Genesis 20:2Plain English VersionWhile Abraham and Sarah were in Gerar, Abraham told everyone that his wife Sarah was his sister, not his wife. The big boss of Gerar was called Abimelek. He believed Abraham, so he sent somebody to get Sarah so that he could marry her. See the chapter |
One day, Abimelek went to talk to Abraham. Abimelek was the big boss of the country where Abraham lived. And Ficol, the leader of Abimelek’s army, went with him. Abimelek said to Abraham, “You know, you are not one of my people. You came from another place to live here in my country. But I have been good to you, and to all your people. So I want you to promise me that you will never try to trick me, or my kids, or anyone that is born into my family. I want you to promise that you will be good to them. We know that God is very good to you, and he helps you with everything you do. So I want you to make that promise to me while God is listening. I want you to tell God to punish you if you break that promise.”
At another time, there was no rain and no food plants growing in the country where Isaac and Rebekah lived. It was like the time when there was no rain a long time before, while Abraham was still alive. So Isaac and his family left that country, and they went to the town called Gerar, in Philistia country. The big boss of the Philistia people was called Abimelek, and he lived in that town.
The men in Gerar saw Isaac’s wife Rebekah, and they asked Isaac, “Who is that woman?” You know, Rebekah was very beautiful. So Isaac got worried about those men. He thought, “Maybe those men want to marry Rebekah. If I tell them that she is my wife, maybe they will kill me to get her.” So Isaac lied and said, “She is my sister.”