Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old will I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
Parallel Translations
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Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old will I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
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Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
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And Sarah laughed within herself, saying: 'After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?'
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Genesis 18:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 17:17 Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to him who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?”
- 1 Peter 3:6 So Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose children you now are, if you do well, and are not put in fear by any terror.
- Luke 1:18-20 Zacharias said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day that these things will happen, because you didn’t believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
- Genesis 18:13 Yahweh said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Will I really bear a child when I am old?’
- Genesis 21:6-7 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me.” She said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
- Luke 1:34-35 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?” The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
- Psalms 126:2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “Yahweh has done great things for them.”
- Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless each of you must also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
- Hebrews 11:11-12 By faith, even Sarah herself received power to conceive, and she bore a child when she was past age, since she counted him faithful who had promised. Therefore as many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as innumerable as the sand which is by the sea shore, were fathered by one man, and him as good as dead.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 12. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself Abraham had laughed…
12. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself Abraham had laughed before, as appears in the preceding chapter Genesis 17:1: but the laughter of both was, by no means, similar. For Sarah is not transported with admiration and joy, on receiving the promise of God; but foolishly sets her own age and that of her husband in opposition to the word of God; that she may withhold confidence from God, when he speaks. Yet she does not, avowedly, charge God with falsehood or vanity; but because, having her mind fixed on the contemplation of the thing proposed, she only weighs what might be accomplished by natural means, without raising her thoughts to the consideration of the power of God, and thus rashly casts discredit on God who speaks to her. Thus, as often as we measure the promises and the works of God, by our own reason, and by the laws of nature, we act reproachfully towards him, though we may intend nothing of the sort. For we do not pay him his due honor, except we regard every obstacle which presents itself in heaven and on earth, as placed under subjection to his word. But although the incredulity of Sarah is not to be excused; she, nevertheless, does not directly reject the favor of God; but is only so kept back by shame and modesty, that she does not altogether believe what she hears. Even her very words declare the greatest modesty; ‘After we are grown old shall we give ourselves up to lust?’ Wherefore, let us observe, that nothing was less in Sarah’s mind, than to make God a liar. But herein consisted in this alone, that, having fixed her thoughts too much on the accustomed order of nature, she did not give glory to God, by expecting from him a miracle which she was unable to conceive in her mind. We must here notice the admonition which the Apostle gathers from this passage, because Sarah here calls Abraham her lord. (1 Peter 3:6.) For he exhorts women, after her example, to be obedient and well-behaved towards their own husbands. Many women, indeed, without difficulty, give their husbands this title, when yet they do not scruple to bring them under rule, by their imperious pride: but the Apostle takes it for granted that Sarah testifies, from her heart, what she feels, respecting her husband: nor is it doubtful that she gave proof, by actual services, of the modesty which she had professed in words.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For she rather had respect to the order of…
For she rather had respect to the order of nature, than believed the promise of God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 18:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After…
Gen 18:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
Ver. 12. Sarah laughed.] God’s promises seem absurd and ridiculous, many of them, to human reason, which therefore must be silenced, and shut out, as Hagar was; for it will argue carnally, as that unbelieving lord {2Ki 7:2} storms at God’s offers, as Naaman at the message {2Ki 5:11} looks upon God’s Jordan with Syrian eyes, as he, and after all, cries out with Nicodemus, "How can these things be?" {Joh 3:4} measuring God by its own model; and casting him into its own mould.
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After I am waxed old, shall I lust?] Old and cold, is our English proverb; and the Greek word for an old body signifies one in whom natural heat is extinct. {a} It is a most undecent thing to see the pleasure of youth prevailing in times of age, among old decrepit goats. Were it not monstrous to behold green apples on a tree in winter?
My lord being old also?] This was the only good word in the whole sentence: God takes notice of it, and by St Peter records it to her eternal commendation; {1Pe 3:6} yea, he was so well pleased with her subjection to her husband, whom she here in her heart calleth Lord, that he is content to forgive her great sin of unbelief.
{a} Pρεσβυς, α πυρ et σβεω
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Sarah laughed within herself; not from joy and admiration,…
Sarah laughed within herself; not from joy and admiration, but from distrust and contempt, as if it were incredible. Heb. In her heart, i.e. she secretly derided it, though none but herself, as she thought, knew it.
