Abraham and Sarah Read online

  Pharaoh had indeed remembered the traders from Mesopotamia. In the days when he was a vizier, he had depended on such men to acquaint him with the outside world. Now he welcomed Abram and his entourage warmly, and he insisted on putting several of his finest villas at their disposal. Their extensive flocks and herds and the men who cared for them would be provided a place to camp in the delta.

  He seemed eager to see Abram. While emissaries from other countries waited for days to get an audience, Abram was invited right away to a feast and then a private audience with Pharaoh Amenemhet in his receiving hall. Abram was allowed to bring some of his men with him, so Lot and Eliazer with a few other retainers made their way to a bathhouse recommended to them by one of the other merchants to prepare for the big event.

  “Egyptians are known for cleanliness,” a merchant advised. “It would be offensive to Pharaoh to see visitors who had not spent the day at the baths.”

  They found to their surprise that when they arrived for the feast, they were to wear Egyptian garments and wigs. Abram alone retained his own clothes. “I want to see my old friend as he looked when he used to visit in my vizier’s office,” Pharaoh said.

  The visit went very well. Pharaoh asked Abram to sit with him on his carved ebony throne so he could more easily ask questions. He had heard of the Elamite invasion, so he asked astute questions about every aspect. He was obviously pleased with Abram’s answers. At times he leaned forward to catch every word, and at other times he fired questions so fast that Abram hardly had time to answer.

  When he had exhausted the political news, he asked about the studies Abram had done. When he heard that he was experienced in stargazing and mathematics, he was delighted. He was even more curious when Abram told him of crushing the idols and turning from the old worship of Nanna and Ningal to worship Elohim, the Creator God.

  “Now,” he said at last, “tell me some of the wisdom of your country.” He settled back among the cushions and looked at Abram with an expectant twinkle in his eye.

  Abram thought a moment, then smiled. “This is one of the more common sayings, but I think it is not for kings: ‘Who possesses much silver may be happy; who possesses much barley may be glad; but he who has nothing at all may sleep.’”

  “Ah, but it is for kings. What king would not give everything he possesses for some good sleep? Who can sleep and have such responsibilities as I have? I must see that the Nile rises, the sun shines, the plants grow, and the people are happy.”

  “My lord,” Abram said in astonishment, “you are in charge of the Nile and the sun?”

  “Of course. If I do not perform the rituals and sacrifices, nothing would happen. The earth would become bare and dark while the people would weep and make my life unbearable.”

  “But, my lord, in Ur they believe the gods do these things.”

  Pharaoh drew himself up and assumed an air of great austerity. “Here, I am the god. I must make everything happen at the right time and in the right way.”

  Abram was surprised. He had forgotten much that he had known about the Egyptians. He determined to sit as often as possible with this intelligent ruler, so he could learn more about their ways and beliefs. For this reason, when Pharaoh stood and dismissed them, Abram asked that he might come again and talk with him further on these matters.

  Pharaoh was pleased. “There are very few a god can talk with as a man. I would welcome your visits anytime.”

  With that they passed from the pharaoh’s presence, bowing and kneeling at appropriate moments. When they were back out on the street, they asked one of the guards to take them to the villas Pharaoh had ordered prepared for their use.

  The main villa was situated behind a high wall with grounds extending down to marble steps that disappeared into the Nile. Reeds and water lilies sheltered a quiet basin where many a princess had come to bathe or where the royal barges often docked. It was not far by barge to Pharaoh’s palace.

  Surrounding the villa was an extensive formal garden with grapevines, fruit trees, and flowers climbing the wall or bordering walkways. In the center was a lovely blue-tiled pond filled with fish and bordered with water lilies and spikes of papyrus. A few fat geese floated lazily on its dark surface.

  Abram, Lot, Eliazer, and a few of their retainers were promptly invited to eat at the pharaoh’s table and in the evenings to his private diwan where he could more freely ask questions about the world they were familiar with. The welcoming ceremony prepared at the pharaoh’s command by the supreme vizier was surprisingly grand. In all, it was five days before Abram and his men were free to ride back to Tjel near the border for their wives, servants, and extensive belongings.

