But Sarai was barren; she had no children.
Parallel translations
- WEB Sarai was barren. She had no child.
- KJV But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
- NKJV But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
- NASB Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child.
- NLT But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Sarai was barren and childless. This obstacle frames the promise God will make to Abram.
Overview
Sarai's barrenness is stated plainly and stands in sharp tension with the coming promise of countless offspring (Gen 12:2). Throughout Genesis God repeatedly grants children to barren women, displaying that the promised line depends on his power, not human ability. This pattern points forward to the ultimate miraculous birth, that of Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Luke 1:36Look, even Elizabeth your relative has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called barren is in her sixth month.
- Gen 18:11–12And Abraham and Sarah were already old and well along in years; Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
- Ps 113:9He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother to her children. Hallelujah!
- Judg 13:2Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children.
- Gen 30:1–2When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.
- Gen 15:2–3But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
- Luke 1:7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years.
- Gen 21:1–2Now the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised.
- 1 Sam 1:2He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
- Gen 29:31When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.
- Gen 25:21Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.
- Gen 16:1–2Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 11:30 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.