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So Isaac settled in Gerar. When the men of the place asked concerning his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking[a] “the men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for she was beautiful.”[b] And it happened that, when he had been there a long time,[c] Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked through the window, and saw—behold—Isaac was fondling Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac[d] and said, “Surely she is your wife. Now why did you say ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I thought I would die on account of her.” 10 And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have slept with your wife! Then you would have brought guilt upon us!” 11 Then Abimelech instructed all the people, saying, “The one who touches this man or his wife shall certainly die.”

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 26:7 Or “lest”
  2. Genesis 26:7 Literally “good of appearance”
  3. Genesis 26:8 Literally “when the days there were long to him”
  4. Genesis 26:9 Or “to Isaac”

So Isaac settled in Gerar.

Isaac’s Deception

When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,”(A) for he was afraid to say “my wife,” thinking,(B) “The men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is a beautiful woman.”(C) When Isaac had been there for some time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see[a] Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”

10 Then Abimelech said, “What is this you’ve done to us? One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.”(D) 11 So Abimelech warned all the people with these words: “Whoever harms this man or his wife will certainly die.”

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 26:8 Or and he looked and behold