#81. My Wife Is My Sister!

Seen any good movies lately? Here’s one in the making – I can see it now! Let me share this most bizarre happening with you. Actually, this outlandish story occurred, not once, but on three separate occasions. And each of them are almost identical to each other. I found them to be most intriguing indeed.  Tell me what you think!

Here is the basic plot. Each of the three similar passages tells the tale of a man who is married to the most beautiful woman in the world. Each couple – at differing times and places – takes up residence in the very town where the king lives and rules. Apparently, each couple purchases a home near the king’s palace.

Now, each of these husbands has a horrendous fear that the king will kill him in order to steal his most elegant, ravishing wife for himself. I know this sounds preposterous but listen on, it gets more bizarre by the minute.

What’s an insecure, cowardly husband to do? Each of these married men handles the situation in exactly the same way! Unbelievable! In each of these stories, the ‘ruler of the roost’ claims, “My wife is not my wife – she is my sister”, so that the powerful ruler will not have any reason to harm him. 

Of course, as would happen in any good soap opera, the king sees this most enchanting and alluring woman and invites her to his pad. Before you know it, the truth comes out and the king is flabbergasted! “What! You’re married!” What’s an honorable politician to do?

In each of these stories, the discreet and savvy king approaches the husband with his newfound discovery and chastises him for pulling such a prank. And rightly so! After all, the king would have gotten into big trouble with the city council if the local gossipers got wind of it. They would have a field day spreading their scuttlebutt throughout the village.

Then, in all three cases, the king immediately apologizes to the husband, showers him with lavish gifts so he will keep his mouth shut, and of course, returns his most beautiful wife in all the world to him … safe and sound (I guess).

No, I did not read about this in the National Inquirer. Actually, these stories have been in existence for three thousand years. I found them in the Old Testament book of Genesis. Here is a summary of each, though you may want to open your dusty Bible and read them for yourself.

Story #1: In chapter 12, the husband and wife are Abram and Sarai and the king is the Pharaoh of Egypt  (verses 10-20).

Story #2: In chapter 20, the husband and wife are Abraham and Sarah and the king of Gerar is Abimelech  (verses 1-17).

Story #3: In chapter 26, the husband and wife are Isaac and Rebekah and the king of Gerar is Abimelech  (verses 1-11).

Now, if that is not wild enough, I want you to consider these additional, most amazing, coincidences.

1^st Coincidence: In stories #1 and #2, the names are changed to protect the innocent. Respectively, the names of the husband, wife, and king are converted from Abram to Abraham; from Sarai to Sarah; and from the Pharaoh of Egypt to the King Abimelech of Gerar.

2^nd Coincidence:  On the other hand, in stories #1 and #2, it may be that Abram, whose name was changed by the Lord God to Abraham (and Sarai's name changed to Sarah), did make the move from Egypt to Gerar, did buy a new home (near King Abimelech's castle), and then did, believe it or not, repeat the previous lie that his wife is really his sister, as before. Really!

3^rd Coincidence: In stories #2 and #3, each of the two husbands is actually father and son – Abraham and Isaac. It then follows that both Abraham and his son, Isaac, pulled the same underhanded scheme on the King of Gerar, which suggests to me that the king fell for the ploy, not once, but twice. Oh, my!

4^th Coincidence: But it gets even juicier! Let’s take another look at stories #2 and #3. Abimelech, the King of Gerar, could actually have been two different kings – but with the same name. Yes, you guessed it – father and son – Abimelech Sr. and Abimelech Jr.

In other words,  it may be that not only are the two husbands ‘father and son’, but the two kings may also have been ‘father and son’.

Abraham lies to the elder King Abimelech of Gerar, “Oh, that beautiful woman is not my wife – she’s my sister!” A couple of decades later, Abraham’s son, Isaac, retells the same lie to the elder king’s son, King Abimelech Jr., who has inherited the throne from his father, thus repeating the mysterious conundrum: my wife is my sister. WOW!

Maybe Hollywood will turn my script into a fabulous movie hit! I can hardly wait!

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