The Meaning of Genesis 12:18 Explained

Genesis 12:18

KJV: 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?

YLT: And Pharaoh calleth for Abram, and saith, 'What is this thou hast done to me? why hast thou not declared to me that she is thy wife?

Darby: And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this thou hast done to me? Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?

ASV: 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?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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? 

What does Genesis 12:18 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 12:10-20 - Abram And Sarai In Egypt
It is a comfort that the Holy Spirit permits us to trace the successive stages through which the father of those who believe made his way to the maturity of faith. We all stumble as we step out on the difficult path. But God is patient with His dull scholars and protects them. See Psalms 105:15. It was certain that no weapon formed against him could prosper, nor God's promise fail, yet Abram meanly sacrificed Sarai with his pitiful proposition for his own safety. This doubting outbreak would never have occurred, unless the patriarch had gone down to Egypt, which in Scripture stands for creature-confidence. See Isaiah 30:1. The God of glory, who had sent him forth, was responsible for his maintenance in Canaan, even though famine prevailed. He ought to have stayed quietly in the position to which God had called him, leaving the Almighty to provide. Live with God in the heights; and do not go down into Egypt. [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in Genesis 12:18 mean?

And called Pharaoh Abram and said what [is] this you have done to me why not did you tell me that your wife she [was]
וַיִּקְרָ֤א פַרְעֹה֙ לְאַבְרָ֔ם וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מַה־ זֹּ֖את עָשִׂ֣יתָ לִּ֑י לָ֚מָּה לֹא־ הִגַּ֣דְתָּ לִּ֔י כִּ֥י אִשְׁתְּךָ֖ ؟ הִֽוא

וַיִּקְרָ֤א  And  called 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
פַרְעֹה֙  Pharaoh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: פַּרְעֹה  
Sense: the common title of the king of Egypt.
לְאַבְרָ֔ם  Abram 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַבְרָם  
Sense: original name of Abraham.
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
מַה־  what  [is] 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: לָמָּה 
Sense: what, how, of what kind.
זֹּ֖את  this 
Parse: Pronoun, feminine singular
Root: זׄאת  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, such.
עָשִׂ֣יתָ  you  have  done 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
לִּ֑י  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
לָ֚מָּה  why 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: לָמָּה 
Sense: what, how, of what kind.
הִגַּ֣דְתָּ  did  you  tell 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: נָגַד  
Sense: to be conspicuous, tell, make known.
לִּ֔י  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
כִּ֥י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
אִשְׁתְּךָ֖  your  wife 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
؟ הִֽוא  she  [was] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person feminine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.