Bible Strands
Genesis 26:7
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.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Isaac responds to the men of Gerar after settling in their region, answering their inquiry about Rebekah while fearing for his life. He explicitly states his reasoning for withholding the truth about their marriage.
The words — The text uses אֲחֹתִי ('a.chotî), literally "sister my," to describe his relationship with Rebekah. It follows with כִּי (kî), meaning "for," to introduce the fearful calculation driving his statement.
The thread — This pattern repeats in Genesis 12:13 where Abraham is instructed to claim Sarah is his sister, and in Genesis 20:2 where he makes the same claim about her. Proverbs 29:25 identifies the fear motivating such deception as a snare.
Why it lands — The verse records a man substituting a half-truth for honesty to avoid perceived danger. It asks a reader to confront how fear-driven self-preservation actively endangers others and replaces trust in divine protection.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.
- Genesis 12:13 Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”
- Genesis 20:2 Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
- Genesis 24:16 Now the girl was very beautiful, a virgin who had not had relations with any man. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up again.
- Genesis 20:12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife.
- Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
- Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices,
- Genesis 20:5 Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.”