Language Studies

Difficult Sayings

Abraham lies
Genesis 12:11-13

"And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you."" (Genesis 12:11-13, KJV)

We recently noted some of the imperfections in Jacob (see Article), according to some, which did not prevent his being used as the foundation of God's people through becoming Israel. In Genesis 27:19,24 Jacob lies when he pretends that he is Esau, but inspired by his mother. In the same way his grandfather and our spiritual father Abraham, that great man of faith, appears to have lied and induced Sarah to deceive. Is this true? If so, does that lessen his faith or virtue?

Only this week in the London Times (T2, 14 June 2004) there was an article suggesting that all men lie:

"I asked my wife: "Why do men lie so much?" I can see now that the long pondering I'd been doing on the subject of men and lies was a circling-the-airport approach to where I might land, which was my own conscience.

"Your sperm makes you evil," my wife said. "It does something to your minds."

"No, seriously," I said.

"Because you're all cowards," she said.

"That's a little too serious," I said. "Do you have anything in between those two?" "In between the two," she said, "is just a charred landscape."

There are things that everyone almost always lies about (cheating, stealing, sex), there are things that women almost always lie about (food, money, orgasms), and then there is the rest of life, which generally comprises what men lie about. A female friend says of the men she's known: "Are its lips moving? Then it's lying.""

Recent psychological studies^F1 have shown that we lie on average around 150 to 200 times a day. So is it sinful, natural or ever biblically expedient?

Some would say that in the ancient and indeed modern Middle East is less culturally offensive to lie that it seems to absolutist evangelical Christians:

"The problem with the word "lie" in modern English is that it has negative power. To be declared a liar is to be branded. In the nomadic culture the word is misused. "Deception" is better. At worst it is neutral. In the many cultures it connotes sagacity and "real politick"." (Marshall Marvelli, http://www.torahaura.com/Bible/hereat_/LTW_5760/LTW_Lekh_Lekha_5760/ltw_lekh_lekha_5760.html)

You only have to go to an Egyptian carpet seller to be told a lie about the worth of something, or that it is the only one left! Bartering involves you then suggesting deceptively that is really rather bad and worth almost nothing and that you didn't want it anyway. So is bartering lying and therefore sinful?

In the Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim 27b and 62b scholars and others are permitted to lie to evade dishonest tax collectors extorting too much or to lie to thieves and murderers concerning the value of their property to avoid loss.

How many of us have exaggerated at interview our expertise or through false humility talked down our real abilities? Or, as part of the surprise build up to a fantastic gift called it "only a little something".

So was it Abraham's fear or human nature rather than faith that suggested the lie. Did God intend it or at least allow it, for out of it Abraham was enriched by Pharaoh's guilt and gifts. If Abraham suffered any remorse it didn't stop him doing it again (Genesis 20:1-3) and his son Isaac copying his same tactic (Genesis 26:7-11).

The Jewish Law records the following against lying:

"You shall not bear a false witness against your neighbour" (Exodus 20:16)
"You shall not circulate a false report" (Exodus 23:1)
"Thou shall not steal, thou shall not deny falsely, and thou shall not lie one to another" (Leviticus 19:11).

These are all regarded as criminal court cases or disputes between neighbours over property or actions. Some, therefore, regard the Hebrew Bible as only prohibiting lying by judges and witnesses.

Jewish law allows certain sins if a life is at stake. There are two or three exceptions, though, where martyrdom or personal sacrifice is preferable to sin. These are idolatry; adultery or incest between close family members (not all adulteries are considered wrong to save one's life); and murder but not killing^F2 - Israeli and US attempted and actual military assassinations are another article in themselves. For a Jew, therefore, it is acceptable to transgress Sabbath law, as Jesus' disciples did when hungry.

In Exodus 1:15-21 we read of the Hebrew midwives "lying" to protect the male children from Pharaoh's death sentence on them. They spun a story to the Egyptians that the Jewish mothers were so lively and vigorous that they gave birth before the midwives even arrived. God blesses these lies as it says in vv.20-21 that as a result God prospered and provided for the women.

Rahab hid and lied to protect the Israelite spies (Joshua 2:1-6) but some might argue that she was not yet saved yet this very act is what saved her, although the New Testament only draws attention to her hospitality and faith (Hebrews 11:31, James 2:25). The Midrash (Pirka D'Rabeinu Hakodosh 15) comments on Rahab's lie yet notes that she inherited life in this world and in the world to come as a result. In fact, eight prophets descended from her (Babylonian Talmud, Megilla 14b) and Jesus himself (Matthew 1:5). Furthermore, are not undercover spying operations, biblical or otherwise, also forms of deception, making Joshua and Caleb also deceivers?

