RE: I have noticed more and more in popular media the idea of using a surrogate becoming an accepted norm for couples who are unable to have a child on their own.
This idea isn’t new...
In the Old Testament, Sarah, Abraham’s wife, was barren. She was promised by God that she would have a child in her old age... but she couldn’t wait.... After waiting too long, she decided to ask her husband to father a child by her maid, Hagar and adopt the child as her own.
The result of the union — Ishmael, traditionally the ancestor of the enemies of Israel ( till today ).
Sarah (then called Sarai) gives Hagar to Abraham (then called Abram) in chapter 16 of Genesis. The promise that Sarah herself will have a son comes later, in chapter 18 (Isaac’s birth is reported in chapter 21).