Genesis 23:1

Summary

Genesis 23:1 states the total length of Sarah's life, giving her age as one hundred twenty-seven years through a sum of three separate numbers. The Hebrew sentence closes by repeating the phrase "the years of the life of Sarah," creating a frame around the numerical statement.

Key words

• va-yihyu ("and they were", H1961) — the verb appears in the narrative (vav-consecutive) form, marking this as a continuation of the story rather than an isolated statement; it is plural, agreeing with "years."
• chayyei ("the life of", H2416E) — a construct-form plural noun, meaning it cannot stand alone but must be linked to what follows ("of Sarah"); it appears twice, at the start and near the end of the verse.
• me'ah ("one hundred", H3967) — a cardinal number opening the sequence of three number-words that together compose the total.
• shanah ("year", H8141) — repeated three times (twice as shanah, once as plural shanim), once after each numeral, rather than stated a single time for the combined total.
• shenei ("the years of", H8141) — another construct-form plural, beginning the closing repetition "the years of the life of Sarah."

What the text says

The Hebrew does not simply state "127 years" as a single compound number. Instead, it lists three separate quantities, each attached to its own noun for "year": me'ah shanah ("one hundred year"), ve-'esrim shanah ("and twenty year"), and ve-sheva' shanim ("and seven years"). This construction — number plus noun repeated for each unit — is typical of the way Biblical Hebrew often builds compound numbers, rather than using a single continuous numeral phrase.

After giving the sum, the verse repeats the opening formula in reversed word order: it began with chayyei Sarah ("the life of Sarah") followed by the number, and closes with shenei chayyei Sarah ("the years of the life of Sarah"), now using the plural construct shenei ("years of") instead of the singular-appearing chayyei. This repetition functions as a summarizing bracket, restating that the numbers just given constitute "the years of the life of Sarah" as a totality, distinct from the initial announcement of "the life of Sarah" that opened the verse.

Differences between versions

The LXX (Ἐγένετο δὲ ἡ ζωὴ Σάρρας ἔτη ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι ἑπτά, "the life of Sarah was 127 years") and the Vulgate (Vixit autem Sara centum viginti septem annis, "Sarah lived 127 years") both condense the Hebrew's threefold number-plus-noun structure and its closing repetition into a single continuous phrase, giving the total once without restating "the years of the life of Sarah." Modern translations (BSB, RV1909, SBLIBRE) likewise present the age as one single number and omit or compress the closing Hebrew repetition into a brief clause ("esa fue la duración de su vida" / "to be 127 years old").