Abram’s exodus

Genesis 12:10-20 is clearly an exodus story, but Jerome Walsh ( Style and Structure in Biblical Hebrew Narrative ) points out that the exodus story is told chiastically.  The following is a modified version of his outline:

A. Abram in Egypt to escape famine, 12:10

B. Sarai taken to harem, 12:11-15 (Sarai poses as sister)

C. Pharaoh treats Abram well, 12:16

C’. Yahweh strikes Pharaoh with plagues, 12:17-19a

B’. Pharaoh returns Sarai, 12:19b (“She is my sister”)

A’. Pharaoh expels Abram, 12:20

At the center of the structure is another chiasm in the list of goods that Pharaoh gifts to Abram:

A. Flocks and herds

B. Jackasses

C. Men servants

C’. Female servants

B’. Jenny asses

A’. Camels

After these six gifts, Pharaoh gives Abram a seventh, his bride, the new Eve, mother of the living.

And, the longer section of the overall chiasm (vv. 11-14) is also arranged in a reverse symmetry:

A. Approaching Egypt; “You are beautiful,” v 11

B. They will kill me, v 12

C. Say you are my sister, v 13a

B’. That I may live, v 13b

A’. Arrival in Egypt; Sarai is very beautiful, v 14

Dear Reader,

Can I be direct with you?

War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.

First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.

But we can’t do it without readers like you.

Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.


Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.

Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.

GIVE NOW

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

The Church in the Age of Therapy

Matthew Loftus

In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…

Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot

Anna Farrow

On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…

The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen

Mike Aquilina

Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…