Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.”
This phrase highlights a recurring theme in Abraham's life, where he uses deception to protect himself. Previously, in Genesis 12:13, Abraham employed a similar tactic in Egypt. The cultural context of the time allowed for such half-truths, as Sarah was indeed his half-sister (Genesis 20:12). This action reflects a lack of trust in God's protection, despite God's promises to Abraham. It also foreshadows the struggles of faith and obedience that Abraham's descendants would face.

So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
Gerar was a Philistine city located in the Negev region, which is modern-day southern Israel. Abimelech, a common title for Philistine kings, similar to "Pharaoh" in Egypt, took Sarah into his household, believing her to be unmarried. This incident parallels the earlier event in Egypt, emphasizing the vulnerability of the patriarchal family and the potential threat to the promise of a son through Sarah. The narrative underscores God's sovereignty and protection over His covenant people, as He intervenes to preserve Sarah's integrity and the lineage of the promised seed. This event also prefigures the protective role God plays in the lives of His people, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who safeguards His church.

1. Abraham
The patriarch of the Israelites, known for his faith in God. In this passage, he misrepresents his relationship with Sarah out of fear for his life.

2. Sarah
Abraham's wife, who is described as beautiful. Her identity is misrepresented by Abraham, leading to her being taken by Abimelech.

3. Abimelech
The king of Gerar, who unknowingly takes Sarah into his household, believing her to be Abraham's sister.

4. Gerar
A Philistine city where Abraham and Sarah sojourn. It is the setting for this event of deception and divine intervention.The Consequences of Fear
Abraham's fear led him to deceive Abimelech, showing how fear can lead us away from trusting God and into sin.

God's Sovereignty and Protection
Despite Abraham's deception, God intervenes to protect Sarah, demonstrating His sovereignty and care for His covenant people.

The Importance of Truthfulness
This passage underscores the importance of honesty and integrity, even in difficult situations.

Generational Patterns
Abraham's actions set a precedent that is later followed by Isaac, reminding us of the impact our actions can have on future generations.

Faith Over Fear
Believers are encouraged to trust in God's promises and protection rather than succumbing to fear and taking matters into their own hands.(2) She is my sister.--Twenty years before, Abraham had acted in the same way in Egypt, and Pharaoh had rebuked him, but sent him away with large presents. We learn from this chapter, Genesis 20:13, that the false representation which twice brought them into trouble was habitual with the two; nor does Abraham ever seem conscious that he was acting in it wrongfully. To us it seems cowardly, in one who had so many men trained to battle, thus to expose his wife to danger; and to have recourse to deceit, at the very time when such abundant revelations were being made to him, also shows an apparent want of faith in God. But Holy Scripture neither represents its heroes as perfect, nor does it raise them disproportionately above the level of their own times. Its distinguishing feature rather is that it ever insists upon a perpetual progress upwards, and urges men onward to be better and holier than those that went before. Abraham was not on the same high spiritual level as a Christian ought to be who has the perfect example of Christ as his pattern, and the gift of the Holy Ghost for his aid; and the fact that God rescued him and Sarah from all danger in Egypt may have seemed to him a warrant that in future difficulties he would have the same Divine protection. Human conduct is ever strangely chequered, but we have a wholesome lesson in the fact, that it was Abraham's politic device which twice entangled him in actual danger.

Abimelech (called in Genesis 26:1, king of the Philistines, where see Note) . . . took Sarah.--She was now ninety years of age, and naturally her beauty must have faded. Some, however, think that with the promise of a son her youth had been renewed, while others suppose that the purpose uppermost in the mind of Abimelech was political, and that what he really desired was an alliance with the powerful sheik who had entered his territories.

Verse 2. - And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. As formerly he had done on descending into Egypt (Genesis 12:13). That Abraham should a second time have resorted to this ignoble expedient after the hazardous experience of Egypt and the richly-merited rebuke of Pharaoh, but more especially after the assurance he had lately received of his own acceptance before God (Genesis 15:6), and of Sarah's destiny to be the mother of the promised seed (Genesis 17:16), is well nigh unaccountable, and almost irreconcilable with any degree of faith and piety. Yet the lapse of upwards of twenty years since that former mistake may have deadened the impression of sinfulness which Pharaoh's rebuke must have left upon his conscience; while altogether the result of that experiment may, through a common misinterpretation of Divine providence, have encouraged him to think that God would watch over the purity of his house as he had done before. Thus, though in reality a tempting of God, the patriarch's repetition of his early venture may have had a secret connection with his deeply-grounded faith in the Divine promise (cf. Kalisch in loco). And Abimelech - i.e. Father-king, a title of the Philistine kings (Genesis 21:22; Genesis 26:1; Psalm 34:1), as Pharaoh was of the Egyptian (Genesis 12:15), and Hamor of the Shechemite (Genesis 34:4) monarchs; cf. Padishah (father-king), a title of the Persian kings, and Atalik (father, properly paternity), of the Khans of Bokhara (Gesenius, p. 6) - king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. I.e. into his harem, as Pharaoh previously had done (Genesis 12:15), either having been fascinated by her beauty, which, although she was twenty years older than when she entered Egypt, need not have been much faded (vide Genesis 12:11; Calvin), or may have been miraculously rejuvenated when she received strength to conceive seed (Kurtz); or, what is as probable, having sought through her an alliance with the rich and powerful nomad prince who had entered his dominions (Delitzsch).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Abraham
אַבְרָהָ֛ם (’aḇ·rā·hām)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 85: Abraham -- 'exalted father', the father of the Jewish nation

said
וַיֹּ֧אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

of
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

his wife
אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ (’iš·tōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

Sarah,
שָׂרָ֥ה (śā·rāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 8283: Sarah -- 'princess', a wife of Abraham

“She
הִ֑וא (hî)
Pronoun - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

is my sister.”
אֲחֹ֣תִי (’ă·ḥō·ṯî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 269: Sister -- a sister

So Abimelech
אֲבִימֶ֙לֶךְ֙ (’ă·ḇî·me·leḵ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 40: Abimelech -- 'father is king', a Philistine name, also an Israelite name

king
מֶ֣לֶךְ (me·leḵ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Gerar
גְּרָ֔ר (gə·rār)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1642: Gerar -- a place South of Gaza

had Sarah
שָׂרָֽה׃ (śā·rāh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 8283: Sarah -- 'princess', a wife of Abraham

brought
וַיִּשְׁלַ֗ח (way·yiš·laḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

to him.
וַיִּקַּ֖ח (way·yiq·qaḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3947: To take


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OT Law: Genesis 20:2 Abraham said about Sarah his wife She (Gen. Ge Gn)