And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.
All Commentaries on Genesis 20:11 Go To Genesis 20
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Notice at this point, dearly beloved, the just man’s noble purpose in presenting them with a lesson in the knowledge of God under the guise of an explanation. “I said to myself, ‘Surely there is no respect for God in this place, and they will kill me on account of my wife.’ ” I was concerned, he is saying, that as a result of being still held in ignorance you would have no regard for justice, and so I made allowance for the fact that when you discovered she was my wife you would, out of lust, have wanted to kill me— that was the reason I did it. See how in a few words he takes them to task and at the same time teaches them that the person who has God uppermost in mind ought commit no crime but rather fear that unsleeping eye and in view of the heavy judgment impending from that source have regard for justice.
