Genesis 20:13

Gen 20:13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said unto her, This [is] thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He [is] my brother.

Ver. 13. When God caused me to wander.] Cum facerent Dii , when they, even God, caused me. The mystery of the Trinity, {a} though Calvin interpret it of the angels; as Cartwright likewise doth that of Solomon, which Junius conceiveth to be spoken of the blessed Trinity, "There be higher than they," {Ecc 5:8} sc., that Three in One, and One in Three.

{a} Mysterium Triados . - Jun.

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 20:13. When God caused me to wander from my father’s house — Then we settled this matter. It may be, that God denied Abraham and Sarah the blessing of children so long, to punish them for this sinful compact they had made to deny one another: if they will not own their marriage, why should God own it? But we may suppose that, after this reproof, they agreed never to do so again, and then presently we read, (Gen 21:1-2.) that Sarah conceived.

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

Verse 13. When God caused me to wander] Here the word אלהים Elohim is used with a plural verb, (התעו hithu, caused me to wander), which is not very usual in the Hebrew language, as this plural noun is generally joined with verbs in the singular number. Because there is a departure from the general mode in this instance, some have contended that the word Elohim signifies princes in this place, and suppose it to refer to those in Chaldea, who expelled Abraham because he would not worship the fire; but the best critics, and with them the Jews, allow that Elohim here signifies the true God. Abraham probably refers to his first call.

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

13. When God caused me to wander Because the verb is here put in the plural number, I freely expound the passage as referring to the angels, who led Abraham through his various wanderings. Some, with too much subtlety, infer from it a Trinity of Persons: as if it had been written: The gods caused me to wander. I grant, indeed, that the noun אלהים (Elohim,) is frequently taken for God in the Scripture: but then the verb with which it is connected is always singular. Wherever a plural verb is added then it signifies angels or princes. There are those who think that Abraham, because he was speaking with one who was not rightly instructed, spoke thus in conformity with the common custom of the heathen; but, in my opinion, most erroneously. For to what purpose did he, by erecting altars, make it manifest that he was devoted to the service of the only true God, if it were lawful for him afterwards to deny, in words, the very God whom he had worshipped? On which subject we have before spoken, as the case required. Abraham, however, does not complain respecting, the angels, that he had been led astray by their fallacious guidance: but he points out what his own condition formerly was; namely, that having left his own country, he had not only migrated into a distant land, but had been constantly compelled to change his abode. Wherefore there is no wonder, that necessity drove him into new designs. Should any one inquire, why he makes angels the guides of his pilgrimage? the answer is ready; Although Abraham knew that he was wandering by the will and providence of God alone, he yet refers to angels, who, as he elsewhere acknowledges, were given him to be the guides of his journey. The sum of the address is of this tendency; to teach Abimelech, that Abraham was alike free from malicious cunning, and from falsehood: and then, that because he was passing a wandering and unquiet life; Sarah, by agreement, had always said the same thing which she had done in Gerar. This wretched anxiety of the holy man might so move Abimelech to compassion as to cause his anger to cease.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(13) When God caused me to wander.—According to rule, Elohim is construed with a verb singular for the true God, but with a verb plural for false gods. Here the verb is plural, and the same construction occurs in Gen_35:7; Exo_22:9; 2Sa_7:22 (but singular in 1Ch_17:20); and Psa_58:11 : moreover, in Jos_24:19, Elohim is joined with an adjective (holy) in the plural. These exceptions may either be relics of a less strict use of the name Elohim, or they may be errors of copyists, misled by the ordinary rules of grammar. This latter view is confirmed by the fact that the Samaritan Pentateuch, both here and in Gen_35:7, has the singular.

At every place.—The fact of this compact between Abraham and Sarah having been made so long before, would convince Abimelech that their conduct was not occasioned by anything which they had seen at Gerar (comp. Gen_20:10).

