I started The Bible in a Year Podcast again this year. I am trying to be disciplined enough to do it every day because skipping a day and trying to catch up is really tough. I am also trying to write down key points and ideas this time instead of just listening to the podcast while I’m doing other things.
One of the things that really caught my attention this time was in Genesis Chapter 12.
Verse 10-17:
Now there was a feminine in the land. So Abram went to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. When he was about to enter Egypt he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful to behold” and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife;’ then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account.” When Abram entered Egypt, the Egytians saw that the woman was very beautiful. And when the princes of Pharo saw her, they praised her to Pharoh. And the woman was taken into Pharoh’s house. And for her sake, he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, he-donkeys, menservants, maidservants, she-donkeys and camels.
We know at this time Abram was 75 years old. The scripture tells us Sarai was a year younger. By Chapter 17, Abram is 99.
There is no mention that Sarai is young or youthful, just that she is beautiful and an attractive woman.
“Abraham’s Counsel to Sarai” by James Tissot, ca. 1900
What fascinated me was that the conflict between Abram and the Pharoh was over a middle-aged/older woman. That is so foreign in our current culture. Today, older women are not considered as standards for beauty. Perhaps that is why former pop icons who reach middle aged try so desperately to hang on to their youth. There was a recent incident where Jennifer Lopez clapped back at criticism for appearing practically nude he in her recent stage performances. Madonna has taken criticism for well for obvious plastic surgery and her dance moves that clearly betray that her best dancing days are behind her.
What is it that made Sarai so desirable? We’ll never know for sure.
What we do know in the 21st century is that trying to be what you can no longer be is not an attractive feature in older women – to anybody really.
Audiences bristle at seeing J.Lo rubbing against male dancers half her age while wearing mostly nude leotards because it’s ridiculous. She is overcompensating for what she perceives as lost beauty or desirability.
The older women that achieve admiration from men and women alike are the ones that openly accept the age they have been graced with and pursue a look that is based on classics and not sensationalism.
That is not to say frumpiness but classical lines, simple pieces, modest enhancements. Something that says, “Yes, I am of a certain age and I am dressing for stylish comfort. Deal with it.”
I’m not saying this is what Sarai did. It’s clear that her husband treated her almost like chattel just to save himself. But there was something about her look that intrigued a man of stature like the Pharoh that had him elevate her to his wife and not just as a concubine .
To me, the mystique of Sarai is fascinating.