Summary

“The First Sarah” takes place at a time “before God created the gender binary” (97). Two people named Sari and Abey met, fell in love, and married. God told Abey that he would be “the father of many nations” (99). However, Sari could not conceive a child, and soon there was a famine. God told Abey to go to Egypt to find food. When they arrived, Abey introduced Sari as his sister, which was technically true, and the Egyptian king said he would like one of his sons to marry her. Abey told the king they would go home and seek their father's permission for the marriage, in exchange for a stockpile of food. The Egyptian king also sent Abey and Sari home with a handmaiden named Hagar.

Hagar and Sari developed a romantic and sexual relationship. Sari only had sex with...