In Hebrew "Sarah" is spelled שרה (shin–ש reish–ר heh–ה). ----- The appropriate response to this brilliant piece of exhausting exegesis would seem to be a long sleepy yawn. . . But it's not the case. . . Not even close.
From time immemorial to this very day it's been read, and said, and heard read, and then said, that God added a heh ה to the name "Sarai" שרי (shin-ש reish-ר yod-י) to transform "Sarai" שרי to "Sarah" שרה. -----That's what it says in Christian commentary, Jewish commentary, and Islamic commentary. But it's false through and through.
To transform "Abram" אברם to "Abraham" we merely insert the heh after the reish: אבר–ה–ם. No letter is removed. . . So to transform "Sarai" שרי to "Sarah" we merely insert the dalet ד over the existing yod י to get שרה (the heh is constructed of a dalet over a yod . . . as is taught to Jewish soferim). If "Sarai" was transformed by the addition of the Hebrew letter heh ה, then the yod ' already in the name "Sarai" would have to be removed. But no letter is removed from "Abram" in the transformation to "Abraham," so we're clued in to the fact that no letter is removed from "Sarai" in order to transform the name to "Sarah."
From time immemorial to this very day it's been read, and said, and heard read, and then said, that God added a heh ה to the name "Sarai" שרי (shin-ש reish-ר yod-י) to transform "Sarai" שרי to "Sarah" שרה. -----That's what it says in Christian commentary, Jewish commentary, and Islamic commentary. But it's false through and through.
To transform "Abram" אברם to "Abraham" we merely insert the heh after the reish: אבר–ה–ם. No letter is removed. . . So to transform "Sarai" שרי to "Sarah" we merely insert the dalet ד over the existing yod י to get שרה (the heh is constructed of a dalet over a yod . . . as is taught to Jewish soferim). If "Sarai" was transformed by the addition of the Hebrew letter heh ה, then the yod ' already in the name "Sarai" would have to be removed. But no letter is removed from "Abram" in the transformation to "Abraham," so we're clued in to the fact that no letter is removed from "Sarai" in order to transform the name to "Sarah."
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