Genesis 12:11
New International Version
As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are.

New Living Translation
As he was approaching the border of Egypt, Abram said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, you are a very beautiful woman.

English Standard Version
When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance,

Berean Standard Bible
As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman,

King James Bible
And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

New King James Version
And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance.

New American Standard Bible
It came about, when he was approaching Egypt, that he said to his wife Sarai, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman;

NASB 1995
It came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman;

NASB 1977
And it came about when he came near to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman;

Legacy Standard Bible
And it happened as he drew near to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Now behold, I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance;

Amplified Bible
And when he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “Listen: I know that you are a beautiful woman;

Christian Standard Bible
When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, “Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are.

American Standard Version
And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And it was that when he approached to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “Behold, I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance:

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And it came to pass when Abram drew nigh to enter into Egypt, Abram said to Sara his wife, I know that thou art a fair woman.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when he was near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife: I know that thou art a beautiful woman:

English Revised Version
And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When he was about to enter Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, "I know that you're a beautiful woman.

Good News Translation
When he was about to cross the border into Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "You are a beautiful woman.

International Standard Version
When he was about to enter Egypt, he told his wife Sarai, "Look, I'm aware that you're a beautiful woman.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife: 'Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon.

Literal Standard Version
and it comes to pass as he has drawn near to enter Egypt, that he says to his wife Sarai, “Now behold, I have known that you [are] a woman of beautiful appearance;

Majority Standard Bible
As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman,

New American Bible
When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai: “I know that you are a beautiful woman.

NET Bible
As he approached Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman.

New Revised Standard Version
When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know well that you are a woman beautiful in appearance;

New Heart English Bible
It happened, when he had come near to enter Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Look, I know what a beautiful woman you are.

Webster's Bible Translation
And it came to pass, when he had come near to enter into Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

World English Bible
When he had come near to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “See now, I know that you are a beautiful woman to look at.

Young's Literal Translation
and it cometh to pass as he hath drawn near to enter Egypt, that he saith unto Sarai his wife, 'Lo, I pray thee, I have known that thou art a woman of beautiful appearance;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Abram and Sarai in Egypt
10Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman, 12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.…

Cross References
Genesis 20:2
Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

Genesis 24:16
Now the girl was very beautiful, a virgin who had not had relations with any man. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up again.

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 of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful."

Genesis 29:17
Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.


Treasury of Scripture

And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that you are a fair woman to look on:

a fair.

Genesis 12:14
And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.

Genesis 26:7
And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.

Genesis 29:17
Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.

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Appearance Beautiful Egypt Enter Eye Fair Sarai Sar'ai Wife
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Appearance Beautiful Egypt Enter Eye Fair Sarai Sar'ai Wife
Genesis 12
1. God calls Abram, and blesses him with a promise of Christ.
4. He departs with Lot from Haran, and comes to Canaan.
6. He journeys through Canaan,
7. which is promised to him in a vision.
10. He is driven by famine into Egypt.
11. Fear makes him feign his wife to be his sister.
14. Pharaoh, having taken her from him, is compelled to restore her.
18. Pharaoh reproves Abram, whom he dismisses.














(11-13) Thou art a fair woman.--For the word yephath, rendered "fair," see on Genesis 9:27. Though its general meaning is beautiful, yet there can be no doubt that the light colour of Sarai's complexion was that which would chiefly commend her to the Egyptians; for she was now past sixty, and though vigorous enough to bear a son at ninety, yet that was by the special favour of God. As she lived to the age of 127 (Genesis 23:1), she was now about middle age, and evidently had retained much of her early beauty; and this, added to the difference of tint, would make her still attractive to the swarthy descendants of Ham, especially as they were not a handsome race, but had flat foreheads, high cheek-bones, large mouths, and thick lips. Twenty years later we find Abram still haunted by fears of the effects of her personal appearance (Genesis 20:2), even when living among a better-featured race. From Genesis 20:13 it appears that on leaving Haran Abram and Sarai had agreed upon adopting this expedient, which seems to us so strangely contrary to the faith which the patriarch was at that very time displaying. He abandons his birthplace at the Divine command, and starts upon endless wanderings; and yet, to protect his own life, he makes an arrangement which involves the possible sacrifice of the chastity of his wife; and twice, but for God's interference, this painful result would actually have happened. Perhaps Abram may have depended upon Sarai's cleverness to help herself out of the difficulty; but such a mixture of faith and weakness, of trust in God in abandoning so much and trust in worldly policy for preservation in a foreseen danger, cannot but make us feel how much of infirmity there was even in a character otherwise so noble.

