23 Jun Thursday of Week Twelve

Long-term Effects

Abram and Sarah followed the custom of their time, when children were the surest way to secure human rights and dignity in one’s old age. After many years of marriage, they had no children, so in desperation, Sarah turned to the local custom that allowed a surrogate wife to bear her child. Yet once Hagar, the Egyptian maidservant, had conceived, she now scorned her mistress for being childless; and