Genesis 23 probably starts this way in your English translation: “Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.” But note, this is not how every Torah scroll in the world reads. What the translators have changed is how the Hebrew conveys Sarah’s age. The Hebrew in verse 1 more accurately reads, “And the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.”
It’s as though the life of Sarah is being divided up into distinct periods of time. The rabbis offer a beautiful reason for this. They say it is because Sarah had the wisdom of a 100 year old woman, the heart of a seven year old girl, and the beauty of a 20 year old young lady. At least, in Abraham’s eyes. Having withdrawn from the public Abraham mourns her passing, and I can imagine sitting next to him and asking something like, “How old was Sarah? Wasn’t she 127?” And thinking of her, he’d say after a moment, “She was a hundred. She was seven. She was twenty.”
It’s as though the life of Sarah is being divided up into distinct periods of time. The rabbis offer a beautiful reason for this. They say it is because Sarah had the wisdom of a 100 year old woman, the heart of a seven year old girl, and the beauty of a 20 year old young lady. At least, in Abraham’s eyes. Having withdrawn from the public Abraham mourns her passing, and I can imagine sitting next to him and asking something like, “How old was Sarah? Wasn’t she 127?” And thinking of her, he’d say after a moment, “She was a hundred. She was seven. She was twenty.”
I love this thought so much. I’d be content to leave it here, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how some have extracted from Sarah’s lifespan an intriguing mathematical connection that does not seem to be happenstance.
As they point out, Sarah is the great matriarch of the Jewish nation. She ties together the three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now watch how her lifespan shows up when you rub together the lives of the patriarchs.
Abraham lived to 175. (175 = 52 x 7)
Isaac lived to 180. (180 = 62 x 5)
Jacob lived to 147. (147 = 72 x 3)
Abraham lived to 175. (175 = 52 x 7)
Isaac lived to 180. (180 = 62 x 5)
Jacob lived to 147. (147 = 72 x 3)
A pattern emerges when we dissect the age of the patriarchs. We have a perfect square in sequential order multiplied by odd numbers in a descending pattern. In each case, the sum of the factors is 17, as shown here:
Abraham: 175 = 5 x 5 x 7. (5 + 5 + 7 = 17)
Isaac: 180 = 6 x 6 x 5. (6 + 6 + 5 = 17)
Jacob: 147 = 7 x 7 x 3. (7 + 7 + 3 = 17)
Sarah lived to 127 years. 127 is the sum of these square numbers plus 17.
In other words, 52 + 62 + 72 + 17 = 127!
Abraham: 175 = 5 x 5 x 7. (5 + 5 + 7 = 17)
Isaac: 180 = 6 x 6 x 5. (6 + 6 + 5 = 17)
Jacob: 147 = 7 x 7 x 3. (7 + 7 + 3 = 17)
Sarah lived to 127 years. 127 is the sum of these square numbers plus 17.
In other words, 52 + 62 + 72 + 17 = 127!
Math nerds everywhere are freaking out at this point, especially if they just finished their coffee.
