2. Yes, My Lord— The Story of Abraham and Sarah | Bible.org From the series: Living in Love: Secrets from Bible Marriages PREVIOUS PAGE | NEXT PAGE 2. Yes, My Lord— The Story of Abraham and Sarah God said to Eve, “Yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (Gen. 3:16). That was part of the burden which sin brought to the woman, and it is interesting that the next major husband and wife relationship in Scripture illustrates a wife’s submission to her husband’s rule. Sarah is commended twice by New Testament writers, once for her faith (Heb. 11:11) and once for her submission to her husband (1 Pet. 3:5, 6). The Apostle Peter went so far as to say she “obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.” We would not think of asking a wife to call her husband “lord” in our culture, but in that day it was Sarah’s way of expressing her submissiveness. Strangely enough, these two principles, faith and submission, actually go together. Submission for a wife is basically faith that God is working through her husband to accomplish what is best for her.

And that is the story of Sarah’s life with Abraham. Look first at the early seeds of faith. The story began in the city of Ur, a thriving metropolis near the ancient coastline of the Persian Gulf. At least one man was repulsed by the idolatry and sin of Ur, for he had come to know the one true and living God. In fact, God had spoken to him: “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:1-3). Armed with that potent promise, Abraham pulled up stakes, and with his father Terah, his nephew Lot, and his wife Sarah, began the long trek northward around the fertile crescent to the city of Haran.

Moving is no fun, particularly when your moving van is a camel or a donkey, and especially when you don’t even know where you are going! “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Heb. 11:8). That is probably harder on a woman than it is on a man. Sarah is not mentioned in that verse, but her faith is there, every bit as steadfast as Abraham’s. She believed that God would sustain her through the arduous journey and show her husband the place he had chosen for them. Sarah was not a weak, spineless, overly dependent, empty-headed woman. Her parents called her Sarai, and names had meaning in the ancient biblical world. Hers meant “princess.” It may have described her great beauty, which is referred to twice in the inspired record (Gen. 12:11, 14). It probably described, as well, her cultured upbringing, her fine education, her stately charm, and her gracious manner.

When God changed her name to Sarah, he did not remove the princely connotation, but rather added the further dignity of motherhood. She is called in that context “a mother of nations” (Gen. 17:15-16). Sarah was an intelligent and capable woman. But when she married Abraham she made a decision. She established as her mission in life the task of helping her husband fulfill God’s purposes for him. That was not weakness. It was God’s will for her life: true biblical submission. Some wives have been systematically sabotaging God’s plan for their husbands because they have not been willing to believe God and entrust themselves to His wisdom. They simply will not trust God to work through their husbands to accomplish what is best. They feel they must help God along by trying to dominate their husbands. It appears as though Abraham’s father refused to go on when they reached Haran. He was an idol worshiper (Josh. 24:2), and the city of Haran suited him fine for the remainder of his days. He delayed God’s purposes for Abraham, but he could not destroy them.

At Terah’s death, Abraham, then seventy-five years of age, departed from Haran for the land which God had promised him (Gen. 12:4). It was another move to another unknown place, but by his side was Sarah, woman of submission and faith (Gen. 12:5). The days ahead would see her faith severely tested and her submissiveness sorely tried. Let’s explore, secondly, the continuing struggles of faith. Faith grows best under attack. The person who prays for God to take away his problems may be asking for a sickly spiritual life. Sometimes our faith falters under the stress, but if we admit the failure and accept God’s forgiveness, even those failures can contribute to our spiritual growth. Abraham and Sarah are both commended for their great faith in Scripture, but their failures are recorded for our instruction and encouragement. The first attack came shortly after they entered Canaan. There was a famine in the land and Abraham decided to leave the place which God had promised him and flee into Egypt (Gen. 12:10).

Had he consulted Sarah, she might have pointed out the foolishness of his decision, but like many men he moved ahead with his plans without considering the hardships he could cause her. Too many men refuse to ask advice from their wives. They think headship gives them the prerogative of doing whatever they please without talking it over with their wives and coming to a mutually acceptable agreement. They are afraid their wives might find cracks in their logic or expose their narrow-minded selfishness. So they barge ahead with their plans and the whole family suffers for it. As they neared Egypt, Abraham said to his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman; and it will come about when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say that you are my sister so that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may live on account of you” (Gen. 12:11-13). It was a tribute to Sarah’s beauty that at sixty-five years of age she was still so irresistible that Abraham thought the Egyptians might try to kill him for her.

And the beauty was not just in Abraham’s eye. “And it came about when Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. And Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house” (Gen. 12:14, 15). While Abraham thought the Egyptians might murder him to get his wife, he was sure they would treat him as an honored guest if they thought he were her brother. And he turned out to be right. They gave him many animals and servants for her sake (Gen. 12:16). Now technically, Sarah was Abraham’s sister, his half-sister (Gen. 20:12). Such marriages were not unusual in that day. But what they told the Pharaoh was only a half-truth, and half-truths are lies in God’s economy. He cannot honor sin. Why did Sarah go along with his sinful scheme? Is not this a case where obedience to God would supersede obedience to one’s husband? I think it is. A wife has no obligation to obey her husband when obedience compromises the clearly revealed will of God (cf. Acts 5:29).

Sarah could have justly refused. But it does show how deep her faith and submission really were. Sarah believed God’s promise that Abraham would become the father of a great nation. Since there were no children as yet, she was expendable, but Abraham had to live and have children even if it should be by another woman. She may also have believed that God would intervene and deliver her before immorality became necessary. That would be quite probable in view of Pharaoh’s large harem. She may likewise have believed that God would reunite her with her husband and rescue both of them from Pharaoh’s power. And because she believed, she submitted. God could have protected them apart from Abraham’s selfish scheme, but Sarah’s faith in God and submission to her husband are still beautifully illustrated in this Old Testament narrative. The true test of a wife’s submission may come when she knows her husband is making a mistake. It is hard to imagine a man sinking much lower than Abraham did on this occasion. Even the pagan king rebuked him for what he did (Gen. 12:18-20). He failed Sarah sadly, but God was faithful to her. He honored her faith and delivered her. He never forsakes those who trust him.