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

13. God caused me to wander] Referring to Gen_12:1. The Hebrew student will notice that the verb “caused me to wander” is in the plural, although, as a rule in the O.T., the word “God” (Elohim) is treated as sing. But it is sometimes the case that the plural is used, as here and in Gen_31:53, Jos_24:19, when an Israelite speaks to heathen, or else heathen are speaking of God, e.g. 1Sa_4:8; 1Ki_19:2; 1Ki_20:10. For an exception, see Gen_35:7. Here the Massoretic note adds “holy,” in order to call attention to the unusual construction.

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.

And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house,.... In Ur of the Chaldees, from whence God called him to go forth; which laid him under an obligation to depart from thence, and move from place to place, and go he knew not where, as in Heb 11:8; or "the Gods", as it is in the plural number, and so the verb in construction with it; not the idol gods, the gods of the Gentiles, as the Targum of Jonathan, who interprets the words thus,"and it was when the worshippers of idols sought to cause men to err, and I went from my father's house;''but the true God, as Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Ben Melech acknowledge, and is by many Christian interpreters understood of the three Persons in the Godhead:

that I said unto her, this is thy kindness which thou shalt show unto me; this I shall take as a favour done me, as an instance of tender affection unto me:

at every place whither we shall come, say of me; or for the sake of me, as Aben Ezra and Kimchi, in order to save me from the hands of wicked men, whom he feared would slay him for her sake:

he is my brother; and so he hoped, instead of being ill used, he should meet with favour and friendship on her account, being thus nearly related to her: this he observes to Abimelech, to show that this was an old agreement, near thirty years ago, when they first set out on their travels, and was no new device and scheme which they pursued on account of him and his people in particular; but what they had formerly agreed upon should be said in all places wherever they came, and therefore there was no intention to affront Abimelech; only it supposed they might come into places where wicked men dwelt.

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

To wander. This word he useth because God did not direct him to any certain place, but sent him out he knew not whither, Heb 11:8. And being to travel and sojourn amongst persons of divers tempers and manners, and all pagans, he thought this equivocal expression convenient for his security.

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

And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander (or to go on pilgrimages) from my father"s house, Elohim, usually construed with a singular verb, is here joined with a verb in the plural, as an accommodation to the polytheistic stand-point of Abimelech (Keil), as a proof that Elohim is to be viewed as a Pluralis Majes-taticus (Kalisch), as referring to the plurality of Divine manifestations which Abraham had received (Lange), as showing that Elohim here signifies angels (Calvin), or, most likely, as an instance of the literal meaning of the term as the supernatural powers (Murphy. Cf. Gen_35:7; Exo_22:8; 2Sa_7:23; Psa_58:1-2) that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt show unto me. The third plea which the patriarch presented for his conduct; it had no special reference to Abimelech, but was the result of an old compact formed between himself and Sarah. At every place whither he shall come, say of me, He is my brother (cf. Gen_12:13)

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

When God caused me to wander from my father's house - Then we settled this matter. It may be, that God denied Abraham and Sarah the blessing of children so long to punish them for this sinful compact they had made to deny one another: if they will not own their marriage, why should God own it? But we may suppose, that alter this reproof they agreed never to do so again, and then presently we read, chap. xxi, 1, 2, that Sarah conceived.

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

General Information:

Verse 13 is a continuation of Abraham's answer to Abimelech.

my father's house

Here "house" stands for Abraham's family. AT: "my father and the rest of my family" or "my father's household" (See: Metonymy)

I said to her, 'You must show me this faithfulness as my wife: At every place where we go, say about me, "He is my brother."'

This has quotations within quotations. They can be stated as indirect quotations. AT: "I said to Sarah that I wanted her to be faithful to me by telling people everywhere we go that I am her brother" (See: Quotes Within Quotes and Direct and Indirect Quotations)

Abimelech took

"Abimelech brought some"

translationWords

God

faithful

Abimelech

ewe

cow

servant

Abraham

Sarah

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

'ויהי כאשר התעו אותי וגו AND IT CAME TO PASS WHEN GOD CAUSED ME TO WANDER etc. — Onkelos translates it in his own way, but it can be explained in another manner that is also appropriate: When the Holy One, blessed be He, brought me forth from my father’s house to be a nomad, wandering from place to place, I knew that I would traverse places where there are wicked people ואמר לה זה חסדך AND so I SAID UNTO HER THIS IS THY LOVINGKINDNESS [WHICH THOU SHALT SHOW UNTO ME].