  As Sarai and her women entered the gate of the villa and approached the house, the women hung back and let Sarai lead the way. She paused in the doorway and ran her hand over the surface of one of the columns, then leaned back to gaze at its height. She laughed with delight. “Look,” she said, “it’s a palm tree made of stone.”

  She ventured cautiously in through the door. In the main reception hall she paused to view the curious, unfamiliar sight. The roof was supported by painted wooden columns that bore a slight resemblance to upright giant bundles of papyrus. The ceiling, on closer inspection, was a marvel of geometric designs that were lighted by grillwork windows.

  “How lovely!” Sarai exclaimed as she stepped from the reception room into the main living area. Its ceiling was supported by columns that ended in rather stylized capitals carved like lotus buds. It was a shadowy, quiet room. Sarai’s eyes had to become adjusted to the cool darkness before she could clearly see that the walls and floor had been transformed into something resembling one of the delta’s rich marshes.

  Clerestory windows set high in the walls produced the only light. Strong rays pooled on the painted floor and highlighted sections of the wall rendered with lotus blooms, poppies, and cornflowers. With more light the room would have been ablaze with color. In the afternoon heat, it gave off a relaxed atmosphere.

  The rest of the house contained sleeping rooms, and the kitchens, storerooms, baking facilities, and granaries were clustered near the servants’ quarters. An outer stair led to the roof, and there the women found carpets of woven rushes spread under a luxurious grape arbor. Armrests, clay pots, a stack of wooden bowls and stone platters hinted that was where they would eat and spend their evenings.

  “How kind of Pharaoh!” Sarai exclaimed later in the day as she showed Abram the marvels of the villa. “It is nicer than our house in Ur.”

  “You haven’t said a word about how it compares to your tent.”

  Sarai cocked her head on one side and studied Abram. She knew what he wanted her to say, and she had no intention of encouraging him. “I hope we never have to go back to living in a tent,” she said. “This is the kind of blessing I’m sure your God had in mind from the beginning.”

  She didn’t wait for an answer but hurried out to instruct her serving girls as to which chests were to hold her robes and where to put her perfumes and ointments.

  Abram went to the parapet and looked down into the walled area and then out past it to the Nile with its reed boats and more formal falukas. Most of them were fitted with sails and headed south. He remembered hearing that the sails were used only going south against the current. Coming north, the current carried them along. How odd, he thought, that the wind should always come from the north and the current always flows north. It was evident that most things in Egypt were predictable.

  There never seemed to be famine, earthquakes, storms, or barbaric invasions. From one day to the next, they could predict what was likely to happen. Even the rising of the Nile was always predictable. It came when the star Sothis was seen on the horizon just after sunrise. The only flood they knew was the Nile’s gentle overflowing that left behind the rich black soil, giving their land its namesake—Kemet, the black land.

  A palm tree obstructed Abram’s view, and he moved so he could see the pyramids being built by P
haraoh where the green fields ended and where the desert, which they called the “red” land, began. These pyramids would not be as big or as complex as the pyramids farther down the Nile near Memphis, but to him, they were impressive. It seemed a custom unlike any other.

  The dead were supposed to join the god, Re, in his sun boat, and yet there was an obsession to preserve the body. Stranger still, animals seemed to be gods, and birds like the hawk, Horns, were said to indwell the ruling pharaoh. To Abram, who had been schooled in the logic of Mesopotamia, this prevalence of conflicting beliefs and ideologies was baffling. Perhaps someone like Pharaoh Amenemhet could answer some of his questions.

  Pharaoh had seemed genuinely glad to see him. Abram’s gifts had not been wasted as evidenced by this villa and the invitation to eat at Pharaoh’s bountiful table. Abram knew it was a great honor. Only foreign emissaries, princes, and very wealthy men ate at Pharaoh’s table. With a sudden shock he realized that in Pharaoh’s eyes he was wealthy.

