A Study in Exile, Revelation,
and the Grafting-In of the Marginalized
Introduction
The story of Scripture is not only told through its central figures—Abraham, Moses, David—but through the sojourners, the cast-out, and the foreign women who receive revelation before kings and priests ever speak. Two of the most profound theological encounters in the Bible happen not with prophets or patriarchs, but with women on the margins: Hagar in Genesis and the Samaritan woman in John.
Each becomes a key to understanding covenant inclusion beyond the visible household of Israel. Each receives a revelation of the divine name. And each echoes the deeper movement of Torat Edom—the law, or teaching, of how God works with those outside the camp.
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I. Hagar: The First Ger Toshav
Hagar’s very name—HaGer—means “the sojourner,” the outsider living in proximity to covenant. But she is more than a literary figure; she represents the first formal case of covenantal grafting-in. As Sarah’s Egyptian maid, given to Abraham as a concubine, Hagar participates in the family of promise yet remains outside its legal center. She does not rebel against the covenant—she is drawn into it.
Hagar’s very name—HaGer—means “the sojourner,” the outsider living in proximity to covenant. But she is more than a literary figure; she represents the first formal case of covenantal grafting-in. As Sarah’s Egyptian maid, given to Abraham as a concubine, Hagar participates in the family of promise yet remains outside its legal center. She does not rebel against the covenant—she is drawn into it.
In Genesis 16, she becomes the first person in the Bible to receive a direct theophany from the Malakh YHWH (Angel of the LORD). She is also the first and only person to name God: El Roi—“the God who sees me.” This is no small moment. Before Moses hears Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, before Sinai, before Israel, there is Hagar.
Her son, Ishmael, though not the child of promise in the Abrahamic line, is nonetheless blessed to become a great nation (Genesis 17:20). God does not revoke the covenantal blessing—He reconfigures it. Torat Edom begins here, showing that exile is not rejection, and that the cast-out are still seen by God.
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II. The Samaritan Woman: A Mirror from the Gospel of John
In John 4, another woman meets God at a well. She is a Samaritan—ethnically distant, religiously controversial, and morally suspect by her community. Yet Jesus speaks to her with profound tenderness and theological clarity.
In this moment, she becomes the first person to whom Jesus openly reveals His identity as Messiah:
“I who speak to you am He.” (Ego Eimi, John 4:26)
This is not accidental. Like Hagar, she represents the non-Israelite who is still part of the covenantal story. The well, the dialogue, and the divine name all echo Hagar. But here, the fullness of the revelation breaks open—the Ger is no longer only seen; she becomes a witness.
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.” (John 4:29)
Her testimony draws a village into belief.
She is grafted in—not by law, but by encounter, the same way Hagar was.
IV. Implications for the Body of Messiah
To understand Hagar and the Samaritan woman as grafted-in figures is not merely to honor their role—it is to relearn how covenant works. The grafting-in of the Gentiles is not an innovation of Paul; it is rooted in the earliest chapters of Torah.
The Ger Toshav—the sojourner who lives among Israel—is a model for covenantal coexistence.The outsider who receives the Name becomes a witness and not merely a recipient.God’s gaze on Edom, on Ishmael, on Samaria, is not rejection—it is refinement and restoration.
Jesus, as Sar HaPanim, the Prince of the Presence, embodies this in full—revealing the Father not only to Jerusalem but to Edom, Egypt, and Samaria. And those who recognize Him are not only saved—they become first fruits of a renewed covenantal people.
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V. Rabbinic Insight: Was Hagar Keturah?
Many rabbinic authorities (especially Rashi, Genesis Rabbah, and the Targumim) hold that Hagar and Keturah are the same person. This radically shifts her role:
Rehabilitation: She is not just cast out but brought back into the household. Abraham honors her by marrying her again.Spiritual refinement: The name Keturah comes from ketoret (incense), suggesting her deeds were now fragrant before God.Faithful outsider: The Midrash teaches that she remained chaste, awaiting Abraham’s return. This makes her the model of righteous waiting, akin to Israel in exile—or Edom seeking restoration.Matriarch of nations: Her children through Abraham (Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, etc., Gen 25:2) become fathers of other nations, often connected to the East. Her story hints at proto-Gentile sanctification.
Why it matters for Torat Edom:
If Hagar = Keturah, then the cast-out concubine becomes the restored bride—a profound typology for how Edom, or any outsider, might be grafted back into the covenant.It flips the narrative of exclusion and shows that the Ger Toshav can not only dwell among Israel, but actually return and bear new covenantal fruit.It deepens the parallel with the Samaritan woman, who moves from exclusion to proclamation.
Conclusion
Hagar and the Samaritan woman are not minor characters. They are prophetic signs. Their stories form a bridge between the Torah and the Gospel, between exile and homecoming, between the seen and the seeing. Through them, Torat Edom comes into view: a law not written on stone, but whispered in wilderness wells. A Torah that begins to take root not in the polished center, but in the dust and rejection of the margins.
They show us that the true covenant was always bigger than bloodlines, and that the God who sees is the God who gathers.
Endnotes
- Genesis 16:13. Hagar names God El Roi, becoming the only person in the Hebrew Bible to do so. This moment establishes her theological significance.
- Genesis 21:17–18. God hears Ishmael’s cry in the wilderness and renews the promise that he will become a great nation.
- John 4:7–29. The Samaritan woman receives a Messianic revelation at Jacob’s well, initiating a broader inclusion of Samaritans into the Gospel narrative.
- Falk, Harvey. Jesus the Pharisee: A New Look at the Jewishness of Jesus. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1985. Falk notes the overlooked covenantal structure present in the relationship between Jews and Gentiles and the significance of marginal figures in rabbinic midrash.
- Cohen, Aryeh. “The Ger Toshav: Toward a Halakhic Ethic of Citizenship.” The Edah Journal 3:1 (2003). Cohen outlines the biblical and rabbinic concept of the Ger Toshav, offering a framework for covenantal hospitality and recognition of the outsider.
- Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 25:1. This Aramaic translation/commentary identifies Keturah as Hagar, explaining that Abraham remarried her after Sarah’s death.
- Rashi on Genesis 25:1. Rashi affirms this identification, writing: “Keturah is Hagar. She was called Keturah because her deeds were as pleasing as incense (ketoret).”
- Genesis Rabbah 61:4. The Midrash also equates Hagar and Keturah, interpreting the name “Keturah” to mean that she remained chaste after being sent away and was later restored to Abraham.
- Ginzberg, Louis. The Legends of the Jews. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1909. Ginzberg cites multiple traditions affirming the Hagar–Keturah connection and highlights her role as a righteous convert.
