Genesis 20:13
in Genesis 20So when God had me journey from my father’s house, I said to Sarah, ‘This is how you can show your loyalty to me: Wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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 show unto me: at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Genesis 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseWhen 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.
This site's exposition
the daughter of my father
on Genesis 20:12-13
She really is his sister, his father's daughter by another mother. Clarke answers that a lie is anything said to be taken in a sense the speaker knows is false. Verse 13 puts the arrangement at his call out of his father's house, with Sarah to say he is her brother, and Isaac repeats it at 26:7.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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?
15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. 16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The word Elohim is to be rendered as God. 19 Hitu is the plural.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
I know not the sense of this apology. Even if it were true that she was his sister and his wife, nevertheless when they wanted to take her as a wife and he told them, She is my sister, 278 Verse 2 here.
ויקח, He appeased him both with words and money, asking him for forgiveness and urging him to pray on his behalf.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֞י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֧ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הִתְע֣וּ | hitu | they caused to wander | H8582 → | 50 times |
| אֹתִ֗י | ʾoti | <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱלֹהִים֮ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִבֵּ֣ית | mibeit | from [the] household of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אָבִי֒ | ʾavi | father my | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וָאֹמַ֣ר | vaomar | and I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָ֔הּ | lah | to <the> her | ||
| זֶ֣ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| חַסְדֵּ֔ךְ | chasdekh | [is] loyalty your | H2617 → | 247 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תַּעֲשִׂ֖י | taasi | you will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עִמָּדִ֑י | ʾimadi | with me | H5978 → | 42 times |
| אֶ֤ל | ʾel | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַמָּקוֹם֙ | hamakom | <the> place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָב֣וֹא | navo' | we will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| שָׁ֔מָּה | shamah | there towards | H8033 → | 834 times |
| אִמְרִי־ | ʾimri- | say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לִ֖י | li | of <the> me | ||
| אָחִ֥י | ʾachi | [is] brother my | H251 → | 630 times |
| הֽוּא׃ | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
וַיְהִ֞יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֧רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
הִתְע֣וּthey caused to wander
hituH8582 →50 times
אֹתִ֗י<obj.> me
ʾotiH853 →10935 times
אֱלֹהִים֮God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
מִבֵּ֣יתfrom [the] household of
mibeitH1004 →2046 times
אָבִי֒father my
ʾaviH1 →1212 times
וָאֹמַ֣רand I said
vaomarH559 →5305 times
לָ֔הּto <the> her
lah
זֶ֣הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
חַסְדֵּ֔ךְ[is] loyalty your
chasdekhH2617 →247 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תַּעֲשִׂ֖יyou will do
taasiH6213 →2628 times
עִמָּדִ֑יwith me
ʾimadiH5978 →42 times
אֶ֤לto
ʾelH413 →5510 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַמָּקוֹם֙<the> place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhere
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָב֣וֹאwe will go
navo'H935 →2568 times
שָׁ֔מָּהthere towards
shamahH8033 →834 times
אִמְרִי־say
ʾimri-H559 →5305 times
לִ֖יof <the> me
li
אָחִ֥י[is] brother my
ʾachiH251 →630 times
הֽוּא׃he
hu'H1931 →1879 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 12:1Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.
it leads to
- Hebrews 11:8
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going.
- Acts 7:2–6
And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
- Nehemiah 9:7
You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram, who brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.
- Isaiah 51:2
Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who gave you birth. When I called him, he was but one; then I blessed him and multiplied him.
- Joshua 24:2–3
And Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your fathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates and…
- Hebrews 11:8
Through
Hebrews 11:8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going.
it leads to
- Genesis 12:1–4
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.
- Acts 7:2–4
And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
- Genesis 15:7–8
The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
- Genesis 12:1–4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.