The Characters

SARAH

Abraham’s first wife, a legendary beauty. She’s a proud, brave leader whose name means “princess.” In Jewish tradition, she is also sometimes known as Iscah, or the Seer. Sarah can’t have children and so she tells Abraham to sleep with her Egyptian servant, Hagar. When Hagar has a son, Sarah gets jealous and tells Abraham to send Hagar and her child away. Sarah is also the mother of the miracle child, Isaac, the son who arrives when she is 99 years old.

HAGAR

Sarah’s Egyptian servant. According to tradition, she was the daughter of Pharaoh. She is the mother of Ishmael. In Islam, she is viewed as the founder of Mecca and the ancestor of Mohammed. She is the only character in the Bible to give God a name she invents herself.

ABRAHAM

God’s chosen man who obeys God’s commandment to leave Mesopotamia and go to the Promised Land. He is the father of Isaac and Ishmael and is viewed as the father of the three monotheistic religions, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

ISAAC

The son of Sarah. His name means laughter as both of his parents laughed when God told them he would be born.

ISHMAEL

The son of Hagar. His name means “God listens.” Muslims trace Mohammed’s ancestory back to Ishmael and his mother, Hagar.

LOT

Abraham’s nephew. He moves to Sodom and Gomorrah and escapes right before God destroys these two cities.