Entities in the Bible: The First Surrogate Parent

Entities in the Bible: The First Surrogate Parent

by | Jan 27, 2026 | Archives, Entities, Women

Entities in the Bible: The First Surrogate Parent Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said…

Entities in the Bible: The First Surrogate Parent – Understanding surrogate parenting through Hagar’s role in the Abrahamic narrative

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. – Genesis 16:1-4

As we continue to explore personalities and characters in the Bible, our searchlight today will focus on the first surrogate parent in the Bible: Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian maidservant.

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines surrogate as “a substitute, especially a person deputizing for another in a specific role or office.” No doubt, the term and practice of surrogate parenting are commonplace today. However, it is interesting to note that this practice did not just start in our modern milieu. Rather, it was as ancient as the society itself, dating back to the BC era, as we can see in the scenario that played out in the bible passage above.

Sarah, the wife of Abraham, had become impatient at her inability to conceive and bear a child for her husband. So, she proposed that her husband sleep with her maidservant so that they could have a child through the process that would bear their name. Being a slave, Hagar, the lady involved, had no say in the matter as her master and mistress had the power of life and death over her. So, even if she did not mind, she could not decline their proposition.

However, by carrying a pregnancy for the couple, she therefore enters the book of record as the first person to be a surrogate parent.

Selah!

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Men in the Bible: The First Liar

Men in the Bible: The First Liar

by | Jan 19, 2026 | Archives, Men

Men in the Bible: Cain and the First Lie Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s…

Men in the Bible: The First Liar

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” – Genesis 4:9

Cain set another undesirable record by telling the first lie in the annals of history, as recorded in the Holy Bible.

Having lost control of himself, which gave room for all manners of negative emotions, disappointment, bitterness, anger, jealousy and sadness, his resolve became compromised, such that when violence came knocking to be added to the list, he could do nothing to stop it. Thus, resulting in him killing his innocent brother. Having lost it to this point, it was no surprise either that Cain was past recovery and would not stop at anything to save his face.

Therefore, when God asked him about his brother’s whereabouts, he did not think twice before boldly lying, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” With this, he uttered the first lie. With hindsight, one can see how silly this must have sounded even to his own hearing because he was actually talking to the omniscient God.

The interesting thing is that his parents, Adam and Eve, even in their mistake, did not lie to God when He called them out. They only confessed they were in hiding because they were naked and afraid of what God might do to them. But this was not the case with Cain, his lack of self-control had weakened whatever noble resolve he still had left in him, and only the base part was in active play at this point. That was why he had no gumption in committing a murder in the first place, killing his own brother to boot, and then lying about his whereabouts when asked.

This sequence of events happened just like God had warned him when the whole attitude issue started:

God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.”  – Genesis 4:6-7 (The Message)

By not heeding this golden warning to nip the negativity in the bud, Cain allowed it to fester until he became the willing domain for all kinds of social vices.

Selah!

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Adam – A Man of Easy Persuasion: Lessons on Leadership, Obedience, and Influence

Adam – A Man of Easy Persuasion: Lessons on Leadership, Obedience, and Influence

by | Jan 13, 2026 | Archives, Men

Adam – A Man of Easy Persuasion So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable…

Adam – A Man of Easy Persuasion

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, – Genesis 3:6-7

For someone whom we had earlier discussed as firm and resolute in his ways when considering his encounter with God during the partner searching episode, Adam proved to be a man of easy persuasion not many encounters later during his interaction with his wife, Eve, who got him to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil at the center of the garden.

Perhaps, some may be disappointed at Adam, and many still blame him to date, for easily succumbing to the request of his wife. From what we had earlier read, even Eve put up a semblance of resistance in her engagement with the serpent by trying to make it realize why they were not supposed to eat the fruit from that tree. However, immediately she took it for herself and ate, it was a no-brainer that Adam was going to follow suit.

It is pertinent to note that Adam was the one God expressly forbid not to eat from the fruits of both the tree of life as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:15-16). There was no record of God telling the woman this as she was not around when God was making the garden and putting Adam in charge. This presupposes that Adam should have shown more responsibility in his stewardship of the first warning God communicated to him.

However, perhaps he felt more affinity towards the woman whom he spent more time with than God, or because the woman’s pressure proved too unbearable for him, we may never know. What we do know is that Adam allowed himself to be persuaded into fouling the instruction of God and acting in disobedience. And that proved costly not just for both of them, but for their offspring after them from that time onward.

By not demonstrating leadership in what he was persuaded to do by his partner or responsibility towards a charge God committed to him concerning the trees, Adam painfully failed his first test of obedience and leadership. By benefit of hindsight, he must have later learned that it was not everything his partner pressured him to do that he should do, particularly when such was in direct violation of the command of God. We live life forward, but learn it backward.

Selah!

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