Genesis 12:11-20

Ge 12:11

And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

Egyptian custom was such that when a ruler or prince would live in Egypt, it was mandatory for them to make some type of treaty.  Another custom was that the prince was to give a daughter or a sister into Pharaoh’s harem to insure that the prince would behave properly while in Egypt.  Abram must have known about this custom because he was already preparing Sarai for the possibility of her being placed in Pharaoh’s harem.  Sarai must have been a very attractive woman and Abram knew that she might be taken in exchange for living privileges.

Ge 12:12

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.

Here we see Abram adopting an approach in fear instead of faith.  He anticipated that the Egyptians would look upon Sarai and say that she is Abram’s wife and that they would kill Abram but Sarai would not be harmed.  It is something how Abram already forgot God’s promises that from him would come a great nation.  That could not happen if Abram was killed.  The majority of times, anticipation of an event causes more fear than the actual event itself.

Ge 12:13

Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

Then instead of protecting his wife, in full cowardice, he causes her to tell a half-truth which is a full lie.  Sarai was Abram’s half-sister but he suppressed that truth and told her to say that she was his sister.  Then he figured that he would live but the problem would be that Sarai would be taken to the harem under false pretenses.

Ge 12:14

And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.

Then it came to pass that they entered Egypt and the Egyptians he met had seen that Sarai was a very attractive woman.  This part of Abram’s understanding had come to pass.

Ge 12:15

The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.

The title “Pharaoh” does not mean king but it refers to the fact that Pharaoh was an earthly representative of the sun god Ra.  The princes of Pharaoh saw her and commended her unto Pharaoh.  The princes would gain much if they were able to appease and gratify the lust of the Pharaoh.  Then as Abram suspected, Sarai was taken into the house of Pharaoh and placed in the harem.

Ge 12:16

And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.

On account of Sarai being so fair, Abram had prospered well in Egypt as his flocks of the various animals had grown quite large.  These animals were gifts from Pharaoh. Camels were domesticated as early as 2000 B.C.  Archaeologists have found evidence of this.  It is believed that Pharaoh was so delighted in Sarai that he gave her the land of Goshen as a possession but no hard evidence exists.

Ge 12:17

And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.

The Messianic line was to come through Abram and Sarai but at this time Abram was not acting according to faith so God stepped in and caused many plagues to come on the house of Pharaoh.  The plagues were like sores or leprosy and these pervaded the whole house of Pharaoh.  These happened because of Sarai that she was another man’s wife plus she had another function to perform later in bringing Isaac into the world for the perpetuating of the line of the Messiah.

Ge 12:18

And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

Then Pharaoh had summoned Abram and asked him why did he allow these things to happen to him?  Then he rebukes Abram and makes him accountable for his lie.  Pharaoh wanted to know why Abram was not truthful and up front with him concerning Sarai?  There is nothing more embarrassing to a Christian than to be disciplined by an unbeliever because of some type of situation that we were not totally truthful in.  Let the unbeliever make lies about us but we must never prove them right!

Ge 12:19

Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

If Abram was telling the truth that Sarai was his wife instead of his sister, then Pharaoh would not have taken her nor even brought her into the house.  Pharaoh states that he might have taken her for his wife.  Since Abram had acted in a faithless manner, he was now told to leave Egypt and to be on his way.

A note on this verse

In many of the modern versions Genesis 12:19 is corrupted showing that Pharaoh did take Sarai to be his wife.  This is one of the more subtle, yet major abominations in the modern versions. In the KJB we read the single word in verse 19, “might.” This means that Pharaoh did not yet take Sarah to be one of his wives. They omit the word “might” and teaches that Pharaoh took Sarah to be his wife which would make Sarah an adulteress and the Messianic line would have become polluted. This would also mean that the plagues which God sent on the house of Pharaoh would have been fruitless (verse 17). The reason that God sent those plagues was to prevent Pharaoh from taking her as his wife. According to the KJB, Pharaoh did not take Sarah as wife and returned her to Abraham who was rebuked by Pharaoh for lying about Sarah. When one little qualifying word is omitted, it changes the entire meaning of the passage which also affects the teachings of other passages and the continuity of the flow of Scripture. Many of the modern versions use the word “took” which means that the action of taking Sarah as wife had already been completed, as the word “took“ is the past tense of the word “take.”

A Quick English Lesson:

I might take the one on sale - It means the possibility exists that I may take the item on sale.

I took the one on sale - This means a definite action on my part has already taken place.

This is the seriousness of the change in Genesis 12:19 as evidenced by the modern versions below:

(King James Bible) Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.

(English Standard Version) Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.”

(Christian Standard Bible)  Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife. Take her and go!”

(New American Standard Version 1995) Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her and go.”

(New International Version) Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”

(New Living Translation) Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ and allow me to take her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and get out of here!”

Ge 12:20

And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.