Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’
Parallel translations
- WEB Abraham said, “Because I thought, ‘Surely the fear of God is not in this place. They will kill me for my wife’s sake.’
- KJV And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.
- NKJV And Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will kill me on account of my wife.
- NASB Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.
- NLT Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘This is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Abraham explains he assumed there was no fear of God in Gerar and feared being killed. His reasoning exposes his unbelieving fear of man.
Overview
Abraham reveals that he acted out of a faithless assumption about the people of Gerar and a fear for his own life. Ironically, Abimelech's household had shown more reverence for God than Abraham credited them with. His confession lays bare how fear of man, rather than trust in God's protection, drove him into deceit, a snare against which Scripture repeatedly warns.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Gen 26:7But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.”
- Gen 12:12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.
- Prov 2:5then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.
- Job 28:28And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
- Prov 16:6By loving devotion and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns aside from evil.
- Neh 5:15The governors before me had heavily burdened the people, taking from them bread and wine plus forty shekels of silver. Their servants also oppressed the people, but I did not do this because of my fear of God.
- Gen 22:12“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.”
- Ps 36:1–4For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD. An oracle is in my heart regarding the transgression of the wicked man: There is no fear of God before his eyes.
- Gen 42:18and on the third day he said to them, “I fear God. So do this and you will live:
- Rom 3:18“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
- Prov 8:13To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
- Prov 1:7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
- Ps 14:4Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon the LORD.
- Job 1:1There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 20:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.