View source for Sarah

{{short description|Biblical character}}
{{About|the biblical figure|the name|Sarah (given name)|other uses|Sarah (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| image              = James Jacques Joseph Tissot - Abram's Counsel to Sarai - Google Art Project (cropped).jpg
| caption            = ''Abram's Counsel to Sarai'' (1896–1902) by [[James Tissot]]
| spouse             = [[Abraham]]
| name               = Sarah
| native_name        = {{Nobold|{{lang|hbo|שָׂרָה}}}}
| native_name_lang   = hbo
| birth_place        = [[Ur of the Chaldees]]
| children           = [[Isaac]]
| burial_place       = [[Cave of the Patriarchs]]
| death_place        = [[Hebron]], [[Canaan]]
}}

'''Sarah'''{{efn|{{Hebrew name|שָׂרָה|Sara|Śārā}}; {{langx|ar|سَارَة}}, {{Transliteration|ar|Sārah}}}} (originally '''Sarai'''){{efn|{{Script/Hebrew|שָׂרַי}} ''Sāray''}} is a [[Patriarchs (Bible)#Matriarchs|biblical matriarch]], [[prophet]], and major figure in [[Abrahamic religions]]. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Islam]] all depict her character similarly, as that of a [[Piety|pious]] woman, renowned for her hospitality and beauty, the wife of [[Abraham]], and the mother of [[Isaac]]. Sarah has her [[Calendar of saints|feast day]] on 1 September in the [[Catholic Church]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Zeno|title=Lexikoneintrag zu »Sara (5)«. Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon, Band 5. Augsburg 1882, ...|url=http://www.zeno.org/Heiligenlexikon-1858/A/Sara+(5)|access-date=2021-10-24|website=www.zeno.org|language=de}}</ref> 19 August in the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sara|url=https://deon.pl/imiona-swietych/sara,8279|access-date=2022-01-01|website=DEON.pl|language=pl}}</ref> 20 January in the [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod|LCMS]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lutheran - Religious calendar 2021 - Calendar.sk|url=https://calendar.zoznam.sk/church_nameday-polut.php|access-date=2021-10-24|website=calendar.zoznam.sk}}</ref> and 12 and 20 December in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Праведная Са́рра, жена ветхозаветного патриарха Авраа́ма|url=https://azbyka.ru/days/sv-sarra|access-date=2021-12-16|website=azbyka.ru|language=ru}}</ref>

==In the Hebrew Bible==
[[File:Sarah Abraham.jpg|thumb|A depiction of Sarah and Abraham]]

===Family===
In the [[Book of Genesis]] 20:12, in conversation with the [[Philistines|Philistine]] king [[Abimelech|Abimelech of Gerar]], Abraham describes Sarah as both his wife and his [[half-sister]] ("my father's daughter, but not my mother's").<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+20%3A12&version=NKJV|title=Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 20:12 | work = New King James Version|publisher=Bible Gateway|access-date= 2019-08-28}}</ref> Such unions were later explicitly banned in the [[Book of Leviticus]] ({{bibleverse||Leviticus|18:9|HE}}). However, some commentators identify her as Iscah (Genesis 11:29), a daughter of Abraham's brother [[Haran]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Yitzhaki |first=Solomon |title=RASH'I Commentary on the Torah}}</ref><ref name=":1">Schwartz, Howard, (1998). ''Reimagining the Bible: The Storytelling of the Rabbis'', Oxford University Press, New York, p. 36.</ref> and point out that Abraham's claim that she was his [[half-sister]] was a lie to avoid saying that she was his wife.

By her union with Abraham, Sarah had one child, [[Isaac]].<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2747610/jewish/Ishmael-Abrahams-Other-Son.htm |title=Ishmael: Abraham's Other Son |publisher= Chabad |access-date=2019-08-28}}</ref> After her death, Abraham married [[Keturah]], whose identity biblical scholars debate (that is, whether or not she was actually [[Hagar]]), and by her had at least six more children.

===Narrative===
In the biblical narrative, Sarah is the wife of Abraham. In two places in the narrative he says Sarah is his sister (Genesis 12:10 through 13:1, in the encounter with Pharaoh, and Genesis 20, in the encounter with Abimelech). Knowing Sarah to be a great beauty and fearing that the Pharaoh would kill Abraham to be with Sarah, Abraham asks Sarah to tell the Pharaoh that she is his sister ([[Genesis 17]]).

