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Genesis 12:12
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and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.' Then they will kill me, but they will let you live.
and it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see you, that they will say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save you alive.
When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This woman is his wife.' Then they will kill me but let you live.
When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will keep you alive.
Therefore it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say, This [is] his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
It will happen, when the Egyptians will see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife.' They will kill me, but they will save you alive.
and that whanne Egipcians schulen se thee, thei schulen seie, it is his wijf, and thei schulen sle me, and `schulen reserue thee.
and it hath come to pass that the Egyptians see thee, and they have said, `This [is] his wife,' and they have slain me, and thee they keep alive:
and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will allow you to live.
When the Egyptians see how lovely you are, they will murder me because I am your husband. But they won't kill you.
so that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife,' and kill me but keep you alive.
and it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
And I am certain that when the men of Egypt see you, they will say, This is his wife: and they will put me to death and keep you.
Therfore shall it come to passe, that when the Egyptians see thee, they shall say, she is his wyfe, and they wyll kyll me, but they wyll saue thee aliue:
And it will come to pass when the Egyptians see thee, that they will say, She is his wife; and they will slay me, and save thee alive.
When the Egyptian men see you, they will say, ‘This woman is his wife.' Then they will kill me and keep you alive because they want you.
And it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say: This is his wife; and they will kill me, but thee they will keep alive.
Therefore it shall come to passe, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will saue thee aliue.
Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
When the men of Egypt see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.' And they will kill me, but they will let you live.
and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife'; then they will kill me, but they will let you live.
so will it come to pass when the Egyptians behold thee, that they will say, His wife, this! and will slay me while thee, they preserve alive.
Therefore it will come to passe, that when the Egyptians see thee, they will say, She is his wife: so will they kill me, but they will keepe thee aliue.
And it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians see you, they will say, This is his wife; and they will kill me, but they will spare you.
When the Egyptians see you, they will assume that you are my wife, and so they will kill me and let you live.
And that when the Egyptians shall see thee, they will say: She is his wife: and they will kill me, and keep thee.
and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife'; then they will kill me, but they will let you live.
It shall come to pass then that when the Egyptians shall see thee, they shall say, This is his wife, and they shall slay me, but they shall save thee alive.
and it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ They will kill me but let you live.
It will happen, when the Mitzrim will see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife.' They will kill me, but they will save you alive.
and it shall happen that, if the Egyptians see you, then they will say, ‘This is his wife,' then they will kill me but let you live.
And it will be, when the Egyptians see you, then they will say, This is his wife, and they will kill me, and they will save you alive.
Now whan the Egipcians se the, they wil saye: She is his wife, and so shal they slaye me, and saue the alyue.
and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, "This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife. Let's kill him; then we can have her!'
and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
and it will be when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
will kill: Genesis 20:11, Genesis 26:7, 1 Samuel 27:1, Proverbs 29:25, Matthew 10:28, 1 John 1:8-10
Reciprocal: Genesis 34:30 - and I shall Judges 15:18 - and fall 1 Kings 12:27 - and they shall 1 Kings 19:3 - he arose Romans 4:2 - but
Cross-References
Then he moved on from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD [in worship through prayer, praise, and thanksgiving].
Now there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to live temporarily, for the famine in the land was oppressive and severe.
Abraham said, "Because I thought, 'Surely there is no fear or reverence of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.'
The men of the place asked him about his wife, and he said, "She is my sister," for he was afraid to say, "my wife"—thinking, "the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, since she is very beautiful."
But David said in his heart, "Now I will die one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me inside the borders of Israel, and I will escape from his hand [once and for all]."
The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in and puts his confidence in the LORD will be exalted and safe.
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee,.... Who were a lustful people, and whose eyes would soon be fastened upon, and be taken with the beauty of Sarai:
that they shall say, this is his wife; this beautiful woman is such a man's wife:
and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive; so great a regard had they in those times, and even in Heathen countries, to the laws of marriage, that they chose rather to be guilty of murder than of adultery, though a lustful people; and therefore would, as Abram feared, take away his life, that it might be free and lawful for them to marry Sarai.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- XXXVIII. Abram in Egypt
15. ×¤×¨×¢× parâoh, Parâoh, âouro.â Coptic for âking,â with the masculine article pi. or p. P-ouro, âthe king.â If we separate the article p. from the Hebrew form, we have ×¨×¢× reâoh for king, which may be compared with ×¨×¢× roâeh, âpastor, leader,â and the Latin rex, king. This is the common title of the Egyptian sovereigns, to which we have the personal name occasionally added, as Pharaoh-Necho, Pharaoh-Hophrah.
