So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
Parallel translations
- WEB Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife?
- KJV 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?
- NKJV And Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
- NASB Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
- NLT So Pharaoh summoned Abram and accused him sharply. “What have you done to me?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
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 rebuked Abram for not disclosing that Sarai was his wife. A pagan king confronts the patriarch's deceit.
Overview
Pharaoh's pointed questions expose Abram's deception and its consequences. Strikingly, a Gentile ruler holds the man of God accountable for his dishonesty. The scene humbles Abram and highlights that God's covenant people are called to truthfulness, a standard Abram had failed to meet.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gen 20:9–10Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.”
- Gen 26:9–11Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”
- Prov 21:1The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.
- 1 Sam 14:43“Tell me what you have done,” Saul commanded him. So Jonathan told him, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. And now I must die?”
- Josh 7:19So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
- Gen 31:26Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and carried off my daughters like captives of war!
- Gen 3:13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”
- Gen 4:10“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
- Exod 32:21“What did this people do to you,” Moses asked Aaron, “that you have led them into so great a sin?”
- Gen 44:15“What is this deed you have done?” Joseph declared. “Do you not know that a man like me can surely divine the truth?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 12:18 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.