She was originally called '''Sarai'''. In the narrative of the [[covenant of the pieces]] in Genesis 17, during which [[Yahweh]] promises Abram that he and Sarai will have a son, Abram is renamed as Abraham and Sarai is renamed as Sarah. According to most modern scholars, both Sarah and Sarai come from the same root SRR, with both meaning "important woman".<ref name=ha/> A minority of scholars derive Sarai from the root SRY, meaning "contend with" or "withstand", similar to the name [[Israel (name)|Israel]].<ref name=ha>{{Cite web |url=https://hebrew-academy.org.il/2018/08/23/%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%94-%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%A7%D7%94-%D7%A8%D7%97%D7%9C-%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%94/ |title=שרה, רבקה, רחל ולאה |access-date=2019-07-05 |archive-date=2019-07-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705210102/https://hebrew-academy.org.il/2018/08/23/%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%94-%D7%A8%D7%91%D7%A7%D7%94-%D7%A8%D7%97%D7%9C-%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%94/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Departure from Ur====
Terah, with Abram (as he was then called), Sarai and Lot, departed for [[Canaan]], but stopped in a place named [[Haran (biblical place)|Haran]], where Terah remained until he died at the age of 205.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|11:27–11:32|HE}}</ref> Yahweh had told Abram to leave his country and his father's house for a land that he would show him, promising to make of him a great nation, [[blessing|bless]] him, make his name great, bless those who blessed him, and curse "him" that curses him.<ref>{{Bibleverse ||Genesis|12:1–3|9}}</ref> Following God's command, Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and the wealth and [[The Bible and slavery|slaves]] that they had acquired, and traveled to [[Shechem]] in [[Canaan]]. Abram was 75 at this time.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|12:4|HE}}</ref>

====Pharaoh====
[[File:Tissot Sarai Is Taken to Pharaoh's Palace.jpg|thumb|right|''Sarai Is Taken to Pharaoh's Palace'' by [[James Tissot]].]]
There was a severe famine in the land of Canaan, so Abram and Lot and their households travelled south to <!-- northern -->[[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. On the journey to Egypt, Abram instructed Sarai to identify herself only as his sister, fearing that the Egyptians would kill him in order to take his wife, saying, 
{{blockquote|I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'this is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|12:11-13|NIV}}</ref>}} When brought before [[Pharaoh]], Sarai said that Abram was her brother, and the king thereupon took her into his palace and bestowed upon Abram many presents and marks of distinction. However, God afflicted Pharaoh's household with great plagues.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|12:14–17|HE}}</ref> Pharaoh then realized that Sarai was Abram's wife and demanded that they leave Egypt immediately.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|12:18–20|HE}}</ref>

====Hagar and Ishmael====
[[File:Abraham renvoyant Agar.jpg|thumb|''Banishment of Hagar'', Etching. À Paris chez Fr. Fanet, Éditeur, Rue des Saints Pères n° 10. 18th century. Sarah is seen at the left, looking on.]]
After having lived in Canaan for ten years and still childless, Sarai suggested that Abram have a child with her Egyptian [[handmaiden]] [[Hagar]], to which he agreed. This resulted in tension between Sarai and Hagar, and Sarai complained to her husband that the handmaid no longer respected her.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|16:1–6|HE}}</ref> At one point, Hagar fled from her mistress but returned after angels consoled her. She gave birth to Abram's son [[Ishmael]] when Abram was eighty-six years old.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|16:7–16|HE}}</ref>

====Isaac====
In {{Bibleverse||Genesis|17|HE}} when Abram was ninety-nine years old, God declared his new name: "Abraham"&nbsp;– "a father of many nations", and gave him the covenant of circumcision. God gave Sarai the new name "Sarah", and blessed her.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|17:1–27|HE}}</ref> Abraham was given assurance that Sarah would have a son. Not long afterwards, Abraham and Sarah were [[Abraham#Three visitors|visited by three men]]. One of the visitors told Abraham that upon his return next year, Sarah would have a son. While at the tent entrance, Sarah overheard what was said, and she laughed to herself about the prospect of having a child at their ages. The visitor inquired of Abraham why Sarah laughed at the idea of bearing a child, for her age was as nothing to God. Sarah soon became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham, at the very time which had been spoken. The patriarch, then a hundred years old, named the child "[[Isaac]]" (Hebrew yitschaq, "laughter") and circumcised him when he was eight days old.<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|21:4|9}}</ref> For Sarah, the thought of giving birth and nursing a child, at such an old age, also brought her much laughter, as she declared, "God had made me to laugh, ''[so that]'' all that hear will laugh with me."<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|21:6–7|9}}</ref> Abraham held a great feast on the day when Isaac was to be weaned. It was during this banquet that Sarah happened upon the then teenaged Ishmael mocking Isaac<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|21:9|HE}}</ref> and was so disturbed that she requested that both he and Hagar be banished.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Genesis|21:10|HE}}</ref> Abraham was initially distressed by this but relented when told by God to do as his wife had asked.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|21:12|HE}}</ref>

