And so we begin the story of Abram. When we left off in Chapter 11, P described how Abram and his family, including his barren wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, had left their homeland in Ur to go to the land of Canaan (11:31-32). Now in the beginning of Chapter 12, we have Yahweh commanding Abram to leave his homeland and go to Canaan in the J source (12:1). So Abram leaves the land of his birth for Canaan twice, enticed by Yahweh's promises of fathering a great nation (12:2-4). By now I'm sure you can see why some variation of multiple source theory is the overwhelming scholarly consensus with regards to the authorship of the Pentateuch.
Well, Yahweh isn't too happy about Pharoah copulating with Sarai so he sends plagues on Pharoah and his house (12:17). Yes, you read that right. Yahweh doesn't punish Abram for lying and pimping out his wife, but instead punishes the unwitting Pharaoh who hasn't done anything wrong. Now that's what I call justice! Pharaoh somehow figures out how he got in this predicament and chastises Abram for lying to him and orders him to leave:
Melchizedek ("My king is righteousness") is described as a priest of El, (referred to here with the epithet "Elyon", meaning "most high") who we know today to have been the chief god of the Canaanite pantheon who was syncretized with Yahweh. Melchizedek is identified here as the King of Salem, which is traditionally associated with Jerusalem. Despite only being briefly mentioned here and in Psalm 110 in the whole of the Hebrew Bible Melchizedek somehow becomes an influential character in extra-biblical writings and the Christian New Testament.
To wrap up this adventure, the king of Sodom offers Abram the spoils of war in return for his heroics (14:21), but Abram turns him down, explicitly equating Yahweh with El while doing so:
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All right, next time we'll be looking at Genesis 15-17, which I've already read and taken notes over. I was originally going to cover 15-17 here, but like usual, this one got away from me. I need to stop writing so much. Anyway, see you then!
Uhhhh... She's My Sister
Upon arriving in Canaan, Abram stops and camps in a variety of sites in the countryside, building altars so as to sacrifice to Yahweh along the way (12:6-9). But Abram's first trip to the promised land doesn't last long, as a sudden famine forces the family to Egypt (12:10). In a somewhat bizarre plot twist, upon arriving in Egypt Abram tells the Egyptians that Sarai is his sister, out of fear that they would kill him if they knew she was his wife (12:11-13). Evidently she is so beautiful that the Egyptian Pharaoh takes Sarai as his own wife, and apparently compensates Abram with (what I assume to be) a royal dowry of oxen, asses, camels, and slaves (12:14-16). That's right. Abram essentially sells his own wife and presumably lets Pharaoh have sex with her to protect his own life all while profiting in the form of a large dowry payment.
Abram's Counsel to Sarai by James Jacques Joseph Tissot - c. 1896-1902 CE
Well, Yahweh isn't too happy about Pharoah copulating with Sarai so he sends plagues on Pharoah and his house (12:17). Yes, you read that right. Yahweh doesn't punish Abram for lying and pimping out his wife, but instead punishes the unwitting Pharaoh who hasn't done anything wrong. Now that's what I call justice! Pharaoh somehow figures out how he got in this predicament and chastises Abram for lying to him and orders him to leave:
So Pharaoh called Abram, and said, "What is this you have done to me?
Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
Why 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."
- Genesis 12:18-19
Offering no apology or explanation, Abram obliges, taking the livestock and slaves with him (12:20). They say pimpin' ain't easy, but don't tell Abram.
This whole ordeal is a perplexing tale, but apparently an archetypal one, as we will see this same formula play out twice more with the patriarchs. This particular occurrence of the "my wife is my sister" story seems to have almost no affect on the story of Abram and Sarai, so it appears to me to exist here primarily for the purpose of foreshadowing of the Exodus. You have Pharaoh, plagues from Yahweh, and the heroes leaving Egypt for the promised land. The main difference here is that if anyone is behaving badly in this story it's Abram, not Pharaoh.
This brings us to Chapter 14, which recounts a conflict between the kings of the East Jordan plane (where Lot settled) and the land further East (Mesopotamia?). Chapter 14 evidently does not come from one of the main sources of the Torah, and is written in such a way as to be absolutely baffling in regards to who is from where allied with who fighting against which for what reasons. But I think I eventually figured it out:
So apparently the kings of the plane and the kings of the east were all allied together at one point with Chedorlaomer of Elam as the head of the alliance, but after 12 years of vassalage to Chedorlaomer the kings of the plane rebelled (14:3-4). Note that this is very unlikely to be historical, as evidenced by the clearly invented names of some of the kings. "Bera" and "Birsha" of Sodom and Gomorrah essentially translate to "evil" and "wickedness" respectively. Anyway, the Kings of the East eventually lay waste to the cities of the plane and take off with the spoils of war, including Lot's household (14:5-12).
