Genesis 20:11

11 Abraham said, "I thought to myself, No one reveres God here and they will kill me to get my wife.

Genesis 20:11 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 20:11

And Abraham said
In defence of himself, as well as he could: because I thought;
within himself, concluding from the general depravity of the Canaanites, that this was the case of the inhabitants of Gerar: surely the fear of God [is] not in this place;
this is a certain truth, which he thought might be depended upon, and taken for granted, since so it was everywhere: or "only" ^F5, as the word used signifies; this was the only thing he had to plead, that he verily thought with himself that there was no true religion and godliness in Gerar: that the inhabitants of it were without any fear of God before their eyes, or in their hearts; and he knew, where this is the case, there is nothing to restrain from the commission of the grossest sins: and they will slay me for my wife's sake;
that they might marry her, see ( Genesis 12:12 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 (qr) "tantum", Montanus; so Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius; so the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and Ben Melech.

Genesis 20:11 In-Context

9 Then Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that you have brought this terrible sin to me and my kingdom, by doing to me something that simply isn't done?"

10 Abimelech said to Abraham, "What were you thinking when you did this thing?"

11 Abraham said, "I thought to myself, No one reveres God here and they will kill me to get my wife.

12 She is, truthfully, my sister—my father's daughter but not my mother's daughter—and she's now my wife.

13 When God led me away from my father's household, I said to her, ‘This is the loyalty I expect from you: in each place we visit, tell them, “He is my brother.”'"