Sarah is described as preeminent in the household. Abraham was ennobled through her and subordinated himself to her; God commanded him to heed his wife, because of her prophetic power.

The Rabbis are lavish in their description of the beauty of Sarah, who was one of the four most exquisite women in the world and was regarded as the fairest, even in comparison with all the women in the nearby lands. Her barrenness was not perceived by the Rabbis as a punishment, and her pregnancy at the age of ninety was a reward for her good deeds. The Rabbis include in this wondrous occurrence additional miracles that she experienced when God remembered her: He formed a womb for her, and her entire body was restored to youthfulness. When God remembered her, all the crippled and deformed were healed, and all infertile women became pregnant. When she nursed, she could have done so for all the infants of the nations of the world, without wanting for milk; in the wake of this nursing, many Gentiles entered Judaism.

Sarah’s untimely death is perceived as related to the Binding of Isaac. She was the first of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs to be buried in the Cave of Machpelah. Her distinguished funeral teaches of the great esteem in which she was held by the inhabitants of the land, who all locked their doors and came to pay their respects to Sarah.

The different traditions tell of Sarah’s role in spreading the name of God throughout the world. Her maternity expanded and came to symbolize the warm bosom of Judaism, both for her future descendants and for all the world.

Abraham and Sarah were related before they married. Abraham says (Gen. 20:12): “And besides, she is in truth my sister, my father’s daughter though not my mother’s; and she became my wife.”

The Torah she-bi-khetav: Lit. "the written Torah." The Bible; the Pentateuch; Tanakh (the Pentateuch, Prophets and Hagiographia)Torah relates of their marriage (Gen. 11:29): “Abram and Nahor took to themselves wives, the name of Abram’s wife being Sarai and that of Nahor’s wife Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah.” The special structure of this verse led the rabbis to identify Iscah with Sarah; thus, Abraham married his brother’s daughter (BT Sanhedrin 69b).

One tradition has Sarah being born to Haran when he was only eight years old, but others dispute this calculation (BT Sanhedrin 69b; see also Lit. "order." The regimen of rituals, songs and textual readings performed in a specific order on the first two nights (in Israel, on the first night) of Passover.Seder Olam Rabbah 2).

field_section_text_value

field_section_text_value

field_section_text_value

field_section_text_value

When Sarah saw that ten years had passed for them in Canaan and she was still childless, she told Abraham: “I know the source of my infirmity. It is not as they say of other women: ‘She needs an amulet,’ ‘She needs a charm,’ rather (Gen. 16:2): ‘Look, the Lord has kept me from bearing’” (Gen. Rabbah 45:2). The Rabbis learned from the story of Abraham and Sarah that if a man is married for ten years and his wife bears no children, he may not be excused from his obligation of procreation (and he must take another, or an additional, wife). They further derived that the time one dwells outside The Land of IsraelErez Israel is not included in this count, for it says (Gen. 16:3): “after Abram had dwelt in the land of Canaan ten years”; consequently, the count of ten years started only when they began to dwell in the land of Canaan, and not when they were in Egypt (BT Yevamot 64a).

Sarah told Abraham (v. 2): “Consort with my maid; perhaps I shall have a son [or: be built up] through her.” The Rabbis deduced from this that anyone who is childless is like a ruined structure that must be rebuilt. Abraham heeded his wife Sarah and the spirit of divine inspiration within her (Gen. Rabbah loc. cit.). Sarah took Hagar and gave her to Abraham, which the midrash understands as Sarah enticing her with words. Sarah told her: “Happy are you, in that you will cleave to a holy body [Abraham]” (Gen. Rabbah 45:3).

The Rabbis portray Hagar as not showing proper respect to her mistress Sarah, and as one who caused other women to make light of her (i.e., of her worth and standing). Hagar took advantage of her pregnancy to besmirch her mistress’s good name (see Gen. Rabbah 45:4 and the entry Hagar). Sarah is depicted in these expositions as a noble woman who is aware of her station and has no intention of descending to the level of her handmaiden. She does not argue with Hagar, thus highlighting the moral and class difference between them.

