Genesis 12
- Scriptures point out that Abram is leaving his father's household
- People lived in a "be-dav" which means "house of my father"
- Patriarch was over a family and everyone rolled up to that patriarch, to leave it was no laughing matter
- Inherent community following the will of the patriarch (a father)
- Abram leaving his father's house signifies changing allegiances spiritually - he is leaving Terah's gods for Yahweh
- Lots of Midrash teachings abour how this might've gone
- By all accounts the split was supported by Terah
- Abram's first promise from Yahweh is that the rest of the world will be blessed through him
- Abram builds an altar in Genesis 12:7
- There's metaphorical and literal meanings to towers and altars
- In Babel, we see that God does not want his people, the creation, to settle - they are supposed to be mobile and to go throughout the earth
- God promises to give Abram land, and according to the Babel narrative we expect Abram to build a tower to his own name
- instead Abram builds an altar to Yahweh's name, and Abram pitches his tent (he is mobile, not stagnant) and continues moving
- Genesis 12:10, there is regularly famine and draught as a Biblical theme
- Abram goes to Egypt due to the famine
- Goshen always floodsvia the Nile, regardless of draught, so Egypt is always where someone will go in time of draught
- Abram is a human being... if he was some big epic hero character, than he would NOT be going to Egypt during a draught - he would be the character who just trusts in God and lives his life. But isntead we see something relatable, that Abram takes some of his destiny into his own hands, and we as readers know that there is another narrative in Egypt (other gods, etc) and we expect now that Abram will fall
- Abram does, but Yahweh also has grace on him
- Genesis 12:13, Abram has a plan as we can see with his saying "I will be blessed on your account [sarai]"
- Egyptians will want to court Sarai so they will sucker up to Abram since he (as the supposed brother of Sarai) will receive gifts and what not for Sarai's marital hand
- Plan backfires because Pharaoh takes and then courts, he doesn't court first. So Yahweh afflicts Pharaho's house... interesting backfiring
- Genesis 13, Abram and Sarai come "up from egypt"... another freaking chiasm
- Abram "say you are my sister", Pharaoh "why did you said 'she is my sister'"
- center is berse 14 and 15... "Egyptians saw that she was a beautiful woman and she was taken into Pharaoh's household"... the center of the chiasm is when the plan backfires... it's the moment when Abram learns that things will not always go as planned.
- Our question then is "what does Abram do with this newfound knmowledge from here on out in the story"
problems and questions
- Why are Soddom and Gomorrah named and said they aren't destroyed yet... we don't even know what they are in the story yet
- verse 7, Canaanites and Perezites are mentioned way too early, right after Abram says "no one else is here, you [Lot] go left and I go right"
- Almost identical line back in Genesis 12:6 where the Canaanites posession of the land is also mentioned for no apparent reason.
- Abram claims Sarai is his sister, which is not an outright lie... same with Lot, he is not a "brother" but the word means "close relative". We can't let Abram off the hook for lying, but in the Hebrew it's techincally the truth what he says
- Why did Abram bring Lot to Egypt in the first place and not Nahor...
- Terah would still be alive when Abram left, so why is Lot with him?
- Abram received a promise from Yahweh about many decendendents but Sarah is barren.... Abram brings Lot because Abram knows he needs Lot for his family tree to actually grow
Observations
- Abram, with the newfound knowledge that his plans don't always pan out, is parting ways with Lot who was his safety net for the blessing that Yahweh promised him
- Abram and Lot ("Brothers but not really") are arguing in a field (call back to Cain and Able)
- Lot "looks" (same phrase as when Eve looks at the tree and see), but Abram hasn't looked at all, called out when Yahweh says, after Lot leaves "Abram look up and see all that is yours" - Genesis 13:14