Genesis 12:12-13

12:12 When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. ¹  12:13 So tell them ²  you are my sister ³  so that it may go well ⁴  for me because of you and my life will be spared ⁵  on account of you.”

Genesis 12:18

12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this ⁶  you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife?

Genesis 12:20

12:20 Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, ⁷  and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.

[12:12]  ¹ tn The Piel of the verb חָיָה (khayah, “to live”) means “to keep alive, to preserve alive,” and in some places “to make alive.” See D. Marcus, “The Verb ‘to Live’ in Ugaritic,” JSS 17 (1972): 76-82.

[12:13]  ² tn Heb “say.”

[12:13]  ³ sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister – but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.

[12:13]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.

[12:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “and my life will live.”

[12:18]  ⁶ tn The demonstrative pronoun translated “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to me?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

[12:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.