Genesis 23:1

The Death of Sarah

23:1 Sarah lived 127 years. ¹ 

Genesis 20:2

20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

Genesis 18:9

18:9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, ²  in the tent.”

Genesis 18:12

18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, ³  “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, ⁴  especially when my husband is old too?” ⁵ 

Genesis 18:15

18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” ⁶ 

Genesis 21:1-3

The Birth of Isaac

21:1 The Lord visited ⁷  Sarah just as he had said he would and did ⁸  for Sarah what he had promised. ⁹  21:2 So Sarah became pregnant ¹⁰  and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the appointed time that God had told him. 21:3 Abraham named his son – whom Sarah bore to him – Isaac. ¹¹ 

Genesis 21:6-7

21:6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. ¹²  Everyone who hears about this ¹³  will laugh ¹⁴  with me.” 21:7 She went on to say, ¹⁵  “Who would ¹⁶  have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given birth to a son for him in his old age!”

Genesis 21:9

21:9 But Sarah noticed ¹⁷  the son of Hagar the Egyptian – the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham – mocking. ¹⁸ 

Genesis 25:12

The Sons of Ishmael

25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, ¹⁹  whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.

[23:1]  ¹ tn Heb “And the years of Sarah were one hundred years and twenty years and seven years, the years of the life of Sarah.”

[18:9]  ² tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) often accompanies a gesture of pointing or a focused gaze.

[18:12]  ³ tn Heb “saying.”

[18:12]  ⁴ tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.

[18:12]  ⁵ tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[18:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:1]  ⁵ sn The Hebrew verb translated “visit” (פָּקַד, paqad ) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God’s special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people’s destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One’s destiny is changed when the Lord “visits.” For a more detailed study of the term, see G. André, Determining the Destiny (ConBOT).

[21:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “and the Lord did.” The divine name has not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[21:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “spoken.”

[21:2]  ⁶ tn Or “she conceived.”

[21:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “the one born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.” The two modifying clauses, the first introduced with an article and the second with the relative pronoun, are placed in the middle of the sentence, before the name Isaac is stated. They are meant to underscore that this was indeed an actual birth to Abraham and Sarah in fulfillment of the promise.

[21:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “Laughter God has made for me.”

[21:6]  ⁹ tn The words “about this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[21:6]  ¹⁰ sn Sarah’s words play on the name “Isaac” in a final triumphant manner. God prepared “laughter” (צְחֹק, ysÿkhoq ) for her, and everyone who hears about this “will laugh” (יִצְחַק, yitskhaq ) with her. The laughter now signals great joy and fulfillment, not unbelief (cf. Gen 18:12-15).

[21:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “said.”

[21:7]  ¹⁰ tn The perfect form of the verb is used here to describe a hypothetical situation.

[21:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “saw.”

[21:9]  ¹¹ tn The Piel participle used here is from the same root as the name “Isaac.” In the Piel stem the verb means “to jest; to make sport of; to play with,” not simply “to laugh,” which is the meaning of the verb in the Qal stem. What exactly Ishmael was doing is not clear. Interpreters have generally concluded that the boy was either (1) mocking Isaac (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT) or (2) merely playing with Isaac as if on equal footing (cf. NAB, NRSV). In either case Sarah saw it as a threat. The same participial form was used in Gen 19:14 to describe how some in Lot’s family viewed his attempt to warn them of impending doom. It also appears later in Gen 39:14, 17, where Potiphar accuses Joseph of mocking them.

[25:12]  ¹¹ sn This is the account of Ishmael. The Book of Genesis tends to tidy up the family records at every turning point. Here, before proceeding with the story of Isaac’s family, the narrative traces Ishmael’s family line. Later, before discussing Jacob’s family, the narrative traces Esau’s family line (see Gen 36).