You would think the lesson of God’s sovereign care would have been so indelibly inscribed on Abraham’s soul after this experience that he would never compromise his wife again to protect himself. But he did. About twenty years later he did exactly the same thing with Abimelech, king of Gerar (Gen. 20:1-8). This shows how weak and faithless the faithful can be. There are probably some sins we think we will never commit again, but we must ever be watchful, for that is exactly where Satan will attack us. The amazing thing is that Sarah submitted again on that later occasion, and that God delivered her again, another evidence of her faith and God’s faithfulness. The next great strain on their faith is revealed in this statement: “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children” (Gen. 16:1). God was soon to change Abram’s name to Abraham, from “exalted father” to “father of a multitude.” How could Abraham be the father of a multitude when he had no son? Now it was Sarah’s turn to devise a clever human scheme. She offered her Egyptian slave girl, Hagar, so that Abraham might have a son by her.

We must admit that her suggestion revealed her belief that God would keep His word and give Abraham a son. It was obviously motivated by her love for Abraham and her desire for him to have that son. And sharing her husband with another woman would have been one of the most sacrificial things she could do. But it was not God’s way. It was another fleshly solution. And God’s ways are always best even when He is withholding what we think we need at the moment. Too often we time-conscious earthlings resent His long delays and take matters into our own hands, usually to our great distress. If we could learn to keep trusting Him when our situation looks the bleakest, we would save ourselves much grief. This impulsive sin had its effect on the relationship between Abraham and Sarah. Hagar got pregnant and eventually became proud and unmanageable. Sarah blamed Abraham for the whole problem when it was actually her own idea. Then she dealt harshly with Hagar, and her unkindness exposed the bitterness and resentment in her soul. Meanwhile, Abraham shirked his duty. He should have said “No” to Sarah’s sinful scheme in the first place.

But now he told her to handle the problem herself, to do whatever she wanted to do, but to stop badgering him about it (Gen. 16:6). It’s hard for a wife to be in subjection to a jellyfish, a man who avoids issues, puts off decisions, and shirks his responsibilities. There is nothing to submit to, no leadership to follow. A wife cannot help her husband fulfill God’s goals for his life when she doesn’t even know what his goals are. Even great men and women of faith have their moments of faithlessness. And no such moment was worse for Abraham and Sarah than when they laughed at God. They both did it. God told Abraham he would bless Sarah and make her a mother of nations. Kings of peoples would come from her. Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said, “Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” (Gen. 17:17).

Abraham tried to get God to accept Ishmael as his heir, but God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him” (Gen. 17:19). Sarah’s turn was next. The Lord appeared to Abraham in the person of a visitor to his tent, and Sarah overheard him say, “I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son” (Gen. 18:10). She was listening at the tent door and laughed to herself, saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” (Gen. 18:12). Incidentally, this was how Peter knew she called him “lord.” The submission was there, but her faith was wavering. The struggles of faith are real and we all experience them. Satan’s darts of doubt seem to be flying in our direction much of the time, and we too may be tempted to snicker skeptically at the very thought of God solving our thorny problems.

But thank God for the final triumph of faith. I believe the turning point in their struggling faith occurred during that last encounter with the Lord. “Why did Sarah laugh?” God asked quickly. “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:13, 14). That poignant challenge pierced their faltering hearts, and faith was rekindled, strong and steadfast. There was that brief setback in Gerar (Gen. 20:1-8). But basically things were different from that moment on. Of Abraham, the Apostle Paul wrote, “And without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform” (Rom. 4:19-21). Of Sarah, the writer to the Hebrews declared, “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised” (Heb.

11:11). Their faith was rewarded; Sarah had a son and they called his name Isaac, which means “laughter.” And Sarah told us why they gave him that name: “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me” (Gen. 21:6). Her laugh of doubt had turned to a laugh of triumphant joy, and we can share her joy with her. There would still be problems for Abraham and Sarah. The life of faith is never free from obstacles. Hagar and Ishmael were still around to poke fun at Isaac. And Sarah got upset about that. When she saw Ishmael mocking her little Isaac she seemed to lose control of herself. She rushed in to Abraham and angrily demanded, “Drive out this maid and her son, for the son of this maid shall not be an heir with my son Isaac” (Gen. 21:10). Could this be the same woman who is extolled in the New Testament for her submissiveness and obedience? Yes, it is. Healthy submission does not prohibit the expression of opinions.

That is a sick submissiveness, usually motivated by a low self-esteem (“my opinions aren’t worth anything”), by a fear of unpleasant circumstances (“I want peace at any price”), or by the avoidance of responsibility (“let somebody else make the decision; I don’t want to get blamed”). Sarah at least said what was on her mind. And furthermore, she was right! Getting upset was not right. But Ishmael was not to be heir with Isaac, and God wanted him to leave the household. God told Abraham to listen to Sarah and to do what she said (Gen. 21:12). Imagine that—even though Sarah got emotional, God wanted Abraham to heed her advice. He often wants to use wives to correct their husbands, to advise them, to mature them, to help them solve their problems and give them insight. That’s what helpers are for. Some husbands make their wives feel like ignoramuses, whose ideas are ridiculous and whose opinions are worthless. The husband who does that is the real ignoramus. He has missed out on God’s best for him.

If a wife tells her husband there is a problem in their marriage, God wants him to listen to her—listen to her evaluation of the situation, listen to the changes she thinks should be made, listen when she tries to share her feelings and her needs—then do something constructive about it. One of the prevalent problems in Christian marriages today is that husbands are too proud to admit that there is anything wrong and too stubborn to do anything about it. God may want to enlighten them through their wives. The bondwoman and her son were finally sent away. Ishmael was now old enough to provide for his mother, and God gave him expertise with the bow (Gen. 21:20). And with that irritant removed, this happy little family threesome enjoyed a time of unhindered faith and fellowship. But the most severe trial to their faith was yet to come. “Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham” (Gen. 22:1). It was to be a very unusual test.

God said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you” (Gen. 22:2). Sarah’s name does not appear in this chapter and we seldom mention her when we discuss it. But she certainly knew what was going on. She probably helped them prepare for the trip. She saw the wood, the fire, and the knife; she saw her son Isaac, and she saw Abraham, a look of agony etched on his weathered brow. But she saw no animal for the sacrifice. Scripture says that Abraham believed that God could even raise Isaac from the dead (Heb. 11:19). Sarah must have believed that too. She watched them disappear over the horizon, and though her motherly heart was breaking, she uttered not one word of protest. It was probably her greatest display of faith in God and submission to her husband’s will and purpose. “For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands.

Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear” (1 Pet. 3:5, 6). A Christian wife need not have any fear of submissiveness when her hope is in God. He will be faithful to His Word and use her obedience to accomplish what is best for her. Sarah was one of those women whom King Lemuel spoke about, who did her husband good and not evil all the days of her life (Prov. 31:12). A woman can only be that kind of wife when she believes that nothing is too difficult for God, and when she believes that God can use even her husband’s mistakes to bring glory to Himself and blessing to their lives. And a man can only be worthy of such a submissive wife when he has learned to follow God’s directions rather than pursue his own selfish goals, He knows he has no superiority to warrant his position of leadership. It is given to him by God. So he accepts it as a sacred trust and discharges it in full submission to his Lord and unselfish consideration for his wife and what is best for her. Let’s talk it over 1.

For husbands: What are your goals in life? Have you communicated these goals to your wife? For wives: In what ways can you help your husband fulfill God’s purposes for his life? 2. Why should a husband seek his wife’s advice in decisions that affect her? 3. In what kinds of situations does a wife usually find it most difficult to be submissive? 4. How does God expect a wife to react when she feels that her husband is out of the will of God? 5. For wives: Are there any areas of your submissiveness that are motivated by a low self-esteem, a fear of unpleasant circumstances, or the avoidance of responsibility? What should be the basis of a healthy submissiveness? 6. How do husbands sometimes use their headship role as a club to get their own way? What can they do to avoid it? 7. Since God places the husband in the headship role, what then are some obligations he has to his wife? 8. For wives: How does God want you to express your opinions and desires to your husband? For husbands: How does God expect you to react when your wife is trying to communicate?

Sarah in the Bible - Wife of Abraham, Mother of Isaac By Jack Zavada Updated October 11, 2016. Sarah (originally named Sarai) was one of several women in the Bible who were unable to have children. That proved doubly distressing for her because God had promised her husband Abraham that he would be the father of the Jewish nation, with descendants more numerous than the stars in the sky. After waiting many years, Sarah convinced Abraham to sleep with her handmaiden, Hagar, to produce an heir. That was an accepted practice in ancient times. The child born of that encounter was named Ishmael . But God had not forgotten his promise. Three heavenly beings , disguised as travelers, appeared to Abraham. God repeated his promise to Abraham that his wife would bear a son. Even though Sarah was very old, she did conceive and deliver a son. They named him Isaac . Isaac would father Esau and Jacob . Jacob would father 12 sons who would become heads of the 12 tribes of Israel . From the tribe of Judah would come David, and finally Jesus of Nazareth , God's promised Savior .

Accomplishments of Sarah in the Bible Sarah's loyalty to Abraham resulted in her sharing in his blessings. She became the mother of the nation of Israel. Although she struggled in her faith, God saw fit to include Sarah as the first woman named in the Hebrews 11 " Faith Hall of Fame ." Sarah's Strengths Sarah was obedient to her husband Abraham. Even when he passed her off as his sister, which landed her in Pharaoh's harem, she did not object. Sarah was protective of Isaac and loved him deeply. Sarah's Weaknesses At times, Sarah doubted God. She had trouble believing God would fulfill his promises, so she plunged ahead with her own solution. Life Lessons Waiting for God to act in our lives may be the hardest task we ever face. It's also true that we can become dissatisfied when God's solution does not match our expectations. Sarah's life teaches us that when we feel doubtful or afraid , we should remember what God said to Abraham, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14, NIV ) Sarah waited 90 years to have a baby. Certainly she had given up hope of ever seeing her dream of motherhood fulfilled.

Sarah was looking at God's promise from her limited, human perspective. But the Lord used her life to unfold an extraordinary plan, proving that he is never limited by what usually happens. Sometimes we feel like God has placed our lives in a permanent holding pattern. Rather than taking matters into our own hands, we can let Sarah's story remind us that a time of waiting may be God's precise plan for us. Hometown Unknown. Her story begins with Abram in Ur of the Chaldeans. References to Sarah in the Bible Genesis chapters 11 through 25; Isaiah 51:2; Romans 4:19, 9:9; Hebrews 11:11; and 1 Peter 3:6. Occupation Genesis 24 NET - The Wife for Isaac - Now Abraham was - Bible Gateway Genesis 24New English Translation (NET Bible) The Wife for Isaac 24 Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years, and the Lord had blessed him in everything.

2 Abraham said to his servant, the senior one in his household who was in charge of everything he had, “Put your hand under my thigh 3 so that I may make you solemnly promise by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living. 4 You must go instead to my country and to my relatives to find a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant asked him, “What if the woman is not willing to come back with me to this land? Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” 6 “Be careful never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him. 7 “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my relatives, promised me with a solemn oath, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ He will send his angel before you so that you may find a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to come back with you, you will be free from this oath of mine.

But you must not take my son back there!” 9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and gave his solemn promise he would carry out his wishes. 10 Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed with all kinds of gifts from his master at his disposal. He journeyed to the region of Aram Naharaim and the city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city. It was evening, the time when the women would go out to draw water. 12 He prayed, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, guide me today. Be faithful to my master Abraham. 13 Here I am, standing by the spring, and the daughters of the people who live in the town are coming out to draw water. 14 I will say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jar so I may drink.’ May the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac reply, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ In this way I will know that you have been faithful to my master.” 15 Before he had finished praying, there came Rebekah with her water jug on her shoulder.

She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah (Milcah was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor). 16 Now the young woman was very beautiful. She was a virgin; no man had ever had sexual relations with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jug, and came back up. 17 Abraham’s servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and quickly lowering her jug to her hands, she gave him a drink. 19 When she had done so, she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have drunk as much as they want.” 20 She quickly emptied her jug into the watering trough and ran back to the well to draw more water until she had drawn enough for all his camels. 21 Silently the man watched her with interest to determine if the Lord had made his journey successful or not. 22 After the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels and gave them to her. 23 “Whose daughter are you?” he asked.

“Tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom Milcah bore to Nahor. 25 We have plenty of straw and feed,” she added, “and room for you to spend the night.” 26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord, 27 saying “Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love for my master! The Lord has led me to the house of my master’s relatives!” 28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about these things. 29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.) Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring. 30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring and heard his sister Rebekah say, “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing by the camels near the spring. 31 Laban said to him, “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord!

Why are you standing out here when I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?” 32 So Abraham’s servant went to the house and unloaded the camels. Straw and feed were given to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet. 33 When food was served, he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.” “Tell us,” Laban said. 34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him when she was old, and my master has given him everything he owns. 37 My master made me swear an oath.

He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find a wife for my son.’ 39 But I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not want to go with me?’ 40 He answered, ‘The Lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you. He will make your journey a success and you will find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my father’s family. 41 You will be free from your oath if you go to my relatives and they will not give her to you. Then you will be free from your oath.’ 42 When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, if you have decided to make my journey successful, may events unfold as follows: 43 Here I am, standing by the spring.

When the young woman goes out to draw water, I’ll say, “Give me a little water to drink from your jug.” 44 Then she will reply to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too.” May that woman be the one whom the Lord has chosen for my master’s son.’ 45 “Before I finished praying in my heart, along came Rebekah with her water jug on her shoulder! She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ 46 She quickly lowered her jug from her shoulder and said, ‘Drink, and I’ll give your camels water too.’ So I drank, and she also gave the camels water. 47 Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She replied, ‘The daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to Nahor.’ I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. 48 Then I bowed down and worshiped the Lord. I praised the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me on the right path to find the granddaughter of my master’s brother for his son.

49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.” 50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing. Our wishes are of no concern. 51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.” 52 When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed down to the ground before the Lord. 53 Then he brought out gold, silver jewelry, and clothing and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave valuable gifts to her brother and to her mother. 54 After this, he and the men who were with him ate a meal and stayed there overnight. When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me leave now so I can return to my master.” 55 But Rebekah’s brother and her mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us a few more days, perhaps ten. Then she can go.” 56 But he said to them, “Don’t detain me—the Lord has granted me success on my journey.

Let me leave now so I may return to my master.” 57 Then they said, “We’ll call the girl and find out what she wants to do.” 58 So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Do you want to go with this man?” She replied, “I want to go.” 59 So they sent their sister Rebekah on her way, accompanied by her female attendant, with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 They blessed Rebekah with these words: “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands! May your descendants possess the strongholds of their enemies.” 61 Then Rebekah and her female servants mounted the camels and rode away with the man. So Abraham’s servant took Rebekah and left. 62 Now Isaac came from Beer Lahai Roi, for he was living in the Negev. 63 He went out to relax in the field in the early evening. Then he looked up and saw that there were camels approaching. 64 Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac.

She got down from her camel 65 and asked Abraham’s servant, “Who is that man walking in the field toward us?” “That is my master,” the servant replied. So she took her veil and covered herself. 66 The servant told Isaac everything that had happened. 67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her as his wife and loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death. The Bible Stories: Abraham - DVD The Bible Stories: Abraham - DVD The Bible Stories: Abraham - DVD Tweet The Bible Stories: Abraham follows the life and times of one of the most recognizable figures in Judeo-Christian religions. Abraham is a shepherd who heeds a divine command to take his wife, Sarah, and leave their home for a new land where Abraham will become ‘Father of Na... Read More Reviews The Bible Stories: Abraham follows the life and times of one of the most recognizable figures in Judeo-Christian religions. Abraham is a shepherd who heeds a divine command to take his wife, Sarah, and leave their home for a new land where Abraham will become ‘Father of Nations.’ Abraham and Sarah face many trials during their journey, but none so painful as their inability to conceive a child.

When at last Sarah gives birth to their son, Isaac, both Abraham and Sarah are filled with love towards their child. But God still had the ultimate test of faith in store for Abraham when he commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Through his genuine belief and obedience to God, Abraham is rewarded and his child is saved. Starring: Richard Harris, Barbara Hershey, Maximilian Schell and Vittorio Gassman Product Details: Release Date: Mar 8, 2016 UPC: 826663165067 You're reviewing: The Bible Stories: Abraham - DVD *How do you rate this product?

Sarah, Sarai, Sara - All the Women of the Bible - Bible Gateway Sarah, Sarai, Sara The Woman Who Became Mother of Nations Scripture References— Genesis 11:29-31; 12:5-17; 16:1-8; 17:15-21; 18; 20:2-18; 21:1-12; 23:1-19; 24:36, 37; 25:10, 12; 49:31; Isaiah 51:2; Romans 4:19; 9:9; Hebrews 11:11; 1 Peter 3:6 Name Meaning—Among the classified names of the Bible are those known as sacramental names, and are so-called because they were names given by God Himself, or under His inspiration in association with a particular promise, covenant or declaration of His, as to the character, destiny or mission of those distinctly named. Thus a sacramental name became a sign and seal of an established covenant between God and the recipient of such a name.

Two Bible characters bearing sacramental names are Abraham and Sarah, both of which signify the gracious purposes and promises of God. The wife of the patriarch was originally known as Sarai, meaning “princely” or “a princess.” Elsdon C. Smith suggests it may signify “contentious” or “quarrelsome,” but was changed, not accidentally, or by the whim of the bearer, but by God Himself that it might be a sign of His purpose, into Sarah, implying the princess, a princess or princesses, the source of nations and kings. Sarah or “chieftainness,” the feminine of Sar, meaning a “captain” or “commander” is repeatedly used in this sense as a common noun as, for instance, by Isaiah who renders it “queen” ( Isaiah 49:23 ). It has been observed that among ancient Jews there was a sort of a cabalistic translation that “the Hebrew letter yod signifies the creative power of God in nature, while the letter hay symbolizes the state of grace—that state into which Sarah had entered after receiving the covenanted promises.” The promise of ancestorship of many nations came with the change of the name of Sarai to Sarah.

“I will bless her and she shall become nations.” She was thus associated with her husband in the great blessing of the covenant whose name was also changed from Abram to Abraham. The former, original name means a “high, or honored father,” the latter, “a father of many nations.” The Apocrypha speaks of Abraham as “a great father of a multitude of nations” ( Ecclesiasticus 44:19-21 ). The root idea of Sarah means “to rule,” and fits the personality of the bearer. It was a name intended as a seal of the promise given to Abraham, “kings of peoples shall be of her.” Paul has an allegorical reference to Sarah as one who typified the gospel dispensation, “Jerusalem which is above ... which is the mother of us all” ( Galatians 4:26 ).

