Sarah, originally named Sarai, is known in the Book of Genesis as the wife of Abraham and is considered the matriarch or ancestral mother of the people of Israel.
Here are some details about Sarah from the Bible:
- Origin: Sarah was from the city of Ur in present-day Iraq. She moved with her husband Abram (later renamed Abraham) and their family to Canaan at God’s command.
- Childlessness: A central theme in Sarah’s story is her inability to have children, which was considered a great sorrow in her time. To have descendants, she gives her maidservant Hagar to her husband Abraham, who gives birth to a son, Ishmael.
- God’s Promise: Despite her childlessness, God promises Abraham and Sarah that they will have a son, even though they are both very old. This son, Isaac, is eventually born and is the child of promise through whom Abraham’s family and the entire nation of Israel are to be blessed.
- Name: Her original name, Sarai, means “my princess” in Hebrew. God later changes her name to Sarah, which means “princess”, as a sign of the covenant and the promise he makes with Abraham.
- Death and Legacy: Sarah lived for 127 years and was the first of the matriarchs and patriarchs of Israel to die. She was buried in the Cave of Machpelah near Hebron, a place that later became a holy site.
Sarah is a complex and central figure in Genesis, often praised for her faith but also for her human weaknesses and mistakes. Her story is closely linked to the emergence and development of the people of Israel and reflects the challenges, faith, and hopes of the early biblical figures.
