Wife–sister narratives in the Book of Genesis
This article possibly contains original research. (October 2007) |
In biblical studies, the term wife–sister narratives in Genesis refers to three strikingly similar stories in chapters 12, 20, and 26 of the Book of Genesis (part of the Torah and Old Testament). At the core of each is the story of a biblical patriarch who has come to be in the land of a powerful foreign overlord who misidentifies the Patriarch's wife as the Patriarch's sister, and consequently attempts to wed her himself. The overlord later finds out his error. Two of the three stories are similar in many other details, including the ruler's name, Abimelech.
Synopsis of the three narratives
Abram and Pharaoh
The first episode appears in Genesis 12:10–20. Abram (later called
Abraham and Abimelech
Genesis 20:1–16 narrates the story of Abraham emigrating to the southern region of Gerar, whose king is named Abimelech. Abraham states that Sarah, his wife, is really his sister, leading Abimelech to try to take Sarah as a wife; however, God intervened before Abimelech touched Sarah. Abimelech complains to Abraham, who states that Sarah is his half-sister.
Abimelech then restores Sarah to Abraham, and gives him gifts of livestock and servants by way of apology, and also allows Abraham to reside anywhere in Gerar. Abimelech also gives 1000 pieces of silver to Abraham to reprove Sarah by a "covering of the eyes". Abraham then prays for Abimelech and the king and his wife and concubines are able to conceive children; they previously could not.
Isaac and Abimelech
The third episode appears in Genesis 26:1–33. Here it is
Abimelech then orders that Rebekah be left alone by the denizens of Gerar, on pain of death. Isaac goes on to spend a year in the area, and becomes wealthy, leading the Philistines in Gerar to envy him, so Abimelech sends Isaac away.
Historical-critical analysis of the narratives
The
the story of Sarah's life, brief and incomplete as it is, presents nevertheless curious repetitions, e.g., the incident with Pharaoh and a similar incident with Abimelech (Genesis 22:10 and Genesis 20:1).
According to the
From the point of view of the history of culture these episodes are very instructive. But it is not very probable that Abraham would have run the risk twice. Moreover, a similar incident is reported in regard to Isaac and Rebecca (Genesis 26:7–11). This recurrence indicates that none of the accounts is to be accepted as historical; all three are variations of a theme common to the popular oral histories of the Patriarchs. That women were married in the way here supposed is not to be doubted. The purpose of the story is to extol the heroines as most beautiful and show that the Patriarchs were under the special protection of the Deity.
Comparison to other cultures
Political marriages were common occurrences in the
Source criticism
From the perspective of source criticism, these three accounts would appear to be variations on the same theme, with the oldest explication being that in Gen. 12.[2] In the past, the first and third accounts have been attributed to the Yahwist source (or J source), and the second account has been attributed to the Elohist source (or the E source) via source criticism. However, it has also been proposed that similarities between these narratives is because they are oral variations of one original story. Recently, it has been thought that the second and third accounts were based on and had knowledge of the first account. According to critics, such as T.D. Alexander, there are different theories about the sources but none can be proven to be flawless.[3]
Literary analysis
Scholars have also argued that the three tales are not true historic occurrences, rather purposeful tales. According to Susan Niditch, there is one wife-sister story that has many different versions, but there are inconsistencies and they all refer back to the same story. Niditch associates the wife-sister entries as potential folklore written to target a particular audience and in hopes of conveying a message regarding the sinful nature of deception and adultery.[4]
The three wife-sister narratives are all related to each other in some way, according to George Coats, sharing common content, structure and genre for communicating the content. In all three stories a promise for progeny is not a factor in the content and the structure rather the narratives have a focus on blessing.[5]
The wife and sister relationships
Gershon Hepner concludes, through
Jewish and Christian interpretations
An explanation presented in classical times, and suggested by Rashi, argued that when a stranger comes to town, the proper thing to do would be to inquire if he needs food and drink, not whether his female companion is a married woman, and hence as Abimelech did the latter, it tipped off Abraham to the fact that there is no fear of God in this place, and so he lied about his relationship with Sarah in order to avoid being killed. Consequently, it could be argued that the parallel behaviour results from this lack of fear of God by the antagonists in the other two similar situations.[citation needed]
Later influence
The film
References
- ^ Hoffmeier, James K. The Wives' Tales of Genesis 12, 20, & 26 and the Covenants at Beer-Sheba.
- ^ Ronning, John (1991). "The naming of Isaac: the role of wife/sister episodes in the redaction of Genesis". Westminster Theological Journal. 53 (1). Biblical Studies.org.uk: 1–27.Pdf.
- ^ Alexander, T.D. (1992). Vetus Tentamentum: Are the Wife/Sister Incidents of Genesis Literary Compositional Variants?. p. 145.
- ^ Niditch, Susan (1987). Underdogs and tricksters: a prelude to biblical folklore. San Francisco: Harper & Row. pp. 23–50.
- ^ Coats, George, ed. (1985). "A Threat to the Host". Saga Legend Tale Novella Fable. JSOT Press. pp. 71–81.
- ^ Hepner, Gershon (2003). Abraham's Incestuous Marriage with Sarah a Violation of the Holiness Code. Los Angeles: Koninklijke Bril NV. pp. 144–155.
Sources
- Israel Finkelstein (2002). The Bible Unearthed. Free Press. ISBN 0-684-86913-6.
- Robin Lane Fox (1992). The Unauthorized Version. Knopf. p. 409f.
- Richard Elliott Friedman (1987). Who Wrote The Bible?. New York: Harper and Row. ISBN 0-06-063035-3.
- Richard Elliott Friedman (2003). The Bible with sources revealed. HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-053069-3.
- Jewish Encyclopedia.
- Savina Teubal (1984). Sarah The Priestess: The First Matriarch Of Genesis. Swallow Press. ISBN 978-0-8040-0844-0.
- Robinson (1977). Biblical Researches. Swallow Press. ISBN 0-405-10281-X.
- New American Bible. — note the footnotes for Genesis 26 and 20-21
- Emanuel Feldman. Changing patterns in Biblical criticism. Tradition 1965;7(4) and 1966;8(5).
- J. Cheryl Exum. Fragmented Women: Feminist (Sub)versions of Biblical Narratives (1993).