כאשר התעו WHEN GOD (CAUSED ME TO WANDER — The verb is in the plural. Do not be surprised at this for in many passages words denoting Godship or denoting Authority are grammatically treated as plural, e. g., (2 Samuel 7:23) “Whom God went (הלכו plural) to redeem”; (Deuteronomy 5:23) “the living (חיים adjective, plural) God”; (Joshua 24:19) “a Holy (קדושים adjective, plural) God”. So, too, the idea of Authority is expressed by the plural form, as (39:20) “And the master of (אדני construct plural) Joseph took him” and as (Deuteronomy 10:17) “Lord of (אדני) lords (האדנים)”, and (42:30) “the lord of (אדני) the land”; as well as (Exodus 22:14) “if its owner (בעליו) be with it”, and (Exodus 21:29) “and warning has been given to its master (בעליו)”. If you ask why does it here use the term התעו, I reply, anyone who is exiled from his home and has no settled abode may be styled תועה a wanderer (or “one moving about aimlessly”), as (21:14) “And she, Hagar, went and strayed about (ותתע) in the wilderness”; (Psalms 119:176) “I have gone astray (תעיתי) like a lost sheep”, and (Job 38:41) “they wander (יתעו) through lack of food”, i.e. they go out and wander about to seek their food.

אמרי לי means say regarding me (the ל of לי signifies על); similar are: (26:7) “And the men of the place asked לאשתו” where לאשתו is the same as על אשתו regarding his wife; (Exodus 14:3) “And Pharaoh will say לבני ישראל” where לבני is the same as על בני ישראל; (Judges 9:54) “That men say not (לי) regarding me, a woman slew him”.

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.

התעו אותי אלוקים, the meaning of the word התעו is similar to הגלו, “exiled.” When someone is exiled from a place with which he is familiar, he will tend to lose his way in areas with which he is unfamiliar.

אלוקים, this word here is sacred. The reason why the word is used in the plural is because the listeners refer to their gods in the plural, so the Torah uses a syntax familiar to ordinary people. In spite of this the word is treated as a sacred name of G’d, one that must not be erased, such as when Job speaks of אלו-ה עושי, literally: the “G’d Who have made me.” (not: has made me). (Job 35,10). We find a similar construction where אלוקים is sacred and at the same time treated as if totally in the plural mode in Psalms 149,2 ישמח ישראל בעושיו instead of בעושו. (as opposed to בראשית ברא אלוקים where the verb is in the singular) A somewhat less perplexing construction is found in Joshua 24,19 אלוקים קדושין הוא. [even though the adjective is in the plural, at least the pronoun הוא is in the singular. Ed.]

מבית אבי, from the house of my brothers and family, as when G’d instructed him in 12,1 מארצך ומבית אביך וגו'.

ואומר לה, seeing that we were coming to countries about which we knew nothing or very little, I said to her, out of my fear of the local inhabitants,

אל כל המקום, actually, we find that this stratagem was employed by Avraham only twice. We must therefore assume that Avraham meant that he had told Sarah that in any location which appeared to warrant such a white lie, he told her to use it. As soon as we hear from others that the people in the place which we are approaching are evil people, we need to avail ourselves of this strategy in order to enhance my chances of survival. This applied to locations in which Avraham would only be a transient. Wherever he settled down, people knew who he was and respected him, and would not dream of molesting either him or Sarah. We know that Avner, Eshkol and Mamre were actually allies of Avraham. Even the people of Kiryat Arba referred to him as a “prince in our midst.” (23,6)

אמרי לי, on my account, concerning me; Actually, many people asked Avraham concerning Sarah’s marital status.

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.