Has anyone else ever noticed that trickery is rewarded in Genesis?
I ask this question because I've recently been rereading the Abraham narratives. And Abraham twice -- twice! mind you -- passes off his wife Sarah as his sister. He first does this with Pharaoh, and is reward handsomely for the deception (Genesis 12.16): "Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels".
Later on Abraham does the same with Abimelek and, once again, makes out like a bandit (Genesis 20.14-15): "Then Abimelek brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelek said, 'My land is before you; live wherever you like'".
Now, I don't recall whether this is something for which there is much scholarly literature. My hunch is that Walter Brueggemann has already written about this and the text is escaping my memory. But I wonder.
Why, though? Why does Abraham do this and why is he celebrated?
I know the Sunday School answer. Protestants tends to moralize these passages, arguing that Abraham's deception is sinful. But the text suggests quite the opposite. Abraham is handsomely rewarded for his trickery in both times.
Again, why?
Here's my best guess. In both cases Abraham is the weaker player. In both cases Abraham is fearful for his life.
Pharaoh / Genesis 12.12: "When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me..."
Abimelek / Genesis 20.11: "Abraham replied, 'I said to myself, "There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife"'".
Abimelek / Genesis 20.11: "Abraham replied, 'I said to myself, "There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife"'".
I think Abraham is rewarded in the story because trickery is one of the few weapons the powerless have in the face of the powerful. Deception and subterfuge are often the only weapons available to the oppressed and marginalized. Consequently, in Genesis we often see deception and subterfuge rewarded when used by the weaker against the stronger. Deception is found to be virtuous in the story when it is used to interrupt the powerful.
Consider the famous case of Jacob and Esau. Or Tamar and Judah. In these cases we also see the weaker -- the second born, a woman -- overcome the stronger -- the first born, the male patriarch -- with trickery. And in both cases, the trickery is rewarded. Just as it is with Abraham.
In short, the Sunday School moralization of trickery and deception in Genesis (e.g., Abraham should not have told a lie) misses the commentary about power relations running through the narrative.
Now, again, all this is just a hunch. But I do wonder if the hunch is correct.