Genesis 12:13

Gen 12:13 Say, I pray thee, thou [art] my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

Ver. 13. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister.] The truth was here not only concealed, but dissembled. As the moon hath her specks, so the best have their blemishes: a sheep may slip into a slough as soon as a swine, and an apple tree may have a fit of barrenness as well as a crab tree.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gen 12:13. Say thou art my sister — The grace Abram was most eminent for was faith, and yet he thus fell through unbelief and distrust of the divine providence, even after God had appeared to him twice! “Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12:13 tell them you are my sister: This request occurs three times in Genesis (see also 20:2; 26:7). The text explains that this was Abram’s usual strategy (20:13), and his son did likewise. This first occasion was outside the land, the second (ch 20) within, showing that God protected his promise in both regions.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

By this we may learn not to use unlawful means, nor to put others in danger to save ourselves, read verse 20, albeit it may appear that Abram feared not so much death, as that if he should die without issue, God’s promise should not have taken place: wherein appeared a weak faith.

Hebrew, that my soul may live.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 13. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister] Abram did not wish his wife to tell a falsehood, but he wished her to suppress a part of the truth. From Ge 20:12, it is evident she was his step-sister, i.e., his sister by his father, but by a different mother. Some suppose Sarai was the daughter of Haran, and consequently the grand-daughter of Terah: this opinion seems to be founded on Ge 11:29, where Iscah is thought to be the same with Sarai, but the supposition has not a sufficiency of probability to support it.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(13) My sister.—True literally, as Sarai was Terah’s daughter (Gen_20:12), but absolutely false, as it implied that she was wholly his sister, and therefore not his wife.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. my sister] i.e. half-sister. Cf. Gen_11:29, Gen_20:12.

my soul] A vivid way of expressing the personal pronoun, cf. Gen_27:4; Gen_27:19; Gen_27:25.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Say, I pray thee, that thou art my sister,.... Which though it was not putting a direct lie into her mouth, she being his sister in some sense, as appears from Gen 20:12 yet it was done to conceal truth, and to deceive the Egyptians, and tended to endanger his wife's chastity, as well as showed great timorousness in him, and distrust of the divine care and protection of him; and upon the whole it must be criminal in him, and shows that the best of men are liable to sin, and the strongest believer to fall, and that a saint may fail in the exercise of that grace for which he is most eminent, as Abram was for his faith, and yet fell into unbelief, and through that into other sins; this he said to his wife, and desired her to say on occasion, when she found it necessary:

that it may be well with me for thy sake; his life spared, as follows:

and my soul shall live because of thee; his life be safe and secure for her sake, being reckoned her brother, whereas he feared it would be in the utmost danger should it be known she was his wife.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

My sister. This was no lie; because she was his niece, being daughter to his brother Aran, and therefore, in the style of the Hebrews, she might truly be called his sister; as Lot is called Abraham’s brother. (Genesis xiv. 14.) See Genesis xx. 12. (Challoner) --- Others say, Sarai was the half-sister of Abraham, by another mother. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Say thou art my sister: so she was, either,

1. More generally, as his niece; for nephews and nieces are in Scripture called brethren and sisters, as Gen 13:8. Or rather,

2. Properly, i.e. by the father’s side, Gen 20:12. So this expression was true, but ambiguous, and intended to deceive the Egyptians, and therefore unwarrantable. And here Abram, the father of the faithful, elsewhere celebrated for the strength of his faith, betrays his infirmity and distrust of God’s providence and promise, and this fact was not without great danger both to himself and Sarai.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

HOMILIES BY F. HASTINGS Ver. 13.

Abraham and carnal policy.

I pray thee, that thou art my sister: that it may be well with me." These words were partially true. (Gen_11:20) Abraham had real ground for saying that Sarah was his sister, but he hid the fact that she was his wife. He asked her to consent to an equivocal statement and to repeat it.

I CONTEMPLATE THE NATURE OF CARNAL POLICY. A truth which is part a lie is ever a dangerous lie. The temptation to this carnal policy came

(1) from his mingling with the worldly Egyptians on equal terms,

(2) from his very prosperous state, and

(3) from his having lately come from a religious observance in which he had had high spiritual revelations.

Possibly he presumed upon his visions and the Divine promises. David fell also shortly after he had attained the kingdom and been delivered from great dangers.

II SEE HOW ALL CARNAL POLICY IS SURE IN THE LONG RUN TO FAIL. Abraham did not foresee all the consequences of his equivocations. He even made the path clear for Pharaoh to ask for Sarah. He had afterwards to know that his name was a byword among the Egyptians.

(1) He lost self-respect;

(2) he had to be rebuked by a Pharaoh, and

(3) to feel that God was dishonored by his act.

Abraham repeated his sin. That God delivered Abraham should teach us that we are not to reject others, who have committed a special sin, as past hope. God does not cast us off for one sinful action. Still Divine forbearance and love should never lead to presumption and to a tampering with carnal policy. H.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Say thou art my sister - The grace Abram was most eminent for was faith, and yet he thus fell through unbelief and distrust of the divine Providence, even after God had appeared to him twice. Alas, What will become of the willows, when the cedars are thus shaken

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

למען ייטב לי בעבורך THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH ME FOR THY SAKE — they may give me presents.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

אמרי נא, tell those who ask you.

למען ייטב לי, so that on account of your describing yourself as my sister they will treat me well. The “good treatment” Avram referred to was not financial reward but simply that they would let him live. It is quite inconceivable that Avram wanted to use his wife as a pimp uses a prostitute. Even though we read in verse 15 that Avram, in the event, experienced many financial favours as the man whose consent was sought to have his sister as someone’s wife, this is something he had not counted on at all. In fact, we know how unwilling Avram was to accept people’s favours when he turned down the spoils of war which were not a gift to him but his due as he had fought that war. (Genesis 14,23.) Had he not been in Pharaoh’s country and been afraid to reject these gifts, he would most certainly not have accepted them. Avram was not interested in acquiring more wealth than G’d had seen fit to grant him.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.