A barren couple makes a desperate deal. A servant becomes a surrogate. A son is born—then quietly written out. Thirteen silent years pass.

In Genesis 16–17, God storms in with a rewrite: new names, a new covenant, and a contract carved into flesh. Abram becomes Abraham. Sarai becomes Sarah. Every man bleeds to prove the deal is real.

Hagar’s storyline explodes off-camera. Abraham smiles through a rebrand he didn’t pitch. And somewhere in the script notes, a darker test is already hiding—the knife that will rise again over Isaac.

If you’ve heard “The Covenant” on The Hidden Cut, this is the same moment from the writer’s-room angle: where belief becomes branding and faith becomes IP.

Next week, the visitors arrive. Sarah laughs. Sodom burns.

Read the full essay here.

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