Sara’s story is told in the book of genesis and is one of the best-known characters in the Bible along with her husband Abraham and their son Isaac.
In this article we will study the life of Sara and everything the Bible says about this extraordinary woman, so join us in reading and we will solve all the questions about this character.
Sarah was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac. Her story is told in the book of Genesis. She was a beautiful, pious woman, infertile until a very old age. She received the favor of the Lord and at the age of ninety she had her only son.
Related: Who was Abraham in the Bible?
What does the name Sarah mean?
The name Sara means “princess” (Heb. sarah); and makes a clear reference to the fact that Sarah would be the ancestor of the promised nations and kings, that is, the “mother of nations” (Genesis 17:16).
Before changing her name, Sara was called “Sarai” (Heb. saray), which means “my princess”. In this way, when God changed Sarah’s name and eliminated the limiting possessive “my” he wanted to make her the mother of many nations.
It should be noted that the Bible also speaks of another character named Sarah, daughter of Asher (Numbers 26:46), although in some versions her name is written as “Sera”.
Related: Why is Isaac the Child of Promise?
Sara’s story according to the Bible
As previously stated, Sarah was Abraham’s main wife. It is very likely that she was about ten years younger than the patriarch.
In addition to being Abraham’s wife, it is important to say that she was also his half-sister on his father’s side, Terah (Genesis 20:12), that is, both were sons of Terah, but with different mothers.
See also: Why did God allow polygamy in the Bible?
When the Lord called Abraham from the land of Ur of the Chaldeans, Sarah also went out with him and accompanied him to Haran and later also to the land of Canaan. Besides lotsAbraham’s nephew was also a fellow traveler.
See here: Who was Isaac in the Bible? Isaac’s Story
Sarah and Abraham in Egypt
Because a famine struck the land of Canaan, Abraham, Lot, and Sarah left for Egypt (Genesis 12:10-11). At that time, Sara was about 65 years old, however, even at that age she was considered a very beautiful woman, even to the point that Abraham, fearing for his life, asked her to say in Pharaonic lands that she was only his sister. .
Sara’s beauty was so great that the Egyptian princes and Pharaoh himself felt attracted by her beauty and welcomed her into his home. harem.
Because of that, the Lord punished Pharaoh and his household fiercely because of Sarah, causing her to call Abraham and confront him for omitting the information that she was his wife. Pharaoh returned Sarah to Abraham and ordered them to leave Egypt (Genesis 12:12-20).
Sarah and Abimelech
Sarah had a similar situation with Abimelech, King of Gerar some twenty years later.Abraham hid again that he was married to Sara.
On that occasion, God warned Abimelech in a dream that Sarah was Abraham’s wife, and that if he did not respect this condition, he would be fatally punished. Abimelech immediately sought out Abraham and questioned him about his attitude.
Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham, and also gave him sheep, herds, male and female servants, perhaps as a kind of compensation for the offense. This made Abraham’s heritage considerably.
It is important to note that Abraham and Sara before (Abram and Sarai) were called by the Lord from a pagan people. And according to the Mesopotamian laws of the time, the status of “sister wife” represented an even higher social position and, according to Nuzi’s textsthe marriage bond was considered more solemn.
It may interest you: The Second Marriage in the Bible
Sara and Hagar and sterility
Despite Sara’s beauty, a very difficult situation for her is that she was barren, and this condition was a continuous torment for her. Even more so after waiting for many years for God’s promise to give Abraham a son to be fulfilled.
Sara’s despair reached the limit and with the desire to get an heir, she encouraged Abraham to have a son with his personal servant. Hagar, an Egyptian girl (Genesis 16:1-3).
In this way, Sara resorted to the custom of ancient Babylon, supported by a legal norm according to which a barren wife had to provide her husband with a woman who would bear children in his name; and that woman like that used to be her servant.
But after Hagar became pregnant, she began to treat Sarah badly and she, with Abraham’s permission, began to mistreat Hagar to the point that she decided to run away from home (Genesis 16: 1-6), however, by the intervention of the Lord who appeared to Hagar, she returned home and after the scheduled time gave birth to Ishmael (Genesis 16.7-16).
See here: Why did God change Abraham’s name?
Sara and the promises of God, from Sarai to Sara
Regardless of the age issue, when Sarah turned 90, she received the promise from the Lord that she would have a son within a year and that, like Abraham, she would become the “mother of nations.” .
This promise actually occurred twice, first when her name was changed along with her husband’s in Genesis 17:17 and later in Genesis 18:9-15.
On that second occasion, Abraham received a theophany, that is, an appearance of God in person and asked Sara to prepare some cakes for the divine visitors. Upon hearing the prophecy about the birth of her son, Sara smiled incredulously, thinking that it was impossible to fulfill, given her age.
Although Sara denied that her laughter was mocking, the Lord knew her true intentions. Sara was reprimanded with the following sentence: «Is there something impossible for the Lord? » From then on, doubt gave way to faith, and Sarah was rejuvenated along with Abraham, and the promise was fulfilled with the birth of Isaac.
After Isaac was born, Sarah had problems with Ishmael and Hagar. At Isaac’s weaning party, Sara noticed that Ishmael was making fun of her son. Very angry, Sara ordered Hagar and Ishmael to leave.
With this attitude, Sara also wished that Isaac would not have to share his inheritance with his stepbrother.
It may interest you: Who was Zephaniah in the Bible?
Sarah’s death
Sarah died when she was 127 years old, and was buried by Abraham in the tomb he bought for his family near Hebron (Genesis 23:1-2).
Curious fact: Sarah is the only woman in the Bible who records the age of her death.
Sarah in the Old and New Testaments
Sara is mentioned in addition to Genesis, in the book of Isaiah in (Isaiah 51:2) as a pious woman, an example of trust in God, and the one who gave birth to the nation of Israel.
Several references to Sarah are made in the New Testament, especially by the apostle paul who remembers her directly and indirectly. For example, in the letter to the Romans (Romans 4:19), Paul raised the issue of Sarah’s barrenness as an obstacle to Abraham’s faith, listing the couple among those whose faith was counted as righteousness.
Paul further refers to Sarah as the mother of the children of promise in Romans 9:9.
In Galatians the apostle Paul also remembered Sarah (Galatians 4:21-31), making an indirect reference in an illustration about the son of the slave woman and the son of the free woman.
the apostle peter he also mentioned Sarah as an example of a wife (1 Peter 3:6), and the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews (possibly Luke) highlighted Sarah’s faith, placing her in “The Gallery of Heroes of Faith” (Hebrews 11:11).
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