Discovery BoxGenesis 12:13 
Context12:13 So tell them 1 you are my sister 2 so that it may go well 3 for me because of you and my life will be spared 4 on account of you.”
Genesis 34:11
Context34:11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s 5 father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you require of me 6 I’ll give. 7
Genesis 42:11
Context42:11 We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men! Your servants are not spies.”
1 tn Heb “say.”
2 sn Tell them you are my sister. Abram’s motives may not be as selfish as they appear. He is aware of the danger to the family. His method of dealing with it is deception with a half truth, for Sarai really was his sister – but the Egyptians would not know that. Abram presumably thought that there would be negotiations for a marriage by anyone interested (as Laban does later for his sister Rebekah), giving him time to react. But the plan backfires because Pharaoh does not take the time to negotiate. There is a good deal of literature on the wife-sister issue. See (among others) E. A. Speiser, “The Wife-Sister Motif in the Patriarchal Narratives,” Oriental and Biblical Studies, 62-81; C. J. Mullo-Weir, “The Alleged Hurrian Wife-Sister Motif in Genesis,” GOT 22 (1967-1970): 14-25.
3 tn The Hebrew verb translated “go well” can encompass a whole range of favorable treatment, but the following clause indicates it means here that Abram’s life will be spared.
4 tn Heb “and my life will live.”
5 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Dinah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Heb “whatever you say.”
7 tn Or “pay.”