====Abimelech====
[[File:Sara-filia Aran.jpg|thumb|right|Sarah, as depicted on ''[[Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum]]'' (1553) by [[Guillaume Rouillé]]]]
After being visited by the three men, Abraham and Sarah settled between [[Kadesh (South of Israel)|Kadesh]] and [[Shur (Bible)|Shur]] in the land of the [[Philistine]]s. While he was living in [[Gerar]], Abraham again claimed that Sarah was his sister. King [[Abimelech]] subsequently had her brought to him. Later, God came to Abimelech in a dream and declared that taking her would result in death because she was a married woman. Abimelech, who had not laid hands on her, inquired if he would also slay a righteous nation, especially since Abraham had claimed that he and Sarah were siblings. In response, God told Abimelech that he did indeed have a blameless heart and that was why he continued to exist. However, if he did not return Sarah to Abraham, God would surely destroy Abimelech and his entire household. Abimelech was informed that Abraham was a prophet who would pray for him.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|20:1–7|HE}}</ref>

Early the next morning, Abimelech informed his servants of his dream and approached Abraham inquiring as to why he had brought such great guilt upon his kingdom. Abraham replied that he thought there was no fear of God in that place, and that they might kill him for his wife. Then Abraham defended what he had said as not being a lie at all: "And yet indeed ''she is'' my sister; she ''is'' the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife."<ref>{{Bibleverse |Gen.|20:12|9|Genesis 20:12}}</ref> Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham, and gave him gifts of sheep, oxen, and servants; and invited him to settle wherever he pleased in Abimelech's lands. Further, Abimelech gave Abraham a thousand pieces of silver to serve as Sarah's vindication before all. Abraham then prayed for Abimelech and his household, since God had stricken the women with infertility because of the taking of Sarah.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|20:8–18|HE}}</ref>

====Death====
Sarah dies at the age of 127, and Abraham buys a piece of land with a cave near [[Hebron]] from [[Ephron the Hittite]] in which to bury her, which is the first land owned by the Israelites in Canaan according to the biblical narrative. The place became known as the [[Cave of the Patriarchs]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Blenkinsopp |first1=Joseph |title=Abraham as Paradigm in the Priestly History in Genesis |journal=Journal of Biblical Literature |date=2009 |volume=128 |issue=2 |pages=225–41 |doi=10.2307/25610180 |jstor=25610180}}</ref><ref name=NewJerome>{{cite book |last1=Clifford |first1=Richard J |last2= Murphy |first2=Roland E. |editor1-last= Brown |editor1-first= Raymond E. |editor2-last= Fitzmyer |editor2-first=Joseph A. |editor3-last= Murphy |editor3-first=Roland E. |title=The New Jerome Biblical Commentary |date=1990 |publisher= Prentice-Hall |location= Englewood Cliffs, NJ |isbn= 0-13614934-0 |chapter= 2: Genesis}}</ref>{{rp|26}}

===Later Hebrew Bible references===
Sarah is mentioned alongside Abraham in {{bibleverse||Isaiah|51:2|NKJV}}:
:''Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you''.

==New Testament references==
The [[First Epistle of Peter]] praises Sarah for obeying her husband.<ref>{{Bibleverse|1|Peter|3:6|9}}, cited in {{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=Sara}}</ref> She is praised for her faith in the Hebrews "hall of faith" passage alongside a number of other Old Testament figures.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Hebrews|11:11|9}}</ref> Other New Testament references to Sarah are in Romans<ref>{{Bibleverse|Romans 4:19, 9:9||9|Romans 4:19 and 9:9|multi=yes}}, cited in {{Cite CE1913|wstitle=Sara}}</ref> and Galatians.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Galatians|4:22-23|9|Galatians 4:22–23}}</ref> In [[Galatians 4]], she and Hagar are used as an allegory of the old and new covenants:

"For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother...Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise...Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman."<ref>{{Bibleverse|Galatians 4:22-26, 28, 31| NIV|multi=yes}}</ref>

