Genesis 18:12-13

18:12 So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, 1  “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, 2  especially when my husband is old too?” 3 

18:13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why 4  did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really 5  have a child when I am old?’

Genesis 18:15

18:15 Then Sarah lied, saying, “I did not laugh,” because she was afraid. But the Lord said, “No! You did laugh.” 6 

1 tn Heb “saying.”

2 tn It has been suggested that this word should be translated “conception,” not “pleasure.” See A. A. McIntosh, “A Third Root ‘adah in Biblical Hebrew,” VT 24 (1974): 454-73.

3 tn The word “too” has been added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

4 tn Heb “Why, this?” The demonstrative pronoun following the interrogative pronoun is enclitic, emphasizing the Lord’s amazement: “Why on earth did Sarah laugh?”

5 tn The Hebrew construction uses both הַאַף (ha’af) and אֻמְנָם (’umnam): “Indeed, truly, will I have a child?”

6 tn Heb “And he said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.