Essay:The Bible and lying

Related to but not the same as Biblical claims of divine honesty, there are places in the Bible where characters other than God or someone explicitly acting on His behalf lie, and the narrative frames this lying as either good or resulting in benefits for the liar. This is despite the many passages about how lying is sinful and displeasing to God. This also makes it kind of odd for people to swear on the Bible that they will tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

In Genesis 12:11-20, Abram lies to the Egyptians, telling them that his wife is actually his sister. The result? Abram gets treated well by the Pharaoh, and the Pharaoh is the one who is punished by God for believing the lie. Because this worked out so well the first time, Abram repeats the lie in Genesis 20. That time, however, God’s nice enough to warn Abimelech of the treachery and doesn’t punish him. Nonetheless, the lie works out for Abram and his wife, as Abimelech gives them sheep, cattle, slaves and silver.

Jacob tricks a blind Isaac into giving him a blessing when it rightfully belonged to Esau. The result?

Genesis 27:28-29: “May God give you (Jacob) heaven’s dew  and earth’s richness— an abundance of grain and new wine. 29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed  and those who bless you be blessed.”

Later Laban tricks Jacob into marrying off both of his daughters Rachel and Leah and gets fourteen years of labor from Jacob.

In Second Kings 10:18-31, Jehu lies and says he’s going to give a great sacrifice to Baal, while in reality he is going to kill the Baal worshipers when they arrive at the temple.

In Joshua 2:1-6, Rahab lies to the king of Jericho, telling him she doesn’t know where his scouts went while in reality she hid them up on her roof. For this, in Joshua 6:22-25, Joshua spares Rahab and her family while burning down the city, and James 2:25 calls her righteous.

Judges 4:18-21: Jael lies and says she’ll protect Sisera, only to murder him while he’s asleep. For this, she gets called the most blessed of women in the Song of Deborah (Judges 5:24). Allgoodusernamesweretaken (talk) 18:33, 31 December 2022 (UTC)