The Rabbis were troubled by the question of how it was that the righteous Sarah did not conceive from Abraham for more than ten years, while Hagar became pregnant immediately. They explain that Hagar gave birth to Ishmael with such ease because he is like worthless thorns, in contrast to Sarah’s future birth of Isaac, who would continue in Abraham’s path, and whose conception required much effort and exertion. Sarah’s difficulty in conceiving therefore attests to the quality of the descendant she would produce (see Gen. Rabbah loc. cit.). For a description of the tension between Hagar and Sarah, for the criticism that Sarah leveled at Abraham, and Hagar’s harsh treatment by Sarah, see the entry Hagar.

In the midrashic account, when Hagar became pregnant, Sarah told Abraham: “I demand justice from you [before God]! You said [Gen. 15:2]: ‘seeing that I shall die childless,’ and your prayer was heard. If you had said, ‘seeing that we shall die childless,’ what God granted you, He would also have granted me! You said [v. 3]: ‘Since You have granted me no offspring’—if you had said, ‘Since You have granted us no offspring,’ as He granted you, He would have granted me, too!” (Two parables are presented in connection with this subject; see Gen. Rabbah 45:5.)

Gen. 17 relates that God was revealed to Abraham, commanded him regarding circumcision, and informed him of the change of his name, and of that of Sarai to Sarah. In the midrashic expansion, Abraham says to God: “I see that, in the stars, Abram does not bear children.” God replied: “What you say is so. Abram and Sarai do not bear children, but Abraham and Sarah do bear children” (Gen. Rabbah 44:10).

As regards the significance of this change, the Rabbis explain that initially she was a princess [sarai] over her people, while now she will be a princess over all the inhabitants of the world [sarah] ((Aramaic) A work containing a collection of tanna'itic beraitot, organized into a series of tractates each of which parallels a tractate of the Mishnah.Tosefta  Berakhot [ed. Lieberman] 1:13). In an additional exegetical explanation, because Sarai performed good deeds, God added a large letter to her name, and she would now be called “Sarah” (Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Masekhta de-Amalek, Yitro 1). The Rabbis determined that whoever now called Sarah by her former name transgressed a positive commandment (JT Berakhot 1:6, 4[a]).

The midrash relates that the letter yud that was taken from Sarai’s name flew up before God. It complained: “Master of all the worlds! because I am the smallest of all the letters, You removed me from the righteous woman’s name?” God replied: “Before, you were in a woman’s name, and at the end of her name, now I put you in a man’s name, and at the beginning of the name [Num. 13:16]: ‘but Moses changed the name of Hosea [hoshe’a] son of Nun to Joshua [yehoshua]’” (Gen. Rabbah 47:1). According to another tradition, half of the letter yud [with the numerical value of ten] that God took from Sarai was given back to Sarah, and the other half was given to Abraham [each received the letter heh = 5 + 5] (JT Sanhedrin 2:6, 20[c]).

After God changed Sarai’s name, He further said (Gen. 17:16): “I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her.” The Rabbis understand that the first blessing was that she would give birth to a son, and the second, that she would have milk. According to another exegesis, God blessed Sarah by forming a womb for her. In a third view, the blessing did not focus solely on the issue of birth, but extended to her entire being, which became young again. A fourth opinion derives the nature of the blessing from the continuation of this verse: “I will bless her so that she shall give rise to nations.” The meaning of the blessing, which relates to Sarah’s standing in the eyes of the nations, is that Sarah will be respected by the Gentile peoples, who will no longer call her barren. The midrash adds that Sarah conceived that very same year (Gen. Rabbah 47:2).

