The Pastor's Page - 6/3/09
Beautiful at 98?
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there. When he was close to entering Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, "I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. "Therefore when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. "Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you." So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house. (Genesis 12:10-15)
The passage above is one of the most intriguing in the story of the Patriarch Abraham. Coupled with a later story where Abimelech the king of Gerar also takes Sarah for his wife it gives many pause at the plausibility of the statement. “ Come on ! Beautiful at 98? Physically attractive enough to draw the attention of men who could have any woman they wanted with a mere wave of the hand? Surely this is one of the fable elements of Scripture that are often touted.” But hold on. A closer look shows us that the idea is not that far fetched after all.
Lets begin with the observation that it is possible to find women today who are physically attractive and sexually active even at the age of seventy. As a pastor who has been involved in numerous family counseling sessions I have known such women personally. We must admit that beauty in old age while no doubt an exception,is not outside the realm of possibility.
Second lets remember that Sarah occupied a world with far less pollutants in the atmosphere, and a diet that was completely void of all chemical ingredients and their unknown effects. Couple that with beauty techniques that were completely organic and a culture where the aging effects of the sun were avoided as it relates to the style of clothing in that part of the world, then as they are even now. So not only is it possible for a woman to be beautiful at that age, its also far more likely then than now.
Third lets consider the fact that in many ancient cultures wives were a status symbol for rulers and kings. An exceptionally beautiful woman was a special notch on the belt of kings and sexuality was not the first concern in such situations, as seen in the Abimelech account.
(Genesis 20)
This becomes especially relevant when we pause to reflect on the fact that the only part of Sarah that anyone would have seen was her face. Remember this is a culture of loose fitting robes and wrappings.
Little could have been determined of Sarah’s beauty by observing her figure. Unlike our modern western culture where bare skin is a commonality, only Abraham would have seen the more intimate parts of Sarah’s body in that ancient, modest culture. Thus when the Scripture emphasizes Sarah’s beauty it is only her facial beauty that is being referred to. A facial beauty that we have already observed is possible even now 6,000 years later.
So then it is possible that a woman whose face was the only feature visible to anyone other than Abraham and his servants could have and would have been beautiful at 98.
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