Genesis 12:11-20
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: 12 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. 13 Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister; that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live because of thee. 14 And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair. 15 And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16 And he dealt well with Abram for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels. 17 And Jehovah plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 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? 19 why saidst thou, She is my sister, so that I took her to be my wife? now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. 20 And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him: and they brought him on the way, and his wife, and all that he had.
Classification
The Command[/Principle]
This passage contains a case where Abraham incites his wife to tell a partial-truth in order to deceive Pharaoh, which resulted in Pharaoh marrying Sarai and God sending a plague on Pharaoh's household. The passage describes the pursuant plague and reconciliatory interactions.
Categories
This case is relevant to the Moral Law. It involves Lies and, debatably, Adultery.
Fulfillment
The incident has a definitive beginning and end.
Topics
This case has direct relevance to an understanding of the following topics:
Notes on Interpretation/Application
It is noteworthy that Abraham here attempts to protect himself from death, before having any children, and after receiving a promise from God that God would make Abraham's descendants into a great nation -- that is, he fears Pharaoh more than he trusts God. It is also noteworthy that Abraham finds himself in this situation as a result of his decision to flee the famine in Canaan, although God did not give him a directive to go anywhere except Canaan, and had only told him to go to Canaan -- Abraham demonstrated that he feared famine more than he trusted God.
It is also noteworthy that God did not here protect Pharaoh as he did with Abimelech in the similar scenario described by Genesis 20.