The midrash specifies that the three angels who visited Abraham and Sarah were Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. Michael came to inform Sarah of the birth of Isaac, Raphael came to heal [le-rape] Abraham after his circumcision, and Gabriel came to annihilate Sodom (BT Bava Mezia 86b). On the fifteenth day of Nisan (the first day of A seven-day festival to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt (eight days outside Israel) beginning on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan. Also called the "Festival of Mazzot"; the "Festival of Spring"; Pesah.Passover) the angels came to bless Sarah, on the fifteenth of Nisan Isaac was born, and on the fifteenth of Nisan the Israelites went forth from Egypt (Seder Olam Rabbah 5). This midrash imparts special significance to the day on which Sarah was informed of Isaac’s future birth and to the day of his birth. The identification of this date as the historic date on which the Israelites went forth from Egypt links together all the promises made by God to Abraham at the covenant between the pieces: offspring, servitude, redemption, and the inheritance of the land (see Gen. 15).

When the angels came to the tent, Abraham said to Sarah (Gen. 18:6): “Knead and make cakes!” The Rabbis observe that the mazzot that the Israelites prepared when they left Egypt were also called (Ex. 12:39) “unleavened cakes,” from which they learned that the cakes that Sarah prepared for the angels were mazzot, for they came to the couple during Passover. The midrash adds that by merit of the cakes that Sarah prepared for the angels, the Israelites were given manna in the wilderness (Gen. Rabbah 48:12).

The Rabbis noted that when Abraham serves the food to the angels, no mention is made of the cakes that Sarah prepared. According to one exegetical view, that day Sarah saw the first signs of her menstrual period. Care was taken in Abraham’s household to eat all foods in purity, and he therefore did not serve the cakes that Sarah had prepared (Gen. Rabbah 48:14). This midrash teaches of the fulfillment of God’s promise to restore Sarah’s youth, which happened on the same day on which the angels appeared and informed Sarah of the birth of Isaac.

When the angels wished to bless Sarah, they asked Abraham (Gen. 18:9): “Where is your wife Sarah?,” to which he replied (ibid.): “There, in the tent.” The Lit. "teaching," "study," or "learning." A compilation of the commentary and discussions of the amora'im on the Mishnah. When not specified, "Talmud" refers to the Babylonian Talmud.Talmud maintains that their question was meant to teach us of Sarah’s modesty (because she remained in her tent, even when guests came). According to another interpretation, the ministering angels knew that Sarah was in the tent, but they asked about her so that she would be beloved by her husband (in order that he would mention her and her good traits). Yet another reason given for their question: they did so to send her the cup of blessing (BT Bava Mezia 87a).

When Sarah heard the prophecies by the angels, she laughed to herself, and said (Gen. 18:12): “Now [literally, “after”] that I am withered, am I to have enjoyment—with my husband so old?” The rabbis understood her statement not as amazement, but as a depiction of the change that she would undergo in the wake of this prophecy. “After I am withered”—after her skin withered and was full of wrinkles, “am I to have enjoyment [ednah]”—her flesh miraculously was rejuvenated [nitaden], her wrinkles vanished, and her former beauty returned (BT Bava Mezia loc. cit.). Another exegesis derives the word ednah from adi (jewel). Sarah said: “As long as a woman gives birth, she is adorned; after I grew old, now I am adorned.” Yet another etymological exegesis derives ednah from eidan, the time of a woman’s period. Sarah said: “As long as a woman gives birth, she has periods, and I, after I grew old, had a woman’s period” (Gen. Rabbah 48:17).

The Rabbis discerned that when Sarah responds, she says (v. 12): “with my husband so old,” but when God repeats her statement to Abraham in v. 13, He says: “old as I am” (i.e., Sarah related, as it were, to her own old age). This teaches the greatness of peace: even God changed Sarah’s words for the sake of peace between man and wife (BT Bava Mezia loc. cit.). In order that Abraham not be offended by what his wife said, and to prevent a quarrel between them, God altered Sarah’s statement.

