Many of the story about Sarah (originally named Sarai) in Genesis are about her role as both Abraham’s wife and also perhaps a biological family member; ultimately her ancestry is unclear. During her 127-year life, she is enslaved in Egypt, foreshadowing Israel’s later bondage, and is ultimately released after God sends plagues. Sarah is unable to have children for most of her life and uses Hagar as a surrogate to birth Ishmael, but at 90 years old God blesses her with the birth of Isaac. After securing Isaac’s position in the family as Abraham’s heir, Sarah largely disappears from Genesis, but she is remembered as the ancestress of her people.
Sarah is the wife of Abraham, the mother of Isaac, and thus the ancestress of all Israel. The Bible explains that Sarai was her earlier name and that she was renamed at the annunciation of the birth of Isaac (Gen 17:15).
Ancestry
Sarah’s ancestry is not clear. Genesis 11 relates that Abram and his brother Nahor married Sarai and Milcah, respectively (v. 29).It does not name Sarah’s father, even though it relates that Milcah was the daughter of Haran, Terah’s other son, and then names Haran’s other daughter, Iscah. When Gen 11:31 tells that “Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son
Abram’s wife” from Ur to Haran, it does not call Sarai Terah’s granddaughter. However, in Genesis 20, when Abraham explains his wife-sister ruse to Abimelech of Gerar, he claims that Sarah is his non-uterine sister (v. 12). This contradiction has led some readers to identify Sarah with the otherwise unknown Iscah. But this would make Sarai Abram’s niece, not his half-sister; it would not explain why she is identified as daughter-in-law to Terah, not as his daughter.
Sarah and Abraham come to Israel as part of God’s promise of numerous progeny and the land (Gen 12:1–5). Because Sarah’s importance to this promise is not at first obvious, the promise is immediately endangered. Forced by famine to leave the land, Abraham is fearful that Egyptians will kill him in order to take the beautiful Sarah. His concerns make sense in the biblical milieu, for in the Bible, beauty sets up the beautiful to be desired and taken. Indeed, Esther and Judith,
at the close of the biblical period, are the first to use their beauty to their people’s advantage. Furthermore, in the ancient world adultery was considered a very grievous offense, possibly even worse than murder. Thus, Abraham’s solution seems bizarre; he asks Sarah to say that she is his sister. They would still take her, but they would not kill Abraham, who would thus “share a wife and save a life.” The ruse might have some advantage for Sarah, for a brother was somewhat of a protector, whereas a widow had no protection of any kind. It certainly enriched Abraham, who was given bride wealth for a sister, something that he would never have received as a husband.
