John Calvin Commentary Genesis 12:11

"And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:" — Genesis 12:11 (ASV)

He said unto Sarai his wife. He now relates the counsel which Abram took for the preservation of his life when he was approaching Egypt. And since this passage is like a rock on which many stumble, it is proper that we should soberly and reverently consider how far Abram was deserving of excuse and how far he was to be blamed.

First, there seems to be some falsehood mixed with the pretenses he persuades his wife to practice. And although he later makes the excuse that he had not lied nor invented anything untrue, he was certainly greatly culpable in this: it was not due to his care that his wife avoided prostitution.

For when he conceals the fact that she was his wife, he deprives her chastity of its legitimate defense. And from this, certain perverse objectors take the opportunity to claim that the holy patriarch was a pander to his own wife, and that, to craftily protect himself, he spared neither her modesty nor his own honor.

But it is easy to refute this virulent abuse, because it can indeed be inferred that Abram had far higher aims, since in other things he was endowed with such great magnanimity. Again, why did he choose to go to Egypt rather than to Charran or to his own country, if not because on his journey he kept God before his eyes and the divine promise firmly rooted in his mind?

Since, therefore, he never allowed his focus to swerve from the word of God, we can from that even gather the reason why he feared so greatly for his own life that he attempted to preserve it from one danger by incurring a still greater one. Undoubtedly, he would have chosen to die a hundred times rather than to ruin his wife's character in this way and be deprived of the companionship of her whom alone he loved.

But while he reflected that the hope of salvation was centered in himself, that he was the fountain of the Church of God, that unless he lived, the benediction promised to him and to his seed would be vain, he did not estimate his own life according to a private, fleshly affection. Instead, because he did not wish the effect of the divine vocation to perish through his death, he was so concerned with preserving his own life that he overlooked everything else.

To this extent, then, he deserves praise: having a lawful purpose for living, he was prepared to purchase life at any price. But in devising this indirect method, by which he subjected his wife to the peril of adultery, he seems by no means excusable. If he was solicitous about his own life, which he might justly be, he still ought to have cast his care upon God.

The providence of God, I grant, does not indeed prevent the faithful from caring for themselves; but they should do so in such a way that they do not overstep their prescribed bounds. Therefore, it follows that Abram’s aim was right, but he erred in the method itself. For it often happens to us that even while we are aiming for God, yet, by our thoughtlessness in grasping at unlawful means, we swerve from His word.

This especially tends to happen in difficult situations because when no way of escape appears, we are easily led astray into various roundabout paths.

Therefore, although those who entirely condemn this deed of Abram are rash judges, the specific fault cannot be denied: namely, that trembling at the approach of death, he did not commit the outcome of the danger to God, but instead sinfully betrayed his wife's modesty. For this reason, by this example, we are admonished that in complex and doubtful matters, we must seek the spirit of counsel and prudence from the Lord. We must also cultivate sobriety, so that we do not attempt anything rashly without the authority of His word.

I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon. The question is asked: from where did Sarai have this beauty, since she was an old woman? For though we grant that she previously had excelled in elegance of form, years had certainly detracted from her gracefulness, and we know how much the wrinkles of old age disfigure the best and most beautiful faces.

In the first place, I answer, there is no doubt that there was then greater vivacity in the human race than there is now; we also know that vigor sustains personal appearance. Again, her sterility helped to preserve her beauty and to keep her whole physical constitution sound, for there is nothing that debilitates women more than frequent childbirth.

However, I do not doubt that the perfection of her form was a special gift from God. But why He would not allow the holy woman's beauty to be worn down so soon by age, we do not know, unless perhaps the loveliness of that form was intended to be the cause of great and severe anxiety to her husband. Common experience also teaches us that those who are not content with a regular and moderate degree of comeliness find, to their great loss, at what cost excessive beauty is purchased.