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LXX Genesis

Septuagint

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Chapter 12

1 And the Lord said to Abram, Go forth out of your land and out of your kindred, and out of the house of your father, and come into the land which I will show you.⁠ 2 And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and magnify your name, and you shall be blessed. 3 And I will bless those that bless you, and curse those that curse you, and in you shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.⁠ 4 And Abram went as the Lord spoke to him, and Lot departed with him, and Abram was seventy-five years old, when he went out of Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot the son of his brother, and all their possessions, as many as they had got, and every soul which they had got in Haran, and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan, and they came into the land of Canaan. 6 And Abram traversed the land lengthwise as far as the place Shechem, to the high oak, and the Canaanites then inhabited the land. 7 And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, I will give this land to your seed. And Abram built an altar there to the Lord who appeared to him. 8 And he departed from there to the mountain eastward of Bethel, and there he pitched his tent in Bethel near the sea, and Ai toward the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord, and called on the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram departed and went and encamped in the wilderness. 10 And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to stay there, because the famine prevailed in the land. 11 And it happened when Abram drew near to enter into Egypt, Abram said to Sarai his wife, I know that you are a fair woman. 12 It will happen then that when the Egyptians shall see you, they shall say, This is his wife, and they shall kill me, but they shall save you alive. 13 Say, therefore, I am his sister, that it may be well with me on account of you, and my soul shall live because of you. 14 And it happened when Abram entered into Egypt, the Egyptians having seen his wife that she was very beautiful, 15 that the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh and brought her into the house of Pharaoh. 16 And they treated Abram well on her account, and he had sheep, and calves, and donkeys, and menservants, and women-servants, and mules, and camels. 17 And God tried Pharaoh with great and severe trials, and his house,⁠ because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 And Pharaoh having called Abram, said, What is this you have done to me, that you did not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, She is my sister? and I took her for a wife to myself; and now, look, your wife is before you, take her and go quickly away. 20 And Pharaoh gave charge to men concerning Abram, to join in sending him forward, and his wife, and all that he had,⁠ and Lot with him.

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Compare Genesis 12:17 and LXX Genesis 12:17

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

Genesis 12 says that God gave Pharaoh and his household severe “plagues” because of Sarai. The Greek Septuagint translation uses generic language, changing “plagues” to “trials,” perhaps to make God's punishment appear less harsh.

Passages

Genesis 12:17

Hebrew Bible
16 and he did treat Abram well on account of her. Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues45 because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why didn’t you tell me that she was your wife?
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

LXX Genesis 12:17

Septuagint
16 And they treated Abram well on her account, and he had sheep, and calves, and donkeys, and menservants, and women-servants, and mules, and camels. 17 And God tried Pharaoh with great and severe trials, and his house, because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 And Pharaoh having called Abram, said, What is this you have done to me, that you did not tell me that she was your wife?
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Genesis

References

"... In contrast with Abram who never asks about Sarai’s welfare, God intervenes by subjecting Pharaoh’s household with unstated afflictions. Somehow, the Egyptian Pharaoh connects his problems with his taking Sarai as his wife and questions Abram about his deception. Again, Abram says nothing. Although he is ordered to leave Egypt and is escorted out by Pharaoh’s men, he certainly did do well for himself. What likely happened to Sarai is ignored, both by Abram and the narrator. Inasmuch as she was said to be barren, her being taken as Pharaoh’s wife is seemingly unimportant. No one will know. In an addition to the story, LXX-G reports that Lot was with them. Although this does smooth the transition to the next chapter, it begs the question of when Lot joined Abram in Egypt ..."
Susan Brayford, Septuagint Commentary Series: Genesis (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 292.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 12:17 and LXX Genesis 12:17

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