Texts in Conversation
In Genesis 18, Sarah laughs at the promise of a son, saying she is worn out and asking if she will have pleasure. The Greek Septuagint changes her words entirely, saying only that it has not happened to her, removing her reference to sexual pleasure.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 18:12
Hebrew Bible
11 Abraham and Sarah were old and advancing in years; Sarah had long since passed menopause.) 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, especially when my husband is old too?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child when I am old?’ 14 Is anything impossible for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.”
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Genesis 18:12
Septuagint
11 And Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in days, and the custom of women ceased with Sarah. 12 And Sarah laughed in herself, saying, The thing has not as yet happened to me, even until now, and my lord is old. 13 And the Lord said to Abraham, Why is it that Sarah has laughed in herself, saying, Shall I then indeed bear? but I am grown old. 14 Shall anything be impossible with God? At this time I will return to you seasonably, and Sarah shall have a son.
Date: 300–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Instead of pondering the possibility of sexual pleasure in her old age and withered state, the LXX-G Sarah merely comments on her lifetime problem. Furthermore, by replacing Sarah's thoughts of pleasure with an allusion to her continued barrenness, the LXX-G Sarah accepts the blame for the couple's lack of progeny. Like a proper Hellenistic matron, Sarah thinks not of her own sexual pleasure." ..."
Susan Brayford, Septuagint Commentary Series: Genesis (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 324.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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