(intensively) to constitute · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
men
אֲנָשִׁ֑ים'a.na.Shim
H582
a man in general (singly or collectively) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
away
וַֽיְשַׁלְּח֥וּvay.sha.le.Chu
H7971
to send away · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
wife
אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ'ish.To
H802
a woman · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 105:14-15 He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes;
Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
Exodus 18:27 And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
1 Samuel 29:6-11 Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 12:14–end
Here is, I. The danger Sarai was in of having her chastity violated by the king of Egypt: and without doubt the peril of sin is the greatest peril we can be in. Pharaoh's princes (his pimps rather) saw her, and, observing what a comely woman she was, they commended her before Pharaoh, not for that which was really her praise - her virtue and modesty, her faith and piety (these were no excellencies in their eyes), but for her beauty, which they thought too good for the embraces of a subject. They recommended her to the king, and she was presently taken into Pharaoh's house, as Esther into the seraglio of Ahasuerus (Est 2:8), in order to her being taken into his bed. Now we must not look upon…
Here is a most humiliating rebuke, and Abram deserved it. Had not God interfered, he might have been tempted to stay in Egypt and forget the promise (Psa 105:13, Psa 105:15). Often still does God rebuke His people and remind them through enemies that this world is not their rest.
Next: Genesis Chapter 13
Adam Clarke on Genesis 12:20
Commanded his men concerning him - Gave particular and strict orders to afford Abram and his family every accommodation for their journey; for having received a great increase of cattle and servants, it was necessary that he should have the favor of the king, and his permission to remove from Egypt with so large a property; hence, a particular charge is given to the officers of Pharaoh to treat him with respect, and to assist him in his intended departure.
The weighty and important contents of this chapter demand our most attentive consideration. Abram is a second time called to leave his country, kindred, and father's house, and go to a place he knew not. Every thing was apparently against…
And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him,.... His courtiers and servants, not to do him any hurt or injury in his person or substance; who he might suppose would be enraged at hearing how the king and they had been imposed upon and deceived; he ordered a guard about him while he was there, and to conduct him, and all that belonged to him, safely out of his dominions, as appears by what follows: but Dr. Lightfoot (m) is of opinion, that he gave charge to the Egyptians, making it as it were a law for the time to come, that they should not converse with Hebrews, nor with foreign shepherds, in any so near familiarity, as to eat or drink with them, which the Egyptians observed strictly ever a…
The Church Fathers
You would be right in applying to this just man those words that blessed David used of those who returned from the captivity in Babylon: "Though they sow in tears, they will reap in joy. They went their way and wept as they cast their seed, but in returning they will come in joy, carrying their sheaves aloft." Did you see his downward journey to be beset with worry and fear, with the fear of death heavy upon him? Now see his return marked by great prosperity and distinction! The just man now, you see, was an object of respect to everyone in Egypt and in Palestine. After all, who would have failed to show respect for the one who so enjoyed God's protection and was accorded such wonderful care? Quite likely what befell the king and his household escaped no one's attention. His purpose, you see, in permitting everything and in allowing the just man's trials to reach such a point was that his endurance might appear more conspicuous, his achievement might win the attention of the whole world, and no one would be unaware of the good man's virtue.Do you see, dearly beloved, the magnitude of the benefit coming from his trials? Do you see the greatness of the reward for his endurance? Do you see man and wife, advanced in age though they were, giving evidence of so much good sense, so much courage, so much affection for one another, such a bond of love? Let us all imitate this and never become dispirited or consider the onset of tribulations to be a mark of abandonment on God's part or an index of scorn. Rather, let us treat it as the clearest demonstration of God's providential care for us.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Abraham — Father of a multitude, son of Terah, named (Gen. 11:27) before his older brothers Nahor and Haran, because he was the heir of the promises. Till the age of seventy, Abram sojourned among his kindred…
Pharaoh — The official title borne by the Egyptian kings down to the time when that country was conquered by the Greeks. (See EGYPT.) The name is a compound, as some think, of the words Ra, the “sun” or…
Abraham · General references — General references
Egypt · .Abraham lives in — .Abraham lives in
Egyptians · Hospitality of, to Abraham — Hospitality of, to Abraham
Pharaoh · 1. King of Egypt at the time of Abraham — 1. King of Egypt at the time of Abraham
Rulers · .Pharaoh, in his treatment of Abraham — .Pharaoh, in his treatment of Abraham
Sarah · .Near of kin to Abraham — .Near of kin to Abraham
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And Pharaoh commanded his men. In giving commandment that Abram should have a safe-conduct out of the kingdom, Pharaoh might seem to have done it, for the sake of providing against danger; because Abram had stirred up the odium of the nation against himself, as against one who had brought thither the scourge of God along with him; but as this conjecture has little solidity, I give the more simple interpretation, that leave of departure was granted to Abram with the addition of a guard, lest he should be exposed to violence. For we know how proud and cruel the Egyptians were; and how obnoxious Abram was to envy, because having there become suddenly rich, he would seem to be carrying spoil awa…
The princes of Pharaoh finding her very beautiful, extolled her beauty to the king, and she was taken to Pharaoh's house. As Sarah was then 65 years old (cf. Gen 17:17 and Gen 12:4), her beauty at such an age has been made a difficulty by some. But as she lived to the age of 127 (Gen 23:1), she was then middle-aged; and as her vigour and bloom had not been tried by bearing children, she might easily appear very beautiful in the eyes of the Egyptians, whose wives, according to both ancient and modern testimony, were generally ugly, and faded early. Pharaoh (the Egyptian ouro, king, with the article Pi) is the Hebrew name for all the Egyptian kings in the Old Testament; their proper names bein…
No answer to Pharaoh’s questions (12:18-19) was needed, because the rebuke was followed by expulsion. Pharaoh’s command paralleled God’s command to Abram (12:1), but Pharaoh’s demand brought shame and disgrace. God was faithful in preserving his promise.
Rashi on Genesis 12:17
'וינגע ה' וגו AND THE LORD PLAGUED PHARAOH etc. — He was smitten with the disease of Raathon for which marital relations are harmful.
