References (48)
Abram and Nahor took wives. Abram's wife was named Sarai, and Nahor's wife was named Milkah [meaning: "queen"], the daughter of Haran – father of Milkah and father of Iskah [meaning: "one who watches and is observant"].
But Sarai was barren; she had no offspring (descendants – Hebr. valad). [Unusual word for offspring, used only here in the Old Testament. It emphasizes a male descendant who can carry on the family line. The usual word is Hebr. jeled.]
Terah took Abram, his son, and Lot, Haran's son, and Sarai, his daughter-in-law, Abram's wife, and they journeyed from Ur in Chaldea and came to Haran (Hebr. Charan), where they stayed.
Abram took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his nephew, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people (servants, literally "souls") that they had acquired in Haran. They set out to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan.
When he entered Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know that you are a very beautiful woman.
The Lord (Yahweh) afflicted Pharaoh and his house with severe plagues because of Abram's wife Sarai.
Abram and his wife Sarai were childless.
[In this culture, this was considered shameful. However, God had promised them a child of their own who would be their heir, see . Ten years earlier, Abram had tried to adopt his servant Eliezer to have an heir, but God then clarified His promise that it would indeed be his own son, see . Abram is now 85 years old and Sarai is 75, see ; .]
Sarai had an Egyptian servant named Hagar [whom they probably received from Pharaoh when they were in Egypt, see ].
Sarai said to Abram, "Since the Lord has prevented me from having children, lie with my servant. Perhaps I can have a family through her." [Sarai followed the cultural tradition of the time of giving one of her servants to her husband to be a surrogate mother.] Abram listened to Sarai's words (obeyed her).
After ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, gave her Egyptian servant Hag to her husband as a second wife.
Then Sarai said to Abram, "It is your fault that all this injustice (violation, lawlessness, terror, destructive force – Hebr. chamas) has befallen me. I allowed my servant to lie with you, but when she saw that she was pregnant, she began to despise me. Let the Lord judge between me and you." [The last part can also be translated: "Let God punish you for this."]
Abram said to Sarai, "Since you have authority over your servant, do with her as you please." Then Sarai began to mistreat Hag so badly that she ran away from Sarai. [Abram does not take responsibility, but lets Sarai act out of her bitterness.]
The angel asked, "Hagar, Sarai's servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She replied, "I am fleeing from my mistress, Sarai."
[The water source is on the road to Egypt. Hagar was perhaps trying to make her way home to her country, a distance of about 250 miles. Attempting this journey alone and pregnant in the harsh desert is doomed to failure, which she understands because she does not answer the question of where she is going. She flees aimlessly from her problems. The question "where are you coming from?" in Hebrew does not mean so much from which place, but rather from what circumstances are you coming, what situation are you leaving?]
Then God said to Abraham, "Your wife shall no longer be called Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah.
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed (Hebr. tsachaq) [the first of three times the word for laughter that has the same root as Isaac's name Yitschaq is used, see also ; ] and said in his heart (to himself), "Will a man who is 100 years old become a father? And can Sarah, who is 90 years old, give birth to a child?" [Literally, it says "a son at 100 years" and "a daughter at 90 years".]
God replied, "No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear a son, and you shall name him Isaac [Hebr. Yits-chak from the verb meaning to laugh], and I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for him and his seed (descendants, offspring) after him.
But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this appointed time next year."
Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, "Hurry and take three measures [a total of 20-30 liters] of fine flour and bake some round cakes." [An unexpectedly large amount!]
They [the three] said to him, "Where is your wife Sarah?"
He replied, "There (see – Hebr. hinneh), in the tent." [Abraham probably gestured and pointed inside the tent.]
And he [the Lord] said, "I will surely return to you when the time has come around (in a year), and behold, your wife Sarah shall have a son."
Sarah heard this [as she stood] at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him.
Now Abraham and Sarah were old and had reached a ripe old age, and Sarah had ceased to have her monthly periods.
Sarah laughed (Hebr. tsachaq) to herself (in her heart) and said, "Now that I am old, shall I have pleasure? My lord is also old."
The Lord (Yahweh) said to Abraham, "Why does Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?
Is anything too hard for the Lord (Yahweh)? At the appointed (agreed) time I will return to you, when the time has come around (in a year), and Sarah will have a son."
Sarah denied it and said, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. He said, "Yes, you did laugh."
Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." [] And Avimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. [Abraham repeats the same mistake he made earlier, see . His son Isaac does the same, see .]
And Avimelech took sheep and oxen and servants and maidservants and gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him.
And to Sarah he said, "Behold, I have given your brother 1,000 [shekels] of silver, it is a covering (covering) for your eyes, for all who are with you, and before all men, that they may know that you are defended."
For the Lord (Yahweh) had closed all the wombs in Avimelech's house because of Abraham's wife Sarah.
[This describes the first healing in the Bible. There are several lessons here:
• Abraham must pray for someone else who suffers from the same problem as he himself has before he himself is healed. It is only after this event, in the next chapter (), that Sarah becomes pregnant!
• Abraham was not sinless when he prayed; it was his half-lie () that caused the situation with Avimelech. God can use us to pray for others despite our own shortcomings.
• The result of the healing was not immediately apparent. The healing took place when Abraham prayed, but it was only later, when the women began to give birth, that the visible evidence of the healing could be seen!]