Suppose Nazi soldiers had come to your door and demanded whether any Jews were in your household, alternatively, kidnappers or terrorists ask if you have any family upstairs - do you lie? Is lying protecting them or showing lack of trust in God to protect them if you stand on truth? In fact, in the book The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, Corrie's sister, Nollie, hides two Jews from the Nazis. They come and asked if the one called Annaliese was a Jew to which Nollie replied 'yes'. She was taken away ready for deportation to a concentration camp, however the holding area, an old theatre, was broken into and 40 Jews including Annaliese escaped.

The Talmud^F3 never comes to a settled conclusion over whether one is allowed to pretend not to be Jewish in order to save one's life. This could be regarded a temporary disguise or a public denial of one's faith. In Christian times it would be regarded as martyrdom to go to the stake or cross for one's faith.

So, Abraham may not be entirely at fault in trying to protect his life and Sarah's sexual integrity by lying. In fact, it was only a half-truth/lie for she was his half or step sister:

"But indeed she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife." (Genesis 20:12)

A Jewish legend tells of Abraham's deception and relates the beauty of Sarah which may explain his need for protection as it would not have been unexpected for him to have been killed for another to have his wife (a sin actually committed by David with Bathsheba):

"When Egyptian customs officials asked what he had in the casket, he said, "barley." "No," they said, "it contains wheat." "Very well," answered Abram. "I'll pay the custom on wheat." Then the officers said it contained pepper. Abram said he would pay the custom charges on pepper. Then the officers said it contained gold. Abram said he would pay the custom charges on gold. Then the officers said it contained precious stones. Abram said he would pay the custom charges on precious stones. By this time, the officers insisted on opening the casket. When they did, all of Egypt shined with the beauty of Sarai. In comparison to her, all other women looked like monkeys. She was even more beautiful than Eve." (Recorded in David Guzik's commentary on Genesis 12,

Can God be the originator of lies and falsehood? Jeremiah accuses God of deception (4:10). God is reported as endorsing the sending out a lying spirit "The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets" (1 Kings 22:22-23). So does God lie? Not according to one passage:

"God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19)

Does that mean that men should or do lie, or just that God treats us as human and not saints? No, this passage refers to God's keeping to his word and doing what he said - this is more to do with faithfulness than lying per se.

Nonetheless, God did rephrase a statement to lessen its impact. Returning to another incident in Abraham's life, the Talmud records:

It is written (Genesis 18:12), "Am I to have a child with my husband so old?" but it is also written, "And Adonai said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I in truth bear a child, old as I am?'" (Genesis 18:13) The School of Ishmael taught: Peace is a precious thing, for even the Holy One made a variation for its sake. (Babylonian Talmud, Baba Metzia 87a)

At the Academy of Rabbi Yishmael it was taught: Great is the cause of peace, seeing that for its sake, even the Holy One, blessed be He, changed the truth, for at first it is written (Genesis 18:12), 'My lord [i.e., husband Abraham] is old, while afterward it is written (18:13), "And I am old." (Babylonian Talmud, Yebamoth 65b)

In the Hebrew of Genesis 18:12 Sarah's statement is quite coarse describing herself as "worn out like a garment" implying that she was "well past it"! She also describes Abraham as "old". God softens this in reporting back to Abraham, describing Sarah as merely old and not mentioning her doubts regarding his virility. One is, therefore, based on God's example permitted to lie for the sake of peace, especially marital harmony!

Other Talmudic passages agree that one can lie for the sake of peace, even calling it a positive mitzvah 'commandment' or obligation to do so:

Rabbi Ille'a said in the name of Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon: It is permitted for a person to deviate from the truth in the interest of peace, as it says (Genesis 50:16-17): "Your father [Jacob] commanded before his death, saying: So shall you say to Joseph, 'O Please forgive the offense of your brothers and their sin for they have treated you so wickedly.'"