The prophecy of Sarah’s becoming pregnant is delivered to Abraham and Sarah hears this from her tent. Only three words are addressed directly to her (Gen. 18:15): “You did laugh.” The midrash comments that Sarah is the only woman with whom God converses directly. God never had to speak with a woman, except for that righteous woman, and that only for a good reason [He spoke with Sarah only after she denied having laughed]. How many circuits did He make before He addressed her [how much effort did God show in order to speak with her]! (Gen. Rabbah 48:20).

The Rabbis say that a special angel is appointed for desire and pregnancy, yet Sarah was not visited by an angel, but by God Himself, as it says (Gen. 21:1): “The Lord took note of Sarah.” The Rabbis ascribe Sarah’s pregnancy to her good deeds: the Torah says, “The Lord took note [pakad] of Sarah,” because the Lord is the master of deposits [pikdonot]. Sarah deposited with Him commandments and good deeds, and He returned to her commandments and good deeds [by giving her Isaac]. According to another exegetical position, Sarah merited becoming pregnant by a specific incident: for entering the houses of Pharaoh and of Abimelech and emerging pure. Since she was proper in her sexual conduct, she merited pregnancy.

Isaac was born after nine full months of pregnancy, so that it would not be said that he was from the seed of Abimelech. In another view, the pregnancy extended for seven full months, that are nine incomplete months [i.e., a part of the first month, the seven in the middle, and a part of the last] (Gen. Rabbah 53:5–6). The first opinion is based on the juxtaposition of the narrative of Sarah in the house of Abimelech (Gen. 20) with her conceiving (Gen. 21). The second expressed the well-known Rabbinic position that Sarah became pregnant on The Jewish New Year, held on the first and second days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. Referred to alternatively as the "Day of Judgement" and the "Day of Blowing" (of the shofar).Rosh Ha-Shanah, and Isaac was born in Nisan (BT Rosh Hashanah 10b); consequently, her pregnancy extended for only seven months. It is therefore still customary to read Gen. 21:1: “The Lord took note of Sarah” on Rosh Hashanah (BT Megillah 31a).

The midrash relates that when Sarah became pregnant, all the barren women became pregnant, all the deaf became capable of hearing, all the blind were given sight, all the mutes were cured, and all the madmen became sound of mind. All said: “Would that He take note of Sarah a second time, that we, too, could have been remembered with her!” (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana, Sos Asis 22:1).

Isaac was born in the middle of the day on Nisan 15, at precisely the same time that the Israelites would go forth from Egypt (Seder Olam Rabbah 5; Gen. Rabbah 53:6).

The Torah states that when Abraham weaned his son Isaac he held a great feast (Gen. 21:8). In the midrashic expansion, all the nations of the world gossiped and said: “Did you see that old man and old woman, who brought a foundling from the marketplace, and claim that he is their son? And this is not all—they are holding a great feast, so that what they say will seem to be the truth!” What did Abraham do? He went and invited all the great ones of the generation, and Sarah invited their wives. Each one brought her baby with her but did not bring the wet nurse. A miracle was performed for Sarah: her breasts opened like two fountains, and she nursed them all. Gen. 21:7 therefore declares: “that Sarah would suckle children”—that she nursed the children of all the women (BT Bava Mezia 87a).

In another tradition, the nations of the world would say: “It was not Sarah who gave birth to Isaac, rather Hagar, Sarah’s handmaiden, gave birth to him!” What did God do? He withered up the breasts of the women of the nations of the world. Their noblewomen would come and kiss the ground at Sarah’s feet, and they said to her: “Do a good deed and nurse our children.” Abraham told Sarah: “Sarah, this is not the time for modesty. Sanctify God’s name. Sit down in the marketplace and nurse their children” (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana loc. cit.).

Sarah stood and revealed herself, and her two breasts spouted milk like two spouts of water. The nations of the world brought their children to Sarah for her to nurse. Some brought their children so that she would nurse them, and others brought their children to examine this. Neither lost. Those who came sincerely converted, and therefore it is said, “she would suckle children [banim],” that they would be built [shenitbanu] in Israel. And those who came to examine were elevated in this world, with honor and greatness [but since they set themselves apart, rulership was taken from them]. All those who convert in the world, and all those who fear God in the world, are from among those who nursed from Sarah (Pesikta Rabbati [ed. Friedmann (Ish-Shalom)], para. 43).

