But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
Parallel translations
- WEB Sarai was barren. She had no child.
- BSB But Sarai was barren; she had no children.
- 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 1:36And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
- Gen 18:11–12Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
- Ps 113:9He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.
- Judg 13:2And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
- Gen 30:1–2And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die.
- Gen 15:2–3And Abram said, LORD God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
- Luke 1:7And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
- Gen 21:1–2And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.
- 1 Sam 1:2And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah: and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
- Gen 29:31And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.
- Gen 25:21And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
- Gen 16:1–2Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.