Sarah

Sarah, originally named Sarai, was Abraham's wife and the mother of Isaac. Her story is one of waiting, faith, and ultimately miraculous fulfillment. Beautiful even into old age, she accompanied Abraham on his journey of faith from Ur to Canaan. Sarah's barrenness was the great obstacle to God's promises. For decades she waited for the child God had promised, and when she was seventy-five she gave her servant Hagar to Abraham, attempting to fulfill the promise through human means. This resulted in Ishmael's birth and lasting conflict between the two women. When three visitors announced that Sarah would bear a son within a year, she laughed—she was ninety years old, well past childbearing age. Yet God asked Abraham, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" The following year, Isaac was born, and Sarah declared, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me." Peter holds Sarah up as an example of godly submission and inner beauty. Despite her failures—laughing in unbelief, mistreating Hagar—she is listed in the Hebrews 11 hall of faith. She died at 127 years old and was buried in the cave of Machpelah, the only land Abraham owned in Canaan.