Midrasch zu Bereschit 23:1

(Gen. 23:1:) NOW < THE LENGTH OF > SARAH'S LIFE WAS < A HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS >. (Gen. 24:1:) NOW ABRAHAM WAS OLD, WELL ALONG IN YEARS. This text is related (to Ps. 5:13 [12]): FOR YOU BLESS THE RIGHTEOUS ONE, < O LORD, ENCOMPASSING HIM WITH FAVOR AS WITH A BUCKLER >. From when the world was created until Abraham arose, the Holy One would bless his world. So, when he had created Adam and Eve, he blessed them, as stated (in Gen. 1:28): AND GOD BLESSED THEM…. He blessed Noah and his children, as stated (in Gen. 9:1): THEN GOD BLESSED NOAH AND HIS CHILDREN. When Abraham arose, he made him a father for all creatures,¹Buber suggests emending “creatures” to “blessings.” as stated (in Gen. 12:2f): AND YOU ARE TO BE A BLESSING…. < FOR IN YOU SHALL ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED >. Ergo (in Ps. 5:13 [12]): FOR YOU BLESS THE RIGHTEOUS ONE (i.e., Abraham), O LORD, ENCOMPASSING HIM WITH FAVOR AS WITH A BUCKLER, in that the Holy One became like a shield for him, as stated (in Gen. 15:1): I AM YOUR SHIELD. Now a buckler is nothing but a shield, as shown in the verse (I Sam. 17:7): AND THE ONE BEARING THE BUCKLER WAS GOING BEFORE HIM (i.e., Goliath). What is the meaning of ENCOMPASSING HIM WITH FAVOR? That he blessed Abraham in his old age, as stated (in Gen. 24:1): NOW ABRAHAM WAS OLD.

As it was taught; And the life of Sarah....

When she was 100, she was like 20 in sin, and when she was 20 she was like a 7 year old in beauty. Therefore, they said 100 and 20 and 7 years. 

And Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years old; these were the years of the life of ‎Sarah. And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba, the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. And Abraham ‎came to mourn over, Sarah, and to weep over her, and he stood up from before his dead and ‎spoke unto the sons of Heth, the in habitants of the land, saying: I am a stranger and so ‎journey with you; give me a possession of a burying place with you that I may bury my dead ‎out of my sight. And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him: Behold the ‎land is before thee, in the choice of the land bury thy dead, for verily, no man will pre vent ‎thee from burying thy dead. And Abraham said unto them: If it be your mind that I should bury ‎my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron, the son of Zohar, that he ‎may give me the cave of Machpelah, which is in the end of his field, and I will purchase it of ‎him for whatsoever he may desire for it. And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth, and ‎they went and called him, and he came into the presence of Abraham; and Ephron said unto ‎Abraham: Whatsoever thou wishest thy servant will do. And Abraham said: Nay, but I will buy ‎the cave and thy field for its full value, as a possession for a burial place forever. And Ephron ‎answered, saying: Behold the field and cave are before thee, give me whatsoever pleaseth ‎thee. But Abraham said: Nay, only for its full value shall I purchase it from thy hands and from ‎the hands of all those that go in at the gate of thy city, and from thy seed forever. And Ephron ‎and all his kinsmen heard this, and Abraham weighed unto Ephron four hundred shekels of ‎silver, into the hands of Ephron and his brethren; and Abraham wrote down these ‎proceedings and had it testified by four witnesses, and these are their names: Ami gal, son of ‎Abishna, the Hittite; Adihoron, son of Ashu nash, the Hivite; Abdon, son of Ahirom, the ‎Gomrite, and Bakdil, son of Abidos, the Zidonite; and Abraham took the book of the sale and ‎placed it in his treasury, and these are the words that Abraham wrote into the book saying: ‎That Abraham bought the cave and the field from Ephron, the Hittite, and from his seed, and ‎from all those that went in at the gate of his city and from their seed forever, to be the ‎purchased possession of Abraham and his seed, and of all those that go forth from his loins for ‎a possession of a burying place forever. And he put a seal thereto and had it testified by ‎witnesses. Thus the field and the cave therein and the entire ground were secured for ‎Abraham and his seed after him, from the children of Heth; and behold it is before Mamre, ‎even in Hebron, which is in the land of Canaan. And after this Abraham buried there Sarah his ‎wife, and that place with all its boundaries became the possession of Abraham and his seed for ‎a burying place. And Abraham buried Sarah in great display, as it is customary with the burials ‎of kings, and she was interred in very beautiful and costly garments. And her bier was ‎attended by Shem and his sons Eber and Abimelech, also by Auer, Eshcol, and Mamre, and all ‎the dignitaries of the land followed her bier. And the days of Sarah were a hundred and seven ‎and twenty years when she died, and Abraham made a great and heavy mourning, and he ‎observed that mourning for seven days. And all the inhabitants of the land consoled Abraham ‎and Isaac his son concerning Sarah. . And when their days of mourning were over Abraham ‎sent away his son Isaac to go unto the house of Shem and Eber to learn the ways and ‎instructions of the Lord. And Isaac remained there for three years. At that time Abraham arose ‎with all his servants and they started to return home, towards Beer-sheba. And when the year ‎was around, Abimelech king of the Philistines, died in that year. He was one hundred and ‎ninety-three years old when he died. And Abraham went with all his people into the land of ‎the Philistines to comfort the household of Abimelech, and all his household, and then he ‎returned to his home.‎

