Texts in Conversation
Genesis describes God promising a son to elderly Abraham and barren Sarah despite their advanced age. Luke opens his Gospel by echoing this birth tradition in the angel’s announcement of John the Baptist to Zechariah.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 18:10
Hebrew Bible
9 Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, in the tent.” 10 One of them said, “I will surely return to you when the season comes round again, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him. 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.”
Luke 1:13
New Testament
11 An angel of the Lord, standing on the right side of the altar of incense, appeared to him. 12 And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, was seized with fear. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you will name him John. 14 Joy and gladness will come to you, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth.
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Notes and References
"... The story recapitulates the numerous special births of the figures of Israel's past, starting with the birth of Isaac to the aged Abraham and his infertile wife, Sarah (Genesis 18; 21). Genesis records that this same Isaac would later pray "to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived" (25:21). The infertile Rachel begs her husband Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die" (30:1), and "God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her and opened her womb" (30:22). Hannah, infertile, prays to the Lord, and "in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son" (1 Samuel 1:20). Luke's narrative of the birth of John the Baptist by the aged Elizabeth and Zechariah (Luke 1) recapitulates these matriarchal traditions. ..."
Levine, Amy-Jill
The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus
(p. 191) Harper San Francisco, 2006
* 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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