6 So Isaac lived in Gerar . 7 When the men of the place asked about his wife , he said , " She is my sister ," for he was afraid to say , "my wife ," thinking, "the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah , for she is beautiful ." 8 It came about, when he had been there a long time , that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out through a window , and saw , and behold , Isaac was caressing his wife Rebekah . 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said , "Behold , certainly she is your wife ! How then did you say , 'She is my sister '?" And Isaac said to him, "Because I said , 'I might die on account of her.' " 10 Abimelech said , "What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife , and you would have brought guilt upon us." 11 So Abimelech charged all the people , saying , "He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 26:6-11
Commentary on Genesis 26:6-11
(Read Genesis 26:6-11)
There is nothing in Isaac's denial of his wife to be imitated, nor even excused. The temptation of Isaac is the same as that which overcame his father, and that in two instances. This rendered his conduct the greater sin. The falls of those who are gone before us are so many rocks on which others have split; and the recording of them is like placing buoys to save future mariners. This Abimelech was not the same that lived in Abraham's days, but both acted rightly. The sins of professors shame them before those that are not themselves religious.