“Sarah laughed to herself, saying: After my languishing, shall I have youth [edna], and my husband is old?” (Genesis 18:12). “Sarah laughed to herself [bekirba] saying” – this is one of the instances that they emended for King Ptolemy:48When a group of seventy sages translated the Torah for King Ptolemy, they altered the wording of several verses in order to avoid some difficulty. “Sarah laughed among her relatives [bikroveha].”49This was to avoid the difficulty: Why, when Abraham laughed (Genesis 17:17), was there no reaction, whereas Sarah was reprimanded?
This emendation attributes her reprimand to the fact that she shared her skepticism with others. “And my husband is old” – a woman, as long as she is young, wears fine jewelry, [while old women do not],50A young woman wears jewelry to make herself attractive to her husband. Older women do not generally do so. but I, even after my languishing, I wear jewelry [edna],51I am once again donning jewelry, like a young woman. as it says: “I decked you with ornaments [edi]” (Ezekiel 16:11).
A woman, as long as she is young, has menstrual cycles, [while old women do not,] but I, even after my languishing, I have edna, meaning set times [idanin]. A woman, as long as she is young, has pregnancies [iduyim], [while old women do not,] but I, even after my languishing, I have edna – it is my time. However, “my husband is old” – Rav Yehuda said: He grinds but does not discharge.52We engage in intercourse but he does not discharge semen.
Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Each of you considers yourself young, and your counterpart old, but am I too old53This is an interpretation of the words “and I have grown old” in the following verse. God is asking, have I grown old, as it were, and lost My ability to perform miracles? to perform miracles?’