And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
Parallel translations
- WEB Abraham said about Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
- BSB Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
- NKJV Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
- NASB And Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent men and took Sarah.
- 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.
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 again claims Sarah is his sister, and King Abimelech takes her. Abraham repeats a past failure, endangering Sarah and the promised line.
Overview
Fearing for his life, Abraham resorts to a half-truth he had used in Egypt, exposing his wife and jeopardizing God's promise of an heir through Sarah. The episode reveals that even great men of faith stumble into the same sins repeatedly. Yet God's covenant does not depend on Abraham's perfection, and the Lord Himself will intervene to protect the line that leads to Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Gen 12:15The princes also of Pharaoh saw her, and commended her before Pharaoh: and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
- Gen 26:7And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
- Gen 12:11–13And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:
- Col 3:9Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
- Gen 26:1And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
- Eph 4:25Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
- Gen 20:12And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
- Gal 2:11–12But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
- Eccl 7:20For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
- Gen 26:16And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
- Prov 24:16For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
- 2 Chr 19:2And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD.
- 2 Chr 32:31Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart.
- 2 Chr 20:37Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
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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 20:2 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.