And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister”; for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The men of the place asked him about his wife. He said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “My wife”, lest, he thought, “the men of the place might kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to look at.”
- KJV And 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.
- BSB But 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.”
- NASB When the men of the place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “my wife,” thinking, “the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, since she is beautiful.”
- NLT When the men who lived there asked Isaac about his wife, Rebekah, he said, “She is my sister.” He was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “They will kill me to get her, because she is so beautiful.”
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
Fearing for his life, Isaac lies that Rebekah is his sister.
Overview
Echoing Abraham's failures, Isaac deceives the men of Gerar out of fear, endangering his wife and the covenant line. The repeated sin across generations exposes the persistent weakness of even God's chosen. It magnifies God's grace, which preserves the promise despite the patriarchs' faithlessness, pointing to the need for a faithful Redeemer.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Prov 29:25The fear of man proves to be a snare, but whoever puts his trust in Yahweh is kept safe.
- Gen 12:13Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.”
- Gen 20:2Abraham said about Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
- Gen 24:16The young lady was very beautiful to look at, a virgin. No man had known her. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher, and came up.
- Gen 20:12–13Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
- Col 3:9Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings,
- Eph 5:25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly, and gave himself up for it;
- Matt 10:28Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
- Gen 20:5Didn’t he tell me, ‘She is my sister?’ She, even she herself, said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.”
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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 26:7 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.