Shall I have pleasure? Not so much in the conception, as in the education and fruition of a child.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Therefore Sarah laughed within herself,.... Not for joy of…
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself,.... Not for joy of a son, and as pleased with it, believing so it would be; but as disbelieving it, and perhaps deriding it, and confuting it with a laugh, which, though it did not appear in her countenance, was secretly in her heart:
saying, not with her mouth, but in her mind:
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after I am waxed old, being almost ninety years of age:
shall I have pleasure? in conception, or rather in having a son, and in suckling and nursing him, and bringing him up; for in bearing and bringing forth is sorrow:
and my Lord being old also; which increased the difficulty and her unbelief: the Apostle Peter seems to have respect to this in Pe1 3:6.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Sarah laughed within herself - It was not a…
Sarah laughed within herself - It was not a laughter of faith, like Abraham's, chap. xvii, 17, but a laughter of doubting and distrust. The great objection which Sarah could not get over was her age. I am waxed old, and past child-bearing in a course of nature, especially having been hitherto barren, and which magnifies the difficulty, My Lord is old also. Observe here, That Sarah calls Abraham her Lord, and the Holy Ghost takes notice of it to her honour, and recommends it to the imitation of all Christian wives, 1Pe iii, 6. Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord, in token of respect and subjection.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. Sarah laughed] Partly through pleasure at the…
Verse 12. Sarah laughed] Partly through pleasure at the bare idea of the possibility of the thing, and partly from a conviction that it was extremely improbable. She appears to have been in the same spirit, and to have had the same feelings of those who, unexpectedly hearing of something of great consequence to themselves, smile and say, "The news is too good to be true;", see Ge 21:6. There is a case very similar to this mentioned Ps 126:1-2. On Abraham's laughing, See Clarke on Ge 17:17.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 18:12. Sarah laughed within herself — It was…
Gen 18:12. Sarah laughed within herself — It was not a laughter of faith, like Abraham’s, (Gen 17:17,) but a laughter of doubting and distrust. The great objection which Sarah could not get over was her age. I am waxed old — And past child-bearing in a course of nature, especially having been hitherto barren, and, which magnifies the difficulty, My lord is old also. Observe here, that Sarah calls Abraham her lord, and the Holy Ghost takes notice of it to her honour, and recommends it to the imitation of all Christian wives, 1Pe 3:6, Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, in token of respect and subjection.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Laughed, as if the promise were incredible. --- My…
Laughed, as if the promise were incredible. --- My lord, or husband, which title of respect, 1 Peter iii. 6, commends. (Du Hamel)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Therefore Sarah laughed within herself--Long delay seems to have…
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself--Long delay seems to have weakened faith. Sarah treated the announcement as incredible, and when taxed with the silent sneer, she added falsehood to distrust. It was an aggravated offense (Act 5:4), and nothing but grace saved her (Rom 9:18).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 12. Sarah laughed — The context here shows that…
12. Sarah laughed — The context here shows that Sarah’s laugh was that of incredulity, as the context of Gen_17:17, shows that Abraham’s laughing was that of joyful wonder. Sarah laughed within herself, not aloud, nor with prostration, as yielding confidently to the joy of the promise, but with secret incredulity. My lord — See 1Pe_3:5-6.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12. Sarah laughed within herself] This is the laughter,…
12. Sarah laughed within herself] This is the laughter, according to J, which furnished a reason for the name “Isaac”; and on that account it is here emphasized. See, for the reason in P, Gen_17:17.
waxed old] The word in the original is forcible, and is used elsewhere for worn-out raiment, e.g. “shall wax old like a garment,” Psa_102:26.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (12) Sarah laughed.—See Note on Gen_17:17. The laughter of…
(12) Sarah laughed.—See Note on Gen_17:17. The laughter of both husband and wife brings into prominence the inconceivable character of the fact. Sarah’s conduct has been very unjustly condemned. Though Abraham may have begun to guess that his visitors were more than men, she probably had no such suspicions. Sitting inside the tent, and catching their words only occasionally, listening, perhaps, now only because she heard her own name mentioned, when she hears them talk of her having a child she naturally laughs. thinking possibly that they did not know how old she was.
After I am waxed old.—The Hebrew word is stronger and more lively. It means “to be worn out like an old garment.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Therefore (literally, and) Sarah laughed within herself Abraham had…
Therefore (literally, and) Sarah laughed within herself Abraham had laughed in joyful amazement, (Gen_18:17) at the first mention of Sarah s son; Sarah laughs, if not in unbelief (Calvin, Keil, "Speaker"s Commentary," Wordsworth), at least with a mingled feeling of doubt and delight (Lange, Murphy) at the announcement of her approaching maternitysaying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? literally, and my lord, i.e. my husband, is old. The reverential submission to Abraham which Sarah here displays is in the New Testament commended as a pattern to Christian. (1Pe_3:6)
"Sarah laughed within herself.
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1. The incongruity between a Divine promise and the sphere of its fulfillment is temptation to unbelief.
2. A disposition to measure the reality and certainty of the Divine by a human or earthly standard is sure to lead us to irreverence and sinful doubt.
3. There may be an inward and concealed working, known to God though not outwardly expressed. Which is still both an insult to him a d an injury to us.
4. The root of unbelief is in the ground of the soul. Sarah laughed because she was not prepared for the gracious promise. She was afraid of her own thoughts because they were not such as became her, and did dishonor to God"s sufficiency and love. "She denied, saying, I laughed not." A more receptive and spiritual mind would have both risen above the incongruity and been incapable of the dissimulation. R.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.