Sara the wife of Abraham Born 1732 a. C. Ur, Chaldea, Mesopotamia
Sara the wife of Abraham Died 1605 a. C. (he was 127 years old) Hebron
Sara began her life in the pagan world of Ur, the land of the Chaldeans in what is now Iraq. She was the half-sister and wife of Abraham, whose name was Abraham. According to Genesis 20:12, Sarah and Abram had the same father but different mothers. At that time, the genetics were purer than today, and the marriage did not harm the descendants of the lineage. Furthermore, since people spent their lives grouped in families, it was a natural way to choose a wife from among their tribes and families.
When Abram first encountered the living God, she believed in Him (Genesis 12:1-
; 15:6) and followed him, obeying his command to leave her country and his relatives to go to a place she had never heard of. unable to see Sara went with him.
Her journey took them to a region called Haran (Genesis 11:31).
Terah, Abram’s father, died in this city, and Abram, Sarah, her nephew Lot, and her company continued their journey, allowing themselves to be guided and led by God. Without a place to live and modern conveniences, the journey must have been very difficult for everyone, especially the women. During their journey, there was a famine in the land, forcing Abram and Sarah to go to Egypt (Genesis 12:10). When they did, Abram was afraid the Egyptians would kill him because Sarah was beautiful and they wanted her as their wife. So he asked Sarah to tell everyone that she was Abram’s sister, which was technically true, but she did it to deceive. Sarah was taken to Pharaoh’s house and Abram was treated very well because of her. But God afflicted Pharaoh’s house and their lies were exposed.
Pharaoh gave Abram back his wife and sent them back (Genesis 12). Sarah and Abram returned to the land now known as Israel. Because they acquired much property and possessions during their travels, Lot and Abram agreed to share so that a large number of cattle would have enough land to graze (Genesis 13:9).
Sara was sterile, a source of both personal pain and cultural shame. Abram was worried that he would not have an heir. But God gave Abram a vision that promised him a son and that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky (Genesis 15). God also promised the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham. The problem was that Sara did not have children.
Ten years after God made her promise to Abram, Sarah, in accordance with cultural norms, suggested that Abram have a son with his servant Hagar. The son born from this union is considered Sara’s son. Abram agreed, and Hagar gave birth to a son, whom she named Ishmael. However, Hagar started to look down on Sara and therefore Sara started to treat Hagar harshly, so Hagar ran away from her. God met Hagar in the desert and urged her to return to Abram and Sarah, which she did (Genesis 16).
Thirteen years after Ishmael’s birth, God confirmed his covenant with Abram, this time giving him the sign of circumcision and a name change. Abram, which means “exalted father,” became Abraham, which means “father of plenty.” God also changed Sarah’s name, which means “my princess,” to Sarah, which means “mother of nations.” God told Abraham that he would give him a son through Sarah. This son Isaac would be the one with whom God would make his covenant. God also blessed Ishmael, but Isaac was the son of promise and through him the nations will be blessed (Genesis 17). Isaac means “he who laughs”. Abraham laughed at having a son at 100 years old with Sarah, who was 90 years old and barren all her life. Sarah also laughed at the possibility (Genesis 18:9-15).