Abram's Egyptian Sojourn: Genesis 12.10-20

Abram in the Negev

We left off last week with Abram heading into the Negev (also written ‘Negeb’) after building an altar to Yahweh between the two ruined cities of Bethel and Ai. The region of the Negev will feature prominently in Abram’s life; he’ll spend most of his time here, with occasional forays northward into the more fertile parts of southern Canaan. The route Abram traveled from Shechem to Bethel/Ai and on to the Negev was frequently used throughout biblical history, not only by the patriarchs but by trade caravans, as well. While it’s often known as the ‘Ridge Route,’ it has also been called the ‘Route of the Patriarchs.’ 

Negev is a Hebrew term that means ‘dry’ or ‘arid,’ and it’s pretty spot-on in its description of the region. This area was at the far southern end of Canaan. Beersheba, the southernmost settlement, was located in the Negev. The Negev was traveled by trading caravans traveling from the Transjordan to the Mediterranean Sea or to Egypt, and these caravans followed a strict route determined by the presence of wells or springs, since the land receives only eight to twelve inches of rain a year. When rainfalls are higher, which happens about once every four years, wheat and barley can be grown. Because crops aren’t a reliable staple in the Negev, this region became a prime spot for pasturing flocks of sheep and goats. Most of the Negev consists of low, rolling hills that can grow sparse grass, and this land would be perfect for Abram’s livestock. 

South of the Negev is the Negev Highlands, which consist of limestone and chalk. Rocky ridges run parallel to the Mediterranean Sea. The Negev Highlands get even less rainfall than the more northern ‘Negev Lowlands’, with only four to eight inches of rain falling each year. In this harsh desert climate, even sheep and goats find it hard to survive due to the scarcity of grass. Caravans needed to pass through these rugged highlands, and the route they chose became known as ‘The Way of the Sultan.’ In the image below is, on the left, a picture from the rolling Negev lowlands (where Abram spent most of his time) and a picture, on the right, of the rocky and foreboding Negev highlands. 

A Famine in the Land.

While Abram was pasturing his flocks in the Negev, a famine broke over the land. Famines were common in Canaan, for its ecology is dependent upon the rains that come in the winter and spring months. If these rains fail to come at the right time, are less or more than expected, or don’t come at all, planting and harvests are negatively affected. There are records of entire tribes from Canaan migrating to Egypt to survive famine, and we see this with the sons of Jacob; so Abram’s decision to go to Egypt makes economic sense. Interestingly, archaeologists have found evidence of a massive three-hundred-year drought cycle that occurred at the end of the third millennium and the beginning of the second millennium – right around the time of Abram’s journey to Egypt. Some have argued that this drought cycle is the key reason the lands of Canaan were depopulated at the end of the Early Bronze Age and why settlements continued in the well-watered and lush Vale of Siddim (where Sodom and Gomorrah were located).

One can easily picture Abram in the relative wasteland of the Negev’s rocky, rolling hills, his food resources dwindling and his people suffering (remember that Abram wasn’t alone with Sarai and Lot; he had a whole entourage with him, which could’ve numbered anywhere from a dozen to more than a hundred). Perhaps he longed for the fertile valleys of southern Mesopotamia from whence he came and wondered why God had led him to a land cursed by famine. He chose to abandon the Promised Land and migrate to Egypt, where the granaries were full due to the well-watered Nile Delta. Since God didn’t command him to go to Egypt, we must assume Abram acted alone. Just as the later Hebrews would face difficulty after the Exodus and long for full stomachs in Egypt, so Abram faced difficulties and longed for an easier time in a foreign land. His decision to migrate to Egypt shows us that though he was a man of faith, he wasn’t a perfect man. 

