Bible Strands
Genesis 12:17
The LORD, however, afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records God’s direct intervention against Pharaoh and his household immediately after Pharaoh took Sarai into his palace, preceding Pharaoh’s confrontation with Abram.
The words — נְגָעִים (ne.ga.'Im) translates to plagues, and גְדֹלִים (ge.do.Lim) denotes great or severe, describing the divine afflictions laid upon the Egyptian court.
The thread — This pattern recurs in Genesis 20:18, where Yahweh closes the wombs of Abimelech’s household over Sarah, and echoes the theme in 1 Chronicles 16:21 and Psalm 105:14 that God rebukes kings who threaten his people.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that covenant protection operates through sovereign judgment, regardless of human deception or diplomatic failure.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife.
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 16:21 He let no man oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf:
- Genesis 20:18 for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.
- Psalms 105:14 He let no man oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf:
- 1 Chronicles 21:22 Then David said to Ornan, “Grant me the site of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar to the LORD. Sell it to me for the full price, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”
- Job 34:19 who is not partial to princes and does not favor rich over poor? For they are all the work of His hands.
- Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.