Rebekah lived in a polygamous society where the women were property and beautiful women were commodities to be purchased at the cost of gold or blood. Isaac, her husband, knew this all too well; so when he was asked, "Who is this woman?" he lied out of fear, saying, "She is my sister!" And why not? Who keeps faith with the enemy? A generation before, his father, Abraham, had essentially done the same thing to try to protect his mother. You can read about both incidents in the book of Genesis. This issue of lying to protect someone when the very act of dishonesty only endangers relationships all the more is not new. The incidents which I related took place almost 5,000 years ago, yet the issue is as relevant as your wife's most recent visit with her neighbor or best friend.