The Problem of Sarah's Identity in Islamic Exegetical Tradition

2020

Westminster Theological Journal, 1991

A study of the three accounts in Genesis of a patriarch passing his wife off as his sister, and their use in Biblical Theology

This thesis analyzes the portrayal of the matriarch Sarah in the fifth-century Palestinian rabbinic midrash Genesis Rabbah. In the book of Genesis Sarah plays an ancillary role and at times is even portrayed as petty and lacking faith in God. Likewise, the Jewish authors of the second Temple period do not grant the matriarch a central role in their versions of the biblical narrative. Genesis Rabbah, however, breaks with this trend. Not only are a relatively large number of drashot dedicated to the matriarch, but she is repeatedly depicted as a model of personal and religious excellence. In order to account for this dramatic development, I will point to textual and thematic parallels from the world of Christian thought and worship. In the New Testament Sarah is presented as both the spiritual mother of Christianity and a prefiguration of Jesus’ mother Mary. These two themes are continued in the writings of Origen of Alexandria, an influential early Christian author. Additionally, the Virgin Mary gradually gains greater and greater importance in Christian Palestine, culminating with the establishment of a cult of worship dedicated to her. Based on a close analysis of the midrashic material it can be shown that the rabbis of Genesis Rabbah were well aware of these developments. Moreover, it will be demonstrated that they used their portrayal of Sarah to combat the Christian appropriation of the matriarch on the one hand, and to establish her as a Jewish alternative to the Virgin Mary on the other. -- An article based on parts of this thesis has been published as "The Virgin Mother Sarah: The Characterization of the Matriarch in Genesis Rabbah," Journal for the Study of Judaism 52 (2021): 1-41.

Judaism, 1981

2013

The story of Abraham and Sarah in Egypt is part of the great epos of the three ancestors recounted in the book of Genesis. Despite Abraham's many positive attributes, such as righteousness and humility, this story raises troubling questions about his character, behavior, and beliefs in relation to both God and Sarah. These questions have given rise, throughout the ages, to many commentaries, interpretations and adaptations, as well as plot expansions. A comparative analysis of post-biblical commentaries highlight that the storyline expands consistently when describing Sarah's beauty, sexuality, and attractiveness from the male point of view, especially that of the Egyptians and their king. From the point of view of Jewish exegesis, these elaborations stress the hierarchy of power within the confines of the traditional, patriarchal society. On the surface, the postbiblical versions are meant to defend Abraham's disturbing behavior in the biblical story; in practice, however, they serve as typical expressions of male sexual discourse.

Joan, Eahr Amelia. Re-Genesis Encyclopedia: Synthesis of the Spiritual Dark– Motherline, Integral Research, Labyrinth Learning, and Eco–Thealogy. Part I. Revised Edition II, 2018. CIIS Library Database. (RGS.)

Genesis says that Abram’s family (later Abraham the first Hebrew) was ordered to leave the city of their Fathers, Ur (Urfa or Greek Edessa) of the Chaldeans for Haran in Northwestern Mesopotamia. “Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter – in – law the wife (consort/ mother goddess/Hieros Gamos) * of Abram and made them leave Ur of the Chaldaeans to go the land of Canaan” (Gn 11:31).

The Significance Of Abraham's Third Wife—Keturah , 2024

Some argue that Keturah does not extend Abraham's lineage due to the lack of genealogical records and the limited references in biblical texts, suggesting that her role and the roles of her children are not central to the biblical narrative compared to Isaac and Ishmael. This essay argues that investigating Keturah's life in the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical ANE sources reveals her unique role in extending Abraham's lineage and covenantal inheritance. Her offspring sheds light on the diversity and inclusive nature of God's promises in the biblical narrative, with theological implications. It will offer a key apostolic insight supporting how God fulfilled his Old Testament promise to use Abraham as the conduit to bless the world’s families. Concluding, it expresses gratitude for the foundational role of the Old Testament, emphasizing its importance before transitioning to the New Testament.

The Qur'anic Mary in the Light of Rabbinic Texts, 2021

This article deals with the identity of the figure of Maryam, who is mentioned numerous times in the Qur'an. Maryam is called in the holy book of Islam the 'sister of Aaron' and 'the daughter of ʿImrān', and is also described as the mother of Jesus. This seeming contradiction regarding Maryam's identity has occupied classical Qur'an commentators as well as modern researchers. This article tracks the changes in Western research on the Qur'an regarding this issue to show how the trend in research has changed from a general position in which most researchers argued that the issue arises from a Muslim confusion to an approach that parallels to a greater extent the approach of Islamic exegesis, according to which all the qur'anic references to Maryam are to the same woman, who is the mother of Jesus. This article supports the earlier position that two separate Maryamsthe sister of Moses and the mother of Jesushave overlapped in the figures described in the relevant scriptural passages. My thesis differs, however, in positing that this simultaneity is 'deliberate', and reflects certain Pentateuchal and Rabbinic literary practices.

Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary e-Journal, 2017

The article refers to the findings of Kuntillet Ajrud (inscriptions and drawings) in which, according to some scholars, there is evidence that the religion of Ancient Israel incorporated the worship of a female God, as the consort of Yahweh. The evidence shows that the inscription refers to a figure mentioned in the biblical story as Israel's first matriarch, Sarah. The details implied in the biblical text, as well as the narrative intersections and parallels from the Mesopotamian mythology, prove that there is a high probability that the worldly Sarah was in fact originally the symbol of a Hebrew female god figure – the spouse of the male God, Yahweh.