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Sarah (Hebrew: שָׂרָה, Modern: Sara, Tiberian: Śārāh ; Template:Lang-ar; "a woman of high rank") is the wife of Abraham as described in the Hebrew Bible (the Book of Genesis) and the Quran.

The Hebrew word sarah indicates a woman of high rank and is sometimes translated as "princess" or goddess, or "high holy one". Semitic root Šarai or law. Like El has the sense power, authority, lord, deity, natural law, law

Sarah

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Sarah was originally called Sarai (שָׂרַי / שָׂרָי , Standard Hebrew Saray, Tiberian Hebrew Śāray / Śārāy) and was married to and lived with her husband, then called Abram (אברם) in the city of Haran.When God told Abram to leave his homeland and journey to an unknown land (later identified as Canaan), Sarai accompanied him. However, when they arrived they were met with a famine and decided to take refuge in Egypt. Fearing that Sarai's beauty would put his life in danger if their true relationship became known, Abram proposed that she pass as his sister.

As Abram had feared, Sarai was taken by Pharaoh, who rewarded Abram richly on her account. However, God struck Pharaoh and all his house with severe plagues, after which Pharaoh suspected the truth. He censured Abram and requested him to take his wife and depart. According to the classic Jewish commentaries, Pharaoh was nevertheless impressed with Abram's righteousness, and sent his own daughter, Hagar, to be a handmaid to Sarai.

While God promised Abram that he would yet be a father of nations, Sarai remained childless. To help her husband fulfill his destiny, she offered her Egyptian handmaid Hagar to him as a concubine. Hagar became pregnant immediately, and began to despise her mistress. Sarai bitterly upbraided her husband, and Abram responded that she should do with her handmaid as she deemed best. Sarai's harsh treatment of Hagar forced the handmaid to flee to the desert, where she encountered an angel who announced that her children would be numerous and urged her to return to her mistress. After Hagar returned, she bore Abram a son whom he named Ishmael.

Afterwards God changed their names to Abraham and Sarah to help them fulfill their new destiny as progenitors of the future nation of Israel. In Hebrew, the name Avram means "exalted father" or, alternately, "father of Aram," the country where Abraham was born. Sarai means "my woman of high rank", referring to her relationship with her husband. Now their names would be Avraham, meaning "father of many," and Sarah, meaning "woman of high rank". Then God sent three angels in the guise of men to inform the couple of the impending birth of Isaac. Abraham laughed with joy at the news, as he would be 100 years old at the time of the birth, but Sarah laughed with doubt, as she would be 90 years old and the ways of women had long since ceased for her.

Abraham next moved to Gerar, where Sarah was again taken by the ruler to become his wife after she claimed Abraham was her brother. Abimelech, however, was warned by God in a dream not to touch Sarah. When Abimelech reproved Abraham for the deception, Abraham justified himself by explaining that Sarah was the daughter of his father but not of his mother (Gen. 20:1-12).

Immediately after this incident, Sarah bore a son, Isaac. God instructed Abraham to name him after the laughter which Sarah had made when her son's birth was prophesied by the angel.

According to Rashi, a Jewish commentator on the Torah, people questioned whether the 100-year old Abraham really was the father of the child, as he and Sarah had lived together for decades without conceiving. Instead, people gossiped that Abimelech was the true father. For this reason, according to Rashi, God made Isaac's features exactly the same as Abraham's, so no one could claim a different paternity.

As Isaac grew up, according to the Bible, his older half-brother Ishmael began to mock him and Sarah demanded that Abraham send away both Hagar and Ishmael to protect Isaac. Some believe that Sarah's shunning, and the hard life of exile that followed, angered Ishmael and that this is one of the causes of strife between Islam and Christianity, as Ishmael became a prophet. Years later, at the death of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael came together again to bury their father in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron (Gen. 25:9).

Sarah died in Kiryat Arba (קרית ארבע), or Hebron, at the age of 127 years. Her death prompted Abraham to purchase a family burial plot, and he approached Ephron the Hittite to sell him the Cave of Machpelah (Cave of the Patriarchs). Ephron demanded an exhorbitant price of 400 pieces of silver, which Abraham paid in full. The Cave of Machpelah would eventually be the burial site for all three Jewish patriarchs and three of the four matriarchs—Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah. Rachel was buried on the road to Bethlehem.

No further reference to Sarah is found in the Hebrew canon, except in Isa. Ii. 2, where the prophet appeals to his hearers to "look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you."

Sarah in rabbinic literature

Named Iscah

Sarah was the niece of Abraham, being the daughter of his brother Haran. She was called also "Iscah" Genesis 11:29, because her beauty attracted general attention and admiration. She was so beautiful that all other persons seemed apes in comparison. Even the hardships of her journey with Abraham did not affect her beauty. According to another explanation, she was called Iscah because she had prophetic vision. She was superior to Abraham in the gift of prophecy. She was the "crown" of her husband; and he obeyed her words because he recognized this superiority on her part. She was the only woman whom God deemed worthy to be addressed by Him directly, all the other prophetesses receiving their revelations through angels (ib. xlv. 14). On their journeys Abraham converted the men, and Sarah the women (ib. xxxix. 21). She was called originally "Sarai," i.e., "my princess," because she was the princess of her house and of her tribe; later she was not called "Sarah" = "princess," because she was recognized generally as such.

