A wise woman posted an incredible comment to the blog this week. In my understanding of Genesis 12, i had a revelation brought to me. In the text itself, Sarah goes from being known by Sarah, to being unnamed. She is not longer Sarah, she is simply "her." So i added that thought to my blog, with the intention of highlighting, what i thought, was a serious injustice to Sarah. She loses her identity, for a brief moment, because her husband wants to "trick" Pharoah. Sarah, whether she chose to be part and parcel of the deception, or if she simply does what is expected, she goes along with Abe's plan. And without her sacrifice of self, Abe doesn't get nearly as wealthy. Sarah, in losing her identity, even for a brief moment, becomes a model for how self-sacrifice can lead to greater blessings.
But why do i think she lost her identity? Because in Jewish culture a name is everything. When we call someone by name, we are recognizing their importance to us, but when we simply relegate them to a pronoun--he, she, him, or her, we have taken away what makes them unique, makes them who they are. This happened to Sarah for a brief moment in chapter 12.
When i wrote about it, i hoped to highlight that better, but after reading the comment, i realized i made it sound like it was something to celebrate, or that Sarah had done something ungodly. That was not my intent, and it proves that words alone can never define what we want or mean to say. That's why it is vital that we have a conversation, a dialogue over the text, so that the message can emerge from our midst, as a body. Thanks again, to that wise woman who shared her thoughts. You taught me a lot this day.
blessings,
jerry
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