Soil from Stone

Genesis 12:17

And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house… The consequences of Pharaoh’s actions affected his entire house, even though he was unaware of any wrongdoing. (Notice that God did not plague Pharaoh because of his polygamy, though he undoubtedly had many wives already. God only punished him for adultery.) It is often difficult to predict before-hand what consequences an action might have, so it is crucial that our every thought and action be subjected to the highest moral standards. Men must keep their thoughts and their eyes from likely error, assume that all women are unavailable until a betrothal commitment has been made or permission to court has been granted.

Update: “All potential error” was way too strong. You’d have to blind and maim yourself.

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Another excerpt from my book that should be released sometime within the next forty years:

Genesis 12:15

…the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. Sarai was taken to live in Pharaoh’s house, but only in a state of semi-betrothal (v19). Apparently, it was a widespread practice for a wealthy man to take his prospective bride into his house–often against her will–as a sort of hostage in order to influence negotiations with her family and to forestall other potential suitors. Other possible reasons for this practice may have been to ensure the bride’s purity and to watch for indications of sickness which appear over time. The same practice can be seen in the similar events in Gerar (Genesis 20:1-18), in the story of Dinah and Shechem, and in the story of Queen Esther. There is something similar among modern polygamous families. A prospective bride might live with the groom and his family for a period of several months to a year so that she can be certain their lifestyle will suit her and so that any personality conflicts with existing wives might be made obvious before a binding commitment is made.

Technorati Tags: lech lecha, abram, sarai, torah, polygamy, ane culture

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