Thus, Sarah was to be the princess, not only “because she was to be the ancestress of a great nation literally, of many nations spiritually, but also because the rank and power were to be possessed by her descendants, or rather because the people descended from her were to be ruled over by a regal dynasty, by a succession of kings of their own race and lineage, is derived from her.” In the genealogy of the descendants of Esau, Sarah’s grandson we read, “These are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before there reigned any king over the children of Israel.” The line of kings descended from Sarah terminated in God’s Anointed One, the Messiah, whose “kingdom is not of this world.” The sacramental name of Sarah, therefore, also symbolizes the spiritual seed, the whole multitude of believers of all nations who are “kings and priests unto God.” Then the personal application of the changed name must not be forgotten.

Called Sarah by God and the Angels ( Genesis 17:15; 18:9 ), she exhibited the traits of a princess, “wielding a sceptre by the magic of which she could lord it over men’s hearts after her own will, even bring kings to her feet. If she came into the world with a will of her own as her dowry, nature further assisted her in developing it by the great beauty of her face and the grace of her stature. By these gifts she made her wish a command and disarmed opposition.” Both in bearing and character she illustrated the significance of her name. Through the long, long years of the quiet and stedfast devotion of Abraham to Sarah, peace reigned in the matrimonial tent more because of Abraham’s gentleness, kindness and forbearance, even though he lived so long with the more expressive and possessive ways of Sarah. Twice over in the kjv of the New Testament she is referred to as Sara, but the asv uniformly gives us Sarah ( Hebrews 11:11; 1 Peter 3:6 ).

Family Connections—Sarah came from Ur of the Chaldees, Babylonia, and her former name Sarai, “princely,” identifies her as coming from an honored family. She was the daughter of Terah and was therefore half-sister to Abram, her senior by ten years ( Genesis 17:17 ), whom she married in the Ur of the Chaldees. While Abram and Sarai had the same father, they had different mothers ( Genesis 20:12 ). Marriages between near relatives were countenanced in those days and were sometimes common for religious reasons ( Genesis 24:3, 4; 28:1, 2 ), but not marriages between those actually by the same mother. Sarai was well past middle life and childless when with Abram she left her own country and with him went out “not knowing whither they went” ( Genesis 11:29, 30 ).

There are various ways of looking at this remarkable woman who through a long span of life was the faithful wife of a prophet known as “The Friend of God.” Her Uniqueness Strange though it may sound and seem, the first Jew was a Gentile, for Abraham who came from beyond the Euphrates was the first man to be called a Hebrew, “Abram the Hebrew” ( Genesis 14:13 ). The word Hebrew itself means, “the immigrant,” and was no doubt the usual designation among the Canaanites. As his wife, Sarah was the first Hebrewess—the joint fountainhead of the great Jewish race ( Genesis 11:29-31; Isaiah 51:2 ). Abraham has been fitly called, “The fountainhead of the Hebrew hero life,” and Sarah is the heroine of such life. She remains the first unquestionably historical woman of the Hebrews, and their first mother. She is, therefore, one of the most important female figures in the world’s history, as the natural source of the Jewish people, through whom the nations of the earth were to be blessed.

Only two women are named in the illustrious roll of those conspicuous for their faith: Sarah is the first, and Rahab the second ( Hebrews 11:11, 31 ), both of whom lived by faith and died in faith ( Hebrews 11:13 ). Sarah or Sara have always been popular female names both among Jews and Gentiles. Her Beauty The testimony of the Bible is that Sarah was unusually beautiful ( Genesis 12:11, 14 ). The lines of Keats were true of her— A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness; but still will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams ... Hebrew folklore has kept alive stories of her remarkable beauty and ranks her next to the most perfect woman the world has known, Eve, “the mother of all living.” Sarah seems to have had beauty that grew more attractive with the passing years. “Of the things that are unfavourable to the preservation of beauty, the Orientals count travel as one that is most baneful, even fatal to it,” says Gustav Gottheil.

“Yet when Sarah arrived, after a long journey through dusty deserts and under a scorching sun, at the frontiers of Egypt, she was more beautiful than ever, and this explains the curious speech of Abraham to his wife at that juncture: ‘Now I know that thou art a woman beautiful to look at.’ Did he not know that before? Not so convincingly, explains the rabbi, as after he had seen that even travel had left no touch on her countenance.” Isaiah says that, “Beauty is a fading flower” ( Isaiah 28:1 ), and a song of old has the stanza— Beauty is but skin deep, And ugly to the bone. Beauty soon fades away, But ugly holds its own. But with Sarah it was different, for even when she was 90 years of age she was so lovely that Abraham feared that kings would fall in love with her bewitching beauty—which Pharaoh and Abimelech did, as our next glimpse of her proves. As one of the most beautful women who ever lived we can imagine that wherever she journeyed the admiring eyes of all were cast upon her. “Grave is all beauty,” and Sarah’s renowned loveliness certainly brought its trouble.

Her Peril When famine drove Abraham and Sarah into the land of Egypt, and they felt that hostile kings might take them prisoners, Abraham came up with the abject, base proposal that if taken prisoners then his wife should represent herself as his sister. Fear of death unmanned him and led him to risk the dishonor of his wife and thereby save his own neck. She dearly loved her husband, and his life was too precious to her to make her think of the shame she might incur. Sarah was utterly wrong in yielding to her husband’s plot. How nobler she would have been had she stoutly refused Abraham saying, “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” But she called her husband “lord,” and evidently he was lord of her conscience. Abraham felt that if oriental despots knew that Sarah and he were married they would slay him and add the lovely woman to their harem. Married to a conspicuous beauty caused Abraham to be afraid, and he resorted to a falsehood to save his life. If taken, Sarah was not to say that she was his wife but his sister. This pretense was not an outright lie, but a half-truth, seeing that she was his half-sister.

