Comparing Passages in Genesis

Introduction

The stories told in Genesis 12:10-20 and Genesis 20 give us two of the three “so-called “wife-sister” stories” (Birch, Brueggemann, Fretheim, & Petersen, 1999, p. 69). What causes a man that God has blessed to sin? God keeps Sarah safe and returns her back to Abraham in both passages. The following table gives us the different points of contrast in these passages.

POINTS OF CONTRAST

Names used for God
GENESIS 12:10-20
•LORD
GENESIS 20:1-18
•God
•Lord
•LORD

Names of characters
GENESIS 12:10-20
•Abram
•Sar’ai
•Pharaoh
GENESIS 20:1-18
•Abraham
•Sarah
•Abim’elech

How God is manifest
GENESIS 12:10-20
•He punishes Pharaoh without warning
GENESIS 20:1-18
•Speaks to Abim’elech in a dream
•He restores the house of Abim’elech after Abraham prayed.

Ethical approach
GENESIS 12:10-20
•The author does not deal with the ethical approach of the story
GENESIS 20:1-18
•Innocence of Abim’elech
•Marriage to half-sister allowed at that time

Names used for God

In the first passage (Genesis 12:10-20), God is referred to as LORD one time and that is by the writer. LORD is also used in the second passage (Genesis 20) and so is God. When Abim’elech addresses God he uses Lord. Note the lower case letters rather than the small caps. I would attribute this to Abim’elech not knowing who God is, but knowing that the person who is speaking to him in the dream is someone who has power over him.

Names of the characters

The first passage takes place before God changes Abram’s name to Abraham and Sar’ai’s to Sarah. The second passage is after the name changes have occurred. The name changes take place prior to God’s covenant with Abram after which God told him “No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham” (May & Metzger, 1977, p. 19). The third character in the first passage is the Pharaoh as Abram was sojourning in Egypt.

The second passage is after “Abraham (had) journeyed toward the territory of the Negreb, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar” (May & Metzger, p. 23). Our third character in this passage is the king of Gerar, Abim’elech.

How God is manifest

God is evident in the first passage only when he “afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sar'ai, Abram's wife” (May & Metzger, 1977, p. 15).

God’s presence in the second passage is more pronounced. He appears to Abim’elech in a dream during which they have a conversation concerning Abim’elech taking Sarah. At the close of this passage Abraham prays for Abim’elech and “God healed Abim'elech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children” (May & Metzger, 1977, p. 24)

Ethical approach of story

“The narrative (Genesis 12:10-20) does not moralize the white lie but rather portrays the LORD’s rescue of Sarah” (May & Metzger, 1977, p. 15). It “seems to focus on the conflict between human plans and the divine purpose” (Birch et al., 1999, p. 69). We try to do things on our own we often times fail. We need to place our trust in God and make our plans with God’s purpose in mind.

“Ethically sensitive, the narrator insists that Abimelech was innocent, for he did not go near Sarah” (May & Metzger, 1977, p. 23). Although “Abraham’s marriage to a half-sister was permitted in ancient times” (May & Metzger, p. 23) it is likely that the stories in these passages caused it to later be forbidden.

God, unlike us, holds all sin in equal status. We try to rationalize things when we do something wrong. Just because we did not see that stop sign does not mean that it does not exist. Likewise, just because Abim’elech did not know that Sarah was Abraham’s wife does not mean that he did not sin. Jesus said “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (May & Metzger, p. 1176).

Conclusion

Abraham was blessed by God and was noted for his faith. Yet he lied about Sarah being his wife. Abraham’s faith that God would protect him was put to the test and he failed. There are consequences for sin as Pharaoh and Abim’elech both found out. Pharaoh ushered Abram out, but Abim’elech was restored by Abraham’s prayer. Because of our sin we fall short and it is only by God’s grace that we can continue to have a relationship with him.

References

Birch, B. C., Brueggemann, W., Fretheim, T. E., & Petersen, D. L. (1999). A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament. Nashville, TN: Abington Press.

May, H. G., & Metzger, B. M. (1977). The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha Expanded Edition and Revised Standard Version. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc..