Searching for Sarah in the Second Temple Era: Images in the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, the Genesis Apocryphon, and the Antiquities

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Seeking to build upon recent scholarship based on Biblical women, Joseph McDonald uses a character-centered literary approach to read the story of Sarah as it was told and retold in the Second Temple period. McDonald offers an alternative to the usual approaches to “rewritten Bible” narratives, which often emphasize near-context, synoptic comparison of retold stories and their scriptural precursors, arguing that examination of retold narratives as narratives reveals important aspects of their internal literary effects, that may otherwise go unnoticed. Taken together, McDonald suggests that such readings reveal one of Sarah’s trans-narrative or “deep traits,” as a curious, multi-faceted resemblance to the character of Abraham. The richness of her images, however, shows that this resemblance is not the ultimate distillation of Sarah, but a symptom of the kind of restriction that she consistently faces in this literature. McDonald concludes that creative readings of the narratives featuring Sarah in the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, the Genesis Apocryphon, and the Jewish Antiquities of Josephus illuminate Sarah as a complex and sometimes contradictory figure, whose individuality and agency often struggle to escape limitations placed upon her both by other characters, such as Abraham and God, and by the narrators of her tales. Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Acknowledgments Permission Acknowledgments Abbreviations Chapter 1 Introduction, Studies of Sarah, and Aspects of My Approach Studies of Sarah in the Bible and Beyond Aspects of My Approach Chapter 2 Sarah in the Masoretic Text Introduction To Have and to Have Not: Origins, Family, Power, Possessions, and People (Gen. 11:26–12:9) Egyptian Traffic (Gen. 12:10–13:2) Silence, but Reflected Light (Gen. 13:2–15:21) Sarai, Hagar, Abram—and a Son (Gen. 16:1-16) Years of Silence, More Promises—and a New Name? (Gen. 17:1-27) Sarah Chortles (Gen. 18:1-15) Destructive Interlude (Gen. 18:16–19:38) “Asylum” Redux in Gerar (Gen. 20:1-18) The Arrival of Isaac, and the Departure of Hagar, Ishmael— and Sarah (Gen. 21:1-14) “The Life of Sarah” (Gen. 23:1-20) Conclusion: Sarah in the MT Chapter 3 Sarra in the Septuagint Introduction Sara, Muted (Gen. 11:26–12:9 LXX) Passive and “Pretty-Faced” in Egypt (Gen. 12:10–13:2 LXX) Silence and Stress (Gen. 13:2–15:21 LXX) Broken Inertia, Blurred Gender, and Misused Agency (Gen. 16:1-16 LXX) Different Name, Different Prospects? (Gen. 17:1-27 LXX) Volition and Restriction (Gen. 18:1-15 LXX) More Imitative Agency—and Questions of Consistency (Gen. 20:1-18 LXX) Who Will “Rejoice with” Sarra? (Gen. 21:1-14 LXX) The Death of Sarra (Gen. 23:1-20 LXX) Conclusion: Sarra in the LXX Chapter 4 Sarai in the Genesis Apocryphon Introduction A Fragmentary Beginning (GenAp 19.7-10) Famine and Entry into Egypt (GenAp 19.10-13) Abram’s Dream (GenAp 19.14-23) Abram and Sarai’s Three Visitors (GenAp 19.23-31) In Praise of Sarai (GenAp 20.2-8) Sarai Uprooted, Abram Spared (GenAp 20.8-11) Abram’s Prayer (GenAp 20.12-16) Response to Abram’s Prayer (GenAp 20.16-21) Herqanosh’s Errand, and the Revelation of the Truth (GenAp 20.21-23) Report and Rebuke; Healing, Payment, and Return to the Land (GenAp 20.24–21.4) Conclusion: Sarai in the Genesis Apocryphon Chapter 5 Sarra in the Jewish Antiquities Introduction Beginnings (Ant. 1.148-160) Egypt (Ant. 1.161-168) Separation and War (Ant. 1.169-182) Child and Sacrifice (Ant. 1.183-185) Sarra, Hagar, Abraham, and Ishmael (Ant. 1.186-190) Another Child, and Circumcision (Ant. 1.191-193) Angelic Visitation (Ant. 1.194-206) “Just Like Before”—but Now in Gerar (Ant. 1.207-212) Birth and Banishment (Ant. 1.213-221) Isaac’s sacrifice (Ant. 1.222-236) Sarra’s Death (Ant. 1.237) Conclusion: Sarra in the Antiquities Chapter 6 Conclusions, Contributions, and Prospects Sarah in the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, the Genesis Apocryphon, and the Antiquities Some Contributions and Prospects of This Study Bibliography Index of References Index of Authors