Abram and Sarai in Egypt – Gen. 12:10 – 20
As we continue in our sojourn through Genesis the titles of the various passages hold more than we might first think. Let’s begin, however, with reading the notes and the passage, http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/12. It also helps to ask a few questions that allow us to stay focused on the passage. We have a standard set of questions, Who are the characters in the passage? What is the “when” of the story? Always remember that there are at least three “whens;” the when in the story itself, the when of the author /editor, and our when, the now of our life. Recognizing these different “whens” enhances our appreciation of God’s word. The final question in our standard set is what is the plot, the story line, in the passage? To help answer this last question it might help to ask in this passage who is reported as talking to whom? And to ask what is the role that Sarai plays?
Our group has become so accustomed to asking themselves this set of questions that their answers are nearly spontaneous. I did ask Carol in particular to see if she could identify who talks to whom and for Heber to wonder what role did Sarai play.
The list of characters was quite easy to enumerate: Abram, Sarai, Pharaoh, the Egyptians, the Lord, male and female slaves, the Pharaoh’s men and Courtiers. Turning to the when question actually sparked a bit of discussion. Tim pointed out that the sojourn to Egypt took place at the time of a famine in Canaan. Tim’s observation brings up a point that the notes direct us to. This story is actually told on three different occasions, not uncommon in an oral culture. It also foreshadows the story of the people of Israel who were lead out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses. The title gives a hint to all of this simply by telling us that this occurred “in Egypt.” Israel had, and in some sense, still has, an going relationship with Egypt.
But what is significant first is that there is a famine in the very land the Lord has promised to Abram. What does this say about God’s promise to us? By our time we wonder why bad things happen to good people. Reflecting on this passage gives us some input into that disturbing question.
As the backdrop to the plot of this story Carol recognized that it was Abram who engaged Sarai in direct discourse and it was Pharaoh who engaged Abram in direct discourse. Sarai remains a beautiful, but barren woman, named, but without speech; yet she plays a dominant role in this story. The role of women is a developing reality in the biblical stories.
It became difficult to control matters once the group turned to the question of the plot, the story line of this passage. Abram uses his wife to protect himself. He asks her to lie. He assumes the Egyptians and Pharaoh, in particular, are going to act in certain way; but, in fact, they don’t. God punishes Pharaoh who appears to be an innocent victim and not Abram who, in some sense, is responsible for what takes place. Abram makes out like a bandit. Sarai is willing to do what Abram asks of her which in our world is a lot.
Michael identified a discrepancy in the story. Abram asks Sarai to tell Pharaoh that she was his sister but Pharaoh asks why Abram told him that she was his sister. Ken remarked that Pharaoh would have been viewed as a god by the Egyptians and he himself would not have believed in the God of Abram. On the other hand, it is the readers / listeners of this story who believed in the God of Abram. Michael thought that from their point of view [the believing community for whom the story was written] its very telling confirms that God indeed does bless Abram. Time ran out so our conversation will continue next week.
As we draw our conversation to a close, it is important to keep in mind a couple of things. First and foremost, the bible tells a story that develops over time and is always immersed in its own historical times. Just as the meaning of events in one time or period of our life can and often do have a different meaning because of events that occur later in our life; so too stories in the bible have a different meaning in the light of later events – this “when” factor is very important. Equally important, we cannot simply take our “when” in the form of questions and moral perspective and project them backwards in time.
All of this makes clear to me the need for an adult community to engage in conversation together. This is what happens when our group gathers, we laugh, we share, interrupt, respect, attempt to understand one another, don’t always agree, are sometimes surprised that we don’t agree, and through it all hopefully grow. It is possible to do this on line as well, but a similar exchange of thoughts would have to occur. What is your take on all of this?