Bible Strands
Genesis 11:30
But Sarai was barren; she had no children.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records this fact immediately after introducing Abram and Sarai’s marriage in Genesis 11:29 and just before describing Terah’s departure from Ur in Genesis 11:31. The statement functions as a demographic marker at the precise moment the patriarchal family prepares to relocate.
The words — The Hebrew term עֲקָרָה ('a.ka.Rah) means "barren" or "sterile," combined with אֵין ('ein) "not" and וָלָד (va.Lad) "a child" to form the direct declaration "she had no children." This lexical pairing establishes a definitive biological condition without medical or social qualification.
The thread — This condition reappears in Genesis 15:2 when Abram questions his lack of an heir, in Genesis 16:1 when Sarai’s infertility leads to the introduction of Hagar, and in Genesis 18:11 when both Abraham and Sarah are noted as past the age of childbearing. The narrative consistently tracks this biological reality across multiple chapters.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to accept a concrete biological limitation that directly shapes the subsequent family structure and covenant narrative. It establishes a factual baseline that demands historical resolution within the account rather than offering immediate theological commentary.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
Cross-references
- Genesis 15:2 But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
- Genesis 16:1 Now Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
- Genesis 18:11 And Abraham and Sarah were already old and well along in years; Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
- Genesis 21:1 Now the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised.
- Genesis 25:21 Later, Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD heard his prayer, and his wife Rebekah conceived.
- Genesis 29:31 When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.
- Genesis 30:1 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.
- Judges 13:2 Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children.
- 1 Samuel 1:2 He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
- Psalms 113:9 He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother to her children. Hallelujah!