[The "first occurrence" principle
The first time something is mentioned in the Bible, important lessons and fundamental truths about that subject are often presented. In biblical interpretation, this principle is called "first occurrence." One example is blood (Hebr. damm), which when mentioned in is also equated with human life. Jesus uses the principle of first occurrence when he teaches about marriage in and says that "from the beginning" the Creator made man male and female, see ; . In general, the teaching in the books of Moses also lays a foundation for the rest of the Bible, see .
Note! As with all principles of biblical interpretation, it is important to maintain balance and always read the text in its context. A word does not necessarily mean the same thing every time it is mentioned. The first time the serpent (Hebr. nachash) is mentioned, it is associated with Satan, but the bronze serpent () is also a clear reference to Jesus (). When Jesus urges believers to be like serpents, the meaning, right from the first occurrence, is that a believer should question ideologies and ways of thinking that are not from God and cast doubt on false beliefs. However, the negative meaning is balanced, but it should be done in an innocent and pure way (like a dove), see . Sometimes it can also be difficult to know whether something is mentioned first chronologically or thematically. The order of the books in the Old Testament is also different in the Hebrew Bible than in our Western Bibles.]
And the Lord (Yahweh) remembered Sarah as he had said, and the Lord (Yahweh) did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
And Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time that God (Elohim) had spoken to him.
And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. [Isaac (Hebr. Yits-chak) means "he laughs." Since Isaac is an important image of Jesus, it is worth noting the connection to his coming with joy.]
And Sarah said, "God (Elohim) has made me laugh (Hebr. tsechoq), and everyone who hears this will laugh with me."
And she said, "Who would have said (spoken words from the heart – Hebr. malal) to Abraham that Sarah would nurse a child? For I have borne him a son in his old age."
[These events in 2000 BC are prophetic. Isaac's life is filled with shadows of the coming Messiah:
They are born in a miraculous way – Sarah was too old, Jesus through virgin birth ()
Their mothers ask how this will happen (; ; )
They are named before birth (; )
They are born at the predicted time (; )
They are native sons (; )
They are loved by their fathers (; )
They are born at the predicted time (; )
De är enfödda söner ()
They go up Mount Moriah to be sacrificed ()
The servants do not accompany them (; )
They will return (; )
They go up Mount Moriah to be sacrificed ()
The servants do not accompany them (; ) Matt. 20:17-19)
They ride on a donkey before the sacrifice (; ; )
They carry wood to the place of sacrifice (; )
They submit to their father's will (, ; )
They are in their thirties (; )
They live after the sacrifice ()
After the death and resurrection of their son, their father sends servants to find a bride for them (; ; )
They pray for their wife and future children ([Gen. 25:21; John 1:12; 17:20])]
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, laughing (having fun, "fooling around" – Hebr. tsachaq).
And God (Elohim) said to Abraham, "Let this not be painful (sad, distressing) in your eyes because of the young man and because of your servant woman. In all that Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice (what she has said), for in (through) Isaac shall seed (descendants, future generations) be named after you.
Sarah lived to be 127 years old [100 years and 20 years and 7 years], these were the years that Sarah lived.
[Sarah's age is written here in an unusual way with the word year (Hebr. shanah) between each part of the numbers. Literally, the Hebrew reads: "one hundred years and twenty years and seven years"; the more common Hebrew way would have been to write "one hundred and twenty and seven years." One interpretation is that this indicates different periods in her life.]
Sarah died in Kirjat Arba, which is Hebron in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn Sarah and weep over her.
After that, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpela in front of Mamre, which is Hebron in the land of Canaan.
And Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master in her old age, and to him he has given all that he has.
Isaac brought her [Rebekah] into his mother Sarah’s tent [welcomed her into their family, introduced her to the family traditions, etc.]. He married Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her. Thus Isaac was comforted [in his grief] after his mother.
the field that Abraham bought from the sons of Heth [], where Abraham buried his wife Sarah.
[Here comes a new "toledot unit" that begins the eighth literary unit of twelve in Gen. 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2.]
This is the continued story of Ishmael (Hebr. Yishmael) (his genealogy/family tree – ) [in the order in which they were born]. Abraham's son, whom Hag the Egyptian, Sarah's servant, bore to Abraham.
There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah, his wife, and there I buried Leah.
Look at Abraham, your father, and Sarah, who bore you. When I called him, he was alone (childless), but I blessed him and multiplied him.
He did not allow his faith to weaken when he saw (considered) how his own body was as good as dead, since he was about a hundred years old, and that Sarah's womb was dead.
This word [from , ] was indeed a word of promise: "At this time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."
[Sarah's faith enabled her to become the mother of Isaac despite her advanced age. Both Abram and Sarai receive new names from God, see , . In both names, the letter h (Hebr. He) is added, which is pronounced as an exhalation. God breathes life into the names Abraham and Sarah. The theme of the passage is Isaac, the son of promise, who is a prototype of Jesus, balanced with the passage about how Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son in faith, see verses 17-19.]
In faith, Sarah, who was barren, also received the power to become a mother [Gk. katabole sperma lambano – literally: "to receive a discarded seed"] to a lineage even though she was past childbearing age. She believed that the one who had made the promise was faithful (Gk. pistos).
as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord []. You have become her children when you do what is good and do not let yourselves be intimidated.
[Sarah could have lived in a house, but chose to follow her husband and live in a tent. Twice she could have become the wife of rich men because of her husband's mistake, see ; .]
