10 At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner. 11 As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, you are a very beautiful woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife. Let’s kill him; then we can have her!’ 13 So please tell them you are my sister. Then they will spare my life and treat me well because of their interest in you.” Genesis 12: 10 - 13 NLT
Sarai may have been 65ish, but she looked like Kim Basinger in brunette and olive skin.
< = = = First place, that is a lie, second place I thought Abram was blessed by G-d to inherit all that real estate he had been touring.
Actually, Master Cohen, it is Abram's heirs that will inherit the land. Which gets us right back to faith as he is aging and has no heirs. Now about the lie, I realize this will open a can of worms, but Sarai is actually his half sister. Might was well get used to this, remember Milcha? As God establishes the line of the patriarchs they are going to marry from a very small gene pool well at least until Jacob goes wild. And Sarai, as you will see, is a quite a woman, she isn't just a looker.
< = = = What a minute, I am still not buying, doesn't this pretend you are my sister stuff indicated Abram doesn't really trust G-d?
Well, if you want to feel you are correct, you can read any commentator, especially Christian commentators and they all pile on Abram about this. However, he did not have a Torah to study. Abram knows what about God? After the flood God was silent, or so we must assume from reading the scriptures, for ten generations. And please allow me to point out Master Cohen, that if Abram's seed was to become like the stars, as numerous as the dust, Abram might have been trying to help out by not becoming dead. If I may share a simple rule of thumb, if you hear someone talking about religion and judging someone in the Word of God, Rabbi, Pastor, matters not, if they are judging, ask yourself if you would be willing to be judged by their standard. But I digress and we must finish this portion of your lesson. Abram is going to Egypt.
When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. Some histories claim Abram tried to sneak her in to the country in a trunk, others say she rode boldly, shoulders back. In any and every case what is certain is that when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. This was a tumultuous time in the history of Egypt, the Pharaoh was not Egyptian, a coup had occurred and a non-Egyptian Semitic people (descended from Noah's son Shem) known as the Hyksos seized power. The Semitic peoples would one day become the Hebrews, Arabs and Akkadians.
Pharaoh treated Abram well for Sarai's sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. However, Pharaoh's intentions were not entirely altruistic. Sarai was, even at 65, a world class hottie. Pharaoh definitely wanted to go to bed with her. At first there were little things that stopped him, but one characteristic of a Pharaoh had a resolved will, a track record of getting what he wanted despite obstacles. Wimps did not become Pharaoh's and he wanted to mix his gene pool with hers as well and of course he wanted the pleasure of disrobing and bedding the most beautiful woman in the world, who can blame him?
But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. Pharaoh was no dummy and he had a strong sense of the spiritual world. Something was definitely wrong here.
Actually, Master Cohen, it is Abram's heirs that will inherit the land. Which gets us right back to faith as he is aging and has no heirs. Now about the lie, I realize this will open a can of worms, but Sarai is actually his half sister. Might was well get used to this, remember Milcha? As God establishes the line of the patriarchs they are going to marry from a very small gene pool well at least until Jacob goes wild. And Sarai, as you will see, is a quite a woman, she isn't just a looker.
< = = = What a minute, I am still not buying, doesn't this pretend you are my sister stuff indicated Abram doesn't really trust G-d?
Well, if you want to feel you are correct, you can read any commentator, especially Christian commentators and they all pile on Abram about this. However, he did not have a Torah to study. Abram knows what about God? After the flood God was silent, or so we must assume from reading the scriptures, for ten generations. And please allow me to point out Master Cohen, that if Abram's seed was to become like the stars, as numerous as the dust, Abram might have been trying to help out by not becoming dead. If I may share a simple rule of thumb, if you hear someone talking about religion and judging someone in the Word of God, Rabbi, Pastor, matters not, if they are judging, ask yourself if you would be willing to be judged by their standard. But I digress and we must finish this portion of your lesson. Abram is going to Egypt.
When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that she was a very beautiful woman. Some histories claim Abram tried to sneak her in to the country in a trunk, others say she rode boldly, shoulders back. In any and every case what is certain is that when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. This was a tumultuous time in the history of Egypt, the Pharaoh was not Egyptian, a coup had occurred and a non-Egyptian Semitic people (descended from Noah's son Shem) known as the Hyksos seized power. The Semitic peoples would one day become the Hebrews, Arabs and Akkadians.
Pharaoh treated Abram well for Sarai's sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. However, Pharaoh's intentions were not entirely altruistic. Sarai was, even at 65, a world class hottie. Pharaoh definitely wanted to go to bed with her. At first there were little things that stopped him, but one characteristic of a Pharaoh had a resolved will, a track record of getting what he wanted despite obstacles. Wimps did not become Pharaoh's and he wanted to mix his gene pool with hers as well and of course he wanted the pleasure of disrobing and bedding the most beautiful woman in the world, who can blame him?
But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. Pharaoh was no dummy and he had a strong sense of the spiritual world. Something was definitely wrong here.
So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Abram stood quietly, intentionally not saying "Because you would have killed me and taken her". Pharaoh then said, "Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!"
Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. Thus with God's help, Abram plundered Egypt. He came in a famine and left even more wealthy than when he entered, more animals, more servants. One servant in particular to introduce is Hagar, she will show up later. She was Pharaoh's own daughter. He saw the mark of destiny on Sarai and Abram and decided, it is better for my daughter to serve as a slave to Sarai, than a Mistress in a lesser house. Pharaoh was a wise and cunning man.
Abram's plunder of Egypt will not be the last time this happens when God's anointed travels down south. Egypt is a place of food, of wealth, a great army, a place God's anointed leaders sometimes go, but is sometimes hard to leave, in fact there is a risk of captivity and death. Egypt shows up in the Bible multiple times so it is important spiritually, though not in the positive sense. But in the positive, this is the end of this lesson. I will see you next time.
Activities:
Anagram: find the plaintext located in Genesis 12:11
11 As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, you are a very beautiful woman.
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