So, the biblical authors love to link together ideas through repetition, and paying attention to the language of the Hebrew text can make these links (and the lessons we're meant to learn) even clearer.

(If you're not familiar with this concept, check out this article: https://unitingourprayers.com/articles/hebrew-root-words-bible)

Let's take a look at how this applies to couples Adam & Eve, and Abram & Sarai.

Gen 16:3 tells us Abram's "wife Sarai took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to Abram to be his wife."

Gen 3:6 tell us Eve "took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it."

The same Hebrew verbs for took and gave are used in both verses: Strong's 3947 (לָקַח laqach) for took and Strong's 5414 (נָתַן nathan) for gave.

The biblical author uses the same verbs because he wants us to see that Sarai & Abram are struggling / wrestling with the same evil as Adam & Eve.

To be clear, whereas Adam & Eve responded sinfully to a divine command, Abram & Sarai responded sinfully to a divine promise.

In any case, in both stories the sinful responses have to do with an illicit taking and giving, and we can see this even more clearly if we look at where else the Hebrew verb for took was used.

Gen 2:21-22 tells us, "So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs [...]. And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made [built] a woman..."

God is the one who takes. But Sarai, like Eve, took something she wasn't supposed to take, and was thus trying to play God, so to speak. Why do I say she was trying to play God?

Take a look at the wording Sarai uses when she tells Abram what she wants:

Gen 16:2 tells us Sarai says, "Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build [make] a family by her."

Notice anything?

The Hebrew verb Sarai uses (build) when she says what she wants to do was first used to describe what God did when he built Eve: Strong's 1129 (בָּנָה banah).

Sidenote: even more interesting is that the Hebrew verb banah is actually a construction verb, and the fact that it's the verb that's used in Sarai's statement—out of all the other verbs that would have been "better" choices—is interesting for more reasons that I explain here: https://unitingourprayers.com/articles/hebrew-root-words-bible .

Anyway, Sarai & Eve were both trying to play God, and they both then invite their husbands to follow along. More repetition is then used to help us recognize that both Adam & Abram make the same mistake:

"Because you have listened to the voice of your wife..." (Gen 3:17).

"And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai" (Gen 16:2).

They both listened without a hint of protest and the same Hebrew verb for listen is used in both verses: Strong's 8085 (שָׁמַע shama).

So while we may not be able to say history was repeating itself, we can sure say it was rhyming.