Genesis 12:10
This first visit of Abram to Mizraim, or Egypt, is occasioned by the famine in the land of promise. This land is watered by periodical rains. A season of drought arrests the progress of vegetation, and brings on a famine. But in Egypt, the fertility of the loamy soil depends not on local showers, but on the annual rise of the Nile, which is fed by the rains of a far-distant mountain range. Hence, when the land of Kenaan was wasted by drought and consequent famine, Egypt was generally so productive as to be the granary of the neighboring countries. As Kenaan was the brother of Mizraim, the contact between the two countries in which they dwelt was natural and frequent. Dry seasons and dearth of provisions seem to have been of frequent occurrence in the land of Kenaan Genesis 26:1; Genesis 41:56-57. Even Egypt itself was not exempt from such calamitous visitations. Famine is one of Godâs rods for the punishment of the wicked and the correction of the penitent 2 Samuel 24:13. It visits Abram even in the land of promise. Doubtless the wickedness of the inhabitants was great even in his day. Abram himself was not out of the need of that tribulation that worketh patience, experience, and hope. He may have been left to himself under this trial, that he might find out by experience his own weakness, and at the same time the faithfulness and omnipotence of Yahweh the promiser. In the moment of his perplexity he flees for refuge to Egypt, and the Lord having a lesson for him, there permits him to enter that land of plenty.
Genesis 12:11-13
It is not without misgivings, however, that Abram approaches Egypt. All the way from Ur to Haran, from Haran to the land of Kenaan, and from north to south of the land in which he was a stranger, we hear not a word of apprehension. But now he betakes himself to an expedient which had been preconcerted between him and Sarai before they set out on their earthly pilgrimage Genesis 20:13. There are some obvious reasons for the change from composure to anxiety he now betrays. Abram was hitherto obeying the voice of the Lord, and walking in the path of duty, and therefore he was full of unhesirating confidence in the divine protection. Now he may be pursuing his own course, and, without waiting patiently for the divine counsel, venturing to cross the boundary of the land of promise. He may therefore be without the fortifying assurance of the divine approval. There is often a whisper of this kind heard in the soul, even when it is not fully conscious of the delinquency which occasions it.
Again, the countries through which be had already passed were inhabited by nomadic tribes, each kept in check by all the others, all unsettled in their habits, and many of them not more potent than himself. The Kenaanites spoke the same language with himself, and were probably only a dominant race among others whose language they spoke, if they did not adopt. But in Egypt all was different. Mizraim had seven sons, and, on the average, the daughters are as numerous as the sons. In eight or nine generations there might be from half a million to a million of inhabitants in Egypt, if we allow five daughters as the average of a family. The definite area of the arable ground on the two sides of the Nile, its fertilization by a natural cause without much human labor, the periodical regularity of the inundation, and the extraordinary abundance of the grain crops, combined both to multiply the population with great rapidity, and to accelerate amazingly the rise and growth of fixed institutions and a stable government. Here there were a settled country with a foreign tongue, a prosperous people, and a powerful sovereign. All this rendered it more perilous to enter Egypt than Kenaan.
If Abram is about to enter Egypt of his own accord, without any divine intimation, it is easy to understand why he resorts to a device of his own to escape the peril of assassination. In an arbitrary government, where the will of the sovereign is law, and the passions are uncontrolled, public or private resolve is sudden, and execution summary. The East still retains its character in this respect. In these circumstances, Abram proposes to Sarai to conceal their marriage, and state that she was his sister; which was perfectly true, as she was the daughter of his father, though not of his mother. At a distance of three or four thousand years, with all the development of mind which a completed Bible and an advanced philosophy can bestow, it is easy to pronounce, with dispassionate coolness, the course of conduct here proposed to be immoral and imprudent. It is not incumbent on us, indeed, to defend it; but neither does it become us to be harsh or excessive in our censure. In the state of manners and customs which then prevailed in Egypt, Abram and Sarai were not certainly bound to disclose all their private concerns to every impertinent inquirer. The seeming simplicity and experience which Abram betrays in seeking to secure his personal safety by an expedient which exposed to risk his wifeâs chastity and his own honor, are not to be pressed too far. The very uncertainty concerning the relation of the strangers to each other tended to abate that momentary caprice in the treatment of individuals which is the result of a despotic government. And the prime fault and folly of Abram consisted in not waiting for the divine direction in leaving the land of promise, and in not committing himself wholly to the divine protection when he did take that step.
