Literary Devices – Bereshit 20/0

Literary Devices – Bereshit 20

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Type Scenes

Wife Sister Narratives

The story of posing one’s wife as one’s sister is an example of a type-scene, which appears three times in Sefer Bereshit.¹ 
As Robert Alter points out in his commentary on Bereshit, there are several differences between the type-scene as it appears here and in Bereshit 12.  In Ch. 20 there is no mention of famine, Hashem communicates with Avimelekh through speech rather than through plagues, Avimelekh gives Avraham the opportunity to explain his actions, and the motif of infertility is introduced through the punishment of Gerar (20:18).  These differences indicate the different personalities of Pharaoh and Avimelekh, and serve to connect the story of Bereshit 20 to the surrounding narratives about the challenges and blessing of establishing family lines.  By contrast, the type-scene in Bereshit 12 is clearly meant to foreshadow the experience of the Jews in Egypt.

Articles For analysis of Biblical type-scenes, see Robert Alter’s Biblical Type-Scenes and the Uses of Convention.

Allusions

• Avimelekh’s plea to Hashem on behalf of his people, "הֲגוֹי גַּם צַדִּיק תַּהֲרֹג" echoes Avraham’s plea on behalf of Sedom, "הַאַף תִּסְפֶּה צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע".  [As seen in the concordance, the noun צדיק appears seven times in Avraham's prayer, so that the reader automatically thinks of the story upon reading Avimelekh's words.] The allusion perhaps serves to highlight Avimelekh’s relatively strong moral stature.  

¹ For analysis of the motivations for this ploy, see Endangering Sarai in Egypt.