Genesis 12:10-13
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
While the text highlights the severity of the famine driving Abram to Egypt, it's easy to miss that his move wasn't a retreat from the promised land, but a temporary "sojourn." This implies a deep trust that he would return to Canaan, demonstrating his commitment to God's promise despite immediate hardship.
Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
Abram had just arrived in the promised land of Canaan, but a severe famine immediately struck the region. Instead of returning to his homeland, he traveled south to Egypt to wait out the famine. This detour sets up a crisis where Abram, fearing for his life, will take drastic measures regarding his wife Sarai, leading to God's intervention.
God called Abram to a new land, but what happens when that new land can't sustain him? Discover how faith navigates unexpected hardship.
God's call to Abram was to leave his homeland and go to a land He would show him. While Abram and his father Terah did set out with Canaan as their destination, the text emphasizes that God's guidance was paramount, not a pre-defined map.
God's Unfolding Plan
This journey highlights that God's plans often unfold step-by-step. We are called to follow His leading, trusting that He will provide for our needs, even when the path isn't clear or the circumstances are difficult.
Why would God promise a land of abundance and then allow a famine? Explore the deeper purposes behind divine provision and scarcity.
The famine in Canaan, a land promised to Abram as a place of future inheritance, might seem contradictory to God's promises. However, Scripture often reveals God's hand at work through both abundance and scarcity.
Ask a follow-up
God's Purpose in Famine
Even when circumstances seem bleak, God is sovereign. He uses challenging times not to abandon us, but to deepen our reliance on Him and to showcase His ability to provide in ways we might not expect.
Understand the original words
ra'av · Hebrew Noun
A severe shortage of food, often used in Scripture as a means of divine testing, judgment, or an instrument to move people to new locations according to God’s sovereign plan. It frequently prompts a crisis of faith and dependence.
gur · Hebrew Verb
To reside temporarily in a foreign land without the rights of citizenship or permanent ownership; it characterizes the status of God’s people on earth as aliens and pilgrims waiting for the eternal city.
Mitsrayim · Hebrew Proper Noun
A region in northeast Africa, historically significant in the Bible as a place of refuge during famine but also associated with worldly power, bondage, and a place from which God delivered His people.
yaphah · Hebrew Adjective
Refers to physical attractiveness, often used in Scripture to describe people (like Sarah, Rachel, or David) or places and objects. It can carry connotations of desirability, but also potential danger or temptation.
ishshah · Hebrew Noun
A covenant relationship between a man and a woman ordained by God. In this context, it represents a sacred bond that Abram attempts to manipulate for his own preservation.
harag · Hebrew Verb
To terminate the life of a human being. It is strictly forbidden by God’s law, though in the fallen world, it is often motivated by greed, jealousy, or the preservation of power.
nephesh · Hebrew Noun
The state of existing; the breath of life given by God. It is often contrasted with death and is considered the ultimate earthly treasure that individuals seek to preserve.
achoth · Hebrew Noun
A female sibling. In the Ancient Near Eastern context, calling one’s wife a "sister" was a deceptive practice used to gain social or personal security at the expense of marital integrity.
This detour into Egypt, driven by famine, highlights how even God's chosen ones face severe trials that test their faith and can lead to compromise, relying on God's ultimate protection and provision.
c. 2090 BC
Abram Departs Ur
God calls Abram to leave his homeland, Ur of the Chaldeans, and journey to an unspecified land. Abram, along with his father Terah and nephew Lot, first travels to Haran.
c. 2080 BC
Abram Arrives in Canaan
After his father Terah's death in Haran, Abram continues his journey, eventually reaching the land of Canaan as God had promised. He travels through the land, setting up altars and worshiping the Lord.
c. 2079 BC— this verse
Famine Strikes Canaan
A severe famine grips the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to seek sustenance elsewhere. This event tests Abram's faith and his trust in God's provision.
c. 2079 BC
Abram Sojourns in Egypt
To survive the famine, Abram travels down to Egypt, a land known for its fertile Nile valley. He intends to sojourn there temporarily until the famine in Canaan subsides.
c. 2079 BC
Abram Departs Egypt
After encountering trouble due to the beauty of his wife Sarai and God's intervention, Abram and his family are sent away from Egypt by Pharaoh, now enriched with possessions.
c. 2078 BC
Abram Returns to Canaan
Abram returns to Canaan, having weathered the famine and the difficult experience in Egypt, and continues his nomadic life, following God's guidance.
This passage shows a similar situation where a famine in the land of Canaan causes the patriarch (Isaac in this case) to go down to Egypt, highlighting a recurring pattern of God's people facing such crises and seeking sustenance.
Genesis 42:1Here, famine again drives Jacob's sons down into Egypt. This highlights how Egypt served as a place of refuge and provision during severe droughts in Canaan, a consistent theme in the patriarchal narratives.
Deuteronomy 8:7-9This passage describes the promised land flowing with milk and honey, contrasting sharply with the hardship of famine. It underscores the 'going down' to Egypt as a departure from the ideal, divinely intended provision.
Hebrews 11:8-10This New Testament passage reflects on Abraham's journey of faith, noting he went to a place he would later receive as inheritance, while sojourning in a foreign land. It contextualizes his move to Egypt within his broader trust in God's promises, even amid hardship.
Psalm 105:13-15This psalm recounts God's protection over Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, explicitly mentioning that He 'suffered no man to do them wrong' and 'reproved kings for their sakes' when they went from nation to nation. This provides a divine perspective on Abram's sojourn in Egypt, emphasizing God's safeguarding hand.
calvinGenesis 12:1-20: "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:"
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Et cepit Abram Sarai uxorem suam, et Lot filium fratris sui, et omnem substantiam q…
gillGenesis 12:10: "And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land."
And there was a famine in the land,.... The land of Canaan, which was a very fruitful country, abounding with all kind of provisions usually; but now there was a scarcity of all; and which was both for the sins of the inhabitants of the land, and for the trial of Abram's faith, who was brought out of his own country, where was bread enough and to spare,…
While the text highlights the severity of the famine driving Abram to Egypt, it's easy to miss that his move wasn't a retreat from the promised land, but a temporary "sojourn." This implies a deep trust that he would return to Canaan, demonstrating his commitment to God's promise despite immediate hardship.
Abram had just arrived in the promised land of Canaan, but a severe famine immediately struck the region. Instead of returning to his homeland, he traveled south to Egypt to wait out the famine. This detour sets up a crisis where Abram, fearing for his life, will take drastic measures regarding his wife Sarai, leading to God's intervention.
Abram had just arrived in the promised land of Canaan, but a severe famine immediately struck the region. Instead of returning to his homeland, he traveled south to Egypt to wait out the famine. This detour sets up a crisis where Abram, fearing for his life, will take drastic measures regarding his wife Sarai, leading to God's intervention.
"Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, and…" — While the text highlights the severity of the famine driving Abram to Egypt, it's easy to miss that his move wasn't a retreat from the promised land, but a temporary "sojourn." This implies a deep tr…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026