It may seem strange that the Scripture contains no express disapprobation of the conduct of Abram. But its manner is to affirm the great principles of moral truth, on suitable occasions, with great clearness and decision; and in ordinary circumstances simply to record the actions of its characters with faithfulness, leaving it to the readerâs intelligence to mark their moral quality. And Godâs mode of teaching the individual is to implant a moral principle in the heart, which, after many struggles with temptation, will eventually root out all lingering aberrations.
Sarai was sixty-five years of age Genesis 17:17 at the time when Abram describes her as a woman fair to look upon. But we are to remember that beauty does not vanish with middle age; that Saraiâs age corresponds with twenty-five or thirty years in modern times, as she was at this time not half the age to which men were then accustomed to live; that she had no family or other hardship to bring on premature decay; and that the women of Egypt were far from being distinguished for regularity of feature or freshness of complexion.
Genesis 12:14-16
The inadequacy of Abramâs expedient appears in the issue, which is different from what he expected. Sarai is admired for her beauty, and, being professedly single, is selected as a wife for Pharaoh; while Abram, as her brother, is munificently entertained and rewarded. His property seems to be enumerated according to the time of acquirement, or the quantity, and not the quality of each kind. Sheep and oxen and he-asses he probably brought with him from Kenaan; men-servants and maid-servants were no doubt augmented in Egypt. For she-asses the Septuagint has mules. These, and the camels, may have been received in Egypt. The camel is the carrier of the desert. Abram had now become involved in perplexities, from which he had neither the wisdom nor the power to extricate himself. With what bitterness of spirit he must have kept silence, received these accessions to his wealth which he dared not to refuse, and allowed Sarai to be removed from his temporary abode! His cunning device had saved his own person for the time; but his beautiful and beloved wife is torn from his bosom.
Genesis 12:17
The Lord, who had chosen him, unworthy though he was, yet not more unworthy than others, to be the agent of His gracious purpose, now interposes to effect his deliverance. âAnd the Lord plagued Pharaoh.â The mode of the divine interference is suited to have the desired effect on the parties concerned. As Pharaoh is punished, we conclude he was guilty in the eye of heaven in this matter. He committed a breach of hospitality by invading the private abode of the stranger. He further infringed the law of equity between man and man in the most tender point, by abstracting, if not with violence, at least with a show of arbitrary power which could not be resisted, a female, whether sister or wife, from the home of her natural guardian without the consent of either. A deed of ruthless self-will, also, is often rendered more heinous by a blamable inattention to the character or position of him who is wronged. So it was with Pharaoh. Abram was a man of blameless life and inoffensive manners. He was, moreover, the chosen and special servant of the Most High God. Pharaoh, however, does not condescend to inquire who the stranger is whom he is about to wrong; and is thus unwittingly involved in an aggravated crime. But the hand of the Almighty brings even tyrants to their senses. âAnd his house.â The princes of Pharaoh were accomplices in his crime Genesis 12:15, and his domestics were concurring with him in carrying it into effect. But even apart from any positive consent or connivance in a particular act, men, otherwise culpable, are brought into trouble in this world by the faults of those with whom they are associated. âOn account of Sarai.â Pharoah was made aware of the cause of the plagues or strokes with which he was now visited.
Genesis 12:18-20
Pharaoh upbraids Abram for his deception, and doubtless not without reason. He then commands his men to dismiss him and his, unharmed, from the country. These men were probably an escort for his safe conduct out of Egypt. Abram was thus reproved through the mouth of Pharaoh, and will be less hasty in abandoning the land of promise, and betaking himself to carnal resources.
