Scholar traces biblical narrative shift to Genesis creation account

Rabbi Yossi Green, author of the Chayei Sarah commentary, argues that the Torah’s narrative structure intentionally reverses the spotlight from the first couple to the patriarchal couple. Green contends that this shift represents a spiritual correction, or tikkun, for the original sin in the Garden of Eden.

Green conducted a computerized search of the entire Tanach to quantify the narrative focus on key figures. His analysis found 241 mentions of Avraham and only 47 mentions of Sarah. In contrast, the text names Adam 10 times and Eve, in various forms, 18 times during their time in the Garden. Green uses these figures to demonstrate that the biblical text places men in the foreground for Abraham and Sarah, while women were more prominent for Adam and Eve.

The explanation for this reversal begins with the creation of Adam. Green cites the Midrash in Bereishit Rabbah, which states that God originally created Adam as a single, hermaphrodite organism with two faces. After God separated this original body into two distinct individuals, Adam and Eve, the narrative focus in the text shifted. Green notes that in the Genesis account, Eve’s name appears more frequently than Adam’s, and he associates this visibility with the subsequent troubles that led to their expulsion from the Garden.

Green argues that the original sin began when Eve acted independently. Citing the Zohar, he explains that Eve gave Adam wine to encourage procreation without first consulting him or God. This unilateral action, Green says, initiated a breakdown in their relationship, leading to the deception by the serpent and the eventual blame-shifting between the couple.

Abraham and Sarah, Green argues, established the proper dynamic by operating as two halves of a single organism. While Abraham’s name dominates the text, Sarah’s influence was equally powerful but less visible. Green describes Sarah as the spiritual anchor of the household, responsible for teaching Torah to women and maintaining the sanctity of the tent. He notes that the Midrash in Shemot Rabbah attributes greater prophetic powers to Sarah than to Abraham.

The couple’s partnership was a division of labor within a shared mission. Abraham engaged with the physical world through hospitality, war, and travel, while Sarah managed the spiritual environment. Green points to Sarah’s decisive role in the family’s continuity, specifically her command to banish Hagar and Ishmael, which ensured the birth of Isaac. This action, Green states, secured the continuation of Abraham’s lineage.

Green concludes that the unequal name counts in the Tanach do not diminish Sarah’s status. Instead, they illustrate a complementary relationship where one partner remains in the public spotlight while the other operates behind the scenes. This structure, he says, served as the necessary correction for the reversed dynamic that characterized the first human couple.

Green, who writes for The Jewish Press, also provided the answer to a trivia question from the previous week, identifying Nimrod as another name for Amrafel mentioned in Genesis 14:1.