Verses 11-13. - And it came to pass (literally, it was), when he was come near to enter into Egypt (that he had his misgivings, arising probably from his own eminence, which could scarcely fail to attract attention among strangers, but chiefly from the beauty of his wife, which was calculated to inflame the cupidity and, it might be, the violence of the warm-blooded Southrons, and) that he said unto Sarai his wife. The arrangement here referred to appears (Genesis 20:13) to have been preconcerted on first setting out from Ur or Haran, so that Abram's address to his wife on approaching Egypt may be viewed as simply a reminder of their previous compact. Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon. Literally, fair of aspect (cf. 1 Samuel 17:42). Though now upwards of sixty-five years of age, she was still in middle life (Genesis 23:1), and her constitution had not been impaired by bearing children. Besides, the clear complexion of Sarah would render her specially attractive in the eyes of the Egyptians, whose women, though not so dark as the Nubians and Ethiopians, were yet of a browner tinge than the Syrians and Arabians. Monumental evidence confirms the assertion of Scripture that a fair complexion was deemed a high recommendation in the age of the Pharaohs (ride Hengstenberg's 'Egypt and the Books of Moses,' p. 200). Therefore (literally, and) it shall come to pass, when (literally, that) the Egyptians - notorious for their licentiousness (vide P. Smith's ' History of the World,' vol. 1. Genesis 6. p. 71) - shall see thee, that (literally, and) they shall say, this is his wife: and they will kill me - in order to possess thee, counting murder a less crime than adultery (Lyra). An unreasonable anxiety, considering that he had hitherto enjoyed the Divine protection, however natural it might seem in view of the voluptuous character of the people. But (literally, and) they will save thee alive - for either compulsory marriage or dishonorable use. Say, I pray thee, - translated in ver. 11 as "now;" "verbum obsecrantis vel adhortantis" (Masius) - thou art my sister. A half-truth (Genesis 20:12), but a whole falsehood. The usual apologies, that he did not fabricate, but "cautiously conceal the truth" (Lyra), that perhaps he acted in obedience to a Divine impulse (Mede), that he dissembled in order to protect his wife's chastity (Rosenmüller), are not satisfactory. On the other hand, Abram must not be judged by the light of New Testament revelation. It is not necessary for a Christian in every situation Of life to tell all the truth, especially when its part suppression involves no deception, and is indispensable for self-preservation; and Abram may have deemed it legitimate as a means of securing both his own life and Sarah's honor, though how he was to shield his wife in the peculiar circumstances it is difficult to see. Rosenmüller suggests that he knew the preliminary ceremonies to marriage required a considerable time, and counted upon being able to leave Egypt before any injury was done to Sarah. The only objection to this is that the historian represents him as being less solicitous about the preservation of his wife's chastity than about the conservation of his own life. That it may be well (not with thee, though doubtless this is implied, but) with me for thy sake (the import of which is declared in the words which follow); and my soul shall live because of thee. "No defense can be offered for a man who, merely through dread of danger to himself, tells a lie, risks his wife's chastity, puts temptation in the way of his neighbors, and betrays the charge to which the Divine favor had summoned him "(Dykes).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
As
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר (ka·’ă·šer)
Preposition-k | Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

he was about
הִקְרִ֖יב (hiq·rîḇ)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7126: To come near, approach

to enter
לָב֣וֹא (lā·ḇō·w)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

Egypt,
מִצְרָ֑יְמָה (miṣ·rā·yə·māh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 4714: Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africa

he said
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

his wife
אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ (’iš·tōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

Sarai,
שָׂרַ֣י (śā·ray)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 8297: Sarai -- a wife of Abram

“Look,
הִנֵּה־ (hin·nêh-)
Interjection
Strong's 2009: Lo! behold!

I know
יָדַ֔עְתִּי (yā·ḏa‘·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 3045: To know

that
כִּ֛י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

you
אָֽתְּ׃ (’āt)
Pronoun - second person feminine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

[are] a beautiful
יְפַת־ (yə·p̄aṯ-)
Adjective - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3303: Fair, beautiful

woman,
אִשָּׁ֥ה (’iš·šāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female


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OT Law: Genesis 12:11 It happened when he had come near (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 12:10
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