Abram feared that if the Egyptians wanted to take his wife for themselves, they would kill him. God had already promised Abram many descendants, so why would Abram believe he might be killed? His fear reminds us that even great people of faith sometimes had doubts. Doubts are part of faith. We should not feel overly concerned and certainly not demoralized when we have doubts. Doubts do not mean we are nonbelievers; rather, we are, in the words of the American writer Louis Auchincloss, ‘a believer who is having doubts.’ 

Abram's Half-Lying Ploy

As they’re nearing the Egyptian border, Abram tells his wife that, because she’s beautiful in appearance, the Egyptians will want to take her for themselves. When they learn that Abram’s her husband, they’ll kill him so that he doesn’t trouble them. If, however, they believe Sarai is Abram’s sister, they may not bother with killing him. This would only be a half-lie, for Sarai is his half-sister, after all. Abram wagered that government officials might be willing to negotiate with a woman’s brother while being more likely to kill her husband to prevent any future trouble. Abram was willing to sacrifice Sarai’s honor in order to protect himself.

Were Abram’s fears well-founded? The Egyptians were quite capable of killing strangers and taking their wives. In fact, all cultures of the ancient Near East treated foreigners and strangers with disdain. When God commanded the Israelites to love the stranger in their lands (Lev 19.34, Deut 10.19, Ex 22.21), He gave them a revolutionary command. No other deity or government required decent treatment of foreigners. Many scholars have found within this command in the Laws of Moses the genesis of the idea that every human being has moral worth. As the Jewish philosopher Hermann Cohen puts it, ‘The stranger was to be protected, although he was not a member of one’s family, clan, religion, community, or people, simply because he was a human being. In the stranger, therefore, man discovered the idea of humanity.’ Egypt had not yet discovered the idea of humanity, and it was in no way unthinkable that Egyptians would take Sarai if they so desired. 

Egypt in Abram's Day: ca 2000 BC

The ‘glory days’ of the Egyptian Old Kingdom – 2686-2150 BC, when most of the great pyramids were built – had been replaced by the tumultuous and bloody days of the First Intermediate Period. Egyptologists call this period an Egyptian ‘Dark Age.’ The centralized government of the Old Kingdom had fractured, and the Egyptian king was forced to vie for control as nomarchs (basically our version of governors) squabbled for power. Upper and Lower Egypt split in two: the Lower Egyptian power had its capital at the city of Heracleopolis, and the Upper Egypt capital was stationed at Thebes. The opposing Egyptian kings struggled to gain power over one another and reunite Egypt, and this political fragmentation resulted in wide-scale vandalism of temples and statues. Civil war engulfed Egypt, and Upper Egypt, led by King Mentuhotep II, eventually came out on top. Mentuhotep II consolidated his victory over Lower Egypt by unifying Egypt and ushering in what historians call the Middle Kingdom (2055-1759 BC).

Historians tend to place Abram’s journey to Egypt anywhere between the tail-end of the First Intermediate Period and the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. The biblical text, which is so often verified by archaeology, doesn’t indicate that Egypt is fractured or engaged in a civil war when Abram journeyed there; thus it’s likely that the civil war was over and Egypt reunified by the time Abram encountered Pharaoh. It’s likely that it was Pharaoh Mentuhotep II with whom Abram dealt. Mentuhotep II is known not only for reunifying Egypt but for building himself a colossal tomb that can be visited to this day. It's condition now is below, followed by a reconstruction of how it would've looked when completed:

Sarai's Close Call in Egypt

After entering Egypt, Pharaoh’s officials noted that Sarai was very ‘beautiful’ and praised her to Pharaoh. Sarai was sixty-five years old, so how in the world was she beautiful? Bear in mind that the Hebrew word for ‘beautiful’ is also to described handsome men and fine specimens of cow. It needn’t refer to physical beauty; it could refer to the way Sarai carried herself: her bearing, countenance, outfitting, and skills could all lend to the impression of her being a ‘striking’ woman. It’s possible that Pharaoh desired Sarai not to make babies out of her (she was, after all, sixty-five, and though Pharaoh wouldn’t have known she was barren, he wouldn’t look at her as a ripe baby-making machine), but to employ her in his harem. Pharaoh had a litany of wives, most of them young, and harems need to be well-ordered and efficiently run. Generally this happened with older members of the harem whose roles weren’t sexual but managerial; thus perhaps Pharaoh saw in Sarai’s management of Abram’s household (remember that he could’ve had up to a hundred people and servants with him) the skill and talents he wanted in his own household. Sarai would be one of his wives, but her role might’ve been managing his harem. 

