Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.”This phrase highlights a recurring theme in Abraham's life, where he uses deception to protect himself. Previously, in
Genesis 12:13, Abraham employed a similar tactic in Egypt. The cultural context of the time allowed for such half-truths, as Sarah was indeed his half-sister (
Genesis 20:12). This action reflects a lack of trust in God's protection, despite God's promises to Abraham. It also foreshadows the struggles of faith and obedience that Abraham's descendants would face.
So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
Gerar was a Philistine city located in the Negev region, which is modern-day southern Israel. Abimelech, a common title for Philistine kings, similar to "Pharaoh" in Egypt, took Sarah into his household, believing her to be unmarried. This incident parallels the earlier event in Egypt, emphasizing the vulnerability of the patriarchal family and the potential threat to the promise of a son through Sarah. The narrative underscores God's sovereignty and protection over His covenant people, as He intervenes to preserve Sarah's integrity and the lineage of the promised seed. This event also prefigures the protective role God plays in the lives of His people, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who safeguards His church.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
AbrahamThe patriarch of the Israelites, known for his faith in God. In this passage, he misrepresents his relationship with Sarah out of fear for his life.
2.
SarahAbraham's wife, who is described as beautiful. Her identity is misrepresented by Abraham, leading to her being taken by Abimelech.
3.
AbimelechThe king of Gerar, who unknowingly takes Sarah into his household, believing her to be Abraham's sister.
4.
GerarA Philistine city where Abraham and Sarah sojourn. It is the setting for this event of deception and divine intervention.
Teaching Points
The Consequences of FearAbraham's fear led him to deceive Abimelech, showing how fear can lead us away from trusting God and into sin.
God's Sovereignty and ProtectionDespite Abraham's deception, God intervenes to protect Sarah, demonstrating His sovereignty and care for His covenant people.
The Importance of TruthfulnessThis passage underscores the importance of honesty and integrity, even in difficult situations.
Generational PatternsAbraham's actions set a precedent that is later followed by Isaac, reminding us of the impact our actions can have on future generations.
Faith Over FearBelievers are encouraged to trust in God's promises and protection rather than succumbing to fear and taking matters into their own hands.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Genesis 20:2?
2.Why did Abraham say, "She is my sister," in Genesis 20:2?
3.How does Genesis 20:2 demonstrate human weakness and God's protection?
4.What previous event in Genesis parallels Abraham's actions in Genesis 20:2?
5.How can we trust God instead of resorting to deceit like Abraham?
6.What lessons on honesty can we apply from Genesis 20:2 in daily life?
7.Why did Abraham claim Sarah was his sister in Genesis 20:2?
8.How does Genesis 20:2 reflect on Abraham's faith in God?
9.What cultural norms allowed Abraham to deceive Abimelech in Genesis 20:2?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Genesis 20?
11.Is there any archaeological or historical evidence to support the presence of Abimelech or a kingdom in Gerar at the time of Genesis 20?
12.How can Abraham’s actions in Genesis 20 be reconciled with later biblical claims that he was a model of faith and righteousness?
13.How do we reconcile the figure called Abimelech here (Genesis 26:8) with the Abimelech who interacted with Abraham generations earlier?
14.Why did Abram claim Sarai was his sister?What Does Genesis 20:2 Mean
Abraham saidAbraham, the man who “believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6), here opens his mouth in fear rather than faith. He has arrived in Gerar and, just as he did in Egypt years earlier (Genesis 12:11-13), he decides to speak a half-truth for self-protection instead of trusting the covenant-keeping God who promised, “I am your shield” (Genesis 15:1). We watch the father of believers choose calculation over confidence:
• The setting is a pagan territory; Abraham assumes hostility and danger, yet no threat has been voiced.
• His words reveal inner anxiety; contrast this with David’s later assurance, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You” (Psalm 56:3).
• The lapse is striking because God had just renewed His promise of a son through Sarah (Genesis 18:10–14); unbelief surfaces right after divine reassurance, a pattern echoed in Elijah’s flight after Mount Carmel (1 Kings 19:3-4).
Of his wife SarahSarah is not merely Abraham’s spouse; she is the vessel through whom God will bring Isaac (Genesis 17:15-19). To speak of her in any way that diminishes that role risks the very promise itself.
• Peter later points to Sarah as an example of godly submission (1 Peter 3:6), yet that commendation does not absolve Abraham from leading courageously.
• The narrative underscores marital unity: “the two shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Treating Sarah as anything less than wife violates God’s original design.
• Even in human failure, God preserves Sarah’s dignity, foreshadowing how He protects His people from schemes beyond their control (Psalm 121:7).
She is my sisterThe statement is technically accurate (she is his half-sister; cf.Genesis 20:12) yet morally deceptive. Scripture consistently condemns deceit (Proverbs 12:22).
• Abraham repeats a pattern: Egypt (Genesis 12:13) and now Gerar. Sin unconfessed tends to recycle.
• Isaac will mimic the same lie with Rebekah (Genesis 26:7), showing how parental choices echo in children.
• God’s care does not endorse the tactic; His faithfulness shines in spite of human manipulation (2 Timothy 2:13).
So Abimelech king of GerarAbimelech, whose name means “my father is king,” governs a Philistine city-state. He acts on the information presented, believing Sarah is available for alliance or marriage.
• The episode reminds us that unbelievers can display more integrity than believers; Abimelech later protests his innocence (Genesis 20:4-5), much as Pharaoh rebuked Abraham earlier (Genesis 12:18-19).
• God’s sovereignty extends over pagan rulers; He appears to Abimelech in a dream (Genesis 20:3), echoing later interventions with Laban (Genesis 31:24) and Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:1).
Had Sarah brought to himIn ancient Near-Eastern culture, taking a woman into the royal harem signified political alliance and protection. Yet this move threatens the promised lineage.