Word of Lot's predicament eventually reaches Abram so he raises a fighting force of 318 of his own men and some Amorite allies of his (he was living among the Amorites at the time) to pursue the invaders. With this tiny force overtakes and defeats the kings of the east (14:13-17). The narrative is sparse on details, so we are left to wonder at how this would have been possible. Anyway, Abram returns to the plane and is about to meet with Bera of Sodom when suddenly a new character, Melchizedek, appears out of nowhere.
This whole ordeal is a perplexing tale, but apparently an archetypal one, as we will see this same formula play out twice more with the patriarchs. This particular occurrence of the "my wife is my sister" story seems to have almost no affect on the story of Abram and Sarai, so it appears to me to exist here primarily for the purpose of foreshadowing of the Exodus. You have Pharaoh, plagues from Yahweh, and the heroes leaving Egypt for the promised land. The main difference here is that if anyone is behaving badly in this story it's Abram, not Pharaoh.
A Clash of Kings
Upon arriving back in Canaan Lot and Abram evidently can't get along as there apparently weren't enough resources to go around (13:6-9). So Abram offers Lot his choice of the East or the West. Observing the verdant, fertile lands east of the Jordan River, Lot chooses the planes and its established cities, including Sodom and Gomorrah, leaving the West to Abram (13:10-13). Yahweh reiterates and expands his promise of progeny to Abram and in exchange Abram establishes another altar to Yahweh (13:14-18). J just loves explaining the origin of landmarks.This brings us to Chapter 14, which recounts a conflict between the kings of the East Jordan plane (where Lot settled) and the land further East (Mesopotamia?). Chapter 14 evidently does not come from one of the main sources of the Torah, and is written in such a way as to be absolutely baffling in regards to who is from where allied with who fighting against which for what reasons. But I think I eventually figured it out:
Word of Lot's predicament eventually reaches Abram so he raises a fighting force of 318 of his own men and some Amorite allies of his (he was living among the Amorites at the time) to pursue the invaders. With this tiny force overtakes and defeats the kings of the east (14:13-17). The narrative is sparse on details, so we are left to wonder at how this would have been possible. Anyway, Abram returns to the plane and is about to meet with Bera of Sodom when suddenly a new character, Melchizedek, appears out of nowhere.
The Priest of El Elyon
And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine;
he was priest of El Elyon. He blessed him and said,
"Blessed be Abram by El Elyon, maker of heaven and earth;
and blessed be El Elyon, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!"
- Genesis 14:18-20a
The Meeting of Abram and Melchizedek by Peter Paul Rubens - c. 1625 CE
Melchizedek ("My king is righteousness") is described as a priest of El, (referred to here with the epithet "Elyon", meaning "most high") who we know today to have been the chief god of the Canaanite pantheon who was syncretized with Yahweh. Melchizedek is identified here as the King of Salem, which is traditionally associated with Jerusalem. Despite only being briefly mentioned here and in Psalm 110 in the whole of the Hebrew Bible Melchizedek somehow becomes an influential character in extra-biblical writings and the Christian New Testament.
To wrap up this adventure, the king of Sodom offers Abram the spoils of war in return for his heroics (14:21), but Abram turns him down, explicitly equating Yahweh with El while doing so:
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have sworn to Yahweh, El Elyon, maker of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, 'I have made Abram rich.' I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me - Aner, Eschol, and Mamre. Let them take their share."Here Abram is determined to maintain his status as a self-made man, beholden to no one. Now, this entire episode is generally accepted to originate with a different source than that of Chapter 12. During that whole bizarre escapade in Egypt Abram has no qualms in establishing his wealth through a phony dowry he schemed off the Pharaoh. Abram is depicted as a man of much higher character here than during the regrettable wife-pimping fiasco. But it won't be the last time Abram pulls such a stunt. Next time we'll look at some more weird wife stuff and two perspectives on Yahweh's covenant with Abram.
- Genesis 14:22-24
Psalm 15
The study notes of the Harper Collins indicate that this psalm was used in the liturgy for entrance into the sanctuary. Essentially the priest recites the moral requirements for one who wishes to enter into the presence of Yahweh: Do what is right, speak the truth, do not slander or do evil to friends or neighbors, despise the wicked, honor Yahweh, honor your vows, do not charge interest, and don't take bribes. The prohibition against taking interest seems oddly specific here. I understand that it was illegal to do so, but it seems like a somewhat minor offense to be listed here. Interesting.--
All right, next time we'll be looking at Genesis 15-17, which I've already read and taken notes over. I was originally going to cover 15-17 here, but like usual, this one got away from me. I need to stop writing so much. Anyway, see you then!
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