Famine and Subtrefuge

 

Remember when we talked about the geographical traits of Mesopotamia and Egypt?  Mesopotamia was subject to radical shifts in climate which produced destructive flooding or drought.  Both of these extremes frequently led to famine in the Middle East.  Egypt, on the other hand, had the life-giving Nile River.  Many times when there were famines in the land between two rivers, there would still be harvest and grain in Egypt.  So when a famine came, Abraham sought refuge in Egypt.  He probably was not the first and he certainly was not the last.
 


The green Nile Delta seen from the air

And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.  And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:  Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.  And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.
 

And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.  And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why said thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.  And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had. (Genesis 12: 10-20)

 
I have often wondered when I read this part of the story why Abram told the Egyptians she was his sister?  It may have protected him for awhile, but it put Sarai in a terrible position.  Pharaoh obviously found her beautiful and desired her to be his wife.  What would have happened if he had followed through?
 
I queried that question on Google and came across an article on a site called Mormon Bible.  The author wrote"
 
Because of a famine, Abraham and Sarah went to Egypt. There, Abraham asked his wife to say she was his sister. By Jewish law, a man could adopt his wife to improve her legal and social standing. In addition, family relationships were flexible. For instance, Lot is listed in the Bible as both Abraham’s nephew and brother. Abraham and Sarah’s father were brothers, so he could correctly call her his sister. Mormons teach that God instructed Abraham to do this in order to protect him. Pharaohs often killed men in order to marry their wives, and Sarah was very beautiful. The Lord sent plagues upon Pharaoh, who, learning that Sarah was actually Abraham’s wife, sent them away [1]
 
It helps to understand the culture and time in which Abram lived.  By our standards this was a lie.  But by the standards of the day, he was technically not lying.  The LDS perspective lets us know that God instructed Abram in this matter.  Abram trusted God and had faith that He would protect both himself and Sarai.   (We would see a similar incomprehensible commandment of God relating to Abraham's son, Isaac.  This, too, becomes understandable when the restored gospel and the Book of Mormon help us to understand that this was in similitude of the sacrifice of the Father Elohim and the Son Jehovah/Jesus later on.  I believe Abraham had to feel personally what the Heavenly Father felt at the crucifixion. See Jacob 4:5 in the Book of Mormon.)

It is also obvious that Pharaoh had a great respect for family.  We'll look at that tomorrow.
 
[1] http://mormonbible.org/holy-bible/whos-who-in-the-bible/abraham-of-the-old-testament

Gebara Education 2016