1. Now, after this, when a famine had invaded the land of Canaan,
and Abram had discovered that the Egyptians were in a flourishing
condition, he was disposed to go down to them, both to partake of
the plenty they enjoyed, and to become an auditor of their
priests, and to know what they said concerning the gods;
designing either to follow them, if they had better notions than
he, or to convert them into a better way, if his own notions
proved the truest. Now, seeing he was to take Sarai with him, and
was afraid of the madness of the Egyptians with regard to women,
lest the king should kill him on occasion of his wife's great
beauty, he contrived this device : - he pretended to be her
brother, and directed her in a dissembling way to pretend the
same, for he said it would be for their benefit. Now, as soon as
he came into Egypt, it happened to Abram as he supposed it would;
for the fame of his wife's beauty was greatly talked of; for
which reason Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, would not be satisfied
with what was reported of her, but would needs see her himself,
and was preparing to enjoy her; but God put a stop to his unjust
inclinations, by sending upon him a distemper, and a sedition
against his government. And when he inquired of the priests how
he might be freed from these calamities, they told him that this
his miserable condition was derived from the wrath of God, upon
account of his inclinations to abuse the stranger's wife. He
then, out of fear, asked Sarai who she was, and who it was that
she brought along with her. And when he had found out the truth,
he excused himself to Abram, that supposing the woman to be his
sister, and not his wife, he set his affections on her, as
desiring an affinity with him by marrying her, but not as incited
by lust to abuse her. He also made him a large present in money,
and gave him leave to enter into conversation with the most