Genesis 20:2 kjv
And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
Genesis 20:2 nkjv
Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
Genesis 20:2 niv
and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
Genesis 20:2 esv
And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
Genesis 20:2 nlt
Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, "She is my sister." So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.
Genesis 20 2 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 12:11-13 | 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 let you live. Say you are my sister... | Abraham's first similar deception in Egypt. |
| Gen 20:11-12 | Abraham said, "I did it because I thought, 'There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother... | Abraham's justification and partial truth. |
| Gen 26:6-7 | So Isaac settled in Gerar... When the men of the place asked him about his wife, Rebekah, he said, "She is my sister," for he feared that the men of the place might kill him... | Isaac's repetition of his father's error. |
| Ex 20:16 | You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. | Ninth Commandment against lying. |
| Lev 19:11 | You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. | Law forbidding lying and deception. |
| Prov 6:16-19 | There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood... | God hates a lying tongue. |
| Prov 12:22 | Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but in those who act faithfully he delights. | God detests lying. |
| Prov 19:5 | A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish. | Consequences for deceit. |
| Col 3:9 | Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices. | New Testament instruction against lying. |
| Psa 33:16-19 | The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation... But the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, to deliver their soul... | God's protection, not human schemes. |
| Psa 105:14-15 | He allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings for their sake, saying, "Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!" | God protects His chosen, even amidst their faults. |
| Rom 3:3-4 | What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every man a liar... | God remains faithful despite human unfaithfulness. |
| Rom 4:1-5 | What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. | Abraham's actions do not nullify God's grace. |
| 2 Tim 2:13 | If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. | God's unchangeable faithfulness. |
| Heb 11:8-9 | By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out... By faith he went to live in the land of promise as in a foreign land... | Abraham is celebrated for faith, despite flaws. |
| Heb 13:4 | Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. | Sanctity of marriage. |
| Jer 17:5 | Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord." | Danger of trusting in human cunning. |
| Isa 51:1-2 | "Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you... when he was but one I called him, and I blessed him and made him many." | God's sovereign hand in raising Abraham and Sarah. |
| Psa 146:3 | Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. | Warns against relying on human power. |
| Gen 17:15-16 | God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her..." | God's explicit promise through Sarah. |
| Gen 18:10 | The Lord said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." | Specific reiteration of the promise of Isaac. |
| Gen 35:2 | Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods that are among you..." | Patriarchs struggled with complete devotion. |
Genesis 20 verses
Genesis 20 2 Meaning
Genesis 20:2 records Abraham's deceptive claim to Abimelech, king of Gerar, that his wife Sarah was merely his sister. This declaration directly led to King Abimelech dispatching his servants to take Sarah, presumably into his royal harem. The verse highlights Abraham's fear and his recurring pattern of protecting himself through falsehood, endangering God's covenantal promise through Sarah.
Genesis 20 2 Context
Genesis 20:2 occurs immediately after the dramatic destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in chapter 19. Abraham, witnessing this divine judgment, journeys south from Mamre to the Negeb and settles between Kadesh and Shur, in Gerar. This verse initiates a distinct narrative episode that parallels an earlier incident in Genesis 12. At this point, Sarah is approximately 90 years old, and the promise of a son, Isaac, has been reiterated to Abraham (Gen 18) and is imminent. The episode highlights the challenges faced by Abraham as a sojourner in a foreign land and continues to explore the character of Abraham's faith and God's unwavering faithfulness. The historical and cultural context involves patriarchal societies where a king had significant authority, including the power to take women for his harem. However, divine intervention (as seen in the following verses) indicates limits even to this authority when God's chosen people are involved. This narrative implicitly contrasts the partial "righteousness" of Abimelech, a pagan king who acts honorably upon revelation, with the moral lapse of Abraham, the man of faith.
Genesis 20 2 Word analysis
- And Abraham: Hebrew: וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָהָם (vayyōʾmer ʾAvrām). The conjunction "And" (va-) continues the narrative flow. "Abraham" is the patriarch, the one chosen by God for the covenant, underscoring the irony and significance of his action. This indicates he spoke the lie directly.
- said of Sarah: Hebrew: לְשָׂרָה אִשְׁתּוֹ (ləśārāh ʾištô). The preposition lə- here can mean "concerning" or "about." Sarah (Śārāh) is unequivocally identified as his "wife" (ʾištô), emphasizing that Abraham knew he was making a false statement about his legitimate spouse. Her status as wife is crucial for the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant (producing the heir).
