In “Sarah the Priestess”, Savina Teubal exposes clearly and brilliantly

differents reasons explaining that Sarah should be considered as a

Priestess with self -power, rather than the simple wife of Abram.
Her text transports us to the time when woman possess political and
religious influenced on her community. Some of the arguments pointed
by S. Teubal are summarize below:

1) Matrilineal structure: From this structure, the sons of different

mother but same father are not brothers. This is why Sarah married
his brother Abram, from same father, but different mother. Many
stories considered as incestuous in the bible, like the Lot and her
daughters passages, can be understand with the same logic.
2) Ultimogeniture: S. Teubal mention another typical habit between
the matriarchs, is that the youngest daughter or son is who inherits
the status and possessions of the mother. This repeat through the
following generations, even between the kings of Israel.
3) Visions and Oracles: Sarah had direct contact with divinity in
many occasions, as other matriarchs. Rachel also used the
theraphim, inherited from his mothers. Theraphims are clay figures
from Ashera that where used as oracle.
4) Sacred Marriage: Abram allowd Sarah to share bed with Pharao
and Abrimelech, receiving animals and wealth from them. This
behaviour is not patriarchal at all. S. Teubal states that most details
points that Sara really took place into the Hieros Gamos or Sacred
Marriage. Those rituals were celebrated in the New Year feast
when the land was attacked by famine or disaster. A special tent
was placed near sacred groves as the Terebinth of Marne.
5) Sarah was “barren”: S. Teubal pointed that it was unlikely that,
Sarah, then Rebecca and finally Rachel, shared the same infertility
problem. The real story probably was that they decided not to bear
children, because of their priestess status. We can compare Sarah’s
case with en and naditu status. Both en and naditu participated on
Sacred Marriage Rite, but just naditu where suppose to bear a child
from the sacred union. Priestesses of Inanna stayed without
children as the Goddess they worship, although Priestesses of
Ashera, the Mother Goddess, where supposed to bear children.
6) Divine conception. The fact that finally Sarah had a child by
divine intervention, confirm the possibility of the sacred marriage
i.e. the son is the consequence of a Sacred Union with Her consort.
This story repeats with other matriarch tough as barren.
7) Sarah’s funeral. A large description of the construction of the
burial site of Sara in Marne is the last mention to the patriarch
 Abram. Just those who belong to Sarah’s matrilineal line can be
buried there

Sarah lives in a difficult time, a moment when the status of woman was
changing, as it changes in the XX century, but in the opposite direction.
S. Teubal tells the story of how Sarah travels from her natal Ur, the land
of Her foremothers, to finally get installed in Marne, and in these new
lands she and the coming matriarchs leaved the stress of the change.
They saw with how their childs adopted the new patriarchal and foreign
ways.

Savina Teubal grew up on Buenos Aires, Argentina, and belonged to a

Jewish-Syrian Community. She lived in the UK and the USA. She
founded an organisation called “Sarah’s Tent” and created ceremonies for
the elder age passage (Simchat Hochmah; Joy of Wisdom). Based on
biblical ritual, it included a name-change, tree-planting and death
acceptance. She published “Sarah the Priestess” (1984) and “Hagar the
Egyptian” (1990). Savina Teubal died on 2005.

Bib: Sarah the Priestess; Savina Teubal.

http://jwa.org/weremember/teubal