Genesis 12:11-13

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 12:11 tn Heb “drew near to enter.”
2. Genesis 12:11 tn The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is deictic here; it draws attention to the following fact.
3. Genesis 12:11 tn Heb “a woman beautiful of appearance are you.”
4. Genesis 12:12 tn The Piel of the verb חָיָה (khayah, “to live”) means “to keep alive, to preserve alive,” and in some places “to make alive.” See D. Marcus, “The Verb ‘to Live’ in Ugaritic,” JSS 17 (1972): 76-82.
5. Genesis 12:13 tn Heb “say.”
6. Genesis 12:13 sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister—but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.
7. Genesis 12:13 tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.
8. Genesis 12:13 tn Heb “and my life will live.”