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	by Jonathan Blakely

WERE THE PATRIARCHS LIARS?

"Q: Were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob liars?"

This subject is one that men like to philosophize about. There are many accusations against these men because they were supposed "liars". We will look and see how the Bible addresses these things starting with Abraham.

ABRAHAM
Abraham was noted for being righteous. He is also noted for being a man of great faith. But unfortunately men like to point out other mens faults to make them feel better about their own faults so they have resorted to pointing their fingers at Abraham himself. The "lie" was supposedly found in two sections of scripture. The first being in Genesis 12 and the next in the 20th Chapter. In these sections of scripture we read about Abraham and his wife Sarah going through Egypt and Gerar. Let us first look at the his record in Egypt.

First of all Abraham was named "Abram" at this time. Sarah was named "Sarai". While they were traveling the scriptures say that they went to Egypt because there was a famine in the land (Genesis 12:10). When they got to Egypt Abram told his wife to refer to herself as his sister and him as her brother (Genesis 12:11). Abraham told Sarai that he would be killed if she did not so she went along with it. The "Pharaoh" at that time had heard that Sarai was very fair to look upon (the reason for her NOT being told she was Abram's wife) so he took her unto himself. After Pharaoh did this the Lord plagued his house with great plagues because he had taken a married woman into his house. Pharaoh then approached Abram questioning him why he had brought this upon his household. He sent him and Sarai away with all their things because of the punishment that was brought upon him.

The Next example is in Genesis 20 where the circumstance is almost identical to the first. Abraham and Sarah were in Gerar at this point and Abraham said that Sarah was his sister once again. This time king Abimelech takes Sarah into his house. That night the Lord speaks to Abimelech in a dream stating that he was a "dead man" because he had taken Sarah, a married woman, into his house (Genesis 20:3). Abimelech had not done anything to her so he asks the Lord if he will destroy the nation because of what was done. He proceeds to tell the Lord he had no idea Sarah was married and that he did what he did out of the integrity of his heart (Ver. 4-5). The Lord says he knew that he had meant no wrong and that he actually "kept" him from doing so (ver. 6). The Lord tells Abimelech that Abraham is a prophet and that his wife should be restored to him, if he failed to do so he would die (ver. 7). Abimelech calls Abraham in very angry with him and like Pharaoh questioned him for what he had said regarding Sarah. Like Pharaoh he reasoned that if Abraham told the "truth" none of this would have happened. However Abraham tells him that he did not feel that the fear of God was in Gerar and feared men would kill him because Sarah was fair to look upon.

So here is where people start pointing their fingers and saying "He's a liar and a coward!" Is this entirely true? Did Abraham just tell a big lie and bring unnecessary judgement upon others? Well lets look deeper into this. People may say Abraham and Sarah were not brother in sister because she is not listed in Terah's (Abraham's father) lineage. Let's look at that.

Genesis 11:26-32 "And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she had no child. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran."

We see Sarah's name mentioned but yet she is not mentioned as Terah's daughter so people reason that since she is not said to be Terah's daughter then for sure Abraham was lying when he said she was his sister. Let's look at the one verse that blows this arguement out of the water. It's right after he is approached by Abimelech in Genesis chapter 20.

Genesis 20:12 "And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife."

Well now this certainly changes things does it not? Sarah was Terah's daughter making her Abraham's half-sister. So Abraham was not lying at all when he said she was his sister. Also another thing to point out, Who was God angry at in these situations? Did God get angry with Abraham or did he get angry with Pharaoh and Abimelech? Pharaoh and Abimelech were the one's punished were they not? If what Abraham did was that terrible and wrong then why didn't God punish him? There is clearly no arguement here. Abraham did not lie to anyone. If they ASKED if she was his wife and he said "no" then there would be something to work with. However he did not LIE about her being his sister. He just didn't tell them she was his wife too! He did it so he would not be killed. That is not being a coward, that is being wise. So there goes the idea of Abraham being a liar.

ISAAC
The situation with Isaac is a little more difficult to touch on because we do not have much to work with. But we have reason to believe that Isaac did not lie in this text we are about to look at.

The "Lie" that Isaac supposedly told was in Genesis 26:7. In this part of scripture Isaac and his wife Rebekah were in Gerar. While there it says the men of Gerar asked Isaac about his wife and he told them she was his sister. Here is how the text says it.

GENESIS 26:7 "And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon."

