Genesi 12:13

13 Deh! ‘che tu sei mia sorella; acciocchè per cagion di te mi sia fatto del bene, e per amor tuo la vita mi sia conservata.

Genesi 12:13 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 12:13

Say, I pray thee, that thou art my sister
Which though it was not putting a direct lie into her mouth, she being his sister in some sense, as appears from ( Genesis 20:12 ) yet it was done to conceal truth, and to deceive the Egyptians, and tended to endanger his wife's chastity, as well as showed great timorousness in him, and distrust of the divine care and protection of him; and upon the whole it must be criminal in him, and shows that the best of men are liable to sin, and the strongest believer to fall, and that a saint may fail in the exercise of that grace for which he is most eminent, as Abram was for his faith, and yet fell into unbelief, and through that into other sins; this he said to his wife, and desired her to say on occasion, when she found it necessary:

that it may be well with me for thy sake;
his life spared, as follows:

and my soul shall live because of thee;
his life be safe and secure for her sake, being reckoned her brother, whereas he feared it would be in the utmost danger should it be known she was his wife.

Genesi 12:13 In-Context

11 E, come egli fu presso ad entrare in Egitto, disse a Sarai sua moglie: Ecco, ora io so che tu sei donna di bell’aspetto.

12 Laonde avverrà che, quando gli Egizj ti vedranno, diranno: Costei è moglie di costui; e mi uccideranno, e a te scamperanno la vita.

13 Deh! ‘che tu sei mia sorella; acciocchè per cagion di te mi sia fatto del bene, e per amor tuo la vita mi sia conservata.

14 Avvenne adunque che, come Abramo fu venuto in Egitto, gli Egizj riguardarono quella donna, perchè ella era molto bella.

15 Ed i principi di Faraone, vedutala, la commendarono a Faraone; onde quella donna fu presa e menata in casa di Faraone.