Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; Sarah was past childbearing.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
- KJV Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
- BSB And Abraham and Sarah were already old and well along in years; Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
- NKJV Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
- NLT Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having 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
The narrator stresses that Abraham and Sarah were far too old, naturally, to have children.
Overview
By noting Sarah is past childbearing, the text makes clear that the coming birth will be miraculous, resting wholly on God's power. The natural impossibility magnifies the grace and faithfulness of God. This sets the stage for the question, 'Is anything too hard for Yahweh?' and points forward to other God-given births culminating in the virgin birth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gen 17:17Then 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?”
- Heb 11:11–12By 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.
- Luke 1:36Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
- Rom 4:18–21Besides hope, Abraham in hope believed, to the end that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, “So will your offspring be.”
- Gen 17:24Abraham was ninety-nine years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
- Luke 1:7But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
- Luke 1:18Zacharias 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.”
- Lev 15:19“‘If a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her flesh is blood, she shall be in her impurity seven days: and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening.
- Heb 11:19concluding that God is able to raise up even from the dead. Figuratively speaking, he also did receive him back from the dead.
- Gen 31:35She said to her father, “Don’t let my lord be angry that I can’t rise up before you; for I’m having my period.” He searched, but didn’t find the teraphim.
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 18:11 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.