For: Sarah (female name) Sarah ( ) is the wife of Abraham as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai. According to Genesis 17:15 she changed her name to Sarah as part of a covenant with Yahweh after Hagar bore Abraham his first born son Ishmael.
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For: Sarah (female name) Sarah ( ) is the wife of Abraham as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai. According to Genesis 17:15 she changed her name to Sarah as part of a covenant with Yahweh after Hagar bore Abraham his first born son Ishmael.
The Hebrew name Sarah indicates a woman of high rank (less than that of 1st wife) and is sometimes translated as "princess".
Sarai in rabbinic literature
Sarai was the niece of Abraham, being the daughter of his father Terah (Genesis 20:12). She was so beautiful that all other persons seemed apes in comparison. Even the hardships of her journey with Abraham did not affect her beauty. She was superior to Abraham in the gift of prophecy. She was the "crown" of her husband; and he obeyed her words because he recognized this superiority on her part. She was the only woman whom God deemed worthy to be addressed by Him directly, all the other prophetesses receiving their revelations through angels (ib. xlv. 14). She was called originally "Sarai". Later she was called "Sarah" i.e., "my princess," because she was the princess of her house and of her tribe; = "princess," because she was recognized generally as such.
In Pharaoh's harem
On the journey to Egypt, Abraham hid his wife in a chest in order that no one might see her. At the frontier the chest had to pass through the hands of certain officials, who insisted on examining its contents in order to determine the amount of duty payable. When it was opened a bright light proceeded from Sarai's beauty. Every one of the officials wished to secure possession of her, each offering a higher sum than his rival . When brought before Pharaoh, Sarai said that Abraham was her brother, and the king thereupon bestowed upon the latter many presents and marks of distinction ("Sefer ha-Yashar," l.c.). As a token of his love for Sarai the king deeded his entire property to her, and gave her the land of Goshen as her hereditary possession: for this reason the Israelites subsequently lived in that land (Pirḳe R. El. xxxvi.). He gave her also his own daughter Hagar as slave (ib.). Sarai prayed to God to deliver her from the king, and He thereupon sent an angel, who struck Pharaoh whenever he attempted to touch her. Pharaoh was so astonished at these blows that he spoke kindly to Sarai, who confessed that she was Abraham's wife. The king then ceased to annoy her ("Sefer ha-Yashar," l.c.). According to another version, Pharaoh persisted in annoying her after she had told him that she was a married woman; thereupon the angel struck him so violently that he became ill, and was thereby prevented from continuing to trouble her (Genesis Rabbah xli. 2). According to one tradition it was when Pharaoh saw these miracles wrought in Sarai's behalf that he gave her his daughter Hagar as slave, saying: "It is better that my daughter should be a slave in the house of such a woman than mistress in another house"; Abimelech acted likewise (Genesis Rabbah xlv. 2). Sarai treated Hagar well, and induced women who came to visit her to visit Hagar also. Hagar, when pregnant by Abraham, began to act superciliously toward Sarai, provoking the latter to treat her harshly, to impose heavy work upon her, and even to strike her (ib. xlv. 9).
