Nightlion wrote:How likely would general population Egyptian wife stealing make it into scripts preserved from antiquity? A pharaoh doing it might. If the present pharaoh was a good man not given to wife stealing he may well have been the exception of pharaohs. But the Egyptian culture was perhaps awash with stealing wives by murdering husbands. Once any pharaoh was known to do it the die was cast for a cultural phenomena. Sort of like what happened with kids in America after Clinton and Monica was believed. Lipstick rainbow parties abounding.
DarthJ you are straining at a gnat here.
Look Nightlion: the story in Genesis was written for people who expected that if you traveled away from your clan group, you might find yourself in trouble. There was no police number to call in an emergency. Do you remember the story of the Levite passing through Gibeah in Judges 19?
22 Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.
23 And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.
24 Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.
25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.
It was that kind of a time.
No ancient Israelite reader would have considered it very implausible that Abraham might want to try ensure he stayed alive if anyone wanted his woman, by at least ensuring that he was seen as her brother rather than her husband - who would have been an obvious candidate for elimination.