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?
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?
- BSB So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your 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?
- 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 said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done!”
- Gen 26:9–11Abimelech called Isaac, and said, “Behold, surely she is your wife. Why did you say, ‘She is my sister?’” Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die because of her.’”
- Prov 21:1The king’s heart is in Yahweh’s hand like the watercourses. He turns it wherever he desires.
- 1 Sam 14:43Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done!” Jonathan told him, and said, “I certainly did taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand; and behold, I must die.”
- Josh 7:19Joshua said to Achan, “My son, please give glory to Yahweh, the God of Israel, and make confession to him. Tell me now what you have done! Don’t hide it from me!”
- Gen 31:26Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, that you have deceived me, and carried away my daughters like captives of the sword?
- Gen 3:13Yahweh God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
- Gen 4:10Yahweh said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries to me from the ground.
- Exod 32:21Moses said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you have brought a great sin on them?”
- Gen 44:15Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Don’t you know that such a man as I can indeed divine?”
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.