אָחוֹת

From the study of Genesis 20:5

Range of meaning

Sister (full or half); female relative or kinswoman; figuratively a close companion or associate; in love poetry, a beloved.

Against the English

All versions say 'sister.' That is correct, but a reader may assume two shared parents, which is not required by the Hebrew and not the case here.

Used elsewhere in the period

Verse 12: 'daughter of my father, but not of my mother.' For wider kinship, see Genesis 24:60, where Rebekah's family calls her 'our sister,' and Numbers 25:18. As an endearment for a bride, see Song of Songs 4:9–12. Egyptian love poems likewise use 'sister' and 'brother' for lovers, and Tobit (Greek) has a husband calling his wife 'sister.' Later Israelite law prohibits marriage to a half-sister (Leviticus 18:9; 20:17), but Genesis does not comment on this within the story. Josephus retells the episode in Antiquities 1.207–212.

From the study of Song of Songs 5:1

Range of meaning

Literal sister; female relative; figuratively a partner, companion, or someone in close covenant relation (Prov 7:4, "say to wisdom, You are my sister"). In love poetry, a name of endearment for the beloved woman.

Against the English

Modern English "sister" is literal kinship, which makes the line sound strange or even incestuous to a first-time reader. The Hebrew carries no such implication here. Song 8:1 ("if only you were like a brother to me") shows that the couple are not actually siblings.

How it drifted

English kinship words have narrowed to their literal biological meanings. Ancient Near Eastern love language used kin terms freely for lovers.

Used elsewhere in the period

Egyptian love songs of the New Kingdom (e.g., Papyrus Chester Beatty I, Papyrus Harris 500) routinely call the beloved "my sister" (snt) and the man "my brother" (sn) (Fox 1985). In Tobit 7–8 Tobias and Sarah, a married couple, call each other "sister" and "brother".

From the study of Genesis 20:2

Range of meaning

A full sister or half-sister. More loosely, a female relative or kinswoman. In poetry it can be a loving name for a bride or lover (Song 4:9–12, "my sister, my bride"). It can also be used for nations or cities pictured as sisters (Ezek 16:46; 23:4).

Against the English

English "sister" makes us picture a full sibling with the same two parents. Readers are then shocked by an "outright lie," or surprised when 20:12 reveals she is a half-sister. The Hebrew word covers both cases without needing to say which.

How it drifted

Modern English uses "sister" for a full sibling unless it says otherwise. Marrying a half-sister is so foreign to modern readers, and was later banned in Israel's own law (Lev 18:9, 11; 20:17), that the word sounds like plain fiction rather than a half-truth.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Bible the word covers full and half-sisters (Tamar and Amnon share a father, and Tamar suggests David might allow them to marry, 2 Sam 13:13). In Egyptian love poems of the New Kingdom (for example the Chester Beatty papyri), "my sister" is the usual loving name for the beloved woman. Ugaritic has the related word ʾaḫt. E. A. Speiser argued that Hurrian legal texts from Nuzi show a special "wife-sister" status. Later study has largely rejected that reading (see debates).