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Genesis 12 tells how Sarah was taken into Pharaoh’s palace while Abraham hid their marriage. Esther 2 borrows the same Hebrew phrasing to frame Esther as a new Sarah, a Jewish woman taken into a foreign king’s palace who will save her people.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 12:15
Hebrew Bible
14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram’s wife was taken into the household of Pharaoh, 16 and he did treat Abram well on account of her. Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.
Esther 2:8
Hebrew Bible
7 Now he was acting as the guardian of Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, for neither her father nor her mother was alive. This young woman was very attractive and had a beautiful figure. When her father and mother died, Mordecai had raised her as if she were his own daughter. 8 It so happened that when the king’s edict and his law became known many young women were taken to Susa the citadel to be placed under the authority of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the royal palace to be under the authority of Hegai, who was overseeing the women. 9 This young woman pleased him, and she found favor with him. He quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her rations; he also provided her with the seven specially chosen young women who were from the palace. He then transferred her and her young women to the best quarters in the harem.
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Notes and References
... The book of Esther made extensive use of our story, and the similarities between them are many. Both Genesis 12 and the book of Esther recount how a Hebrew man had to leave his own land (Abraham in Genesis 12:10; Mordecai in Esther 2:5–6); in both, he is accompanied by a near relation (Sarah or Esther). Sarah, we are told, is a "beautiful woman" (Genesis 12:11), and Esther, too, is "shapely and beautiful" (Esther 2:7). In both stories the woman is taken to the royal palace, where she conceals her true identity in compliance with the man’s request. In both stories, the ruler’s taking the woman is described in almost identical words: "The woman was taken into Pharaoh’s palace" (verse 15), and "Esther, too, was taken into the king’s palace" (Esther 2:8). This precise parallel suggests that the story about Abraham and Sarah contained the notion that Sarah was taken into the palace for the purpose of marrying Pharaoh in the all-inclusive sense. ...
Shinan, Avigdor and Yair Zakovitch
From Gods to God: How the Bible Debunked, Suppressed, or Changed Ancient Myths and Legends
(pp. 226-227) The Jewish Publication Society, 2012
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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