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Sarah.
Sarah (originally Sarai) is Abraham's wife and the mother of Isaac, through whom God's covenant continues. She is the first of the great barren matriarchs whose unexpected children carry the promise. Her laughter at the angel's announcement that she would conceive in old age (Genesis 18:12) gives Isaac his name ("he laughs"). She lived to 127 and was buried in the cave of Machpelah, the only piece of land Abraham ever owned in Canaan.
Timeline
- Left Ur with Abraham (Genesis 12)
- Twice passed off as Abraham's sister to foreign kings (Genesis 12, 20)
- Gave Hagar to Abraham (Genesis 16)
- Visited by the three at Mamre and promised a son (Genesis 18)
- Birth of Isaac at age 90 (Genesis 21)
Key verses
Why Sarah matters
Sarah is the matriarch through whom the covenant line continues. Hebrews 11 includes her in the hall of faith for trusting God's promise against impossible odds. 1 Peter 3 holds her up as an example to wives. Paul in Galatians 4 reads Sarah and Hagar allegorically — Sarah the free woman whose son was born by promise, Hagar the slave whose son was born by ordinary means — as a figure of the gospel versus the law.
Related tools
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