  Abram, Lot, his brother Iscah, and Eliazer, along with several of the younger men, had been enjoying the pharaoh’s hospitality for several weeks before the invitation arrived from Amenemhet’s mother for the women of Abram’s family to visit her. Sarai was immediately excited, but Abram grew cautious. “Pharaoh is known for his shrewdness and his penchant for beautiful foreign women,” he said. “I don’t want you to go.”

  “But it’s not him—it’s his mother who has invited us.”

  “He will no doubt be somewhere observing all that goes on.”

  “And you think he will single me out and convince me to stay.”

  “Not convince you. Order you.”

  Sarai laughed as she snatched up a brass mirror and held it at arm’s length, so she could see a larger view of herself. “How absurd to think a man who could have any woman would choose one of my age.”

  Abram grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. “If I’m still attracted to you, I’m sure he will be.”

  “You’re hurting me,” she pouted as she pulled her arm away and turned her back to him.

  He swung her around to face him. “Sarai, this is serious. Pharaoh Amenemhet is considered a god here. His desire is law and he can take anything he wants.”

  “You think he’ll take me and have you killed.”

  “He could if he wanted to.”

  “Remember, we agreed. I’ll tell the queen that I’m your sister. I can manage everything.”

  Abram still felt uneasy about the visit, but he could see that Sarai would be terribly disappointed. “All right, accept the invitation. I suppose there’s nothing else to do.”

  Sarai was delighted. She began making plans immediately.

  Jewelry was pulled out and tried on. Her finest robes from Chaldea were unpacked. She even loaned some of her best rings and ankle bracelets to Mara and the other wives.

  The day of the visit, the queen sent several changes of beautiful Egyptian garments for each of them. Along with the clothes came bejeweled pectorals, rings, bracelets, and ankle bracelets. The queen had also been thoughtful enough to send some of her women to help them dress for the occasion.

  At first there was great consternation as Sarai and the women who were going with her struggled to arrange the filmy gowns to cover their breasts and arms. The queen’s serving women scolded and argued but eventually gave in to their modesty. They agreed for them to wear the garments they had brought from Ur, but adorn themselves with the jewelry the queen had sent.

  When they were finally ready, the women were surprised to learn that Pharaoh was sending two of his royal barges to transport them. None of them had ever been in a boat, though there had been boats sailing the Euphrates in Ur. They were called quffa, meaning “turnip.” They resembled turnips; they were round, made of reeds, and covered with animals skins. They were for carrying goods, not for regular transportation.

  Much of their enthusiasm for going was marred by their fear of the water and the boat trip. There were many protestations of feeling faint, having a severe headache, and being exhausted; however, at the last moment, they all went.

  The ride in the royal barge turned out to be one of the day’s more pleasant surprises. The sails were perfumed, and the couches were covered in the finest bright-colored linen. Incense burned in a copper bowl set into the prow of the ship while the queen’s women, who had come to escort them, periodically waved ostrich fans to create a cool breeze. Once out in the main stream, young Egyptians sang jolly songs accompanied by their sistrums.

  Sarai was charmed by everything she saw. The sun was shining. The sky was cloudless. From the first, she had been overwhelmed by the greenness of grass and trees and the loads of bright green clover piled high on the backs of donkeys. Such profusion of green she had never imagined in the dull brown lands she had known. Now she was impressed with the abundance of water. Instead of a trickle from a spring, there was a steady flow one could drown in if one weren’t careful.

  The scenes along the Nile were all new and constantly changing. Women washed clothes among the rocks; a water buffalo lazed in knee-deep water; white herons stood motionless, almost obscured by dark green rushes. Sarai noticed with pleasure that people in other boats saluted them because they were riding in the royal barge.

