And Abraham said,.... In defence of himself, as well as he could:
because I thought; within himself, concluding from the general depravity of the Canaanites, that this was the case of the inhabitants of Gerar:
surely the fear of God [is] not in this place; this is a certain truth, which he thought might be depended upon, and taken for granted, since so it was everywhere: or "only" e, as the word used signifies; this was the only thing he had to plead, that he verily thought with himself that there was no true religion and godliness in Gerar: that the inhabitants of it were without any fear of God before their eyes, or in their hearts; and he knew, where this is the case, there is nothing to restrain from the commission of the grossest sins:
and they will slay me for my wife's sake; that they might marry her, see Genesis 12:12.
e רק "tantum", Montanus; so Vatablus, Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius so the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and Ben Melech.