וַֽיִּשְׁאֲל֞וּ אַנְשֵׁ֤י הַמָּקוֹם֙ לְאִשְׁתּ֔וֹ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֲחֹ֣תִי הִ֑וא כִּ֤י יָרֵא֙ לֵאמֹ֣ר אִשְׁתִּ֔י פֶּן־יַֽהַרְגֻ֜נִי אַנְשֵׁ֤י הַמָּקוֹם֙ עַל־רִבְקָ֔ה כִּֽי־טוֹבַ֥ת מַרְאֶ֖ה הִֽיא׃
Ketika orang-orang di tempat itu bertanya tentang istrinya, ia berkata, “Ia saudara perempuanku,” sebab ia takut mengatakan, “Ia istriku,” karena pikirnya, “Jangan-jangan orang-orang di tempat ini akan membunuh aku karena Ribka, sebab ia cantik parasnya.”
Rashi
לאשתו means CONCERNING HIS WIFE, just as (20:13) “Say about me (לי), He is my brother”.
Chizkuni
וישאלו אנשי המקום לאשתו, “The inhabitants of that place enquired about the marital status of the woman accompanying him.” The reason why Rivkah was not abducted immediately, as had been Sarah when Avraham had stayed in Avimelech’s country, is that Avraham had at the time warned the Philistines by saying to them at the time: “since when is the first thing you ask a stranger about the status of the people who accompany him?” Compare Talmud Baba Kamma 92.
Ramban
AND HE SAID: SHE IS MY SISTER. They did not ask concerning the children for he would say, “They are my children from another woman.”