AN IDEAL MARRIAGE: ABRAHAM AND SARAH IN OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE.

The complex relationship between Abraham and Sarah, and the individuality of their characters, make them one of the most interesting couples of the Old Testament. Sarah is always Abraham's devoted wife, and at times the humble recipient of God's favours, but she also doubts the words of the divine promise that she will bear a son, and laughs at God's messenger (Genesis xviii.9-15). Despite being one of the great women of the Old Testament, Sarah has been largely neglected in the discussion of Old English literature. The reason for this neglect may be that Sarah tends to be dwarfed by the theological stature of her husband Abraham, both in the Bible and in subsequent tradition.(1) The selective treatments of later medieval authors such as the poet of Cleanness focus on her scorn at the promise of a son, while the author of the Northampton Play of Abraham and Isaac adds to this doubt the characteristics of a doting mother.(2) Such treatment stands in contrast to the way in which these authors and others develop the character of Abraham. The patriarch's obedient endurance of a wandering life of exile as a part of a covenant made between himself and God (Genesis xii, 1-3) led to the belief that he was a perfect model for all Christians, Abraham's children by faith. The tradition of revering Abraham in particular as a saintly model of virtue, already established by Jewish writers before the Christian period and developed in detail by the church Fathers, is witnessed by a number of Anglo-Saxon texts.(3) In his commentary on Genesis, Bede suggests that Abraham's response to the working of the Holy Spirit makes him a perfect model for all his children of the promise, among whom Bede numbers his readers: `Nam et hoc quod ille iussus exiit de terra et cognatione et domo patris sui, uniuersis promissionis ipsius filiis, in quibus et nos sumus, constat imitandum.'(4) Abraham is lauded as a saint by AElfric in his Sermo de memoria sanctorum,(5) and the theme of the strength of Abraham's virtue in the face of suffering finds expression in Vercelli homily 7. No Latin source has been found for this fragmentary text, but the theme is clearly one which emphasizes the spiritual value of suffering, an asceticism which the life of Abraham exemplifies.(6) Sarah's endurance of the same life of wandering, and the threats it posed for her, however, do not seem to have sparked the interest of either early commentators or their Anglo-Saxon heirs in the same way.

Sarah, nevertheless, is also acknowledged in the Bible and by patristic authors as playing an important role in salvation history. In the Old Testament she is lauded as genitrix,(7) and in the New Testament the conflict between Hagar and Sarah forms a crucial part of the Christian polemic against Judaism, where Sarah's role is elaborated in the context of the dispute between the Law and faith. In the Genesis account the barren Sarah induces Abraham to have intercourse with her servant Hagar, leading to the birth of Ishmael, who is later displaced following the miraculous birth of Sarah's own son Isaac. The development of a spiritual reading of this episode is first signalled in Romans ix.9, where Paul presents Sarah as a sign of God's truth and power: `promissionis enim verbum hoc est: secundum hoc tempus veniam et erit Sarrae filius.'(8) This passing reference becomes a fully developed allegorical reading of the opposition between Sarah and Hagar in the Letter to the Galatians (iv.21-31). Paul turns the story into an allegory of life in the spirit, avoiding discussion of the problem of the sexual conduct which characterizes much of the Book of Genesis, and firmly establishing a split for Christian writers between the literal and allegorical reading of this part of the Genesis story. The twin themes of promise and faith in relation to Sarah are developed in a different way in Hebrews xi.11-12, where Sarah herself, like Abraham, is presented as a model and symbol of faith. Sarah's conception of Isaac was perceived as the first in a similar series of miracles which take place through the course of biblical history, culminating in Elizabeth's conception of John the Baptist.(9) Because of the miraculous nature of Isaac's conception, and his wider association with Christ, Sarah is sometimes regarded among patristic writers as a type of Mary.(10) As well as providing a model of faith, Sarah is also presented in the New Testament as a model of earthly obedience of wives to their husbands, whom they should obey `sicut Sarra oboediebat Abrahae, dominum eum vocans, cuius estis filiae, benefacientes et non timentes ullam perturbationem'.(11) This characterization of Sarah as an ideal wife gradually fed into the belief that the marriage between Abraham and Sarah represented an ideal for Christian couples.

Such an idealization does not sit easily with the text of Genesis. A number of moral dilemmas emerge for Abraham in the wandering life he and his clan lead, a life which presents dangers for the patriarch and his family, and in particular threaten Abraham and Sarah as a married couple. Abraham's response to situations of danger, and anxiety over his inheritance, lead to conduct which, from the perspective of later Christian moralists, could easily be perceived as far from perfect. The dubious conduct is focused on the various `love'-triangles in which the couple find themselves in the course of their wanderings. Two of these episodes follow essentially the same pattern. In their turn two kings, Pharaoh and Abimelech (Genesis xii.10-20; xx.1-13), are aroused by Sarah's beauty, and, fearing for his safety, Abraham instructs Sarah to tell first Pharaoh, and later Abimelech, that they are not husband and wife, but brother and sister.(12) In both of these episodes Sarah passively complies with her husband's wishes. The comment towards the close of the encounter with Abimelech that Sarah was in truth Abraham's sister softens the nature of the deception, but only made matters more complicated for later writers (Genesis xx.12).(13) Taken at face value, the third `love'-triangle, involving Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar (Genesis xvi.1-4), presented even greater difficulties for Christian writers wishing to establish Abraham and Sarah as an ideal couple.(14) Abraham must be indulging in either adultery or bigamy, with Sarah actively encouraging him in one sin or the other.