They were children of the same father, but not the same mother. It seems hard to believe that such a good man could deliver his lovely wife over to a heathen monarch, but he did, and Sarah entered Pharaoh’s harem. But God protected her by sending plagues upon the monarch. Pharaoh sent her back to her own husband, untouched. The same unworthy plan was carried out when Abimelech, king of the Philistines, admiring her bewitching beauty had her taken to his harem. But again God interfered and commanded the king to restore Sarah to Abraham, seeing she was his wife. Threatened with violent death, Abimelech obeyed, but severely rebuked Abraham for his deceit ( Genesis 12:10-20; 20 ). Years later Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah, used this same form of deception ( Genesis 26:6-13 , see href="/id/42314245-4242-3341-2D30-3838372D3345">Rebekah ).

God expressed His displeasure with Abraham and his wife because of their ill-conceived plot. As the Righteous One, He could not condone such trickery. Had He not called them out from their country for a specific mission? And was He not able to protect and preserve them from harm and danger in a strange land? Was not the halflie told on two occasions an indication of the lack of faith in God’s overshadowing care and power to fulfill His promise? Abraham’s lofty soul suffered an eclipse of the virtue of faith for which he was renowned when he adopted such a plan of deception, exposing his wife to great peril, and also thwarting of the divine plan for and through Sarah. (Compare Hagar.) Abraham’s deception was followed by an attempt to ease an offense, and the patriarch was more blameworthy than Sarah who should have resisted the dangerous plan of exposing herself for the sexual gratification of other men. A lie that is half a truth Is ever the worst of lies. A half-truth is always a lie. While it was true that Sarah was Abraham’s sister, the assertion was in reality a falsehood.

After the severe rebuke from Pharaoh for their deception, they should have learned their lesson, but to commit the same sin again a few years later, and further imperil God’s plan to make of them a great nation, leaves Abraham and Sarah without excuse. How slow we are to learn from our past failures? Her Sorrow The one great grief of Abraham and Sarah was that through their long life together they had no children. To a Hebrew woman, barrenness was looked upon as a gnawing grief, and sometimes regarded as a sign of divine disfavor. Childless, even when back in Babylonia ( Genesis 11:30; 16:1-8 ), Sarah remained so until at 90 years of age God miraculously fulfilled His promise and made her the mother of the son of promise. Through the long years, “side by side with the prosperity, beat for beat with the pulse of Abraham’s joy, there throbs in Sarah’s heart a pulse of pain ...

There is as yet no heir.” The constant grief of barrenness caused Sarah to become “The Woman Who Made a Great Mistake.” In spite of the fact that, along with her husband, she had received the divine promise, that from her nations would spring, the possibility of ever becoming a mother died in her heart. Such a cross as barrenness inflamed and intensified her pride, and forced her to find a way out of this embarrassment to her husband. “Sarah sacrificed herself on the cruelest altar on which any woman ever laid herself down; but the cords of the sacrifice were all the time the cords of a suicidal pride: till the sacrifice was both a great sin in the sight of God, a fatal injury to herself, to her husband, and to innocent generations yet unborn.” Sarah revealed the sad defect of her qualities when she said to Abraham, “Take Hagar my maid, and let not the promises of God fail through me. Through her I can continue your hereditary line.” But all poor Hagar could do was to produce an Ishmael. It was only through Sarah that the promised seed could come.

Although it might have been a custom of the time for a man with a barren wife to take a concubine in order that he might have an heir, Abraham, as a God-fearing man, should have stoutly refused to go along with the unworthy scheme, which in the end produced jealousy and tragedy. “Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai,” but the voice was the fatal siren of Satan who sought to destroy the royal, promised seed ( Genesis 3:15 ). As one modern writer expresses it— Little did Sarai think when she persuaded Abram to take Hagar, that she was originating a rivalry which has run in the keenest animosity through the ages, and which oceans of blood have not quenched. In our cameo of Hagar (which see) we sought to show all that followed the blunder of Sarah, when she intervened in God’s plan and chose her way to continue her husband’s posterity. Her Joy In His forgiving love and mercy God appeared to Abram when he was 99 years old, and assured him that his long barren wife, although now 90 years old, would conceive.

To confirm His promise God changed the name of Abram to Abraham, and of Sarai to Sarah ( Genesis 17; 18 ). At such a revelation of God’s purpose, “Abraham fell upon his face and laughed.” Although he marveled at the performance of the naturally impossible, Abraham yet believed, and his laughter was the joy of a man of faith. Laughter is sometimes mad ( Ecclesiastes 2:2 ) but that of Abraham was highly rational. He rejoiced in the thought that Isaac should be born, and perhaps at that time he had a vision of the Messiah. Jesus said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day” ( John 8:56 ). As for Sarah, what was her reaction when she overheard the Lord say to her husband, “Sarah thy wife shall have a son”? The record says, “Sarah laughed within herself,” but hers was the laugh of doubt. Yet when her son was born he was named Isaac, which means “laughter”—a memorial of her sin ( Genesis 18:13 ), and of her husband’s joy ( 17:17 ).

Sarah’s joy knew no bounds, “God hath made me to laugh” ( 21:6; 24:36 ). She had laughter before, but God was not the author of her laugh of doubt. The joy of Sarah in the birth of Isaac reminds us of “the great joy” proclaimed by the angels who made known to the shepherds the birth of Christ who came of the line of Isaac ( Luke 2:10; Romans 4:18-21 ). Paul reminds us that it was by faith that Sarah conceived beyond nature ( Hebrews 11:11 ). It was not only in itself a miracle wrought by faith, but also in earnest of something far greater, even the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Her Longevity Sarah is the only woman whose specific age is stated in Scripture. A girl’s approximate age is given us in the gospels. The only daughter of Jairus whom Jesus raised from the dead was “about 12 years of age” ( Luke 8:42 ). Sarah called herself old when she was 87 ( Genesis 18:12 ), but she was 127 years of age when she died.

Abraham had reached the patriarchal age of 175 when God called him home. Godliness has always been favorable to longevity. The “good old age” ( Genesis 15:15 ) was a signal proof of the faithfulness of the Lord. When the Countess of Huntingdon came to die she said, “My work is done, and I have nothing to do but to go to my Father.” Surely the same contentment was experienced both by Sarah and Abraham who were not satiated with life, but satisfied with it. Abraham lived for another 38 years after Sarah’s death before his God-given task was completed. The day came, then, for Sarah to leave the world in which she had sojourned so long, and hers is the first grave to be mentioned in Scripture. Although Abraham and Sarah were nomads living in their tent in a desert land, the aged patriarch wanted a more permanent resting place for his beloved wife than the shifting sand of the desert. Here vultures and beasts of prey would wait to gorge themselves off the dead, leaving behind nothing but white bones.