Genesis tells us that Sarai was ‘taken into Pharaoh’s house.’ It’s likely that Abram was ordered to take his caravan to the Pharaoh’s headquarters in Thebes, and there Pharaoh inquired as to who Sarai was. Abram stuck to his lie and claimed her as his sister. Pharaoh decided to act generously towards Abram, providing him with sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. Abram made out like a bandit, but he had to watch as his wife was taken into Pharaoh’s palace. One can only imagine the dread and heartache Abram felt at watching her disappear into the palace. 

Sarai wouldn’t have been immediately made Pharaoh’s wife: there were premarital ceremonies and purifications that needed to take place over a period of several days before the wedding could be officiated. During this time, God leveled sicknesses against Pharaoh’s household. This plague wasn’t directed to all of Egypt, as it would be in the days of the Exodus, but on Pharaoh’s household alone. Peoples of the ancient world didn’t have in-depth knowledge of how sicknesses work, and sickness was attributed to divine causes: they were evidence of the gods striking out in displeasure. Though herbal medicines were used to combat sickness, they were secondary to purification rituals and sacrifices to appease the gods. Pharaoh’s first thought when sickness struck his household would’ve been, ‘Which god have I angered?’ Given that the sickness was timed with Sarai’s entrance into the household, it didn’t take him long to decipher that she was the cause. He pulled the truth out of her: she was already married to her half-brother Abram. 

Pharaoh summoned Abram to him, likely in the city of Thebes. Her berates Abram for deceiving him and orders that he and Sarai leave Egypt with all their belongings. They are more than happy to do so, and they leave with all the gifts that Pharaoh had lavished upon Abram earlier when taking Sarai for his wife. One might wonder why Pharaoh didn’t demand these gifts back; it’s likely he didn’t demand their return because it was evident that whichever god Abram served was powerful, and he wanted the sickness to be lifted. Perhaps if Abram and Sarai left laden down with goods, their god would relent. And so they left Egypt, having ‘plundered’ the Egyptians, far wealthier returning to Canaan than when they had left. In addition to what Abram had already gained for himself since leaving Mesopotamia, now he had extra sheep, oxen, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels to boot! 

The Beni Hasan Tomb Painting, dating to around 1900 BC, depicts a caravan of ‘Asiatics’. These traders wore multicolored robes, brought their families with them, and traveled with their weapons and donkeys laden with ‘ox-hide,’ ingots of bronze and other trade goods. Their garb and attire may reflect the look of Abram’s household:

A Foreshadowing of the Exodus

Just as Abram fled famine in Canaan by migrating to Egypt, so too would Jacob’s twelve sons and their families flee famine in Canaan by migrating to Egypt.

Just as Sarai was ‘enslaved’ by Pharaoh, so the Hebrews would be enslaved by the Egyptians.

Just as God sent sickness on Pharaoh’s household, so He would send Ten Plagues on Egypt writ large.

Just as Abram and Sarai left Egypt laden down with booty, so the Hebrews would ‘plunder’ the Egyptians on their departure.

Just as Abram learned that Yahweh was more powerful than the Egyptian gods (for He was able to exercise His power over Pharaoh’s household with no interference), so the Israelites would learn the same lesson: Yahweh is the ‘God of gods’ and can freely exercise His power anywhere He chooses, even in the territories of other powerful gods (and no one of sane mind would claim the Egyptian gods were weak!).