In rabbinic tradition the problem of the patriarch's deception is glossed over, and the focus is firmly on the chastity of both Sarah and Abraham. Sarah is lauded for her great beauty, which the chaste Abraham only notices when he accidentally catches a glimpse of her reflection.(15) Having realized his wife's beauty, he anticipates problems during their journey to Egypt, and induces her to hide in a casket while they cross the Egyptian frontier. Abraham's willingness to pay any amount of tax on the contents of the casket arouses the suspicion of Pharaoh's customs officials, and when they order the casket opened, Sarah's beauty, which excelled that of Eve herself, fills all of Egypt with its resplendence. Pharaoh is subsequently bewitched by Sarah's charms. However, no deception is practised by the couple on the king who takes her as a bride, neither Abraham nor Sarah comments on her status, and as in Genesis divine intervention is required to protect her chastity. The fuller development of Sarah's character in rabbinic tradition is also exemplified in her dealings with Hagar. As well as insisting Abraham cast out Hagar, who is clearly his second wife, Sarah gives her the evil eye. In the final expulsion Sarah insists that the patriarch divorce Hagar, and makes Ishmael fall sick by casting the evil eye on him.(16) The relative ease with which bigamy and divorce could be handled in Jewish tradition contrasts sharply with the difficulty faced by early Christian commentators.

The Fathers of the Church developed Paul's allegorical treatment of the relationship between Abraham and Sarah as an alternative way of overcoming exegetical difficulties presented by their conduct, though at times a literal reading of the text could be retained. Origen, writing in the early third century, discusses the episode of the angelic visit in the light of this mixed literal and spiritual standpoint in his fourth homily on Genesis.(17) He praises Sarah as a model wife who stands behind her husband in the literal interpretation of the text, but also interprets this positioning as representing the need for the flesh (Sarah) to submit to reason (Abraham). In his sixth homily Sarah is understood as representing virtue in the soul, and this is why God commands Abraham to listen to her (Genesis xxi.12).(18) Origen insists there is no literal interpretation of this verse. This allegory is developed in his understanding of Sarah as Abraham's sister, where he sees her as representing wisdom. In his seventh and eleventh homilies Origen returns to the idea that Sarah represents virtue, both in his allegorical reading of the conflict with Hagar, and in Sarah's death which represents the consummation of virtue. Also in the east and over a century later, John Chrysostom favoured a more literal approach when touching on the problems of Abraham and Sarah. In a highly selective analysis he finds Genesis xvi.1 instructive for both husbands and wives, who should keep the bond of marriage intact.(19) Husbands should make allowance for their wives as frailer vessels, and wives should not disagree with their husbands. Both should prize domestic peace above everything. Like Origen before him, Chrysostom makes no attempt to harmonize this ideal picture with the domestic tensions described in Genesis.

Augustine of Hippo, Chrysostom's western contemporary, could not easily avoid these difficulties. Manichaean attacks on the Old Testament patriarchs and their morals required comprehensive rebuttal, not elision. In his Contra Faustum Manichaeum Augustine addresses almost the entire range of problems presented by the conduct of Abraham and Sarah for the orthodox Christian.(20) The Manichees impugned Abraham for a lack of sexual continence, for selling Sarah for sex, and for his lie that Sarah was his sister. Augustine answers each charge in detail, and in doing so lays down for the western Church a standard way of interpreting these problematic passages. He defends Abraham's sexual relations with Sarah in terms of his obedience to the higher law demanding procreation and the preservation of the natural order rather than lust, and defends Sarah's role in procuring Hagar in the same terms. He also invokes I Corinthians vii.4 which allows a wife authority over her husband's body. Nor does Abraham's desire to have a son with Hagar reveal a lack of faith in God's promise of a son with Sarah, because this specific promise had not yet been made. Augustine defends Abraham against the accusation that he sold Sarah for the kings' sexual pleasure by claiming there was no sexual contact, and insists both episodes show Abraham's obedient trust in God's power to protect Sarah's chastity. He insists that even if sex had taken place her chastity would not have been violated, because she would not have desired pleasure. In the same way Abraham's sexual relations with Hagar did not violate his own chastity. And in claiming Sarah was his sister Abraham did not lie, because of their relationship on his father's side. Having established the moral soundness of the literal text, Augustine feels free to read allegorically the whole story of Abraham and Sarah as husband and wife. Abraham represents Christ and Sarah the Church in her beauty, who like Sarah is honoured in a foreign land even though her husband is not known. The Church is the secret spouse of Christ, and cannot be defiled by earthly kings as Sarah was not. The Church is also Christ's sister on the Father's (God's) side, but not the mother's, which is the Synagogue. These spiritual readings, as well as reinforcing the unity of the Church in the context of the polemic against a schismatic sect, aggressively consolidate Augustine's defence of the moral value of the letter of Genesis.(21)

The problematic relationship between Abraham and Sarah is dealt with in detail by two Anglo-Saxon authors: the anonymous poet of the Old English Genesis A and AElfric of Eynsham. It is generally agreed that the biblical poem Genesis A is among the earliest surviving Old English poetry, probably dating from the eighth century.(22) The many works of AElfric, best known as a homilist and translator, date from around the year 1000. Both AElfric and the poet of Genesis A, who offers a rendering of Genesis up to the sacrifice of Isaac, are faced with the difficulty of presenting the problematic details of patriarchal life to a vernacular audience. Writing more than two hundred years apart, both show a concern to present Abraham and Sarah as virtuously living Old Testament saints, and share an anxiety to emphasize Abraham's holiness in particular.