Gen 12:13:
Verse 13. Say, I pray thee, thou art my
sister] Abram did not wish his wife to tell a falsehood, but he wished her to suppress a part of the truth. From chap. 20:12, it is evident
she was his step-sister, i. e., his
sister by his father, but by a
different mother. Some suppose Sarai
was the daughter of Haran, and consequently the grand-daughter of Terah:
this opinion seems to be founded on chap. 11:29, where Iscah is thought to be the same with Sarai, but the supposition has
not a sufficiency of probability to support it. (Adam Clarke, The
Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes, 6 vols. [Bellingham,
Wash.: Faithlife Corporation, 2014], 1:93-94)
Gen 20:12:
Verse 12. She is my sister] I have not told a lie; I have
suppressed only a part of the truth. In this place it may be proper to ask, What is a lie? It is any action done or
word spoken, whether true or false in itself, which the doer or speaker wishes
the observer or hearer to take in a contrary
sense to that which he knows to be true. It is, in a word, any action done or
speech delivered with the intention to
deceive, though both may be absolutely true and right in themselves. See
the note on chap. 12:13.
The daughter of my father, but not—of my mother] Ebn Batrick, in his annals, among other
ancient traditions has preserved the following: “Terah first married Yona, by whom he had Abraham; afterwards
he married Tehevita, by whom he had
Sarah.” Thus she was the sister of Abraham, being the daughter of the same
father by a different mother. (Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible with a
Commentary and Critical Notes, 6 vols. [Bellingham, Wash.: Faithlife
Corporation, 2014], 1:129)