==Historicity==
In the early and middle 20th century, leading archaeologists such as [[William F. Albright|William Foxwell Albright]] and biblical scholars such as [[Albrecht Alt]] believed that the patriarchs and matriarchs were either real individuals or believable composites of people who lived in the "[[patriarchal age]]", the 2nd millennium BCE. But, in the 1970s, new arguments concerning Israel's past and the biblical texts challenged these views; these arguments can be found in [[Thomas L. Thompson]]'s ''[[The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives]]'' (1974), and [[John Van Seters]]' ''[[Abraham in History and Tradition]]'' (1975). Thompson, a literary scholar, based his argument on archaeology and ancient texts. His thesis centered on the lack of compelling evidence that the patriarchs lived in the 2nd millennium BCE, and noted how certain biblical texts reflected first-millennium conditions and concerns. Van Seters examined the patriarchal stories and argued that their names, social milieu, and messages strongly suggested that they were [[Iron Age]] creations.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Megan Bishop |last2=Kelle |first2=Brad E. |title=Biblical History and Israel's Past |year=2011 |publisher=Eerdmans |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Qjkz_8EMoaUC&q=Thompson+%22Van+Seters%22&pg=PA19 |isbn=978-0-8028-6260-0 }}</ref>{{rp|18–19}} By the beginning of the 21st century, archaeologists had given up hope of recovering any context that would make the patriarchs and matriarchs credible historical figures.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pardee |first1=Dennis |title=Review of The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives: The Quest for the Historical Abraham |journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies |date=1977 |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=222–224 |jstor=545164 |doi=10.1086/372571}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Dever |first=William G. |author-link=William G. Dever |title=What Did the Biblical Writers Know, and when Did They Know It?: What Archaeology Can Tell Us about the Reality of Ancient Israel |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6-VxwC5rQtwC&q=%22respectable+archaeologists%22&pg=PA98 |year=2002 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-2126-3 }}</ref>{{rp|98 and fn.2}}

==Religious views==

===In Judaism===
Sarah first appears in the [[Book of Genesis]], while the [[Midrash]] and [[Aggadah]] provide some additional commentary on her life and role within [[Judaism]] and its ancestral form, [[Yahweh|Yahwism]]. She is born Sarai ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: שָׂרַי) in [[Ur Kaśdim]], or Ur of the Chaldees, believed to have been in present-day [[Iraq]], 1,958 [[Anno Mundi]], according to the [[Hebrew calendar]]. She was the daughter of Haran<ref>{{Cite web|title=Genesis 20:12|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.20.12|access-date=2020-06-14|website=www.sefaria.org|quote=See Rashi commentary: "If, however, you ask, "But was she not his brother's daughter? (see chapter 11:29, and so she was granddaughter of Terah, Abraham's father), then I reply, one's children's children are considered as one's own children."}}</ref> and the granddaughter of Terah, an [[Idolatrous|idolater]] who worshiped the Moon god [[Sin (mythology)|Nanna]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abraham|title=Abraham - The Genesis narrative in the light of recent scholarship|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=25 December 2023 }}</ref> and high-ranking servant of [[Nimrod]],{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} the king of [[Shinar]], or [[Mesopotamia]], but not of his wife, Amathlai. Her name is a feminine form of ''sar'' ({{langx|he|שַׂר}}), meaning "chieftain" or "prince".{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} Through Terah, she would have been a 10th-generation descendant of [[Noah]], still alive,{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} living in the [[Mountains of Ararat]], and over nine centuries old at the time of her birth. No details are given as to her life or her religious beliefs before Abraham's return to Ur Kaśdim to thwart Nimrod's efforts to proclaim himself a god. It is known she wed Abraham, then called Abram, sometime between the ages of forty and five and following her husband's public humiliation of Nimrod, she, along with her father Terah, her orphaned nephew Lot, her manservant [[Eliezer]], and some three hundred others left Ur Kaśdim for [[Canaan]], the present-day [[Levant]], to save Abraham from a plot by Nimrod to destroy him, commanded to do so by [[Yahweh]].{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

