Who was Sarah in the Bible?

from the old testament

• Sarah was Abraham's (originally called Abram) half-sister, born to the same father by a different mother, and was originally named Sarai (Genesis 11:29; 20:12).
• Sarai accompanied her father, Terah, husband, Abram, and nephew, Lot, when they left their homeland of Ur for Canaan (Genesis 11:31). Instead of reaching Canaan, the family settled in Haran. Eventually, God called Abram to leave Haran and go to the land where God would lead him (Genesis 12:1–3). Sarai and Lot went with Abram to Canaan (Genesis 12:4–5).
• Sarai was a beautiful woman (Genesis 12:11, 14). Due to living in dependence upon the land, Sarai and Abram moved around following the availability of food. A famine once took them to Egypt, and many years later, they journeyed to Gerar. At both places, Abraham and Sarah hid the fact that they were married because Abraham feared that the local men would kill him so that they could take Sarah as their own wife (Genesis 12:10–20; 20:1–18). In both instances, the ruling men took Sarah into their households. However, God revealed to the Egyptian Pharaoh and to Abimelech of Gerar that Sarah was Abraham's wife. Each man returned Sarah to her husband with her honor still intact. They also gave Abraham livestock and other goods. Thus Abraham's wealth increased.
• God promised Abram a descendant to inherit the land, but Sarai had been unable to conceive for the entire length of their marriage (Genesis 11:30). So Sarai devised a plan whereby Abram could father a child through one of the maidservants they gained in Egypt. This servant, Hagar, did bear a son, Ishmael, to Abram, but he was not the son God had promised (Genesis 16).
• God reiterated His promise for a son through Sarai and changed Abram's and Sarai's names to Abraham and Sarah as a sign of this covenant (Genesis 17:5, 15). Abraham originally laughed at the thought that after all these years, in their old age, Sarah would bear a child (Genesis 17:17). Later, when Sarah overheard divine guests reiterating this promise to Abraham, she too laughed, but denied it out of fear (Genesis 18:12, 15).
• God kept His promise, and Sarah gave birth to Isaac a year later at over ninety years old (Genesis 21:1–2).
• Sarah died at the age of 127 (Genesis 23:1). Abraham bought a tomb from Ephron the Hittite, known as the cave of Machpelah, in which he buried Sarah (Genesis 23:19–20; 50:13). This cave and later became a family burial place for his descendants (Genesis 49:29–33).

from the new testament

• The writer of Hebrews commended Sarah for her faith saying, "By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised" (Hebrews 11:11).
• In 1 Peter 3:6 Sarah is remembered for obeying her husband without fear, so she was not only beautiful but brave too.

implications for today

Sarah's story teaches us the importance of trusting in God's promises, even when circumstances seem impossible. Despite Sarah's advanced age and infertility, she ultimately became the mother of Isaac because she believed in God's faithfulness. This teaches us to have faith and patience in God's timing, knowing that He is always faithful to fulfill His promises, even if they seem unlikely or delayed from our perspective.