Rabbi Nathan said it is a commandment [to deviate from the truth in the interest of peace], as it says (I Samuel 16:2): "And Samuel said, 'How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.'" (Babylonian Talmud, Yebamoth 65b)

The famous Jewish schools of Hillel and Shammai, contemporary with Jesus' day, argued over what praise to give a bride at her wedding. They agree that she should be called "beautiful and graceful", but what if she is not, what if she is "blind and lame", should one lie to protect her feelings and the joy of the groom? The Talmud concludes that the Hillel School believes that when the lie preserves life, e.g., strengthening the bond between bride and groom, lying is acceptable.

The Rabbis taught: How does one dance before the bride [i.e., what does one say in praise of her]? The School of Shammai says: We praise the bride as she is. The School of Hillel says: We say that she is a beautiful and graceful bride. The School of Shammai said to the School of Hillel: If she was lame or blind, does one say about her that she is a beautiful and graceful bride? But the Torah said (Exodus 23:7): "Distance yourself from a false matter." The School of Hillel said to the School of Shammai: According to your opinion, if someone made an inferior purchase in the marketplace, should one praise it or deprecate it in his eyes. Surely, one should praise it. From here [the latter statement of the Hillel School] the Sages said: A person's disposition should always be pleasant with people. (Babylonian Talmud, Kethuboth 16b-17a)

Another Talmudic passage describes three situations that appears to encourage rabbis to lie:

Rabbi Yehuda stated in the name of Shmuel: In the following three matters it is the practice of the rabbis not to tell the truth: In matters of a tractate, a bed, and hospitality. (Babylonian Talmud, Baba Metzia 23b-24a)

Here rabbis are allowed to pretend to have less knowledge than is the case in the matter of theology, to lie about their "bed" for the sake of decency - either covering up marital activity or an emission on the sheets, or to portray a host's hospitality as other than that actually experienced to save them from being inundated with guests or getting a bad reputation for poor service. For example if the food is bad one could pretend that you have already eaten or are not that hungry (e.g., Babylonian Talmud, Eruvin 53b).

Does the New Testament portray a different attitude to lying? Lies appear to be emphatically condemned in Scripture (John 8:44; 1 Timothy 1:9,10; Revelation 21:27; 22:15). In a world of grey, rather than black and white, though we will come across circumstances that provoke an ethical dilemma. We have already mentioned life and death situations, hospitality and feelings, what about in counselling, pasturing or parenting situations, do you say, "daddy's slept with another woman and gone off with her" when the 5 year old asks for her absent father, or do you say that he has simply gone away? Equally, in illness likely to result in death, do you encourage the person to accept the inevitable or bolster their mental well-being and fight against disease by saying "don't worry you'll be fine".

Finally, consider the work of Satan in the temptations of Jesus and in entering Judas (John 13:27) without which long-term salvation for all would not have been achieved. Thus, it may be said that God could use Satan, evil or even lies, for a positive end. Equally, Satan as the father of lies (John 8:44) also used truth for a negative end, as in his demons declaring Jesus' nature ahead of time (Mark 1:24-25).

I am sure that stories other than Abram's, Rahab's or those in the Talmud could be told of how a lie or withholding of the truth has also saved someone, or of Ten Boom's honesty being backed up by God. I think the answer is "according to your faith". If even the father of faith told a half-truth, on occasion we are going to do the same, but in an ideal world of absolute faith and guaranteed divine intervention it would seem right to tell the truth. In the non life-threatening situations of preserving dignity, modesty, or feelings, there may be such a thing as a white lie or evasive answer.

FOOTNOTES:
F1: Geary, James (2000), "Deceitful Minds: The Awful Truth About Lying," Time, Europe, Vol. 155 (10), 56-61; Walsh, John (2001), "So, How Many Lies Have You Told Today?" The Independent, London, January 17.
F2: Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 74a; Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, 157a
F3: "Rabbi Abin mentions (Jerusalem Talmud, Avodah Zarah; 2:1) that a Jewish woman may save her life in a time of danger by saying that she is not Jewish. The Rosh, however, explains this passage differently and states that a Jew is not permitted to state that s/he is not Jewish, even to save one's life since this is tantamount to denying one's religion. According to him, the above passage is talking about a Jewish woman dressing in a manner so that people believe that she is not Jewish in order to save herself. This would be permitted. The discussion by the commentaries over whether a Jew may lie and say he is not Jewish in order to save his life is very complex and beyond the scope of this paper." ("Should Moral Individuals Ever Lie? Insights from Jewish Law", Friedman and Weisel, http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/hf_LyingPermissible.html)

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