Genesis 12:17
in Genesis 12The LORD, however, afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.
KJV
And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.
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This verse in Genesis 12
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis passage is a great witness and demonstration of the necessity of maintaining chastity, exhorting everyone to show himself chaste, not to long for the bed of another and not to seduce the wife of another, counting on the hope of not being discovered and of going unpunished. It exhorts all not to let themselves be tempted by neglect … or by a prolonged absence. God, the defender of marriage, is present. From him nothing remains hidden, nothing escapes him, and no one can make sport of him.
This site's exposition
afflicted Pharaoh and his household
The LORD strikes Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues, and the reason given is Abram's wife Sarai. Abram has no part in the rescue, and no word of his is recorded here. God moves against a king to protect the line He had promised. Abram is saved by the promise he endangered.
The record, by era
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 Awakening4 voices
And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house - Probably, those princes especially that had commended Sarai to Pharaoh. We are not told, particularly, what these plagues were; but, doubtless, there was something in the plagues themselves, or some explication added to them, sufficient to convince them that it was for Sarai's sake they were thus plagued.
), and inferred from them that Abram was a particular favourite of Heaven, and therefore, through fear of their return, took special care he should receive no injury in his country. Note, God has often raised up friends for his people, by making men know that it is at their peril if they hurt them. It is a dangerous thing to offend Christ's little ones.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house - Probably, those princes especially that had commended Sarai to Pharaoh. We are not told, particularly, what these plagues were; but, doubtless, there was something in the plagues themselves, or some explication added to them, sufficient to convince them that it was for Sarai's sake they were thus plagued.
And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues,.... Perhaps with the same sort that Abimelech and his servants were smote with on a like account, Gen 20:
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The Lord plagued Pharaoh - What these plagues were we know not. In the parallel case, Gen 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 some knowledge of the primitive and true religion.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְנַגַּ֨ע | vaynaga' | and he struck | H5060 → | 150 times |
| יְהוָ֧ה׀ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֛ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| נְגָעִ֥ים | negaim | plagues | H5061 → | |
| גְּדֹלִ֖ים | gedolim | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בֵּית֑וֹ | beito | house his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| דְּבַ֥ר | devar | [the] matter of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| שָׂרַ֖י | sarai | Sarai | H8297 → | 17 times |
| אֵ֥שֶׁת | ʾeshet | [the] wife of | H802 → | 781 times |
| אַבְרָֽם׃ | ʾavram | Abram | H87 → | 61 times |
וַיְנַגַּ֨עand he struck
vaynaga'H5060 →150 times
יְהוָ֧ה׀Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פַּרְעֹ֛הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
נְגָעִ֥יםplagues
negaimH5061 →
גְּדֹלִ֖יםgreat
gedolimH1419 →526 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בֵּית֑וֹhouse his
beitoH1004 →2046 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
דְּבַ֥ר[the] matter of
devarH1697 →1440 times
שָׂרַ֖יSarai
saraiH8297 →17 times
אֵ֥שֶׁת[the] wife of
ʾeshetH802 →781 times
אַבְרָֽם׃Abram
ʾavramH87 →61 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
Hebrews 13:4Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
it leads to
- Genesis 2:24
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
- Proverbs 5:15–23
Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.
- 1 Corinthians 7:2–16
But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
- Galatians 5:19
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
- Genesis 1:27–28
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
- Genesis 2:24
Through
1 Chronicles 16:21He let no man oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf:
it leads to
- Genesis 20:3
One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”
- Genesis 31:29
I have power to do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’
- Exodus 7:15–18
Go to Pharaoh in the morning as you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was…
- Genesis 20:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Genesis

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, ON ABRAHAM 1.2.7; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