  They rounded a curve in the river and caught their first glimpse of the pharaoh’s white-walled palace, half-hidden among the palm trees. Marble columns, an obelisk, and banners that proclaimed the pharaoh was at home gradually came into view. It was all so huge and impressive that even Sarai was reluctant to land.

  There was nothing to fear. Though at first the queen seemed a bit austere and unsmiling, she was a gracious hostess. Huge trays of dried fruits were served, costly incense was burned, and the musicians played haunting tunes. The only thing to blight the afternoon’s activity was the shocking manner in which the Egyptians dressed.

  When the dancing girls appeared, they had only their long hair and beads to cover their nakedness. The children of the concubines and other lesser wives wore no clothes, and this custom seemed so strange that none of the women dared look at them and some covered their eyes with their hands.

  The visit was more exciting than any of them had imagined. Though they were all shy and merely smiled and nodded when talked to, they knew they had made a good impression when the queen mother invited them back again. “You must come and tell me all about the strange customs in your country and sing some of your songs for our entertainment,” she said.

  When they returned home, Sarai made a point of telling Abram what a wonderful time they had and how foolish it was to worry that Pharaoh might want to keep her for his harem.

  “Did you tell them you were my sister?” he asked.

  Sarai paused with her hands in the air as she started to lift off the elaborate headdress the queen had given her. “Yes, I told the queen I was your sister.” For a moment she hesitated and then continued, “She asked if I had children and I had to tell her no. I could tell she assumed I had never been married. I almost cried. Imagine what they must think of a woman at my age still unmarried, still without a child.”

  Abram could see the old hurt in her eyes, and he came to put his arms around her. “Sarai, it won’t always be this way. Remember, we have the promise.”

  Sarai pulled away from him and snatched the wreath of golden tuberoses from her head. “Don’t talk to me of the promise. It won’t come true. I know it won’t. It’s just like the land your God promised. It was dry and barren and full of those horrible flying things.”

  “Those were locusts,” Abram reminded her.

  “I don’t want to hear any more about the promise. Today I saw children, so many children no one could count them. They all belonged to pagan wives who worship Re, the god of the sun, and I have seen this land bursting with good things. Their god keeps his promises better than yours.” With that she burst into tears. It was late into the night before she fell asleep, and Abram stayed on the roof to sleep in peace out under the low-hang
ing stars. He thought about the promise and knew Sarai had a right to be upset. He prayed and waited, but there was no answer. His God seemed to have forgotten him.

  Even though it was late at night, Hajar was brought into the queen’s judgment hall to be “dealt with,” as Pharaoh’s favorite had announced. Senebtisy came close and looked at Hajar with her practiced look of serenity that was usual with the pharaohs. One of the eunuchs whispered to her, and she answered with a strong show of anger. “Yes, yes, this is the bold one,” she said. “She fears nothing. Even to pick up the royal scepter didn’t daunt her. It appears she makes up her own rules. We’ll soon put an end to such insolence.”

  She motioned to one of the eunuchs who produced a scroll from his sleeve and, at her nod, began to read. The scroll contained the information that the old man Hajar was to be married to had died very suddenly. The plans for her marriage would have to be canceled.

  “Shall we call the executioner?” one of her stewards asked.

  “Not yet. I want to talk to her and then we’ll see.” Senebtisy ordered most of the court to leave and then called for the scribe who was the keeper of records. He brought with him the large scroll of recorded births.

  “Who is this girl’s father?” Her Radiance demanded of the little man.

  He bowed and then nervously ordered his helper to bring his carpet and cushion on which the scroll rested. With the help of the young boy and cooperation from Hajar, he found the name of Hajar’s mother, the date she had gone to see Pharaoh, and then the date and hour that Hajar was born. He placed his gnarled, ink-stained finger on the column and exclaimed with obvious satisfaction, “She is the daughter of Pharaoh by his former concubine.”

  “You fool,” the favorite said, thumping him soundly on his head. “Must you record every dalliance?”

  “Those have been orders … I … I,” the little man sputtered.