In Pharaoh's Harem

On the journey to Egypt, Abraham hid his wife in a chest in order that no one might see her. At the frontier the chest had to pass through the hands of certain officials, who insisted on examining its contents in order to determine the amount of duty payable. When it was opened a bright light proceeded from Sarah's beauty. Every one of the officials wished to secure possession of her, each offering a higher sum than his rival (Genesis Rabbah xl. 6;."Sefer ha-Yashar," section "Lek Leka"). When brought before Pharaoh, Sarah said that Abraham was her brother, and the king thereupon bestowed upon the latter many presents and marks of distinction ("Sefer ha-Yashar," l.c.). As a token of his love for Sarah 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 (Pirḳe R. El. xxxvi.). He gave her also his own daughter Hagar as slave (ib.). Sarah 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 Sarah, who confessed that she was Abraham's wife. The king then ceased to annoy her ("Sefer ha-Yashar," l.c.). 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 (Genesis Rabbah xli. 2). According to one tradition it was when Pharaoh saw these miracles wrought in Sarah'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 (Genesis Rabbah xlv. 2). Sarah 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 Sarah, provoking the latter to treat her harshly, to impose heavy work upon her, and even to strike her (ib. xlv. 9).

Relations with Hagar.

Sarah was originally destined, like Abraham, 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 the cause that Hagar no longer respected her (R. H. 16b; Genesis Rabbah xlv. 7). Sarah was sterile; but a miracle was vouchsafed to her (Genesis Rabbah xlvii. 3) after her name was changed from "Sarai" to "Sarah" (R. H. 16b). When her youth 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 (B. M. 87a; comp. Gen. R. liii. 13). Sarah's behavior toward Ishmael, whom she drove away from his father's roof, is justified on the ground that she saw him commit the three greatest sins, namely, idolatry, unchastity, and murder, (ib. liii. 15).

Died at Thought of the Sacrifice of Isaac.

Legends connect Sarah's death with the sacrifice of Isaac, there being 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. According to the other legend, Satan, disguised as an old man, came to Sarah and told her that Isaac had been sacrificed. She, believing it to be true, 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 every one 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. During Sarah's lifetime her house was always hospitably open, the dough was miraculously increased, a light burned from Friday evening to Friday evening, and a pillar of cloud rested upon the entrance to her tent.

Islam

In Islamic tradition, Sarah is the wife of Ibrahim, a major prophet. Auda quotes Imam Al-Razi, Imam Al-Suyuti, Imam Al-Kamal Ibn Al-Humaam and Imam Al-Mubarkafuri. Abraham married Sarah as she showed uncompromising commitment to God, after the rest abandoned Abraham. After marriage Abraham traveled with Sarah to Ur, then later to Haran, Palestine and finally to Egypt.

The hadith tell of an incident when Abraham called Sarah his sister, though Sarah was not biologically related to him. Muslim theologians explain that Abraham referred to Sarah as a sister in faith when he said "There are no believers on the surface of the earth except you and me." Thus Abraham neither lied, nor married his biological sister.

After their marriage, Sarah and Abraham had no children. Sarah, knowing that Abraham desired a child, gave her handmaiden Hajar to Abraham in marriage. Sarah and Abraham received some guests one day who brought them two prophecies: the destruction of the people of Lot and that Sarah would bear a son, despite her and Abraham's advance age. The promise was fulfilled in due time, and Sarah bore Isaac.

Speculations on Hindu connections

In the 18th and 19th centuries, there were isolated speculations about an identity of Sarah and Saraswati. This was based on the similarities of the names of Sarah as Saraswati and Abraham as Brahma. Brahma's consort was Saraswati and (Abraham is a near anagram of Brahma and consort Sarah is a near anagram of Saraswati). Voltaire summarised such speculations:

This name Bram, Abram, Sara, was famous in India and Persia. Some even allege that Bram, Abram was the same legislator as the one the Greeks called Zoroaster. Others say that he was the Brahma of the Indians.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

1. (Megillah 14a)
2. (B. B. 58a)
3. (Genesis Rabba xi. 4)
4. (Megillah l.c.
5. (Exodus Rabba i. 1.)
6. (Genesis Rabba xlvii. 1)
7. (Ber. 13a; Genesis Rabba xlvii. 1)
8. (ib. lviii. 5)
9. (Pirḳe de Rabbi Eliezer xxxii.)
10. ("Book of Jasher," section "Wayera")
11. (Genesis Rabba lx. 15)
12. ^ Ibn Kathir, QASAS AL-ANBIYAA, The story of Ibrahim. Retrieved 18 July, 07.
13. Firestone, Reuven (January - April, 1993). "Prophethood, Marriageable Consanguinity, and Text: The Problem of Abraham and Sarah's Kinship Relationship and the Response of Jewish and Islamic Exegesis". The Jewish Quarterly Review. 83 (3/4): 342–3. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
14. Griffiths, William (1891). "Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Gabriel in the Quran". The Old and New Testament Student. 12 (5): 273. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
15. Ali, Kecia (2006), "Hajar", in Leaman, Oliver (ed.), The Qur'an: an encyclopedia, Great Britain: Routeledge, pp. 287–289
16. "Voltaire's article".

See also

• Hagar
• Islamic view of Abraham
• Bible
• Isaac
• Biblical narratives and the Qur'an

• Prophets in the Hebrew Bible
• Biblical matriarchs
• Old Testament saints
• Female saints
• Biblical characters in rabbinic literature