Essay 6

            The Qur’ran’s version of Sarah does not have near the autonomy her counterpart does in the Hebrew bible. Both versions share that they gave birth later in life. In the Qur’ran Sarah proclaims, “Woe to me! Shall I give birth while I am an old woman and this, my husband is an old man? Indeed, this is an amazing thing.” This version of Sarah shows nothing but joy. Now when one turns to the Hebrew Sarah and reads over the same scene in Genesis 18 they see Sarah laughing at the notion that now after all this time she will finally bear a son. It continues with her lying to her all-knowing, all-seeing Lord claiming that she never laughed. Not once. It certainly shows a certain amount of agency, hutzpah, and perhaps a dash of ignorance to lie to a being that knows when you’re lying.

            Hebrew’s Sarah continues her unique ways by telling her husband to sleep with her slave in order to gain a son in Genesis 16. As one might have predicted, jealousies begin to flare post conception. Sarah decides she wants her husband Abraham to have nothing to do with his son. The same son she gave him permission to conceive. Honestly, it reads like something one might see on an ABC primetime drama. The Hebrew version of Sarah is more memorable than the Qur’ran version with the addition of a moxy lacking in the latter version.