Exchange of wife for social and food security: A famine refugee’s strategy for survival (Gn 12:10–13:2)

HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Exchange of wife for social and food security: A famine refugee’s strategy for survival (Gn 12:10–13:2)
 
Creator Tushima, Cephas T.A.
 
Subject — Patriarchs; famine; adultery; migration; alterity; power-play; marriage; Abraham; Sarah; Pharaoh; Egypt
Description This essay studies Genesis 12:10–13:2 with a literary close reading approach that takes seriously the text’s literary, historical and theological constituent elements. After a brief history of interpretation, it situates the narrative in its historical context, which is followed with a narrative critical reading of the text. The analysis of the text unveils the dissimulations of Abram, who manipulated his wife, Sarai, into thinking her beauty posed a threat to him, while his primary motive rested with the pursuit of economic gain in the face of the severe famine that had impoverished him in Canaan. Abram also succeeded in making Pharaoh believe that Sarai was his sister, on which account he exchanged her for material again. This analysis affords insight into the insecurity, anxiety, feelings of alterity of immigrant populations in their liminal conditions, the mistrust of immigrants by the state and host communities, and the ensuing power play (including sexual politics and/or commerce) with its concomitant perils. Through these, the passage speaks anew to contemporary communities of faith in view of the prevalent and ever-increasing migratory trends of the 21st century.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2018-03-22
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip application/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/hts.v74i1.4769
 
Source HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies; Vol 74, No 1 (2018); 9 pages 2072-8050 0259-9422
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/4769/11045 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/4769/11044 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/4769/11046 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/4769/11043
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2018 Cephas T.A. Tushima https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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