1 There Is an incident quoted by Kbers In the 'Tale of the Two Brothers' which partly illustrates this; M< Fetrie't Egi/ptian TaUt, 2nd ser., 1806, pp. 63-66.
i04
SARAH
•she shall become nations' (cf v.* 3o ) ; k mgs of people, shall be from her' (cf. v.« 3o>' ; and >ee 36»'). Abraham 'laughs' in ^"'^"'^"''ty at t e idea of a son being born to him and Sarah in Uu,r old a^e ; he fixes his hopes upon Ishmael, but ib told that, though Ishmael will become a ' great nation,' the covenant vUl be established ^vlth Isaac (vv.'«-=M. In ch. 18 (J) the promise of a son Isa-'a in given to Abraham ; and ^vhen Sarah, over- hearin.' it, ' laughs' inwardly in incredulity, it is repeated to herself (w.»-) This narrative^ is m reality not the sequel to the one m ch. 1;. I"" parll U> it: IS"*"" is clearly written ^v■lthollt Reference to 17"-, and the writer « ev-idently not conscious that a promise of the same kind had already been given. ,. „ o* fi,o
Ch '>0 (E) describes Sarah's adventure at the court of Abimelech, in Gerar, i.c (Trunibull. Puthe Mini Buhl p. 89) the Wady Jerfir, 70 mUes S. of Gak and 55 miles S.W. of Beersheba. As before {12'»-»') in Egypt, Abraham, m fear on account of his own life (v."), passes Sarah off as his Jester : Abimelech takes her, but is warned by God in a dream that she is a married woman ; like Uie Pharaoh (12'«-), tliough in stronger tenns he rebukes Abraham for his deceit (v.^) ; Abraliam excuses (v.") and defends (-■") him^«" ', ^"^'^ Abimelech then makes reparation, both to ADra ham (v »'•) and to Sarah (v.'«), for the injury he harunwittingly done them The narrative is m sub^^tance remarkably similar to those in 1- Abra"am and the P^-^^-"?'*) ?"d 26-MIsaac and Abimelech) ; it can hardly be <l""bted that al three are variations of the same fundamental theme,-a popular story told of the patriarchs, and attacbed^ometimes to one '-^"d sometimes, at different localities, to another (cf. ABIMELECH, vol. i. p. 9*: Isaac, vol. u. V-J^fi- ,. ^ r. __..7
Isaacs birth is narrated in 21>-' (vv.'«-'« J ; vv. £. ^.yib.-jb-o p). The exclamation in v.» ( God lia'th prepared laughter for me; every one that heareth will laugh over me') i^'"f "!,??„V Vs^^ explanation of tlie name ' Isaac (cf ._ 1 , " in 1 , 18 in J ; and see Isaac, vol. u. p.. 4So, No. 8); \. the a"ed mother gives expression to her jojous .lupHle at the birtl of a son. Two or three years afterwards (21»), upon occasion of the family-least held to celebrate Isaac's weaning, Sarah s jealousy of her liandmaid is again aroused ; she peremptori y deman<ls the expulsion of both H'^g'^;; fjlt^.^^'^^^i = and Abraham reluctantly complies (21» ). . Ch -d (P) relates the death of Sarah (cf. the allusion of J n^i"'") at the age of 127 years, in ^vinath-arba (yubron), and the purchase by A^'rahani of a cave in the field of Machpelah, 'in front of Mamk ■-, n wtich to bury her (cf. 25'» P, 49". P). The only otle reference In the OT to Sarah is Is 5P, where she is aUuded to as the mother of the chosen
""sarah is a typical but not an ideal character She is a devoted wife and mother ; but, at the same time, like many another vomaii, impenous hasty in her judgments, and jealo... : vrrapt up in her husband and her son, she resents the smallest disparagement, or assumption of superiority, on the part of either Hagar or Ishmael and does not rest satisfied till she finds herself in her home
"'in^NT* Sarah is mentioned Ro i"> 9> iGnlS"*), He U" (her faith), 1 P 3» (her conjugal 'obedience fo Abraham, calling him ' lord,' Gn 18 ) ; and the narrative of Sarah and Hagar and of their respec- th-e children, is treated allegorical y, as fore- shadowing the freedom of Christians, the 'children of promisi,' in Gal4'^'-5> (cf. HagaR, vol. u. ;. 2;*). 2. The daughter of Raguel and wife of lobias, • In Gn 2i«" the very strange syntax of the existing Ileb. text makei it proUble thiS ' o( hi. moOier Sarah •« a glow.
SARDIS To 3'-" and oft. [hXX^ippa). See Tobit (BooK
OF).
SARAIAS.— 1. (2apala5) 1 Es 5», Seraiah, the high priest of ZedekiaU's time, fatlier of Jehozadak, and grandfather of Jeshua (cf. 1 Ch 6»). 2. inarms] 2 Es 1', the fatlier of Ezra. It is uncertain whether he is the same person as the AZAR.VIAS of 1 Es 8 , where the following Zechkias takes the place of Azaraias of 2 Es 1'.
S4RAMEL, RV As4ramel (A Sopa^A, SV 'Aaap-
au.i\ ; ^6-f(r«m5/).-Saran,el appears to be a worn
°n the original Heb. or Syr. text of 1 Mac. which
the transtator did not miderstand when pre-
paring the existing Or. version. Nearly all cmn-
mentators adopt the readmg Asaramel. By some,
Sding Lutfier, it is beTd to be a place-name
and to have been the spot at which the assembled
Jews made Simon Maccaba^us 'their leader and
W^h priest- (1 Mac 14=«-«). By others various
reftorations of the Hebrew text have been pro-
poid -1. {We).9ar:am.'el, ' and prince of the people