realization of the blessing. Thus, any women who does not conceive is in direct opposition to both God's desire to populate the world in general through Noah and his descendants, and his aspiration to see his select nation flourish. And culpability is not an issue. The narrative voice in Genesis is objective. The biblical tone ascribes neither guilt nor vindication, despite the desperate pleas of many of these women for children. Fertility is the divine right of the male establishment, and barren women are the material obstacles to the acquisition of this divine inheritance. The text does not dwell explicitly on the significance of barrenness. Instead, barrenness is presented as a straightforward problem, much like a technical glitch that requires either a major or a minor repair. In the case of God's specific goals for a select nation headed by the patriarch Abraham, Sara's infertility most severely jeopardizes God's plan. Not only does she impede the perpetuation of the Abraham line; her infertility also prevents the possibility of any progeny inheriting her husband's legacy and breeds dissension in the House of Abraham. Sara, with her infertility, also falls short of her marital duties and belittles the blessing. It is very difficult for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham if Abraham's wife does not become pregnant. Sara tries to compensate for her inadequacy with a gesture that seems altruistic. She gives her maidservant, Hagar, to Abraham. But all that does is circumvent her obligation, create rivalry, and produce and Abram line that is divided and at war throughout the remainder of the book of Genesis. The barrenness of Rachel similarly jeopardizes God's goals and, more particularly, their family legacy. She endures an infertility crisis not dissimilar to the former travails of her husband's grandmother. Like Sara, Rachel tries to overcome her inferiority as a barren wife by offering her maidservant in her stead. H...
