Barren Women/0

Barren Women

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Open Comparison Table

Content Parallels

There are many elements common to the various stories, although not all of them can be found in everyone of the stories:

• Old husbands – Avraham (Bereshit 18:12), Yaakov (Bereshit 37:3), and the Shunamit's husband (Melakhim II 4:14) are all described as old.¹ Avraham and the Shunamit's husband are described as old as a barrier to them having children, while Yaakov is just described as being old at the birth of his son.
• Loving husbands – Yitzchak is described as loving Rivkah (Bereshit 24:67), Yaakov is described as loving Rachel (Bereshit 29:18,20,30), and Elkanah is described as loving Channah (Shemuel I 1:5).
• Replacement maid – Both Sarah (Bereshit 16) and Rachel (Bereshit 30:1-8), despairing of giving birth, offer their maid to their husband as a wife ("וַתִּתֵּן... לְאִשָּׁה"), hoping to use them as a surrogate ("אִבָּנֶה מִמֶּנָּה"). The husband takes the maid as an additional wife, and the maid immediately proceeds to become pregnant and give birth. Interestingly, while the relationship between Sarah and her maid Hagar immediately sours, leaving the son to be named by Hagar, their is no conflict between Rachel and her maid Bilhah, and both of Bilhah's sons are named by Rachel.
• Second wife – Both Rachel and Channah compete with a second, more fertile, wife, as does Sarah, once she gives Hagar to her husband. See Rachel and Channah for more details.
• Prayer – Yitzchak (Bereshit 25:21) prays for Rivkah to give birth, as does Channah (Shemuel I 1:10-11). Rachel may have prayed, as it is mentioned twice that God listened to her (Bereshit 30:6,22), but no actual prayer is mentioned.
• Prophetic promise or blessing – Avraham receives two promises that Sarah will have a son, once by God (Bereshit 17:15-22) and once by angels (Bereshit 18:9-15). Manoach's Wife is also promised by an angel to give birth to a son (Shofetim 13:3-5), as well as the Shunamit, who receives the promise from the prophet Elisha (Melakhim II 4:16). Channah does not receive an explicit promise of a son, but Eli the priest blesses her that God will fulfill her request, which was for a son (Shemuel I 1:17). Rivka does not receive a promise prior to becoming pregnant, but does receive divine guidance relating to her pregnancy (Bereshit 25:22-23).
• Divine intervention – Four of the women receive divine before they conceive: By Sarah we are told "וַי"י פָּקַד" (Bereshit 21:1), by Rivkah we are told "וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ י"י" (Bereshit 25:21), by Rachel we are told "וַיִּזְכֹּר אֱלֹהִים" (Bereshit 30:22), and by Channah we are told "וַיִּזְכְּרֶהָ י"י" (Shemuel I 1:19).
• Name calling – In all of the cases, besides the Shunamit, the verses tell how the father or mother gave the son a name. In Sarah's case, Avraham names the son Yitzchak (Bereshit 21:3), although this name was preordained by God (Bereshit 17:19), and Sarah relates the name to her laughter (Bereshit 21:6, and cf. Bereshit 17:17, 18:12-13,15). By Rivkah, both parents name the first son Esav, while Yitzchak names the second son Yaakov (Bereshit 25:25-26), and the narrator seems to give an explanation for the names. Rachel names her son Yosef, explicitly connecting the name to her desire for children (Bereshit 30:23-24), as does Channah, when she names her son Shemuel (Shemuel I 1:20). Manoach's Wife names her son Shimshon, but no explanation is given (Shofetim 13:24).

Literary Allusions

• "לַמּוֹעֵד... כָּעֵת חַיָּה" and "לַמּוֹעֵד אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר" – Both Avraham (Bereshit 18:14)² and the Shunamit (Melakhim II 4:16) are promised that they will have a son "לַמּוֹעֵד... כָּעֵת חַיָּה".‎ Following this, is is recorded that Sarah gave birth at the date God promised Avraham (Bereshit 21:2), just as the Shunamit gave birth on the date promised by Elisha (Melakhim II 4:17), and in both cases the verse uses the wording "לַמּוֹעֵד אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר".‎³

Analysis

• Degree of similarity – 
• Distinctive phrases –
• כָּעֵת חַיָּה – The phrase "כָּעֵת חַיָּה" is only found by Sarah and the Shunamit.
• אִבָּנֶה מִמֶּנָּה – 

Points of Contrast

• Description of barrenness – The barrenness of the women is described using differing terminology. Sarah (Bereshit 11:30), Rivkah (Bereshit 25:21), Rachel (Bereshit 29:21), and Manoach's Wife (Shofetim 13:2) are described as barren ("עֲקָרָה"). Sarah (Bereshit 11:30), Channah (Shemuel I 1:2), and the Shunamit (Melakhim II 4:14) are described as not having children. Sarah (Bereshit 16:1), Rachel (Bereshit 30:1), and Manoach's Wife (Shofetim 13:2) are also described as not having given birth ("לֹא יָלְדָה"), while Channah (Shemuel I 1:5,6) is described as having a closed womb ("סָגַר רַחְמָהּ").
• Son's later importance –

Conclusions

¹ Avraham was one hundred years old at the birth of Yitzchak and Yaakov was apparently 91 years old when Yosef was born. No explicit age is given for the Shunamit's husband, beyond his being "זָקֵן". Yitzchak was only sixty when Rivka gave birth, and no ages are given for Manoach or Elkanah.

² This promise is given three times to Avraham, the first time (17:21) saying only "לַמּוֹעֵד הַזֶּה", and the second time (18:10) saying only "כָּעֵת חַיָּה". Only in the third repetition (18:14) are both phrases found together.

³ In the Shunamit's case, it actually says "לַמּוֹעֵד הַזֶּה כָּעֵת חַיָּה אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֵלֶיהָ אֱלִישָׁע", making it an exact duplication of the language used in the promise.