Genesis 20:11

11 (And) Abraham answered, I thought within me, and said, In hap the dread of God is not in this place; and they shall slay me for 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 Soothly Abimelech called also Abraham (And then Abimelech called for Abraham), and said to him, What hast thou done to us? what sinned we against thee, that thou hast brought in on me and on my realm (such) a great sin? thou hast done to us which things thou oughtest not to do.

10 And again Abimelech asked, and said, What thing sawest thou, that thou wouldest do this? (And again Abimelech asked Abraham, Why did thou do this?)

11 (And) Abraham answered, I thought within me, and said, In hap the dread of God is not in this place; and they shall slay me for my wife;

12 in other manner forsooth and she is my sister verily, (for she is) the daughter of my father, and not the daughter of my mother; and I wedded her into wife; (and truly in one way she is my sister, for she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and so I wedded her for a wife;)

13 soothly after that God led me out of the house of my father, I said to her, Thou shalt do this mercy with me in each place to which we shall enter; thou shalt say, that I am thy brother. (and after that God led me out of my father's house, I said to her, Thou shalt do this mercy for me in each place to which we shall enter; thou shalt say that I am thy brother.)