• The Lord intervenes swiftly: “Indeed, you are as good as dead…because she is a married woman” (Genesis 20:3). Divine protection overrides royal prerogative.
• Abraham’s scheme could have jeopardized the covenant seed, but God guards His redemptive plan, just as He will later preserve Israel from Pharaoh’s massacre (Exodus 1:22–2:10) and Herod’s slaughter (Matthew 2:13-15).
• The scene illustratesProverbs 21:30—“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.”
summaryGenesis 20:2 portrays a faithful God rescuing fallible believers from self-made danger. Abraham’s fear-driven half-truth exposes the frailty of even the greatest patriarch, yet God’s unwavering commitment to His promise safeguards Sarah, upholds marriage, and advances the covenant line. The verse calls us to trust the Lord’s protection rather than resorting to deception, confident that His purposes cannot be thwarted.
(2)
She is my sister.--Twenty years before, Abraham had acted in the same way in Egypt, and Pharaoh had rebuked him, but sent him away with large presents. We learn from this chapter,
Genesis 20:13, that the false representation which twice brought them into trouble was habitual with the two; nor does Abraham ever seem conscious that he was acting in it wrongfully. To us it seems cowardly, in one who had so many men trained to battle, thus to expose his wife to danger; and to have recourse to deceit, at the very time when such abundant revelations were being made to him, also shows an apparent want of faith in God. But Holy Scripture neither represents its heroes as perfect, nor does it raise them disproportionately above the level of their own times. Its distinguishing feature rather is that it ever insists upon a perpetual progress upwards, and urges men onward to be better and holier than those that went before. Abraham was not on the same high spiritual level as a Christian ought to be who has the perfect example of Christ as his pattern, and the gift of the Holy Ghost for his aid; and the fact that God rescued him and Sarah from all danger in Egypt may have seemed to him a warrant that in future difficulties he would have the same Divine protection. Human conduct is ever strangely chequered, but we have a wholesome lesson in the fact, that it was Abraham's politic device which twice entangled him in actual danger.
Abimelech (called inGenesis 26:1,king of the Philistines,where see Note) . . .took Sarah.--She was now ninety years of age, and naturally her beauty must have faded. Some, however, think that with the promise of a son her youth had been renewed, while others suppose that the purpose uppermost in the mind of Abimelech was political, and that what he really desired was an alliance with the powerful sheik who had entered his territories.
Verse 2. -
And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. As formerly he had done on descending into Egypt (
Genesis 12:13). That Abraham should a second time have resorted to this ignoble expedient after the hazardous experience of Egypt and the richly-merited rebuke of Pharaoh, but more especially after the assurance he had lately received of his own acceptance before God (
Genesis 15:6), and of Sarah's destiny to be the mother of the promised seed (
Genesis 17:16), is well nigh unaccountable, and almost irreconcilable with any degree of faith and piety. Yet the lapse of upwards of twenty years since that former mistake may have deadened the impression of sinfulness which Pharaoh's rebuke must have left upon his conscience; while altogether the result of that experiment may, through a common misinterpretation of Divine providence, have encouraged him to think that God would watch over the purity of his house as he had done before. Thus, though in reality a tempting of God, the patriarch's repetition of his early venture may have had a secret connection with his deeply-grounded faith in the Divine promise (cf. Kalisch
in loco).
And Abimelech -
i.e.Father-king, a title of the Philistine kings (
Genesis 21:22;
Genesis 26:1;
Psalm 34:1), as Pharaoh was of the Egyptian (
Genesis 12:15), and Hamor of the Shechemite (
Genesis 34:4) monarchs; cf.
Padishah (father-king), a title of the Persian kings, and
Atalik (father, properly paternity), of the Khans of Bokhara (Gesenius, p. 6) -
king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
I.e. into his harem, as Pharaoh previously had done (
Genesis 12:15), either having been fascinated by her beauty, which, although she was twenty years older than when she entered Egypt, need not have been much faded (
vide Genesis 12:11; Calvin), or may have been miraculously rejuvenated when she received strength to conceive seed (Kurtz); or, what is as probable, having sought through her an alliance with the rich and powerful nomad prince who had entered his dominions (Delitzsch).
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
Abrahamאַבְרָהָ֛ם(’aḇ·rā·hām)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 85:Abraham -- 'exalted father', the father of the Jewish nationsaidוַיֹּ֧אמֶר(way·yō·mer)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559:To utter, sayofאֶל־(’el-)Preposition
Strong's 413:Near, with, among, tohis wifeאִשְׁתּ֖וֹ(’iš·tōw)Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 802:Woman, wife, femaleSarah,שָׂרָ֥ה(śā·rāh)Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 8283:Sarah -- 'princess', a wife of Abraham“Sheהִ֑וא(hî)Pronoun - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1931:He, self, the same, this, that, as, areis my sister.”אֲחֹ֣תִי(’ă·ḥō·ṯî)Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 269:Sister -- a sisterSo Abimelechאֲבִימֶ֙לֶךְ֙(’ă·ḇî·me·leḵ)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 40:Abimelech -- 'father is king', a Philistine name, also an Israelite namekingמֶ֣לֶךְ(me·leḵ)Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428:A kingof Gerarגְּרָ֔ר(gə·rār)Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1642:Gerar -- a place South of Gazahad Sarahשָׂרָֽה׃(śā·rāh)Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 8283:Sarah -- 'princess', a wife of Abrahambroughtוַיִּשְׁלַ֗ח(way·yiš·laḥ)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7971:To send away, for, outto him.וַיִּקַּ֖ח(way·yiq·qaḥ)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3947:To take
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OT Law: Genesis 20:2 Abraham said about Sarah his wife She (Gen. Ge Gn) 
