Did Sarah Really "Lie?"

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר שׁ֣וֹב אָשׁ֤וּב אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ כָּעֵ֣ת חַיָּ֔ה וְהִנֵּה־בֵ֖ן לְשָׂרָ֣ה אִשְׁתֶּ֑ךָ וְשָׂרָ֥ה שֹׁמַ֛עַת פֶּ֥תַח הָאֹ֖הֶל וְה֥וּא אַחֲרָֽיו׃ וְאַבְרָהָ֤ם וְשָׂרָה֙ זְקֵנִ֔ים בָּאִ֖ים בַּיָּמִ֑ים חָדַל֙ לִהְי֣וֹת לְשָׂרָ֔ה אֹ֖רַח כַּנָּשִֽׁים׃ וַתִּצְחַ֥ק שָׂרָ֖ה בְּקִרְבָּ֣הּ לֵאמֹ֑ר אַחֲרֵ֤י בְלֹתִי֙ הָֽיְתָה־לִּ֣י עֶדְנָ֔ה וַֽאדֹנִ֖י זָקֵֽן׃ וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֑ם לָ֣מָּה זֶּה֩ צָחֲקָ֨ה שָׂרָ֜ה לֵאמֹ֗ר הַאַ֥ף אֻמְנָ֛ם אֵלֵ֖ד וַאֲנִ֥י זָקַֽנְתִּי׃ הֲיִפָּלֵ֥א מֵיְהֹוָ֖ה דָּבָ֑ר לַמּוֹעֵ֞ד אָשׁ֥וּב אֵלֶ֛יךָ כָּעֵ֥ת חַיָּ֖ה וּלְשָׂרָ֥ה בֵֽן׃ וַתְּכַחֵ֨שׁ שָׂרָ֧ה ׀ לֵאמֹ֛ר לֹ֥א צָחַ֖קְתִּי כִּ֣י ׀ יָרֵ֑אָה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ׀ לֹ֖א כִּ֥י צָחָֽקְתְּ׃

And he said, I will certainly return to thee at this season; and, lo, Sara thy wife shall have a son. And Sara heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Avraham and Sara were old, advanced in age; and it had ceased to be with Sara after the manner of omen. Therefore Sara laughed within herself, saying, After I am grown old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the Lord said to Avraham, Why did Sara laugh, saying, Shall I indeed bear a child, who am old? Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return to thee, at this season, and Sara shall have a son. Then Sara denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And He said, No; but thou didst laugh. (Bereishit 18:10-15, Koren translation)

After overhearing the surprising claim that she would bear a child at an advanced age, from her even older husband, Sarah “laughs” in her heart. God criticizes this, noting that nothing is beyond Him. Sarah, when accused of laughing, denies this.

Ri Kara derives from here that Sarah was in general honest, evidenced from the verse noting that here, and only here, she lied. Some Midrashim (Yalkut Shimoni, Midrash Aggada) go far in the opposite direction and suggest this is the source for the invalidation of women from giving testimony! Chizkuni accepts this, suggesting that the rationale is that women are more likely to lie out of fear. (Note that this is not the Talmudic source).

This is particularly odd considering Sarah was telling the truth. The verse attests to Sarah laughing in her heart/mind, meaning she did not laugh out loud. Ramban, Rabbenu Bechaye, and Tur implicitly support this, noting that Sarah came to understand the promise that she would have a child was a prophecy from Avraham’s ability to know her thoughts. She, after all, did not know that the men who had conveyed the blessed message were angels. Thus, after this moment she no longer challenges the possibility of having a child. They struggle to explain the sense in which she lied at all, suggesting that at first she thought Avraham saw he facial expressions and assumed they reflected internal laughter. When he persisted in challenging her after her denials, she realized he knew her thoughts, which proved he had been granted prophecy. Rabbi Y.S. Reggio goes farther, imagining that this was the conversation between her and Avraham. Avraham said that just as he came to believe that he knew what she was thinking due to the Divine message, Sarah should accept that the men who told her she would have a child were in fact divinely sent messengers. Tzror HaMor contends indeed she originally told the truth, as she thought Avraham was accusing her of laughing out loud, and only after did he clarify he meant in her heart. Bereishit Rabbah and Yerushalmi (Sotah 7:1) assume that God, not Avraham, responded to Sarah, taking this to its logical conclusion. (Rabbi Dovid Tzvi Hoffman says it was the angel who responded, but this make a similar point.)

Netziv thus softens the claim, that Avraham stopped his accusations, realizing that she did not lack faith, though she had in some sense laughed. Akeidat Yitzchak (possibility 3), suggests that Sarah did not do anything wrong.

Considering all this unclarity, why does the Torah even mention these accusations against Sarah, framing it as a denial? For those who believe she really sinned, the verses may be highlight the importance of having proper thoughts, beliefs, and feelings, thus considering her mental state real enough to qualify her denial as a lie.

This, however, seems too harsh in light of the positions above that soften her “lie.” Rav Hirsch suggests that the purpose is really for Sarah. She should remember that she had laughed, denying the possibility that she would have a child. Perhaps he means that the quasi-accusation was intended to force Sarah to realize how shocking the news, remember her moment of denial so that her acceptance of the miracle would be that much greater. Sometimes it is worth imagining our incorrect thoughts, perhaps even with a little “guilt,” so that we internalize the intellectual journey that we have taken. Similarly, we often think back to unsophisticated views we had earlier in life and are surprised, and even laugh at ourselves, reflecting on how little we knew and understood. However, that retrojection onto the past itself pushes us forward, reminding us how much we have developed, encouraging us to continue deepening our understanding.