Her children rise up, and call her blessed (Prov. 31:28); And she said: Who would have said unto Abraham that Sarah should give children suck? For I have born him a son in his old age (Gen. 21:7). Many daughters have done valiantly (Prov. 31:29) refers to the nations, But thou excellest them all (ibid.) alludes to Sarah, as it is said: Look unto Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, that bore you (Isa. 51:2). Give her of the fruit of her hand (Prov. 31:31), for it is said: And the life of Sarah was a hundred and twenty and seven years (Gen. 23:1).

"And the lifespan of Sarah was 100 years" (Gen. 23:1) - "Ad-nai is concerned with the days of the blameless and their portion lasts forever." (Psalms 37:18) Just as they are blameless, so too their years are blameless:[Sarah] at 20 years of age was like [she was] at 7 years of age regarding beauty, at 100 years of age [she was] like at 20 years of age regarding sin. Another interpretation: "Ad-nai is concerned with the days of the blameless", this is Sarah who was blameless in her actions. Rabbi Yochana said: just as a heifer is blameless, and their inheritance is eternal, as it is written: "And the lifespan of Sarah was 100 years" - why is there a need to repeat "the lifespan of Sarah" at the end? To teach you that the lives of the righteous are beloved by the Place both in this world and in the world to come.

..."The sun rises and goes down" (Ecclesiastics 1:5). Rabbi Aba bar Kahana said: Don't we know that the sun rises and goes down? Rather (this is what it means): When the Holy One of Blessing causes the sun of a righteous person to set, he causes the sun of his fellow to shine forth. The day that Rabbi Akiba died, our rabbi (Judah the Prince) was born and it was written about him "The sun rises and the sun goes down." On the day that our rabbi died Rabbi Ada Bar Ahava was born and it was written about him "The sun rises and the sun goes down." On the day that Rabbi Ada Bar Ahava died, Rabbi Avin was born and it was written about him "The sun rises and the sun goes down." On the day that Rabbi Avin died, his son Rabbi Avin was born. The day that Rabbi Avin died, Aba Hoshaya from Traya was born. The day that Aba Hoshaya died Rabbi Hoshaya was born and it was written about him "The sun rises and the sun goes down." Before the sun of Moses set the sun of Joshua shone forth as it is written, "God said to Moses, take Joshua Son of Nun" (Numbers 27:18). Before the sun of Joshua set the sun of Itaniel son of Kenaz shone forth as it is said, "Itaniel son of Kenaz took it" (Judges 1:13). Before the sun of Eli the priest set, the sun of Samuel shone forth, "the lamp of God had not yet gone out and Samuel lay on the sanctuary of God" (1 Sam 3:3). Rabbi Yochanan said, "like a perfect calf." Before the God causes the sun of Sarah to set, he causes the sun of Rebecca to shine forth. For first it says "Behold Malkah also bore children" (Gen 22:20) and after "and the life Sarah was one hundred years..."

Rabbi Akiva was once sitting and lecturing, and the community [his students] was falling asleep. To arouse them, he said: How could Esther rule over one hundred and twenty seven provinces? It should be that Esther, a descendant of Sarah who lived to one hundred and twenty seven, to rule over one hundred and twenty seven provinces.