En route to Canaan, the group stopped in [[Harran]], in present-day Turkey, settling there for some twenty years, until Yahweh urged them to move on and so, they left Terah behind, to live out his days, and traveled through [[Shechem]] and [[Bethel]], both cities in the present-day [[West Bank]], and, when a [[famine]] strikes the region, to [[Mizraim]], present-day [[Egypt]]. While in Mizraim, Sarah's beauty attracts the attention of [[Pharaoh]] and Abraham, fearing the Egyptians would kill him if they knew Sarah was married to him, introduces himself as her brother and so, Pharaoh bestows upon Abraham great wealth, in the form of [[livestock]] and [[Slavery|slaves]], including [[Hagar]], so that he may take Sarah as his [[Concubinage|concubine]], to live in his palace with him.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} For Pharaoh's unintentional transgression against Abraham, he and members of his household, save for Sarah, are stricken with plague. Pharaoh then realizes that Abraham is Sarah's husband, not only her brother. Despite Abraham's willful deceit of Pharaoh, Pharaoh does not punish Abraham nor does he require the return of the wealth Abram was given in exchange for Sarah. However, he orders them to leave Mizraim. After leaving Mizraim, Lot splits from their group amicably. He eventually settles in [[Sodom and Gomorrah|Sodom]], over disputes related to the livestock.

They returned to [[Canaan]], and a decade passed and still, she and Abraham had no children. Thus, Sarah offered Hagar, her slavewoman, as a [[concubine]] to her husband so that he may have a child. Hagar became pregnant with [[Ishmael]]. During Hagar's pregnancy, Sarah and Hagar's relationship deteriorated rapidly, with Sarah striking her and Hagar fleeing into the desert to avoid her, returning only at the urging of angels. Yahweh then told Abraham that Sarah would give him a son. Sarah, then ninety years old, laughed at this idea. But, as prophesied, she became pregnant with [[Isaac]] and she nursed him herself. She would ultimately demand that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away and so, Abraham banished them and sent them into the desert.

Sometime after the birth of Ishmael but before the birth of Isaac, Sarah and Abraham travel to [[Gerar]], as described in Genesis 20, where events took place which mirrored those of Mizraim, in which a king, this time [[Abimelech]], took an interest in Sarah for her beauty and, as he had done in Mizraim, Abraham presented himself as her brother instead of her husband and so, believing her unmarried Abimelech took her into her house as Pharaoh had though, this time, Yahweh intervened before he touched Sarah, through dreams and plague. Abimelech confronted Abraham, angry that his lie had caused him to provoke the wrath of a god, but, also like Pharaoh, he bestows great wealth upon Abraham. The two men part amicably, with Abraham saying he will pray for the king, who is childless and without an heir.

It is said that Sarah died at the age of one hundred and twenty seven years, caused in part by the events of the [[Binding of Isaac]]. She is buried in [[Kiryat Arba]], in [[Hebron]], in the [[Cave of Machpela]].

====In rabbinic literature====
The [[Talmud]] identifies Sarai with [[Iscah]], daughter of Abraham's deceased brother Haran,<ref>Genesis 11:29</ref> so that in this Sarah turns out to be the niece of Abraham and the sister of Lot and [[Milcah]].<ref>[[Sanhedrin (tractate)|Sanhedrin]] 69b</ref> While in Genesis 20:12 Abraham claims that Sarah "is indeed my sister, my father's daughter" rather than his niece, [[Rashi]]  asserts that the term "daughter" can also be used regarding a granddaughter, and thus "sister" can be used regarding a niece.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.20.12?lang=bi&aliyot=0&p2=Rashi_on_Genesis.20.12&lang2=bi|title=Genesis 20:12|website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref>

The fifth-century rabbinic midrash [[Genesis Rabbah]] dedicates a large amount of attention to Sarah in particular.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schwartz|first=Rami|year=2021|title=The Virgin Mother Sarah: The Characterization of the Matriarch in Genesis Rabbah|url=https://www.academia.edu/44909053|journal=[[Journal for the Study of Judaism]]|language=en|volume=52|pages=[[63–103]]|doi=10.1163/15700631-BJA10026 |s2cid=234296316 }}</ref> Not only are a relatively large number of [[Drasha|drashot]] dedicated to the matriarch, but she is repeatedly depicted as a model of personal and religious excellence. This is marked break from the biblical and [[Second Temple period|Second Temple]] literature in which she plays a far more ancillary role. In light of parallels between the rabbis' characterization of Sarah and early Christian themes connected to the Virgin Mary popular in this same period, it has been suggested that the rabbis used their portrayal of Sarah to establish her as a Jewish alternative to the Virgin Mary.

