Abstract:
Narratives are fundamentals of storytelling. In Biblical literature, narratives do not only
tell what happened (the context for God’s revelation), they also indicate why what happened matters
(the purpose of history). Employing a narrative methodology and a hermeneutic of identification
as an interpretive approach, this article explores the Hagar–Ishmael narrative in Genesis 21: 9–21
against the background of those who have been marginalized, exploited, excluded, trafficked, and
sitting in a wilderness of despair, struggle, and mistreatment and are in need of survival. The ex‑
ploration seeks to understand the narrative structure, plot, characters, and themes within the text.
The Hagar–Ishmael position is too painfully close to the realities of many today. In this narrative
account, one finds a pitiable scene of human suffering and misery, and yet it is bounded by divine
mercy and compassion. The stream of helplessness and consequent hope of survival shows that,
no matter how mistreated people might have been, they can rise above their “victimization” and
embrace the promises of God by staving off defeat, shaking off despair, and vanquishing discouragement. Thus with a hermeneutic of identification, readers are encouraged to identify with the
characters, situations, and experiences described in the biblical narrative.
