happen after Abram died. We also need to consider the shame that would have been present in a childless home. In that era, not having children, would have been shameful for Abram and Sarai. In this context, Sarai’s choice makes perfect sense. Having an heir would solve multiple problems at the same time. Of course, we have the luxury of knowing the rest of the story ahead of time and how things did not turn out so well between Isaac and Ishmael. But we should not judge Abram or Sarai for this decision since no one else alive at that time would have considered it abnormal.
[1] Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), Ge 16:1–4.
[2] Victor Harold Matthews, Mark W. Chavalas, and John H. Walton, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), Ge 14:14–16.