Later Abimelech saw Isaac "sporting" with Rebekah and found out she was his wife. Isaac told Abimelech that if he had said she was his wife that he would have been killed. So Abimelech made an order stating that no one was to touch either Isaac or Rebekah, whoever did touch them would be put to death.

The problem here is that Rebekah was obviously not Isaac's sister. But to defend this I want to show you what the hebrew word for "sister" really means.

â^chô^th -(being translated sister) Carries the following definitions.

1. Sister (same parents)
2. Half-Sister (same father)
3. Relative <---
4. Beloved
5. (figuratively) of intimate connection
6. Another
Taken From Brown-Driver-Brigg's Hebrew Definitions

Did you see that? One of the meanings of sister is "relative". That covers a lot more ground. So in this case calling someone your "sister" can mean either your blood sister or a close female relative. Now at this point what we have to determine is this, was Rebekah related to Isaac?

Indeed she was. She was his 2nd Cousin so she was part of Isaac's family, part of the lineage of Terah. Here is the text that confirms this.

GENESIS 24:15 "And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder."

So Isaac could very well have just been saying that Rebekah was related to him. Seeing she WAS related to him it makes sense. So like Abraham Isaac is not lying but withholding information for his safety. Even then when they asked him about his wife notice he did not say "she is not my wife" he just said "she is my sister". And also once again we do not see God punishing Isaac for this which should raise a considerable amount of suspicion as to whither or not this was actually wrong doing. Not to mention from another perspective Rebekah was also of Isaac's people, making her a form of sister to him. So once again we have cleared up another misunderstanding. Sometimes it helps to see what the word meant at that time rather than assuming the word carries the same meaning that it does in our own language today.

JACOB
This one is extremely difficult to work with because we have something that appears to be a flat out lie from Jacob himself. However we will present a different perspective because we have evidence that this was most likely not an actual "lie".

This part of scripture is dealing with how Jacob obtained the blessing from his father Isaac in Genesis chapter 27. However when Jacob obtained the blessing it was because (at the time) Isaac thought that he was Esau, the eldest son of Isaac and the one with the birstright. Jacob had bought Esau's birthright making him the one with the right of the first-born. When people read this section of scripture they say that Jacob stole his brothers birthright out of envy and that he plotted to decieve his father into thinking he was Esau by pretending to be him. He's made out to be a total deciever. There are several flaws with these ideas that must be addressed.

First of all Jacob did not steal Esau's birthright, he bought it from him. In Genesis 25 we can read about this account. Here is how Jacob obtained the birthright from Esau.

GENESIS 25:29-34 29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

This can seem really cruel to people but when you really look at it you can see there is no cruelty on Jacob's part at all.

What we can see here is that Jacob really desired to have the birthright. Whoever had it would recieve Isaac's blessing. According to scripture Jacob was the one destined to be the one who Isaac would bless. Mind you this was PROPHECIED by God himself in the 23rd verse of this same chapter. "And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the ELDER shall serve the YOUNGER." In this case, Esau is the ELDER and Jacob is the YOUNGER. The Fact is Jacob wanted the birthright and Esau did not. Jacob wanted what God offered, Esau didn't. So when there was an opprotunity Jacob made an offer to Esau. Notice Jacob does not say "Give me the birthright or I will let you die!" It was just an offer. Esau just had to say "no" and then there would have been nothing Jacob could do. However look at Esau's reaction to such a deal. The text even affirms that him carrying out this deal showed that he despised the birthright. So really Esau should be the one getting critisized not Jacob. He threw his birthright away for some food while Jacob was zealous to get the blessing. Let us not view this as a mere "sibling rivalry" but rather let us observe this as God's promise being fulfilled.

Alright let's get down to the difficult part. That being Genesis chapter 27. When it came time to give the blessing Isaac was very old and it says his eyes were dim so he was blind or close to being it. Isaac told Esau to take his bow and get some venison, so that he could eat it and then bless him before he died. Esau left but Isaac's wife rebekah overheard what was said. She then told Jacob what she heard and told him to bring to her two goats so that she could prepare the meat that Isaac loves. She intended to give Jacob the meat so that he could give it to Isaac then HE would be blessed. Jacob was hesitant and felt he would be viewed as a deciever seeing he is not Esau, Also he thought his father would touch him and realize it as well. These are the exchange of words between Jacob and Rebekah.

GENESIS 27:11-13 "And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them."

