Genesis 12:13 BSB — MannaFest

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.”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

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.

KJV

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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Commentary

4 voices

Ambrose of Milan

ON ABRAHAM 1.2.6 (397)

There came a famine, and so he went to Egypt. He knew that in Egypt the dissipation of youth was widespread, characterized by lust, impudent desires and unrestrained passions. He understood that among such men the modesty of his wife would be defenseless and that her beauty would be a danger for him. So he told his wife to say that she was his sister. By this we are taught that it is not so much beauty that one should seek in a wife, for this often leads to the death of the husband.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

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.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

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 Gen 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 Gen 11:29, where Iscah is thought to be the same with Sarai, but the supposition has not a sufficiency of probability to support it.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

11 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
אִמְרִי־	'im.ri-	say	H559 →
נָ֖א	na'	please	H4994 →
אֲחֹ֣תִי	'a.Cho.ti	[are] sister my	H269 →
אָ֑תְּ	'At	you	H859 →
לְמַ֙עַן֙	le.Ma.'an	so that	H4616 →
יִֽיטַב־	yi.tav-	it may go well	H3190 →
לִ֣י	li	for <the> me
בַעֲבוּרֵ֔ךְ	va.'a.vu.Rekh	for sake of you	H5668 →
וְחָיְתָ֥ה	ve.cha.ye.Tah	and it will live	H2421 →
נַפְשִׁ֖י	naf.Shi	life my	H5315 →
בִּגְלָלֵֽךְ׃	big.la.Lekh	on account of you	H1558 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Genesis 20:2
Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
leads to
- Genesis 12:15
  When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh.
- 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…
Through
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…
leads to
- Proverbs 29:25
  The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.
- 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 20:12–13
  Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife.
- Ephesians 5:25
  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
Through
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.”
leads to
- Psalms 7:8
  The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and integrity.