Despite this, people still murmured and said: “Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth? Will Abraham, who is a hundred years old, beget children?” Isaac’s countenance immediately changed to resemble that of Abraham. All of them then declared (Gen. 25:19): “Abraham begot Isaac!” (BT Bava Mezia loc. cit.).

Sarah died at the age of 127, which was young in comparison to Abraham, who lived to the age of 175. The Rabbis explain that Sarah died before her time out of fright and connected her death with the Binding of Isaac. Although Sarah does not appear in the Binding narrative, this is the last event to be mentioned before her death. The midrash tells that Isaac was concerned about his mother’s welfare, and when he was tied to the altar and thought that he was about to die, he asked of his father: “Father, do not tell my mother [of my death] when she is standing by a pit or when she is standing on the roof, lest she cast herself down and die.” That moment a heavenly voice went forth and said to Abraham (Gen. 22:12): “Do not raise your hand against the boy.”

Satan went to Sarah and appeared to her in the countenance of Isaac. When she saw him, she said to him: “My son, what has your father done to you?” He answered her: “Father took me and raised me up to the mountains and brought me down into the valleys. He took me up to the top of one mountain, built an altar, arranged the woodpile, and placed the logs. He bound me on the altar and took a knife to slaughter me. If God had not told him: ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy,’ I would already be slaughtered.” Satan did not finish speaking, and Sarah passed away (Tanhuma, Vayera 23). It therefore is said (Gen. 23:2): “And Abraham proceeded [va-yavo, literally, and he came] to mourn for Sarah”—where did he come from? from Mount Moriah (Gen. Rabbah 58:5). This early aggadic tradition is depicted in a synagogue mural in Dura-Europus (an ancient city on the Euphrates), with a portrayal of Isaac, and at a distance, Sarah gazing upon the scene from within her tent.

In another tradition, Sarah dies prematurely because she was punished for telling Abraham (Gen. 16:5): “The wrong done me is your fault! […] The Lord decide between you and me!” Whoever calls down Divine judgment on his fellow is himself punished first; consequently, Sarah died before Abraham (BT Rosh Hashanah 16b).

The units of the count of Sarah’s life—hundreds, tens, and units—are listed separately (Gen. 23:1): “Sarah’s lifetime came to one hundred and twenty-seven years [literally: “one hundred years, and twenty years, and seven years”], from which the Rabbis found evidence of her merit: when she was twenty, she was as seven for beauty […] when she was one hundred, she was as twenty for sin (Gen. Rabbah 58:1).

In the midrashic recounting, Abraham was unsuccessful when he searched for a place to bury Sarah. God had promised him (Gen. 13:17): “Up, walk about the land, through its length and breadth, for I give it to you.” Despite this, he had to purchase the Cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite for four hundred shekels of silver. Nonetheless, he did not question God’s attributes (BT Sanhedrin 111a).

Sarah was buried in Kiriath-Arba, which was so named, as the Rabbis explain, because the four [arba] matriarchs were buried there: Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah (Gen. Rabbah 58:4). Another etymology explains that it was given this name on account of the four couples interred there: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah (BT Eruvin 53a).

The midrash states that all the inhabitants of the land locked their doors and came to pay their respects to Sarah [by accompanying her funeral] (Gen. Rabbah 58:7). All those who accompanied Sarah to her final resting place merited to do so for Abraham, as well [they enjoyed longevity, and lived an additional thirty-eight years, so that they would also be present at Abraham’s funeral] (Gen. Rabbah 62:3).

According to one tradition, Shem and Eber walked before Sarah’s bier. They saw an empty chamber in the Cave of Machpelah, that was intended for Abraham’s burial, and they interred Sarah in the place that was designated for him. Therefore it is said: “there Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife,” for they were buried together (Gen. 25:10).

field_section_text_value