genesis 12 - spousal abuse

Abram is an asshole. Let’s just admit that right up front. One would expect the person on whom three major religions are based to have had some sense of honor or moral character, but Abram has neither of these.

Nevertheless, in Chapter 12, Yahweh has arbitrarily chosen Abram to be one of his favorites:

Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3)

Thus, all of Abram’s moral failings are overlooked and forgotten, even when they are truly outrageous.

Abram takes his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, all their belongings, and all their slaves (euphemistically translated as “souls” here (Genesis 12:5)) and travels into the land of Canaan. Here, in a passage that could have been inspired by the tower scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (“What? The curtains?”), Yahweh tells him that, one day, all this shall be his.

What is to be done with those annoying Canaanites is glossed over for the time being. Instead, we follow Abram’s adventures in Egypt.

And here…here…holy crap!

And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee. And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels. (Genesis 12:11-16)

[Emphasis mine] Yep, you read that right. Abram tells Sarai to identify herself as his sister, not his wife. She is then taken into Pharaoh’s harem (that’s what “house” here means), and Abram is repaid for her services. So basically, Abram pimps out his own wife to Pharaoh! Gah!

But if that weren’t bad enough, the game is rigged in Abram’s favor:

And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. (Genesis 12:17)

So Abram lies to Pharaoh, tricks him into taking his own wife as a concubine, and takes all the things Pharaoh gives him in return. And then Yahweh punishes Pharaoh! Abram even gets to keep all his ill-gotten booty.

Maltheism is religion based on the worship of an evil god. Elohim might have his positive aspects, but Yahweh is just…well, just look at who he chooses to represent him!

And people say that this is a “good book”? They say that it contains uplifting moral lessons? These sorts of actions are not performed by people whom God punishes. They are performed by the very people whom Yahweh has chosen to favor. It is the victims of these tricks whom Yahweh punishes.

Based on stuff like this, what kind of god do you think Yahweh is?