Biblical Birth Right

Every Word Counts: Abram and Sarai in Egypt

Genesis Chapter 12

10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to reside there as an alien, for the famine was severe in the land. 11When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know well that you are a woman beautiful in appearance; 12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, “This is his wife”; then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13Say you are my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account.’ 14When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15When the officials of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. 16And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys, and camels.

17 But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18So Pharaoh called Abram, and said, ‘What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19Why did you say, “She is my sister”, so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and be gone.’ 20And Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning him; and they set him on the way, with his wife and all that he had.

Genesis 12:10 provides the short account of Abram’s voyage to Egypt.  Given the cited reason of a famine in the land, it made sense to journey south as Egypt long stood as the bread basket for the known world thanks to the magnificent Nile River.  Annual flooding of the Nile provided the fertile soil and water for crops.

Many scholars and preachers point to what they refer to as an oddity in verse 13, “Say you are my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account.”  An interesting concern is not why Abram asked such a question of his wife, but how did Abram know he and his family would come so close to the Royal Egyptian Guard?  Since he had such foreknowledge, why not simply have Sarai keep her head covered?

Nonetheless, they did get within proximity of the Royal Guard, who did indeed recognize Sarai’s beauty and took her to the pharaoh.  He, too, appreciated her attractiveness and brought her into his harem, but not without paying a handsome dowry to Abram. 

Once it is revealed Sarai has a husband, verse 19 has the Pharaoh angrily asking Abram, “Why did you say, She is my sister, so that I took her for my wife?”  His verbiage was clear that he took her for a wife.  That seems more apparent in the following verse when he allows Abram to keep the dowry (reoccurring Hebrew motif- to take from the Egyptians).

Genesis Chapter 20

Abraham and Sarah at Gerar

20From there Abraham journeyed towards the region of the Negeb, and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While residing in Gerar as an alien, 2Abraham said of his wife Sarah, ‘She is my sister.’ And King Abimelech of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, ‘You are about to die because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a married woman.’ 4Now Abimelech had not approached her; so he said, ‘Lord, will you destroy an innocent people? 5Did he not himself say to me, “She is my sister”? And she herself said, “He is my brother.” I did this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.’ 6Then God said to him in the dream, ‘Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart; furthermore it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7Now then, return the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all that are yours.’ 8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants and told them all these things; and the men were very much afraid. 9Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said to him, ‘What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that ought not to be done.’ 10And Abimelech said to Abraham, ‘What were you thinking of, that you did this thing?’ 11Abraham said, ‘I did it because I thought, There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. 12Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. 13And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, “This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, He is my brother.” ’ 14Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham, and restored his wife Sarah to him. 15Abimelech said, ‘My land is before you; settle where it pleases you.’ 16To Sarah he said, ‘Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; it is your exoneration before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.’ 17Then Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

A very similar event follows in Chapter 20.  Here Abraham is on the road again.  Like before he encounters a king who feels compelled to take Sarah for his wife.  This time the king is Abimelech of Gerar.  As you may have noticed Abraham and Sarah have undergone name changes by this event.  The episode is clearly a separate and independent writing that circulated in the region.  (The previous chapter of Genesis involved Lot’s lineage through his daughters, but that’s an entirely different Every Word Counts.)

When confronted by Abimelech, Abraham announces Sara is his sister, this time Abram failed to ask her permission to do so.  This change along with the names accounts for 2 of 3 major differences in the story.  Otherwise the tale rings the same as Chapter 12’s encounter with the unnamed Egyptian pharaoh. 

The other and monumental change is that this time the foreign king goes to excruciating detail to explain he did not have sex with Sara (verses 4 and 6).

When Sarah’s true marital status comes to light, like chapter 12, the king, Abimelech, sends Abraham away with gifts- herds, servants, silver and land.  Another hapless victim of the old she’s my sister scam.

The Birth of Ishmael

Genesis Chapter 16

16Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar, 2and Sarai said to Abram, ‘You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.’ And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 3So, after Abram had lived for ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. 4He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

The Birth of Isaac

Genesis Chapter 21

21The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. 2Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. 4And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6Now Sarah said, ‘God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.’ 7And she said, ‘Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’

Here comes the twist on the story.  In Chapter 21 Sara conceived, but with no mention of intercourse whereas in Chapter 16 verse 4 the Bible is very clear that Abram went in Hagar and she conceived (interestingly an Egyptian woman).

I began the Every Word Counts intense study of this text with the intention of examining a birth right.  Scholar and author Ahmed Osman believes that the Hebrew Patriarchs carried an Egyptian Royal birth right that began when Sarai had marital relations with the unnamed Pharaoh in Chapter 12 of Genesis.  Osman traces the linage from Sarai’s son, to Joseph, who he argued held a high position in the house of the Pharaoh, not from interpreting dreams, but as a legitimate heir to the throne.

A close reading of the Biblical text loosely supports that theory.  However, to accept the position one may consider another possibility that holds shattering implications.  Among Jewish, Muslim, Christian and other theologians, including B’hai, a great debate exists as to which son Ishmael or Isaac that Abraham was prepared to sacrifice.  Many other discussions involve the brothers such as, one was born free the other bond and which boy is the legitimate heir and belongs in genealogies with Muhammad and Jesus.

Following each of these Sarai/Sarah narratives in the Bible one can easily distinguish from placement and language, using the Document Source Hypothesis, that each of these stories originally circulated independently.  As the Biblical writers grafted the sagas into one tapestry they may have tried to meld the differing stories or better yet they may have meant for them to stand on their own. 

In that the writers, editors and redactors were clearly pro Hebrew they would have attempted to put a positive spin on Isaac and his life.  They may have even gone as far as to create a fictional tale of Hagar as cover up for and Egyptian son born from Sarai’s brief relationship with the Pharaoh.  This is not that great of a stretch nor incredible fictionalizing as the concept of sharing a handmaid for childbearing was a well know and wide spread practice in the ancient Near East (See the Jacob narrative where his children-the 12 Tribes of Israel-are conceived and born between two wives and two handmaidens).

Considering all the information above, one might ask were there in fact two boys?  It is more than plausible that Ishmael and Isaac are one in the same.  To answer to this and other questions noted above we need not travel abroad and dig in the blistering arid desert.  We don’t need artifacts or tangible objects.  We can rely on the Bible as our primary source.  I invite you investigate or yourself.  Grab a Bible and read carefully in your in depth study of Genesis and remember Every Word Counts.