Sarah

About Sarah

Sarah, originally named Sarai, was the wife of Abraham and the matriarch through whom God’s covenant promises would be fulfilled. She was born in Ur of the Chaldeans and was both Abraham’s wife and his half-sister, sharing the same father but having different mothers.

Sarah was exceptionally beautiful, and her beauty caused problems on two occasions when Abraham, fearing for his life, asked her to say she was his sister rather than his wife. First, in Egypt, Pharaoh took Sarah into his household, but God afflicted Pharaoh’s house with plagues until he discovered the truth and sent them away. Later, a similar incident occurred with Abimelech, king of Gerar, but God warned Abimelech in a dream before he touched Sarah.

The central tragedy and triumph of Sarah’s life was her long barrenness. Despite God’s promise that Abraham would have descendants as numerous as the stars, Sarah remained childless year after year, decade after decade. When she was sixty-five years old, God promised Abraham a son, but the years continued to pass.

In her desperation, and perhaps believing she was helping God fulfill His promise, Sarah gave her Egyptian maidservant Hagar to Abraham as a concubine. Hagar conceived Ishmael, which created bitter tension between the two women. Hagar began to despise her mistress, and Sarah dealt harshly with her, causing Hagar to flee into the wilderness, though she later returned.

When Sarah was ninety years old, three visitors came to Abraham’s tent at Mamre. One of them was the Lord, who announced that Sarah would have a son within a year. Sarah overheard this from inside the tent and laughed to herself, thinking it impossible for a woman her age to bear a child. The Lord questioned why she laughed, asking, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Though Sarah denied laughing out of fear, the Lord knew the truth.

True to His word, Sarah conceived and bore Isaac when Abraham was one hundred years old. The joy of this miraculous birth was reflected in Isaac’s name, meaning “laughter.” Sarah nursed her son and rejoiced in God’s faithfulness.

However, when Sarah saw Ishmael mocking Isaac during the weaning feast, she demanded that Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away. Though this deeply grieved Abraham, God instructed him to listen to Sarah, affirming that it was through Isaac that Abraham’s offspring would be named.

Sarah lived to be 127 years old, making her the only woman whose age at death is recorded in Scripture. She died in Kiriath-arba (Hebron), and Abraham mourned for her and purchased the cave of Machpelah as her burial place.

Sarah is honored in the New Testament as a model of faith and obedience. She is remembered as a woman who trusted in God’s promises despite a long wait and many trials, and through whom God brought forth the child of promise.