The Faithful Women of the Bible Episode 1 Recap: The Woman Who Bowed to No One

‘The Faithful: Women of the Bible’ is a drama series that dives into the religious stories from the Book of Genesis, bringing the theological narratives to life through the eyes of the women who lived them. The show’s episode 1, titled ‘The Woman Who Bowed to No One,’ centers around the tale of Abraham, but primarily his wife, Sarah, who weathers every challenge by his side as an equal. After the patriarch receives the coveted Word of God, he leaves his homeland and travels to establish a new home for himself and his people. He’s also perpetually waiting for his God to fulfill his promise and bless him and his wife with a child, which gets further out of their reach with each passing year. Therefore, Sarah tries to solve the problem by having her maidservant, Hagar, for her and her husband. Nonetheless, as envy mixes in with divine intervention, complications arise. SPOILERS AHEAD!

Sarah Marries Abraham and Travels With Him Into the Unknown

In 1900 B.C., a young woman from Harran named Sarah receives news from her mother that her father has received an offer for her hand in marriage. However, she has no interest in becoming the wife of a rich, disrespectful suitor and speaks her mind on the matter. As a result, the suitor withdraws his offer and insults the young woman. However, another young man and an acquaintance, Abraham, stands up for her honor. Afterward, he presents her with the blue shawl she had been eyeing at the market and proposes to her on the spot. Even though he has no riches like the other suitor, he intends to make the other his equal in a marriage born of love and commitment. Therefore, Sarah readily agrees to the proposal, and the two get married.

25 years down the line, the couple has been enjoying blissful years of marriage. Although they haven’t yet been able to have children of their own, Abraham has no intentions of taking another wife. However, one night, he receives a strange proclamation from his God. The divine voice tells him that he must take his people and journey elsewhere to find a new home. The voice also tells him that he will soon father a son, who will come into covenant with God and become an ancestor to a great population. When Abraham shares this knowledge with Sarah, she agrees to journey with him regardless of her level of faith in this proclamation. In the end, the couple leaves, along with some of their brethren, to find a new home.

A Higher Power Saves Sarah From Egypt’s Pharaoh and Puts Hagar in Her Path

On their journey, Abraham’s group soon finds themselves in a shortage of provisions. Consequently, they have no choice but to stop by Egypt for food and water. During this time, the group encounters the Pharaoh’s boat passing by a marketplace. However, while everyone else bows to the king as is expected of the common people, Sarah refuses to do so. Naturally, this catches the attention of the Pharaoh, who immediately has his guards arrest her from the marketplace. Once in his domain, Sarah has to face the ruler and explain her behavior. She maintains her cool and manages to impress him with her beauty and her mind. Unfortunately, this ends up working against her favor as he decides he wants to marry her.

When asked about the nature of her relationship with Abraham, Sarah lies, claiming to be his sister to keep him safe. Eventually, she’s left in the charge of one of the female slaves, Hagar, who prepares her to join the ranks as the Pharaoh’s future wife. At this time, the two women learn about each other, and Hagar speaks about selling herself to slave traders to help her family, whose village was razed by the ruler. Later, Sarah is left alone with the Pharaoh and tries to stab him with a hidden hairpin when he tries to rape her. Even though her attack fails, she is saved by an act of God when the storms start brewing, and the Pharaoh starts bleeding out of his eyes and ears. Ultimately, he deems the woman to be cursed and sends her away along with Hagar, banishing them both from his kingdom.

Sarah Finds a Way to Give Abraham an Heir

After Egypt, Hagar begins travelling with Sarah and the others in Abraham’s quest to find their new home. Eventually, they find a patch of land for themselves in Canaan. The group sets up a community and begins leading prosperous lives. Yet, even though Abraham completes God’s command, his wife’s womb remains empty. When she attempts to convince him to name a non-biological heir, he refuses to give up hope. Eventually, after many one-sided conferences with the divine, God speaks to the husband again and tells him that he will soon have a male heir. Sarah is struck by the phrasing this time, as it fails to include her. Soon enough, she begins to believe God brought her and Hagar into each other’s lives for a purpose.

Sarah comes up with a plan to have Abraham lie with Hagar and produce an heir. The baby will be raised as their son, and they will help the Egyptian woman return to her home in exchange. At first, the other woman agrees to the offer and even signs a pledge to ensure the baby would legally be Sarah’s after birth. Initially, Abraham is caught off guard by the proposition but goes along with it to please his wife. Soon, Hagar comes with a child, filling everyone’s life with joy. Nonetheless, complications arise when, during pregnancy, she becomes attached to the baby inside her womb. Consequently, she tries to renegotiate the terms of their deal. However, this only serves to anger Sarah. Thus, the pregnant woman ends up running away on horseback in the dark of the night.

Hagar Returns to Canaan, and Abraham Hopes For a Second Child

Shortly after Hagar takes off on her own, she finds herself lost in the desert without any water. During this time, a messenger of the Lord comes to her and tells her that her son will lead a great population of people. However, this can only come to pass if she returns to Abraham and Sarah. Inevitably, the expecting mother ends up returning and agrees to give up her child, only asking to be allowed to stay in his life in return. Later, the son, Ishmael, is born and grows up as Abraham and Sarah’s son. As the years pass, the patriarch receives another visitation, this time from mysterious figures in cloaks. They speak of the future and tell him that he will have another child, this time with his wife.

Nevertheless, when Abraham shares this news with Sarah, she’s distressed at gaining the false hope of motherhood once again. Furthermore, Hagar and Ishmael are angered to learn that the new prophecy proclaims that the new child will be the one in covenant with God rather than the eldest son. In response, Sarah tries to put her foot down, claiming that no miraculous child shall be born in the family. In the immediate aftermath, fireballs rain down from the sky, ruining the Canaan land and leaving it unfarmable. Consequently, the community has to move. However, they end up setting down roots in the wrong land, which belongs to a ruthless king. This king turns out to be the same man who first proposed to Sarah. Therefore, he ends up taking the woman as a prisoner.

Sarah Gives Birth, and Ishmael Learns the Truth About His Parentage

While in prison, Sarah learns that she is with child after Hagar manages to bribe her way into a visit. Shortly afterward, the king lets the expectant mother go after receiving a threat against his entire bloodline from God. Thus, Abraham is reunited with his wife, who soon gives birth to his second son, Isaac. From the beginning, Ishmael remains envious of his younger brother, believing he has stolen his destiny. Nonetheless, when Hagar tries to float the idea to the kid about the truth of his birth, Sarah shoots her down. Eventually, Ishmael finds out all on his own when he stumbles across the original pledge amongst his father’s things.

When Ishmael confronts his adoptive mother with it, she only has empty platitudes for him. In the end, Sarah instructs her husband to banish Ishmael and Hagar from their community. She believes that he would never respect Isaac and his authority and, therefore, must be sent away. Thus, Abraham’s eldest son is banished and sent away into the desert with his actual birth mother. The walk in the desert is difficult, especially with dwindling provisions. However, once the young man passes out, Hagar receives another Godly visit, and a spring of water sprouts out of the desert ground, which helps her save her son.

Years later, as Sarah lies on her deathbed, she reveals to Abraham that she had intentionally placed the pledge in Ishmael’s path to diverge his path from his brother’s. Moreover, she has kept this secret for so long to give her adoptive son someone to hate without damaging his relationship with his father. In the end, she dies, and Abraham travels with her body back to Harran for a burial. Hagar also comes to the last rites to say goodbye to a woman she always deemed to be a close friend and companion. Her son has established his own community and family elsewhere, while Sarah’s son, now all grown up, has a similar future ahead of him.