Genesis 12:15
in Genesis 12When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
KJV
The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
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This verse in Genesis 12
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThere came a famine, and so he went to Egypt. He knew that in Egypt the dissipation of youth was widespread, characterized by lust, impudent desires and unrestrained passions. He understood that among such men the modesty of his wife would be defenseless and that her beauty would be a danger for him. So he told his wife to say that she was his sister. By this we are taught that it is not so much beauty that one should seek in a wife, for this often leads to the death of the husband.
This site's exposition
the woman was very beautiful
on Genesis 12:14-16
Pharaoh's officials commend Sarai to him, and she is taken into the palace. Abram is paid for her in sheep and cattle, donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels, and the text counts every kind. The woman who is to bear the promised son is inside another man's house. The man who carries the promise grows rich on it.
This site's exposition
she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explain that kings took into their house any woman they liked who was unmarried, and her brother could only grieve. Gill, from Arabic writers, places the palace of Pharaoh at Memphis. Clarke takes Pharaoh as the Egyptian word for king.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Vs. 15 and 16) And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was brought into Pharaoh's house. And Abram benefitted because of her, and he had sheep, and cattle, and donkeys, and male and female servants, and mules and camels.
Abraham gave a human reason as human beings do. Nevertheless, because Sarah thought it was Abraham who was sterile, she was taken to the palace.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And when he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife: "I know that you are a beautiful woman, and that when the Egyptians see you, they will say that you are his wife, and they will kill me and keep you …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh,.... The king of Egypt; so it seems by this, that Abram and Sarai were at the place where the court was kept, which the Arabic writers (t) say was Mesr (or Memphis), the capital of the kingdom.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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 bore this name till the commencement of the Grecian monarchy, after which they were called Ptolemies.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house--Eastern kings have for ages claimed the privilege of taking to their harem an unmarried woman whom they like. The father or brother may deplore the removal as a calamity, but the royal right is never resisted nor questioned.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּרְא֤וּ | vaiyiru | and they saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֹתָהּ֙ | ʾotah | <obj.> her | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שָׂרֵ֣י | sarei | [the] officials of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| פַרְעֹ֔ה | faroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| וַיְהַֽלְל֥וּ | vayhalu | and they praised | H1984 → | |
| אֹתָ֖הּ | ʾotah | <obj.> her | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֑ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| וַתֻּקַּ֥ח | vatukach | and she was taken | H3947 → | 966 times |
| הָאִשָּׁ֖ה | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| פַּרְעֹֽה׃ | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
וַיִּרְא֤וּand they saw
vaiyiruH7200 →1300 times
אֹתָהּ֙<obj.> her
ʾotahH853 →10935 times
שָׂרֵ֣י[the] officials of
sareiH8269 →421 times
פַרְעֹ֔הPharaoh
farohH6547 →274 times
וַיְהַֽלְל֥וּand they praised
vayhaluH1984 →
אֹתָ֖הּ<obj.> her
ʾotahH853 →10935 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
פַּרְעֹ֑הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
וַתֻּקַּ֥חand she was taken
vatukachH3947 →966 times
הָאִשָּׁ֖הthe woman
haishahH802 →781 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
פַּרְעֹֽה׃Pharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 2:5Soon the daughter of Pharaoh went down to bathe in the Nile, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. And when she saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maidservant to…
it leads to
- Acts 7:21
When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.
- Psalms 9:9
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
- Psalms 12:5
“For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
- Exodus 8:20
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, and when Pharaoh goes out to the water, stand before him and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let…
- Psalms 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble.
- Acts 7:21
Through
Genesis 20:2Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
it leads to
- Genesis 26:7
But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men…
- Genesis 26:7
Through
Jeremiah 46:17There they will cry out: ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt was all noise; he has let the appointed time pass him by.’
it leads to
- Isaiah 19:11–16
The princes of Zoan are mere fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise, a son of eastern kings”?
- Isaiah 19:11–16
Through
Proverbs 6:29So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 7:1
Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations.
- 1 Corinthians 7:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Genesis
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, ON ABRAHAM 1.2.6; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 9:3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.