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LXX Genesis

Septuagint

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Chapter 20

1 And Abraham removed from there to the southern country, and lived between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said concerning Sarah his wife, She is my sister,⁠ for he feared to say, She is my wife, for fear that at any time the men of the city should kill him for her sake. So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 And God came to Abimelech by night in sleep, and said, Look, you die for the woman, whom you have taken, whereas she has lived with a husband. 4 But Abimelech had not touched her, and he said, Lord, will you destroy an ignorantly sinning and just nation? 5 Did he not say to me, She is my sister, and did she not say to me, He is my brother? with a pure heart and in the righteousness of my hands I have done this. 6 And God said to him in sleep, Yes, I knew that you did this with a pure heart, and I spared you, so that you should not sin against me, therefore I did not allow you to touch her. 7 But now return the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and shall pray for you, and you shall live; but if you do not restore her, know that you shall die and all yours. 8 And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and he spoke all these words in their ears, and all the men feared exceedingly. 9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, What is this that you have done to us? Have we sinned against you, that you have brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me a deed, which no one ought to do. 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What have you seen in me that you have done this? 11 And Abraham said, For I said, Surely there is not the worship of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. 12 For truly she is my sister by my father, but not by my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And it happened when God brought me forth out of the house of my father, that I said to her, This righteousness you shall perform to me, in every place into which we may enter, say of me, He is my brother. 14 And Abimelech took a thousand pieces of silver, and sheep, and calves, and servants, and maidservants, and gave them to Abraham, and he returned him Sarah his wife. 15 And Abimelech said to Abraham, Look, my land is before you, dwell wherever it may please you. 16 And to Sarah he said, Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver, those shall be to you for the price of your face, and to all the women with you, and speak the truth in all things. 17 And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his women servants, and they bore children. 18 Because the Lord had fast closed from without every womb in the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

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Compare Genesis 20:2 and LXX Genesis 20:2

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

The Greek Septuagint translation of Genesis 20 adds that Abraham called Sarah his sister because he feared being killed if people knew she was his wife. The Hebrew does not explain this, suggesting the translator wanted to explain Abraham’s actions.

Passages

Genesis 20:2

Hebrew Bible
1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident in Gerar, 2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. 3 But God appeared to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

LXX Genesis 20:2

Septuagint
1 And Abraham removed from there to the southern country, and lived between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said concerning Sarah his wife, She is my sister, for he feared to say, She is my wife, for fear that at any time the men of the city should kill him for her sake. So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 And God came to Abimelech by night in sleep, and said, Look, you die for the woman, whom you have taken, whereas she has lived with a husband.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Genesis

References

"... scholars believed that the translation (LXX Genesis) was made from a text close to Masoretic text... “These Notes are also based on the presupposition that the parent text being translated was in the main much like the consonantal text of the Masoretic text.” Likewise, Wevers ascribed the long addition in LXX Genesis 20:2 to the translator: “Once again it illustrates the intelligent approach Genesis took in interpreting his parent text; the text simply had to make sense” ..."
Emanuel Tov, Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, Qumran, Septuagint: Collected Essays, VTSup 167 (Leiden: Brill, 2015), 3:170.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 20:2 and LXX Genesis 20:2

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