Genesis 12:19 NIV

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 12:19

(19) So I might have taken her to me to wife.—The Hebrew is, and I took her to me to wife: that is, I took her with the intention of making her my wife. During the interval before the marriage Pharaoh and his household were visited with such marked troubles that he became alarmed, and possibly Sarai then revealed to him her true relationship to Abram. We find in Esther 2:12 that in the case of maidens there was a probation of twelve months duration before the marriage took place, and Sarai was... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Genesis 12:1-20

Genesis 12:1 Abraham was the father of the faithful, and we have here the first recorded test to which his faith was put. The first and one of the greatest. I. The Substance of God's Call to Abraham. 1. He was called from rest to pilgrimage. From his country and kindred and father's house, to undertake lifelong journeying. He was at an age at which he would fain rest. His wanderings seemed to be begun at the wrong end of his life. But it was then God said, 'Get thee out'. It is as life... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Genesis 12:6-20

ABRAM IN EGYPTGenesis 12:6-20ABRAM still journeying southward, and not as yet knowing where his shifting camp was finally to be pitched, came at last to what may be called the heart of Palestine, the rich district of Shechem. Here stood the oak of Moreh, a well; known landmark and favourite meeting-place. In after years every meadow in this plain was owned and occupied, every vineyard on the slopes of Ebal fenced off, every square yard specified in some title-deed. But as yet the country seems... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Genesis 12:1-20

CHAPTER 12 The First Events in Abram’s Life 1. The call and the promise (Genesis 12:1-3 ) 2. Abram’s obedience (Genesis 12:4-6 ) 3. The second communication of Jehovah (Genesis 12:7-9 ) 4. Abram in Egypt and first denial of Sarai (Genesis 12:10-20 ) We come now to a new beginning, the Abrahamic covenant. It marks the beginning of that wonderful race, the seed of Abraham, the people of Israel. Abraham’s name is mentioned 74 times in the New Testament. How closely his history is... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:1-20

THE CALL OF ABRAM The Lord had before told Abram to leave his country, his kindred and his father's house, and go to a land He would show him. This call took place while he was still in Ur of the Chaldees (Acts 7:2-4). God declared that He would make of Abram a great nation, that he would be a blessing (v.2). More than this, God would bless those who blessed Abram and curse those who cursed him. Further still, in Abram all the families of the earth would be blessed (v.3). This is above all a... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Genesis 12:10-20

THE PROMISE RENEWED TO ABRAM ABRAM IN EGYPT (Genesis 12:10-20 ) It is felt that Abram acted unadvisedly in taking this journey to Egypt, for which three reasons are assigned: 1. God could have provided for him in Canaan, notwithstanding the famine; there was no command for him to leave Canaan, to which place God had definitely called him; and 2. he fell into difficulty by going, and was obliged to employ subterfuge to escape it. Still these arguments are not convincing, and in the... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Genesis 12:1-20

The Same-varied Gen 12:1 God's claim upon the individual life is here asserted. God detaches men from early associations, from objects of special care and love, and makes them strangers in the earth. The family idea is sacred, but the Divine will is, so to speak, more sacred still; when the God of the families of the earth calls men from their kindred and their father's house, all tributary laws must be swallowed up by the great stream of the Divine Fatherhood. These calls, so shattering in... read more

Robert Hawker

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Genesis 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. Observe how God provides for his people's safety. Psalms 105:13-15 . read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 12:10-20

10-20 There is no state on earth free from trials, nor any character free from blemishes. There was famine in Canaan, the glory of all lands, and unbelief, with the evils it ever brings, in Abram the father of the faithful. Perfect happiness and perfect purity dwell only in heaven. Abram, when he must for a time quit Canaan, goes to Egypt, that he might not seem to look back, and meaning to tarry there no longer than needful. There Abram dissembled his relation to Sarai, equivocated, and taught... read more

Paul E. Kretzmann

The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann - Genesis 12:14-20

Abraham's Stratagem Exposed v. 14. And it came to pass that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. v. 15. The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. What Abram had feared came to pass, and at the same time the weakness of his scheme was exposed, for he had apparently not taken into consideration how he could keep his wife for himself and save her honor. The report of... read more