Please 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.”
Parallel Translations
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Please 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.”
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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.
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Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister; that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live because of thee.'
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Genesis 12:13 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 26:7 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.”
- Genesis 20:2 Abraham said about Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
- Genesis 20:12-13 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. When God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is your kindness which you shall show to me. Everywhere that we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”
- Genesis 20:5 Didn’t he tell me, ‘She is my sister’? She, even she herself, said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.”
- Jeremiah 17:5-8 Yahweh says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, relies on strength of flesh, and whose heart departs from Yahweh. For he will be like a bush in the desert, and will not see when good comes, but will inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, an uninhabited salt land. “Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh, and whose confidence is in Yahweh. For he will be as a tree planted by the waters, who spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaf will be green, and will not be concerned in the year of drought. It won’t cease from yielding fruit.
- Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine. The soul who sins, he shall die.
- Genesis 11:29 Abram and Nahor married wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah.
- Psalms 146:3-5 Don’t put your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, and he returns to the earth. In that very day, his thoughts perish. Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in Yahweh, his God:
- Isaiah 57:11 “Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lie, and have not remembered me, nor laid it to your heart? Haven’t I held my peace for a long time, and you don’t fear me?
- John 8:44 You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain By this we may learn not to use unlawful…
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.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 12:13 Say, I pray thee, thou [art] my…
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Say thou art my sister: so she was, either,
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,
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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.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Say, I pray thee, that thou art my sister,....…
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:
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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.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Say thou art my sister - The grace Abram…
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.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 13. Say, I pray thee, thou art my…
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.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 12:13. Say thou art my sister — The…
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.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain My sister. This was no lie; because she was…
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).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 13. my sister] i.e. half-sister. Cf. Gen_11:29, Gen_20:12.
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (13) My sister.—True literally, as Sarai was Terah’s daughter…
(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.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain HOMILIES BY F. HASTINGS Ver. 13.
HOMILIES BY F. HASTINGS Ver. 13.
Abraham and carnal policy.
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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.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 12:13 tell them you are my sister: This request…
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.