Hagar (Gen 12:16)
Down to Egypt
16 He had flocks, herds, and he-asses, he-slaves and she-slaves, she-asses and camels.
וַֽיְהִי־ל֤וֹ צֹאן־וּבָקָר֙ וַחֲמֹרִ֔ים וַעֲבָדִים֙ וּשְׁפָחֹ֔ת וַאֲתֹנֹ֖ת וּגְמַלִּֽים׃
You might think that we discussed this verse last time within an inch of its life — Standard Operating Procedure for The Bible Guy™. In fact, we have barely scratched the surface, so I’m repeating the verse, and my translation of it, here.
First, a topic we breezed past last time: What do you mean Abraham “had” flocks, etc.? Nahum Sarna elaborates:
He acquired much wealth, the source of which is not explained. Perhaps Abram was compensated by Pharaoh for the indignity and breach of etiquette on the part of his courtiers in resorting to force rather than negotiation, as custom demanded (cf. 20:14, 16). Mention of Abram’s wealth and possessions also provides the background for the next incident in his life.
David Kimhi’s comment points to the difficulty:
He would not have accepted them but he was afraid to turn them down.
HaKetav veHaKabbalah (a 19th-c. commentary by Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg) recognizes that it is uncomfortable to imagine that Abraham was pimping his wife and reframes the situation:
