Genesis

Lesson 25 w/AnswersAbram in Egypt

10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you." 14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15 And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. 16 He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. 17 But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had. Genesis 12:10-20 [NIV]

Beginnings

In this lesson’s study, we follow Abram, his family, his servants, and his flocks and herds, down to Egypt, as the famine in the land was great. Egypt would have been a logical place to go during a famine, since life along the Nile enjoyed the Nile River and the green belt that followed along its four thousand miles. For some additional insight into how lush and fertile the Nile River was at that time, read Genesis 13:10—which we will examine further in the next lesson.

Review the above scripture as well as those referenced below and respond to the following questions:

  1. When Abram was preparing to enter Egypt, he asked his wife to lie for him. Why? (See Genesis 12:11-13)
    1. ANSWER: Abram feared that he would be killed if the Egyptians knew that they were married, as his death would have allowed the Pharaoh to take Sarai as is wife.
  2. Why would Abram have believed that the Pharoah of Egypt would even be aware of Sarai, as most people leaving the famine and coming into Egypt would never have been known by the Pharaoh?
    1. ANSWER: Abram knew that his entourage would be noticed by at least some of the Pharoah’s officials, as he already had a large number of people and flocks and herds traveling with him. His apparent wealth would have been something quickly noticed by the Pharoah’s officials.
  3. Why would the Pharoah be interested in a beautiful old woman if his current harem (wives and concubines) consisted of beautiful young women?
    1. ANSWER 1: First, we need to define the term "harem," and understand the hierarchy of the women who belonged to the king. While the narrative that we are studying does not use the term harem, we will find it in other places in the Old Testament—and ancient history itself—with many references to a king and his harem. Simply put, the word harem is the name of a private location where unmarried women belonging to the household are kept and cared for, including female servants and young children. In Egypt, the Pharoah had a number of women in his life, the Queen being the chief of all of them, followed closely by his mother. Following the Queen and the Pharaoh’s mother were his secondary wives who primarily had the task of bearing children for the king. Rivalries among these secondary wives often broke out, as the women struggled to get their sons in line for the throne.
    2. ANSWER 2: The typical harem lived in many building complexes administered by male officials of the Pharoah. A common design was a series of buildings encircling a courtyard and walled on all sides for privacy. The pharaoh would have had several of these located in various places, with the women living in them who only came to the palace when requested by the Pharaoh (a.k.a., king).
  4. Read the following passages and note the parallels to Queen Esther. You should then be able to more easily understand why Sarai would have been chosen, and what her life as a secondary wife would have been like. Note for each verse below how it relates to our understanding.
    1. Esther 2:3,8
      1. ANSWER: Just as with Esther, Sarai was chosen for her beauty by the Pharoah’s officials who knew what the Pharaoh desired in a wife.
    2. Esther 2:9
      1. ANSWER: Because of Esther’s beauty, she was given servants and moved to the "best place in the harem." I believe that we can assume from this that Sarai, given her beauty, would have received similar treatment and been given a special place with special treatment in the harem.
    3. Esther 2:11
      1. ANSWER: Just as with Esther, we can envision Sarai and the others in the harem out in the courtyard, perhaps getting beauty treatments or interacting with the young babies and children.
    4. Esther 2:12
      1. ANSWER: This verse describes common practice in the harem of King Xerxes. Similarly, I believe we can imagine that the Pharoahs of Sarai’s time had similar rules and customs. Perhaps for at least a year before she was brought to the Pharaoh, a women would have had many beauty treatments and protocol lessons about behavior as a wife of the Pharaoh. All of this while Abram and Lot were interacting with the Pharoah and tending to their flocks and herds.
  5. As recorded in Genesis 12:16, why did the Pharoah give gifts in exchange for Sarai?
    1. ANSWER: These great gifts were presented as a dowry or price the Pharoah was providing in exchange for having Sarai as one of his wives. Given her beauty and Abram’s wealth, it naturally would have been a sizeable gift to Abram.
  6. Why were camels included in these gifts? (see Genesis 12:16)
    1. ANSWER: Camels were rare in most of Canaan at that time, so they were seen as a sign of wealth that allowed for people and possessions to be carried long distances over varying terrain without requiring a constant source of water. At the end of a long journey, the camels would be led to a well so that water could be drawn for them. (See Genesis 24:10-11.) Genesis Chapter 12, our current study, is the first biblical reference to the existence of camels among Abram’s possessions.
  7. How did Pharoah discover that Sarai was actually Abram’s wife and that he had done something very wrong in marrying another man’s wife. See Genesis 12:17-20.
    1. ANSWER: God inflicted Pharoah and his household with diseases, a clear sign to the Pharaoh that something was wrong, as it was only happening to him and his household. Someone in his inner circle probably discovered that Sarai was actually Abram’s wife. Perhaps the official received this bit of news from one of the other wives in the harem whom Sarai had confided in. We simply do not know. But clearly the Pharaoh now knew that all the calamity in his life was caused by having a woman in his harem who was married to someone else—Abram. Therefore, and the perceived cure for his illness was to send Sarai back to her husband and send Abram and his "wife and everything he had" out of Egypt.

Lessons from Abram’s Visit to Egypt

  1. What can we learn from Abram and his experience?
    1. ANSWER 1: We often worry when things seem uncertain. This affects our thinking and, just as we observed for Abram, we make bad decisions. The Bible tells us to act differently than this: "Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?" Matthew 6:25 [NIV]
      I have personally experienced the negative effects of worry, seeing it in my mother’s life. My mother was a great woman, who gave birth to eleven children—I am the oldest. She raised nine of them, and two died at birth. She was a fun lady to be around and a great mom; everybody loved mom. However, her one shortcoming—which she would readily admit—was worrying. She worried about everything. And if she didn’t have anything to worry about, then she worried about that, believing there was something she should be worrying over but didn’t know what it was. In the end, each event would either play out in a way that there was actually nothing to worry about, or she would come to see that the outcome was exactly what God had intended for her. Abram is exhibiting the same behavior. He worried the Pharaoh would have him killed so that Pharaoh could have Sarai as his wife, when in fact nothing would have been further from the truth. As we see at the end of the narrative, when the Pharaoh discovers that Sarai is Abram’s wife, he does not have Abram killed, and furthermore, he scolds Abram for his lie.
      Worry produces nothing good and can cause us to make bad decisions. When anxiety comes into to our lives, we should immediately turn to Jesus and remember, 1 John 4:4, which recounts Jesus’ words: "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." We are also reminded of Paul’ words in Romans 8:31: "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
    2. ANSWER 2: Sometimes bad things happen for a good purpose.
      "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds." James 1:2 [NIV]
      "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 [NIV]
      We need to remember that God uses good and bad in order to accomplish His will. While this may be hard to understand, it is the truth. Life is not always a bed of roses for the children of God, nor is it always a bed of thorns for unbelievers. Good things happen to bad people, and bad things happen to good people, all according to God’s purpose: "That you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Mathew 5:45 [NIV]
    3. ANSWER 3: Abram’s faith in God was strengthened by seeing God at work and realizing that being honest with others is the only way to follow God’s leading. Again, we turn to James 1:3-4: "Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

As we continue to study the life of Abraham, we will see that he continues to grow in his faith and in his walk with God. Although he does not do this perfectly—none of us do—clearly his journey into Egypt and back to the land of Canaan has strengthened his walk and his faith. We will see another example of this in the next lesson, which recounts the time at which Abram and Lot go separate ways.

Have a great week everyone!

In Christ,

Wes

[2022]

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