Genesis 12:7-17

7 God appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your children." Abram built an altar at the place God had appeared to him.

8 He moved on from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent between Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there and prayed to God.

9 Abram kept moving, steadily making his way south, to the Negev.

10 Then a famine came to the land. Abram went down to Egypt to live; it was a hard famine.

11 As he drew near to Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, "Look. We both know that you're a beautiful woman.

12 When the Egyptians see you they're going to say, 'Aha! That's his wife!' and kill me. But they'll let you live.

13 Do me a favor: tell them you're my sister. Because of you, they'll welcome me and let me live."

14 When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians took one look and saw that his wife was stunningly beautiful.

15 Pharaoh's princes raved over her to Pharaoh. She was taken to live with Pharaoh.

16 Because of her, Abram got along very well: he accumulated sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, men and women servants, and camels.

17 But God hit Pharaoh hard because of Abram's wife Sarai; everybody in the palace got seriously sick.

Genesis 12:7-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 12

In this chapter an account is given of the call of Abram to depart from his own country, with a promise of a divine blessing, Ge 12:1-3 of his obedience to it, Ge 12:4,5 of his journey through the land of Canaan, and of the Lord's appearance to him in it, and his promise of it to his seed, and of Abram's building altars in it, and calling on the name of the Lord, Ge 12:6-9 and of a famine there, which occasioned him to go into Egypt, Ge 12:10 where, through fear of being slain, he desired his wife to call herself his sister, Ge 12:11-13 and she being greatly admired by the Egyptians for her beauty, it went well with Abram for her sake, Ge 12:14-16 but the Egyptians were plagued because of her, who, when they understood she was Abram's wife, sent them both away, and all that belonged to them, Ge 12:17-20.