Hagar emerges as an Egyptian child, the sole survivor of a massacred caravan, discovered by Abraham and Sarah. This vulnerable origin precedes her enslavement within their household, where her Egyptian heritage marks her as a foreigner. Sarah later gifts Hagar to Abraham as a secondary wife to produce an heir, invoking ancient surrogacy customs. After conceiving Ishmael, tensions rise when Hagar shows contempt toward Sarah, who responds with harsh mistreatment. This abuse compels Hagar to flee into the wilderness.

During her first exile, a divine encounter occurs: an angel locates Hagar near a desert spring. The angel instructs her to return and submit to Sarah despite the suffering, promising her descendants will become too numerous to count and directing her to name her son Ishmael. Hagar names God "El Roi" (The God Who Sees), the only instance in the narrative where a character names the divine based on personal experience.

Fourteen years later, after Isaac's birth, Sarah sees Ishmael mocking her son and demands the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael. Abraham reluctantly complies following divine instruction. Exiled again with minimal provisions, Hagar and Ishmael face dehydration in the wilderness. When their water runs out, Hagar places Ishmael under a bush and moves away, unable to watch his anticipated death. At this point of despair, the angel intervenes a second time, reaffirming God's promise to make Ishmael a great nation. Hagar then discovers a nearby well, securing their survival. The narrative concludes with Ishmael maturing into a skilled archer in the wilderness and fathering twelve tribes, fulfilling the divine pledge of nationhood.

Throughout, Hagar endures abandonment, exploitation, and maternal terror. Her encounters with the divine underscore her significance within themes of providence. Her designation of God as "El Roi" highlights a core theological motif: divine recognition of the marginalized.