A Wandering Aramean in Pharaoh’s Court: The Literary Relationship Between Abram’s Sojourn in Egypt in 1QapGen 19-20 and Jewish Fictional Literature

Abstract

AbstractThe Abram in Egypt episode in the Genesis Apocryphon has been the subject of several studies which have focused upon its status as an example of “rewritten scripture” and its reclamation of the character of Abram from Genesis 12:10-20. This article attempts to assess not only the redemption of Abram’s character in the Genesis Apocryphon, but also the reconfiguration of the entire Abram in Egypt episode through the use of several literary techniques and tropes common to ancient Jewish fictional literature. This study argues that by remaking the entire episode of Abram’s sojourn in Egypt, the author of the Apocryphon not only transforms Abram into a Jewish hero in the midst of a foreign empire, but also creates a more attractive and meaningful narrative appealing to the literary predilections and tastes of a Hellenistic Jewish audience.