When brought before Pharaoh, Sarah said that Abram was her brother, and the king thereupon bestowed upon the latter many presents and marks of distinction.<ref name=Yashar>[[Sefer haYashar (midrash)|Sefer haYashar]] (Book of Jasher), section "Lek Leka".</ref>  As a token of his love for Sarai the king deeded his entire property to her, and gave her the [[land of Goshen]] as her hereditary possession: for this reason the Israelites subsequently lived in that land.<ref>[[Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer]] 36</ref> Sarai prayed to God to deliver her from the king, and He thereupon sent an angel, who struck Pharaoh whenever he attempted to touch her. Pharaoh was so astonished at these blows that he spoke kindly to Sarai, who confessed that she was Abraham's wife. The king then ceased to annoy her.<ref name=Yashar/> According to another version, Pharaoh persisted in annoying her after she had told him that she was a married woman; thereupon the angel struck him so violently that he became ill, and was thereby prevented from continuing to trouble her.<ref>[[Genesis Rabbah]] 41:2</ref> According to one tradition it was when Pharaoh saw these miracles wrought in Sarai's behalf that he gave her his daughter Hagar as slave, saying: "It is better that my daughter should be a slave in the house of such a woman than mistress in another house." Abimelech acted likewise.<ref>Genesis Rabbah 45:2</ref> In Genesis 17:15, God changes her name to Sarah (princess) ("a woman of high rank") as part of the covenant with El Shaddai after Hagar bears Abram his first born son Ishmael.

[[File:Foster Bible Pictures 0032-1.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Abraham]], Sarah and [[Hagar]]'', imagined here in a Bible [[illustration]] from 1897.]]
Sarai treated Hagar well, and induced women who came to visit her to visit Hagar also. Hagar, when pregnant by Abraham, began to act superciliously toward Sarai, provoking the latter to treat her harshly, to impose heavy work upon her, and even to strike her.<ref>Genesis Rabbah 45:9.</ref> Some believe Sarai was originally destined to reach the age of 175 years, but forty-eight years of this span of life were taken away from her because she complained of Abraham, blaming him as though he was the cause that Hagar no longer respected her.<ref name=RH16b/><ref>Genesis Rabbah 45:7.</ref> Sarah was sterile; but a miracle was granted to her<ref>Genesis Rabbah 47:3</ref> after her name was changed from "Sarai" to "Sarah".<ref name=RH16b>[[Rosh Hashanah (tractate)|Rosh Hashanah]] 16b</ref> According to one myth, when her fertility had been restored and she had given birth to [[Isaac]], the people would not believe in the miracle, saying that the patriarch and his wife had adopted a foundling and pretended that it was their own son. Abraham thereupon invited all the notabilities to a banquet on the day when Isaac was to be weaned. Sarah invited the women, also, who brought their infants with them; and on this occasion she gave milk from her breasts to all the strange children, thus convincing the guests of the miracle.<ref>[[Bava Metzia]] 87a; compare Genesis Rabbah 53:13</ref>

Legends connect Sarah's death with the attempted sacrifice of Isaac,<ref>Genesis Rabbah 58:5</ref> however, there are two versions of the story. According to one, Samael came to her and said: "Your old husband seized the boy and sacrificed him. The boy wailed and wept; but he could not escape from his father." Sarah began to cry bitterly, and ultimately died of her grief.<ref>[[Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer]] 32</ref> According to the other legend, Satan came to Sarah disguised as an old man, and told her that Isaac had been sacrificed. Believing it to be true, she cried bitterly, but soon comforted herself with the thought that the sacrifice had been offered at the command of God. She started from Beer-sheba to Hebron, asking everyone she met if he knew in which direction Abraham had gone. Then Satan came again in human shape and told her that it was not true that Isaac had been sacrificed, but that he was living and would soon return with his father. Sarah, on hearing this, died of joy at Hebron. Abraham and Isaac returned to their home at Beer-sheba, and, not finding Sarah there, went to Hebron, where they discovered her dead.<ref>[[Sefer haYashar (midrash)|Sefer haYashar]], section "Vayera".</ref> According to the [[Genesis Rabbah]], during Sarah's lifetime her house was always hospitably open, the dough was miraculously increased, a light burned from Friday evening to Saturday evening, and a pillar of cloud rested upon the entrance to her tent.<ref>Genesis Rabbah 60:15</ref>

