Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Genesis 12:18 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 18. 18And 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?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Pharaoh summons Abram and asks what Abram has done to him and why Abram did not disclose that Sarai was his wife. A foreign ruler now voices the direct moral confrontation absent from Abram's own speech.
Read It With
- Genesis 12:10–20
Read verses 18–20 together. Pharaoh's first questions identify the concealed marriage, verse 19 names the consequence and restores Sarai, and verse 20 orders the household's departure.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Pharaoh's first questions shift the story from unexplained affliction to direct confrontation over Abram's concealed marriage.
Read Genesis 12:18–20 together
Why these verses belong together: Pharaoh's questions, restoration order, and official escort or expulsion close the Egypt crisis.
Verse 18. 18 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?
Verse 19. 19 Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
Verse 20. 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Pharaoh's rebuke does not prove that Pharaoh was morally perfect or possessed complete knowledge before the plagues.
What Remains True
Religious calling does not place a person beyond correction, including correction from someone outside the covenant community.
How It Can Shape Life
- When someone identifies concrete harm caused by your concealment, answer with humility rather than dismissing the correction because of the speaker's identity.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 12:10–20 — Famine Drives Abram Into EgyptSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, immediate sequence, repeated wife-sister pattern, famine journeys, and canonical exodus connections.
Exact location: Genesis 12:10–20 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 12:1–9; 13:1–4; 20:1–18; 26:1–11; 46:1–4; and Exodus 1–14
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Severe famine, temporary sojourn, fear clauses, going-well verbs, on-account-of phrases, passive taking, servants, cognate plague construction, wife terminology, Pharaoh's questions, and escorted departure.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 12:10–20
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Severe-famine wording, general-welfare sense in verse 13, passive taking into the royal household, material irony, plague intensification, emphatic rebuke, and sending away.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 12:10–20 and notes
Open NET Genesis 12 ↗