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  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Was Pharaoh "Touched" or "Plagued" by God at Genesis 12: 17?
  • Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:35:47 EDT


Rev. Bryant J. Williams III :

You wrote: “Abraham lied. He did not trust God to get him out of the
situation with the Egyptians and Abimelech.”

Not true.

1. Abraham did not lie when he said that Sarah was his sister (although
Sarah likely was only Abraham’s sister by adoption, and perhaps Terakh did
not
adopt Sarah until the eve of her marriage to Abraham, per a Hurrian custom
from
the Late Bronze Age). Genesis 20: 12

2. Abraham did not fool Pharaoh as to Sarah’s marital status. Pharaoh knew
from the get-go that Sarah was Abraham’s wife. Pharaoh’s claim to the
contrary at Genesis 12: 18-19 is official Egyptian government propaganda,
which the
Hebrew author intends us to realize is largely false.

3. Abraham never would have allowed Sarah to go into Pharaoh’s harem unless
Abraham had complete faith that YHWH would soon return Sarah to Abraham, so
that pursuant to the grand divine promises Abraham had just received at
Genesis
12: 1-4, Sarah, as Abraham’s beloved original main wife #1, would in due
course bear Abraham a grand line of descendants.

The Hebrew author of the Patriarchal narratives well knew that absent divine
intervention, once a woman went into Pharaoh’s harem, that woman was never
heard from again. Even the Kassite King of Karadunise/Kasdim (misleadingly
referred to by modern scholars as the King of Babylon) could not get a report
as to
his s-i-s-t-e-r who was in Pharaoh’s harem (being the very same old Pharaoh
whom Abraham meets in chapter 12 of Genesis):

“…‘my sister whom my father gave you was (already) there with you [with
Pharaoh, that is, in the old Pharaoh’s harem], and no one has seen her (so as
to
know) if now she is alive or if she is dead.’” Amarna Letter EA 10-17

4. There is no way that Abraham honestly feared for his life in Egypt. In
3,000 years of pharaonic Egypt, there is not one report that a pharaoh had a
man killed in order to take the man’s widow into pharaoh’s harem. The reason
for that is not that the pharaohs were particularly moral. Rather, the
reason
is that a pharaoh would have considered it the ultimate insult to have to
kill
a man to get a non-virgin widow into pharaoh’s harem. Most of the women who
came into a pharaoh’s harem were young virgins. Only on the rarest of
occasions would an exception perhaps be made for a diplomatic marriage, in
the case
of an important ally of Egypt.

5. Abraham is being divinely tested in Egypt, just as Abraham is divinely
tested in the binding incident. If Abraham righteously has complete faith in
YHWH, then Abraham will trust YHWH’s implicit promise to take care of Sarah
as
Sarah goes into Pharaoh’s harem, and Abraham will trust that YHWH will make
the
right things happen regarding the binding incident as well. If Abraham had
been faithless, as you allege, then there is no way that Abraham would have
allowed beloved Sarah to go into Pharaoh’s harem, because then Abraham would
have
thought that he would never see his beloved main wife #1 again. Then Abraham
could never have had a proper male heir.

A Hebrew author is not going to portray Hebrew Patriarch #1 Abraham as being
the ultimate cad. No way! The Hebrew author knows that his audience will
have to figure out how it is that Abraham is acting honorably here, rather
than
being cowardly or immoral. Abraham’s false claim that Abraham fears getting
murdered in Egypt, and Pharaoh’s false claim that Pharaoh did not know
Sarah’s
marital status at the beginning, are part of an elaborate cover story
designed
to shield Pharaoh from moral censure by the Egyptian public, so that Pharaoh
will be willing to go along with this divine testing of Abraham. Both
Abraham
and Pharaoh know what is really going on at all times. Abraham is being
divinely tested, to see if he trusts YHWH to protect Sarah in Pharaoh’s
harem.
Pharaoh’s motivation to participate in Abraham’s divine testing is to try to
send a diplomatic message to the too-rich polytheistic cult of Amen that
Egypt
is moving in a monotheistic direction now, as Pharaoh publicly favors the
monotheist from Canaan (Abraham). Pharaoh pays top dollar for the lapis
lazuli
Terakh had bought in Ur, Pharaoh takes non-virgin middle-aged Sarah into his
harem, in a unique type of diplomatic (temporary) marriage, Pharaoh does not
impale or imprison Abraham, and Pharaoh allows Abraham to depart Egypt with
all the
vast wealth that Abraham had garnered in Egypt. Moreover, all of Egypt would
be buzzing about that powerful NG( (which I view as being “a mysterious,
harsh divine t-o-u-c-h, that had significant meaning”) that had made such a
big
impression on Pharaoh’s entire household at Genesis 12: 17, a divine action
apparently designed to favor the monotheist (Abraham) from Canaan, in that it
promptly leads to Sarah being returned to Abraham. Pharaoh wanted that buzz,
in
order to try to avoid the all-out religious war that his son/successor would
otherwise likely wage against the too-powerful polytheistic cult of the
ram-headed god Amen.

6. At all times, Abraham has faith in YHWH. Abraham’s moments of doubt come
regarding whether YHWH will be able to enable old Sarah to bear Abraham a
son, and whether Abraham can be certain who the biological father of Isaac
is.
But righteous Abraham never lacks faith in YHWH. There is no way that
Abraham
would have allowed Sarah to go into Pharaoh’s harem unless Abraham had full
faith that YHWH would take good care of Sarah in Pharaoh’s harem and soon
return
beloved Sarah to Abraham.

7. Since a Hebrew author is telling this story to a largely Hebrew audience,
we can be confident that great Hebrew Patriarch Abraham will not be presented
as playing fast and loose with his beloved wife’s physical integrity. Do not
trust the official Egyptian government propaganda that Pharaoh puts forth for
consumption by the Egyptian public at Genesis 12: 18-19. Rather, “consider
the source.” That is how the Hebrew author wants us to analyze this
mesmerizing story.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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