Isaac and Abimelech

So Isaac settled in Gerar. When the men of the place asked him about his wife, (A)he said, “She is my sister,” for (B)he feared to say, “My wife,” thinking, “lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah,” because (C)she was attractive in appearance. When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with[a] Rebekah his wife. So Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘Lest I die because of her.’” 10 Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and (D)you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 26:8 Hebrew may suggest an intimate relationship

So Isaac lived in Gerar. When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “(A)She is my sister,” for he was (B)afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, “[a]the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, since she is (C)beautiful.” Now it came about, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down through a window, and saw them, and behold, Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah. Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Behold, she certainly is your wife! So how is it that you said, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I thought, ‘otherwise I might be killed on account of her.’” 10 And (D)Abimelech said, “What is this that you have done to us? One of the people might easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “He who (E)touches this man or his wife will certainly be put to death.”

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 26:7 Lit lest...place