Breaking with the ancient custom of the desert burial, Abraham purchased a cave at Machpelah as a sepulcher for his dear Sarah, and when Abraham himself came to die his sons “buried him beside Sarah.” Thus, in death, symbolically, they were unseparated as they had been through their long and eventful life together. When Cornelia, the mother of Caius and Tiberius Gracchus, whom she called her “jewels” died, on her monument was inscribed, “Cornelia, the mother of Gracchi.” Had a monument been erected for the noble woman we have been considering, the simple inscription in enduring marble would have been sufficient— Here lies Abraham - Father Of The Jewish Nation Abraham - Father of the Jewish Nation Abraham - Father of the Jewish Nation Profile of Abraham, Great Patriarch of the Jewish Nation After Sarah gave birth to Isaac, Abraham banished Hagar and her son Ishmael into the wilderness. Photo: Getty Images By Mary Fairchild Updated July 20, 2016. Abraham, the founding father of the Jewish nation of Israel, was a man of great faith and obedience to the will of God.

His name in Hebrew means " father of a multitude." Originally called Abram, or "exalted father," the Lord changed his name to Abraham as a symbol of the covenant promise to multiply his descendants into a great nation that God would call his own. Prior to this, God had already visited Abraham when he was 75, promising to bless him and make his offspring into an abundant nation of people. All Abraham had to do was obey God and do what God told him to do. God's Covenant with Abraham This marked the beginning of the covenant God established with Abraham. It was also Abraham's first test from God, since he and his wife Sarai (later changed to Sarah) were still without children. Abraham demonstrated remarkable faith and trust, immediately leaving his home and his clan the moment God called him to the unknown territory of Canaan. Accompanied by his wife and nephew Lot , Abraham prospered as a rancher and shepherd, as he made his new home surrounded by pagans in the Promised Land of Canaan. Still childless, however, Abraham's faith wavered in subsequent times of testing. When famine struck, rather than waiting on God for provision, he packed up and took his family to Egypt.

Once there, and fearing for his life, he lied about his beautiful wife's identity, claiming she was his unmarried sister. Pharaoh, finding Sarah desirable, took her from Abraham in exchange for generous gifts, to which Abraham raised no objections. You see, as a brother, Abraham would be honored by Pharaoh, but as a husband, his life would have been in danger. Once again, Abraham lost faith in God's protection and provision. Abraham's foolish deception backfired, and God kept his covenant promise intact. The Lord inflicted disease on Pharaoh and his family, revealing to him that Sarah must be returned to Abraham untouched. More years passed during which Abraham and Sarah questioned God's promise. At one point, they decided to take matters into their own hands. At Sarah's encouragement, Abraham slept with Hagar, his wife's Egyptian maidservant. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael , but he was not the promised son. God returned to Abraham when he was 99 to remind him of the promise and reinforce his covenant with Abraham. A year later, Isaac was born. God brought more tests to Abraham, including a second incident when Abraham lied about Sarah's identity, this time to King Abimelech.

But Abraham underwent the biggest testing of his faith when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac , the promised heir, in Genesis 22: "Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you." This time Abraham obeyed, fully prepared to slay his son, while fully trusting God to either resurrect Isaac from the dead ( Hebrews 11:17-19 ), or provide a substitutionary sacrifice. At the last minute, God intervened and provided the necessary ram. The death of Isaac would have contradicted every promise God had made to Abraham, so his willingness to perform the ultimate sacrifice of killing his son is probably the most strikingly dramatic example of faith and trust in God found in the entire Bible. Abraham's Accomplishments: Abraham is the great patriarch of Israel, and to New Testament believers, "He is the father of us all (Romans 4:16)." The faith of Abraham pleased God . God visited Abraham on several unique occasions. The Lord spoke to him numerous times, once in a vision and once in the form of three visitors.

Scholars believe that the mysterious "King of Peace" or "King of Righteousness," Melchizedek , who blessed Abram and to whom Abram gave a tithe , may have been a theophany of Christ (a manifestation of deity). Abraham carried out a brave rescue of Lot when his nephew was taken captive after the Battle of the Valley of Siddim. Abraham's Strengths: God tested Abraham severely in more than one instance, and Abraham demonstrated extraordinary faith, trust and obedience to the will of God. He was well-respected and successful in his occupation. He also had courage to face a powerful enemy coalition. Abraham's Weaknesses: Impatience, fear, and a tendency to lie under pressure were a few of Abraham's weaknesses revealed in the biblical account of his life. Life Lessons: One crucial lesson we learn from Abraham is that God can and will use us in spite of our weaknesses. God will even stand by us and rescue us from our foolish mistakes. The Lord is greatly pleased by our faith and willingness to obey him. Like most of us, Abraham came to the full realization of God's purpose and promise only over a long period of time and a process of revelation.

Thus, we learn from him that God's calling will usually come to us in stages. Hometown: Abraham was born in the city of Ur of the Chaldeans (present day Iraq). He traveled 500 miles to Haran (now southeast Turkey) with his family and stayed there until his father's death. When God called Abraham, he moved 400 miles south to the land of Canaan and lived there most of the rest of his days. Referenced in the Bible: Genesis 11-25; Exodus 2:24; Acts 7:2-8; Romans 4; Galatians 3; Hebrews 2, 6, 7, 11. Occupation: As head of a semi-nomadic clan of herdsmen, Abraham became a successful and prosperous rancher and shepherd, raising livestock and farming the land. Family Tree: Father: Terah (A direct descendant of Noah through his son Shem .) Brothers: Nahor and Haran Key Verses: Genesis 15:6 And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.

(NLT) Hebrews 11:8-12 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God. It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them. (NLT) Sarah | Jewish Virtual Library Tweet The biblical matriarch Sarah was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac . Information about Sarah comes from Genesis chapters 11-23. Abraham and Sarah lived and were married in Haran.