===In Islam===
The Islamic portrayal of Sarah, who is unnamed in the [[Quran]], mimics that of her portrayal in Judaism and Christianity, in that she is a good woman, kin and wife to Abraham, who, after years of [[Infertility|barrenness]], has a son, the prophet [[Isaac in Islam|Isaac]] (Is'ḥāq). However, notable differences exist in the portrayal of her relationships with Abraham, Hagar, and Ishmael. She is not portrayed as Abraham's sister but his first cousin, said to be the daughter of Terah's brother, Haran, and Hagar is not portrayed as Abraham's mistress but a second wife, eliminating the hostility that Sarah feels for Hagar during her pregnancy and toward Ishmael.<ref name="Arastu2">{{cite book|url=http://www.shia-maktab.info/index.php/en/library?format=raw&task=download&fid=280|title=God and his Emissaries - Adam to Jesus|last=Arastu|first=Shaykh Rizwan|publisher=Imam Mahdi Association of Marjaeya (I.M.A.M.)|year=2014|isbn=97 8-0-6 92-21411-4|page=227|access-date=2018-10-19|archive-date=2019-06-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622101021/https://www.shia-maktab.info/index.php/en/library?format=raw&task=download&fid=280|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_VdTAAAAYAAJ&q=Hagar|title=Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources|last=Lings|first=Martin|publisher=[[Islamic Texts Society]]|year=1983|isbn=978-0042970509|chapter=The House of God|author-link=Martin Lings}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.islamreligion.com/articles/296/story-of-abraham-part-5/|title=The Story of Abraham (part 5 of 7): The Gifting of Hagar and Her Plight|last=Mufti|first=Imam|website=www.islamreligion.com|language=en|access-date=2019-08-29}}</ref>
	
[[File:Sarah the Mosque of Abraham.jpg|thumb|right|Mausoleum of Sarah, Abraham's wife in the Mosque of Abraham]]
The Quran likewise repeats the biblical story that Sarah laughed when she received a divine message confirming her pregnancy, although in the Quran this message is heralded by [[Angels in Islam|angels]] and not by God himself:<ref name="Reynolds 2009">{{cite book |author-last=Reynolds |author-first=Gabriel Said |author-link=Gabriel Said Reynolds |year=2009 |chapter=Reading The Qurʾan As Homily: The Case of Sarah's Laughter |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GcgCErhKGrAC&pg=PA585 |editor1-last=Marx |editor1-first=Michael |editor2-last=Neuwirth |editor2-first=Angelika |editor2-link=Angelika Neuwirth |editor3-last=Sinai |editor3-first=Nicolai |title=The Qurʾān in Context: Historical and Literary Investigations into the Qurʾānic Milieu |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=Texts and Studies on the Qurʾān |volume=6 |pages=585–592 |doi=10.1163/ej.9789004176881.i-864.158 |isbn=978-90-04-17688-1 |issn=1567-2808 |s2cid=191038420 |access-date=17 January 2021}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|<poem>11:69 And surely Our messenger-angels came to Abraham with good news ˹of a son˺. They greeted ˹him with˺, “Peace!” And he replied, “Peace ˹be upon you˺!” Then it was not long before he brought ˹them˺ a ˹fat,˺ roasted calf.
11:70 And when he saw that their hands did not reach for the food, he became suspicious and fearful of them. They reassured ˹him˺, “Do not be afraid! We are ˹angels˺ sent ˹only˺ against the people of Lot.”
11:71 And his wife was standing by, so she laughed, then We gave her good news of ˹the birth of˺ Isaac, and, after him, Jacob.
11:72 She wondered, “Oh, my! How can I have a child in this old age, and my husband here is an old man? This is truly an astonishing thing!”</poem>|{{qref|11|69-72|c=y}}}}

==Tomb of Sarah==
[[File:Tomb of Sara.jpg|thumb|right|Mausoleum of Sarah, 1911.]]
Sarah is believed to be buried in the [[Cave of the Patriarchs]] (known by Muslims as the ''Sanctuary of Abraham''). The compound, located in the ancient city of [[Hebron]], is the second holiest site for [[Jews]] (after the [[Temple Mount]] in [[Jerusalem]]), and is also venerated by [[Christians]] and Muslims, both of whom have traditions which maintain that the site is the burial place of three biblical couples; Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and [[Rebecca (biblical figure)|Rebecca]], and Jacob and [[Leah]].<ref>[[s:Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)/Machpelah|Easton's Bible Dictionary "Machpelah"]]</ref>

==Relationship to Abraham==
{{Main|Wife–sister narratives in the Book of Genesis}}
There are three stories in Genesis where a patriarch identifies his wife as his sister; scholars debate the relationship among these, with some saying that the account of the encounter of Abraham and Sarah with Pharaoh in Genesis 12-13 is the oldest, while the stories of Abraham and Sarah encounter King Abimelech in Genesis 20, and of Isaac and [[Rebecca (biblical figure)|Rebecca]]'s encounter with a different King Abimelech in Genesis 26, are interpretations of that one, generated to explain it or deal with other matters of concern. It is not clear which of the stories is actually older, or what the intent of the editors of the Bible may have been.<ref name=Alexander1992>{{cite journal |last1=Alexander |first1=T. D. |title=Are the Wife/Sister Incidents of Genesis Literary Compositional Variants? |journal=Vetus Testamentum |date=1992 |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=145–153 |doi= 10.1163/156853392x00017|jstor=1519495}}</ref>