- his wife, "She is my sister": Hebrew: אֲחֹתִי הִיא (ʾaḥōtî hîʾ). The direct quote of Abraham's lie. "Sister" (ʾāḥôtî) is used as a term of familial relationship, deliberately misrepresenting their actual bond as husband and wife. While Gen 20:12 reveals Sarah was indeed his half-sister (daughter of his father), the intent and implication of this statement in the moment of fear were deceptive, aimed at self-preservation by misrepresenting their spousal bond.
- And Abimelech: Hebrew: וַאֲבִימֶלֶךְ (waʾAvîmeleḵ). Another conjunctive va- moving the plot forward. "Abimelech" (ʾĂḇîmeleḵ) means "my father is king," a common Philistine dynastic title. He is the active agent following Abraham's deception.
- king of Gerar: Hebrew: מֶלֶךְ גְּרָר (meleḵ Gərār). Identifies Abimelech's status and domain. Gerar was a significant city-state in the Negeb. His position implies authority and the expected right to select women for his royal court or harem, making Abraham's lie appear pragmatic in his fearful eyes.
- sent, and took Sarah: Hebrew: וַיִּשְׁלַח וַיִּקַּח אֶת שָׂרָה (wayyišlaḥ wayyiqqaḥ ʾeṯ Śārāh). These are two consecutive perfect tense verbs (converted to waw-consecutive imperfect), indicating swift and decisive action. "Sent" (wayyišlaḥ) means dispatching messengers or agents. "Took" (wayyiqqaḥ) means to seize, acquire, or take into possession, typically for marriage or into a household/harem in this context. The direct object marker ʾeṯ emphatically precedes Sarah's name, highlighting her being the subject of the action. This act, while legal in the pagan society for taking a sister, was morally problematic as it disrupted a marriage ordained by God, setting up a divine confrontation.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister": This phrase exposes Abraham's deep-seated fear and lack of complete trust in God's protection. Despite a direct covenant and promise of descendants through Sarah, he resorted to a human scheme. This repeated pattern (Gen 12) suggests a persistent spiritual struggle or a lingering flaw in his faith walk, despite being called "the father of all who believe."
- "And Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah": This segment highlights the swift, pragmatic consequence of Abraham's lie. Abimelech acts entirely within what he believes is his customary right and practice concerning single women (a "sister"). The taking of Sarah directly imperils the promised lineage and covenant. This action immediately sets the stage for God's necessary intervention to protect His covenant, not necessarily Abraham or Sarah's choices.
Genesis 20 2 Bonus section
The repeated "sister-wife" deception in Genesis (Gen 12, Gen 20, and Isaac's similar act in Gen 26) underscores a crucial theological point: God's covenant faithfulness is not dependent on the perfection of His human instruments. Despite Abraham's recurring lack of trust and the endangerment of the promised line, God consistently intervened to protect Sarah and the integrity of His covenant. This highlights divine sovereignty and grace. Some scholars point out that the narrative details the vulnerabilities of patriarchs, ensuring that their later status as exemplars of faith is attributed solely to God's choice and faithfulness, not their own intrinsic righteousness. The incident also serves as an example of God preventing a righteous pagan king (Abimelech, who acted in ignorance) from falling into unwitting sin (adultery), thus demonstrating God's justice and His regard even for those outside the direct covenant. This event clarifies that Abimelech acted based on the information Abraham gave him, underscoring Abraham's culpability and highlighting a stark contrast between Abraham's fear-driven actions and Abimelech's more "righteous" response upon understanding the truth.
Genesis 20 2 Commentary
Genesis 20:2 is a profound moment in the narrative of Abraham, revealing the complexities of faith and human fallibility. Abraham, chosen by God and recipient of magnificent promises, again succumbs to fear for his own life, a recurrence of his actions in Egypt (Gen 12). Despite his advanced age and Sarah's (around 90), he fears that her remaining attractiveness would endanger him in a foreign land. His declaration, "She is my sister," is a deliberate deception, though containing a partial truth (she was his half-sister, as clarified in Gen 20:12). This makes the lie more insidious, a distortion of truth for self-preservation, placing his covenant wife in grave danger.
Abimelech's subsequent action—sending for and taking Sarah—is depicted as a customary, authoritative act for a pagan king. This highlights the stark moral and cultural chasm between the divine covenant (Abraham's context) and the prevailing practices of the time. The immediacy of Abimelech's action demonstrates the perilous situation Sarah was in, emphasizing that God's protection for His chosen people would often involve miraculous intervention rather than relying solely on the human integrity of His servants. This incident serves as a stark reminder that even those with strong faith are not immune to fear, temptation, and moral lapses, but God's covenantal faithfulness transcends human failure. It foreshadows the constant need for God's grace and intervention to preserve His purposes despite human shortcomings.