It’s a story filled with hidden beauty, shrewd bargaining, and a touch of divine protection.
Our tale begins as Abraham and Sarah journey from Canaan to Egypt. According to Legends of the Jews, by Louis Ginzberg, it was during this trip that Abraham truly beheld Sarah's beauty for the first time. Can you believe it? They were wading through a stream, and he saw her reflection shimmering in the water, like the sun's brilliance itself. Up until then, the text implies, he'd been almost… unaware.
This sudden realization led Abraham to worry about the dangers that awaited them in Egypt. "The Egyptians are very sensual," he told Sarah. So, he decided to conceal her in a casket, hoping to protect her from unwanted attention.
Now, here’s where the story gets interesting. At the Egyptian border, the tax collectors grew suspicious. They asked Abraham what the casket held. He replied, "Barley." But the officers weren't convinced. "No," they said, "it contains wheat!"
Abraham, ever the negotiator, agreed to pay the tax on wheat. But the tax collectors pressed on, each guess more outlandish than the last. "It contains pepper!" they exclaimed. Again, Abraham agreed to pay the tax. Then came gold, and even precious stones! Abraham, remarkably, didn't refuse a single charge, no matter how high.
This, of course, made the tax collectors even MORE suspicious. What could possibly be so valuable that this man would pay any price to keep it hidden? They insisted on opening the casket.
And what happened when they did? According to Legends of the Jews, the whole of Egypt was suddenly resplendent with Sarah's beauty! The effect was so dramatic that all other beauties paled in comparison – "like apes compared with men." She even surpassed Eve herself!
The servants of Pharaoh, utterly captivated, began vying to possess her. But they quickly realized that such radiant beauty shouldn't belong to a mere private individual. They reported their discovery to the king.
Pharaoh, upon hearing the news, immediately dispatched a powerful armed force to bring Sarah to his palace. He was so bewitched by her charms that he showered the messengers who brought him news of her arrival with lavish gifts. The story underscores the immense power of beauty, but also the potential dangers it presented, requiring Abraham's quick thinking and, perhaps, divine intervention to navigate. It is a narrative that illustrates how beauty can be both a blessing and a curse, and how faith and shrewdness can help overcome even the most challenging situations. It begs the question: what lengths would you go to protect something – or someone – truly precious?