The patriarchal narrative (better, “ancestral narrative,” since both women and men are thematically important) narrows the account of human interaction with God begun with creation (Primeval History [Genesis 1–11]) to the story of the family of Abraham and Sarah. At the beginning of the narrative (Gen. 12:1–3, 7), God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah of offspring, a land, protection, and blessings to themselves and to all nations through them establishes the scope of the narrative—a n…