When Abraham was 75 years old, God commanded him to leave his home, and Sarah followed her husband to Canaan. The first incident where Sarah figures prominently in the bible occurred when she was 65 years old and journeyed to Egypt with Abraham during a famine in Canaan. Despite her age, Sarah was beautiful, and Abraham was scared that if Pharoah knew she was his wife, Pharoah would kill him and take her. He therefore pretended Sarah was his sister, and Pharoah did take her, giving Abraham many material possessions in exchange. God then sent plagues to punish the house of Pharoah until Pharoah released her and sent Abraham on his way. A similar incident transpired later in the bible with King Abimelech of Gerar. He also took Sarah, thinking she was Abrahams sister. God told him the truth in a dream and Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham, along with a present of animals, slaves, gold and silver. The first piece of information the bible gives about Sarah is that she was barren. This was significant since God promised Abraham earlier that his children would become a great nation.

After ten years of living in Canaan, when Sarah still had not conceived, she gave Abraham her maid, Hagar, as a concubine. Once Hagar conceived, Hagar lowered her opinion of Sarah, and Sarah began to treat her harshly. Hagar ran away and returned only after God spoke to her, blessed her and ordered her to go back to Sarah. When Abraham was 86 years old, Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. Until this point, Sarahs name was actually Sarai. When Abraham was 99 years old, God spoke to him and blessed him with children and land. He changed his name from Abram to Abraham and his wifes name from Sarai to Sarah. God also promised Abraham that Sarah would have a child, and that God would maintain his covenant with this child, Isaac. Three days later, three men approached Abrahams tent. He invited them in and Sarah went to prepare food for them. She was listening from the opening of the tent, however, when one of the "men," who were really messengers from God, predicted that she would have a child. She laughed; after all, she was 90 years old and Abraham nearly 100!

Yet God predicted that in one year, she would give birth. One year later, when Abraham was 100, Sarahs son, Isaac, was born. Once Isaac and Ishmael began to grow up, Sarah asked Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away and not to allow Ishmael to share an inheritance with Isaac. Biblical commentators disagree as to the reason why she did not want Ishmael in her house. Some say Ishmael was worshipping other gods, others say he was teasing Isaac or bragging that, as firstborn, he would receive a double portion of the inheritance. God told Abraham to listen to Sarah and the next morning, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away. Sarah died in Kiryat Arba (what is now Hebron ) at the age of 127. Abraham bought the Cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite and buried Sarah there. Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica . "Sarah". Volume 10, 15th Edition, 1997; Encyclopedia Judaica . "Sarah." 1978 Edition; Scriptures: Genesis . The Jewish Publication Societys translation, New York: 1985.

Abraham -- Polygamists in the Bible - Biblical Polygamy . com </script> Faithful friend of God and father of the Hebrew nation "Father of the faithful" 3 Wives - Sarah, Hagar and Keturah "Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar." Genesis 16:1 "And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife." Genesis 16:3 "Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah." Genesis 25:1 KETURAH KETURAH, THE THIRD WIFE OF ABRAHAM Much has been made about young women marrying old men for their money, fame, and fortune. Abraham had all these when he remarried after the death of his wife Sarah. ï¿½And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.ï¿½ (Gen.

24:1) The widower Abraham was over 137 years old when he married a very young woman of child-bearing age named Keturah. ï¿½Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummin. And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.ï¿½ (Gen. 25:4-5) Keturah bore Abraham six sons and took care of him until he died at the ripe old age of 175. (Gen.

25:7-8) Itï¿½s interesting that many Bible scholars overlook the fact that Shem, Noahï¿½s youngest son on the Ark was the founder of Abrahamï¿½s Shemitic heritage, and he was still alive at the time of Abrahamï¿½s death. Father Shem outlived ï¿½father Abrahamï¿½ by 35 years, according to Genesis 11:10-26, and he died at the ripe old age of 600 years. The origin of Abrahamï¿½s third wife, Keturah, is not disclosed in the biblical record although many other sources allege she was a Canaanite. However, much evidence in Scripture leads us to believe Keturah was indeed a descendent of Ham through one of his sons other than Canaan. For it is highly unlikely that Abraham would himself marry a Canaanite, because in choosing a wife for his favorite son Isaac, he gave strict instructions that his son was not to wed any of the ï¿½daughters of the Canaanites.ï¿½ (Gen.

24:3) Abraham instilled this in Isaac, and when Isaac and his wife Rebecca were considering bridal prospects for their twins, they agreed that ï¿½the daughters of Heth,ï¿½ Canaanite women, were not to be considered. (Gen. 27:46) Jacob honored his parentsï¿½ wishes to marry within his Shemitic lineage, but did not promote these marital values to his twelve sons. However, his twin brother, Esau, married Canaanite women to spite his parents, Isaac and Rebecca. (Gen. 26:34, 34:1-9) Nevertheless, one must remember that Abraham did not mind mixing his seed with a descendent of Hamï¿½s race named ï¿½Hagar the Egyptian,ï¿½ from the land of Ham. (Gen. 21:9, 16:1) KETURAHï¿½S LINEAGE ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE In order to deduce Keturahï¿½s lineage, we must recall that Abraham mixed his Shemitic blood with Hagarï¿½s Hamitic blood to produce Ishmael, the first Arabian.

After Abraham married Keturah, he then fathered six Arabian sons by her. (Gen. 25:1-3) Through logical deduction, we can see the recipe to produce the first Arabian: Abraham mingling his Shemitic seed with a Hamitic woman, Hagar. It follows that since all of Keturahï¿½s children by Abraham were also Arabs, then she, like Hagar had to be a descendant of Hamï¿½s bloodline and thus of Negroid descent. Although both women were descendants of Ham, neither Keturah nor Hagar were Canaanites. Though their sons were the foundation of todayï¿½s Arab nations, the Arabians swear allegiance to Abraham, and give no thought to their founding black mothers, Hagar or Keturah. In modern slang the Shemitic lineage is all about, ï¿½Whoï¿½s ya daddy?ï¿½ This is tremendously good information but nothing in comparison to the whole story that can be yours. Order Blacks in the Bible today with the $10.00 off coupon at WWW.BLACKSINTHEBIBLE.NET

Question: In the Bible, who was the wife of Abraham?
Answer: Sarah