Ok we see clearly now this was NOT Jacob's idea at all. It was Rebekah's idea. Now remember that she had recieved a word from the Lord saying that JACOB was going to be the stronger nation. Jacob felt it would be wrong but his mother insisted by saying "his curse would be on her". Rebekah knew that Jacob had the birthright. That is why she could urge him to do what he did. The birthright was a form of identity to whoever held it. When she said the curse would be on her (which we have NO record of that happening) it was because she wanted to clear Jacob's conscience of guilt. She knew this was not wrong and later I am going to prove that it wasn't. But let us first look at a few more things.

Next she proceeded to dress Jacob in Esau's clothes as well. Then she gives him the meat and THIS is the main part we are dealing with, the part everyone is up in arms about. Let us view this section of scripture, although lengthy, needs to be seen before we can proceed.

GENESIS 27:18-24 "And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because the LORD thy God brought it to me. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him. And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.

Ok here we appear to have Jacob lying through his teeth in order to get the blessing. It even says that Isaac did not recognise him because his hands were like Esau's hands. So is this all there is to it? Did Jacob just lie to his father in order to get the blessing? Let me draw your attention to some intresting points that contradict that idea.

Jacob had the Birthright, giving him the right to the blessing. So Isaac blessing Jacob was obviously not wrong because at this point Jacob was the one with right of the firstborn. The problem is this statement "I am thy eldest son Esau". This is what I want to draw attention to at this point. But let us ask this question first. What does it mean to have the birthright?

From one perspective it means "the right of the firstborn" which is true. But here is the Hebrew word and it's definition from "Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions."

MEANINGS

1. birthright
2. PRIMOGENITURE <---
3. right of the first-born

I found it intresting that PRIMOGENITURE was listed in there. Here is the main Definition of that word.

PRIMOGENITURE - "the state or fact of BEING the firstborn of children of the same parents."

Here is the thought I offer to you. If this word means primogeniture as well then it means Jacob having the birthright made him the firstborn (as far as the blessing was concerned). What I am getting around to is this. He purchased the birthright from Esau therefore had the right to BE Esau himself. The birthright was like a form of identity to Esau. When he sold it the identity was placed on Jacob making him worthy of Isaac's blessing. If that is true then Jacob did not lie nor deceive his father in these verses. It may be difficult to understand but it makes sense if you think about it. Also remember that Isaac did not have all the facts about what had happened up to this point concerning the birthright.

Lastly, after Jacob leaves with the blessing Esau returns. Isaac is puzzled by Esau returning with the meat he told him to retrieve after supposedly blessing him. He thought it was ESAU he had just blessed. Isaac realizes that it was Jacob he blessed and this caused Esau to make a cry of bitterness. Isaac tells Esau that Jacob took HIS blessing but look at how Isaac reacts when Esau tells him that Jacob had his birthright.

GENESIS 27:36-41 "And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above; And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob."

Notice how Esau lies to his father about how Jacob "has taken his birthright". Esau SOLD his birthright to him but then he turns around and speaks of it as if it is some form of injustice. After Isaac realizes that Jacob had the birthright all along he is upfront with Esau and informs him that he is going to serve his younger brother, just like the Lord said! He does not take back what was said or anything. After this Esau's true colors are shown, he hated his brother and wanted to kill him. Look at what manner of man he is! Do we dare say that THIS man was worthy of Isaac's blessing?

As a conclusion the main thing I am bringing out here is that God prophesied this taking place. It was already determined that JACOB would be the stronger nation. So in this whole process we see God fulfilling what he said. Should we imply that God made Jacob lie to Isaac? Again there is NO accusation from God concerning this. God never punishes Jacob for this or says that it was wrong. Remember God does say that he LOVED Jacob and HATED Esau in Malachi 1:2-3. Remember Jacob's name is now included with Abraham and Isaac both, "The God of Abraham, Isaac and JACOB" (Deut 1:8, 9:5, 27, 2 Kings 13:23, Jer 33:26). The Name "God of Jacob" appears in scripture 25 times (5 of those times are in the New Testament). If what Jacob did was so evil why would God associate with him in such a way? It just does not make sense, not to mention it would contradict God's own nature to give such favor to a person who had a wicked and deceitful heart.

With the words being defined properly I am certain that Jacob was not lying at all. We must be able to come to a Godly conclusion on these things. God never said anything against it so I refuse to view it as wrong. When we speak out against people God placed favor on this raises a red flag. So let us brush aside such lame arguements and look at these great men of God correctly, as men that God had fellowship with! I hope these things were helpful to you and hope you benefit from them.