According to [[Emanuel Feldman]] (1965), basing his argument on [[William F. Albright|Albright]]'s interpretation of the archaeology of [[Nuzu]], a wife could legally be awarded the title "sister", and that this was the most sacred form of marriage, and hence Abraham and Isaac referred to their wives as "sisters" for this reason.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} Most archaeologists{{who|date=November 2015}} however dispute that view, instead arguing the opposite - that sisters in the region were often awarded the title "wife" in order to give them much greater status in society.<ref>Emanuel Feldman. Changing patterns in Biblical criticism. ''Tradition'' 1965; 7(4) and 1966; 8(5).</ref> Savina Teubal's book ''Sarah the Priestess'' posits that while Sarah was indeed both Abram's wife and sister, there was no incest taboo because she was a half-sister by a different mother.<ref>{{cite book|author=Savina Teubal|title=Sarah The Priestess: The First Matriarch Of Genesis|url=https://archive.org/details/sarahpriestess00savi|url-access=registration|year=1984|publisher=Swallow Press |isbn=978-0-8040-0844-0}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
[[File:Sarah - 20 Uchaf Emynau Cymru - The Top 20 Best.ogg|thumb|'Sarah' is also the title of one of [[Wales]]' best known hymns. Here are the first few opening bars, sung by the Pontarddulais Male Voice Choir.]]
Sarah has been featured in several novels, and she is the central character in ''[[Sarah (Women of Genesis series)|Sarah]]'' by [[Orson Scott Card]] in [[the Women of Genesis series]], ''Sarai: A Novel'' by Jill Eileen Smith, and ''Sarah: A Novel'' by [[Marek Halter]], and ''Song of Sarai'' by Zannah Martin. In the [[Christian fiction]] novel ''[[Redeeming Love (novel)|Redeeming Love]]'' by [[Francine Rivers]], the protagonist, called "Angel" throughout the duration of the story, is barren. At the end of the book, she reveals that her birth name is "Sarah" to her husband, who takes the revelation as a promise from God that they will one day be able to have children. Sarah is also the focus of one of several stories collected in ''[[Sarah and After]]'' by [[Lynne Reid Banks]].
In the 1994 film ''[[Abraham (1993 film)|Abraham]]'', Sarah is portrayed by [[Barbara Hershey]].

Sarah is also a subject discussed in nonfiction books. In ''Twelve Extraordinary Women'' by Pastor [[John F. MacArthur]], her life and story is analyzed along with that of [[Eve]], [[Rahab]], [[Ruth (biblical figure)|Ruth]], [[Hannah (biblical figure)|Hannah]], the [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Virgin Mary]], [[Anna the Prophetess]], the [[Samaritan woman at the well]], [[Mary of Bethany]], [[Martha]], [[Mary Magdalene]], and [[Lydia of Thyatira]].<ref>''Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible, and What He Wants to Do with You'' (2008) {{ISBN|1-4002-8028-1}}</ref> Sarah appears in ''Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible: Flawed Women Loved by a Flawless God'' by Liz Curtis Higgs alongside several other biblical women.<ref>Higgs, Liz, ''Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible: Flawed Women Loved by a Flawless God''. 978-1400072125</ref>

==See also==
* [[Pregnancy over age 50]]
* [[Sarah (given name)]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}} 
{{Commons category|Sarah (Biblical figure)}}
* [http://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/765186/jewish/The-Three-Faces-of-Sarah.htm Rubenstein, Nechama. "The Three Faces of Sarah", Chabad.org]

{{Prophets of the Tanakh}}
{{Characters and names in the Quran}}
{{Honoured women in Islam}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:21st-century BC people]]
[[Category:Family of Abraham]]
[[Category:Women in the Hebrew Bible]]
[[Category:Angelic visionaries]]
[[Category:Biblical matriarchs]]
[[Category:Lech-Lecha]]
[[Category:People celebrated in the Lutheran liturgical calendar]]
[[Category:People in the catholic epistles]]
[[Category:Vayeira]]
[[Category:Ur of the Chaldees]]
[[Category:Christian saints from the Old Testament]]
[[Category:Christian female saints from the Old Testament]]