When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- NKJV The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house.
- NASB Pharaoh’s officials saw her and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
- NLT When the palace officials saw her, they sang her praises to Pharaoh, their king, and Sarai was taken into his palace.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Pharaoh's officials praised Sarai, and she was taken into his house. The promised wife is now in grave peril.
Overview
Sarai is brought into Pharaoh's household, threatening both the marriage and the promised seed. Abram's deception has left his wife defenseless and the covenant in jeopardy. At this point of human failure, God himself will act to preserve his purposes, showing that the promise stands on divine faithfulness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Gen 20:2Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
- Ps 105:4Seek out the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.
- 2 Kgs 18:21Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
- Heb 13:4Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
- Prov 6:29So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife; no one who touches her will go unpunished.
- Exod 2:15When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.
- Prov 29:12If a ruler listens to lies, all his officials will be wicked.
- Gen 41:1After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,
- 1 Kgs 3:1Later, Solomon formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his palace and the house of the LORD, as well as the wall around Jerusalem.
- Jer 46:17There they will cry out: ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt was all noise; he has let the appointed time pass him by.’
- Exod 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 retrieve it.
- Gen 40:2Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker,
- Hos 7:4–5They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by a baker who needs not stoke the fire from the kneading to the rising of the dough.
- Esth 2:2–16Then the king’s attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king,
- Ezek 32:2“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash about in your rivers, churning up the waters with your feet and muddying the streams.’
- Jer 25:19Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officials, his leaders, and all his people;
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 12:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.