Sarah / Sarai

Sarah is the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac. Like many women today, Sarah struggled with infertility. In her old age, God promised to give her a son. Initially, she didn't believe it was possible—she even laughed—but God proved her wrong by blessing her with a son at the age of 90.

Introduction

Sarah, born Sarai, is the mother of Isaac and the wife of Abraham. She is a pivotal figure of the old testament. Abraham is often called the father of many nations, thus as his wife and the mother of the son that produced God's chosen nation, she is the mother of His chosen nations.
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Bible Verses

¹⁵And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. ¹⁶And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.Genesis 17:15-16 KJV

And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.Genesis 23:2 KJV

Other Verses on Sarah

• Genesis 11:29-31; 12:5,11,17; 16:1-8; 17:15-21; 18:6-15; 20:14-18; 21:1-12; 23
• Isaiah 51:2

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Character

Disclaimer: Liberty taken with the depiction of Sarah.
Please remember the Bible does not
specify a description for most individuals.

Sarah is one of the most spotlighted women in the book of Genesis. We are given a whole chapter on Abraham dealing with her death and preparing her gravesite. The first trait we glean from the pages about Sarah, is eagerness to provide Abraham a child; so much so that she gives her handmaid, Hagar, to Abraham as a wife. When Hagar gives birth to Ismael, Abraham's first and only son at time, Hagar feel "above" Sarah leading to tension between the two. Sarah confronts Abraham about Hagar's treatment of her and having more allegiance to Sarah than to Hagar, Abraham demotes Hagar back to handmaid status, allowing Sarah to deal with the situation as she pleased. We are told that Hagar is so distraught from Sarah's wrath that she flees. Thus we must conclude that Sarah was both a loving wife and a bit of a hot head.

Being "barren" during that time period would have been very difficult for a woman, as their worth was often determined by their ability to produce male heirs. People would have likely talked about her and may have suggested that she was cursed. Yet this seems to be a trend amongst God's chosen women. Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel all have "trouble" conceiving. God promised Sarah that she would have a child, but neither Sarah nor Abraham believed Him. When Sarah does have a child at 90 years old, she once again has Hagar removed so that Ishmael cannot continue to taunt Isaac. Sarah was given much power in terms of decision making by both Abraham, and God (who agreed that Abraham should listen to Sarah the second time she asked to send Hagar away).

Aside from Sarah laughing at God's promise to grant her a son, we don't see much of Sarah's relationship with God. However, her action of giving her handmaid to Abraham to provide him with children suggests that she at least believed God meant great things for his descendants. Also, the fact that we are told so much about both Abraham and Isaac mourning her death suggests that she was a very beloved person.
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Descendants

Sarah is the mother of Isaac. She is the grandmother of Jacob (Israel), and thus the Israelite nation.
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