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John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 12:18

And Pharaoh called Abram, and said ,.... Understanding how it was, that Sarai was his wife, which he came at the knowledge of, either by consulting his priests and diviners, as some say, on account of the plagues inflicted; or rather suspecting they were on the account of Sarai, from the nature of them, sent for her, and questioned her about this affair, who confessed the whole matter to him; unless it can be thought that he was warned of God in a dream, as Abimelech was on a like occasion;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 12:19

Why saidst thou, she is my sister ?.... He could not imagine what could be the reason of it, what could induce him to give out such a story as this; for he knew not the fears that Abram was possessed with, which led him to it, and which might be in a good measure groundless, or else Pharaoh might have guessed at the reason; or this he said as being willing to be satisfied of the true one: so I might have taken her to me to wife ; ignorantly, and without any scruple, supposing her to have... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:10

There was a famine in the land - Of Canaan. This is the first famine on record, and it prevailed in the most fertile land then under the sun; and why? God made it desolate for the wickedness of those who dwelt in it. Went down into Egypt - He felt himself a stranger and a pilgrim, and by his unsettled state was kept in mind of the city that hath foundations that are permanent and stable, whose builder is the living God. See Hebrews 11:8 , Hebrews 11:9 . read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:11

Thou art a fair woman to look upon - Widely differing in her complexion from the swarthy Egyptians, and consequently more likely to be coveted by them. It appears that Abram supposed they would not scruple to take away the life of the husband in order to have the undisturbed possession of the wife. The age of Sarai at this time is not well agreed on by commentators, some making her ninety, while others make her only sixty-five. From Genesis 17:17 , we learn that Sarai was ten years younger... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:13

Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister - Abram did not wish his wife to tell a falsehood, but he wished her to suppress a part of the truth. From Genesis 20:12 , it is evident she was his step-sister, i.e., his sister by his father, but by a different mother. Some suppose Sarai was the daughter of Haran, and consequently the grand-daughter of Terah: this opinion seems to be founded on Genesis 11:29 , where Iscah is thought to be the same with Sarai, but the supposition has not a... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:15

The woman was taken into Pharaoh's house - Pharaoh appears to have been the common appellative of the Cuthite shepherd kings of Egypt, who had conquered this land, as is conjectured, about seventy-two years before this time. The word is supposed to signify king in the ancient Egyptian language. If the meaning be sought in the Hebrew, the root פרע para signifies to be free or disengaged, a name which such freebooters as the Cuthite shepherds might naturally assume. All the kings of Egypt... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:16

He had sheep, and oxen, etc. - As some of these terms are liable to be confounded, and as they frequently occur, especially in the Pentateuch, it may be necessary to consider and fix their meaning in this place. Sheep; צאן tson , from tsaan , to be plentiful or abundant; a proper term for the eastern sheep, which almost constantly bring forth twins, Song of Solomon 4:2 , and sometimes three and even four at a birth. Hence their great fruitfulness is often alluded to in the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:17

The Lord plagued Pharaoh - What these plagues were we know not. In the parallel case, Genesis 20:18 , all the females in the family of Abimelech, who had taken Sarah in nearly the same way, were made barren; possibly this might have been the case here; yet much more seems to be signified by the expression great plagues. Whatever these plagues were, it is evident they were understood by Pharaoh as proofs of the disapprobation of God; and, consequently, even at this time in Egypt there was... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:10

Verse 10 10.And there was a famine in the land. A much more severe temptation is now recorded, by which the faith of Abram is tried to the quick. For he is not only led around through various windings of the country, but is driven into exile, from the land which God had given to him and to his posterity. It is to be observed, that Chaldea was exceedingly fertile; having been, from this cause, accustomed to opulence, he came to Charran, where, it is conjectured, he lived commodiously enough,... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:11

Verse 11 11.He said unto Sarai his wife. He now relates the counsel which Abram took for the preservation of his life when he was approaching Egypt. Andy since this place is like a rock, on which many strike; it is proper that we should soberly and reverently consider how far Abram was deserving of excuse, and how he was to be blamed. First, there seems to be something of falsehood, mixed with the dissimulations which he persuades his wife to practice. And although afterwards he makes the... read more

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