Some Bible stories just don’t get told in Sunday School or in Sundaymorning worship! This is a tale that appears not once, but three times in the Book of Genesis. My guess is that is was an old story told in the evenings around the campfire. Father Abraham was born “Abram.” His wife Sarai (Sarah) was so beautiful that Abram feared Pharaoh would kill him in order to take Sarai away from him. He told Pharaoh she was his sister and allowed Pharaoh to take her into his harem. In other words: he prostituted his wife. God sent great plagues on Pharaoh who then sent Abram away – with gifts. Abram went with Sarai and all his possessions into the Negeb. (Genesis 12:11-21) Next in Genesis come the name change to Abraham, the prediction of Isaac’s birth, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Then the story returns to Abraham in the Negeb where he told Abimelech, king of Gere, that Sarah was his sister. This time, God made Abimelech’s wife and slaves barren and told Abimelech that he is about to die because he had taken Sarah who was a married woman. Abimelech gave sheep and oxen as well as Sarah to Abraham and sent them away. God healed Abimelech and his family, and, as God had promised, Abraham and Sarah had a son, Isaac, in their old age. (Genesis 20:1-18 and Genesis 21:1-2) In the next generation, Isaac went to Gere where he told King Abimelech that Rebekah, his beautiful wife, was his sister. Later Abimelech saw Isaac fondling Rebekah and chastised him for lying that she was his sister, which created the possibility that another man would sin by taking her, unaware that she was a married woman. Abimelech sent Isaac and Rebekah away, but the two men later made a covenant of peace between them. (Genesis 26:6-11, 26-31) I don’t like this story. Things were different then. Wives were property to be used to gain wealth or protection. Was this the same story told three times with different characters, or did Abraham fool two rulers, or did Abimelech fall for the same scheme twice. Maybe these were just stories told around the campfire. These are stories in the Bible that we prefer to ignore. I wonder why they were important enough to be included in the Bible at all. What point are we missing? By Lyn Pickhover, Perplexed