Bible-Center
РУ
EN
FR
Bible
Notes
FAQ
Links
About

Search

Search Search
search in current section [Notes]

NOTES for Gen 20:1-18

Printable version
1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.
4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.
12 And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.
16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.
17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.
Hide

Each of the people mentioned in the Old Testament is important in some way for our life. One can treat what is written as history filled with facts. But the Bible, first of all, tells us what we need in order to move forward. On the one hand, we have Abraham, called righteous by faith, speaking with God, receiving a great promise. On the other hand, he is an ordinary man who fears kings and rulers and tries to save his life through questionable arrangements. He is still the same Abraham who left Tyre, who was honored by a visit from God. And this Abraham, frightened, hands his wife over to the king.

Other notes

 
For Gen 20:1-18
1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.
4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
6 And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.
12 And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
13 And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her, This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me, He is my brother.
14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.
16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.
17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.
Hide
The story with Abimelech raises many questions. On the one hand, there is the very desire to pass off one's wife as one's sister in order to protect oneself from trouble. On the other, there is God's intervention in the situation on the side of a person who behaves, at the very least, strangely and cowardly...  Read more

The story with Abimelech raises many questions. On the one hand, there is the very desire to pass off one's wife as one's sister in order to protect oneself from trouble. On the other, there is God's intervention in the situation on the side of a person who behaves, at the very least, strangely and cowardly. How should all this be understood? What is Abraham so afraid of? Why does he not hope for God's help? It is quite natural that Abraham, if he thought badly of Abimelech, had to fear for his life. The only way to enter a lawful marriage with a married woman was to make her a widow. One may marry a widow, and formally the law would be observed. By passing Sarah off as his sister, Abraham quite obviously wanted to avoid precisely that scenario. This was simply a matter of survival at any cost, even at the cost of a feigned violation of marital faithfulness.

Feigned because it was forced: under no other circumstances would either Abraham or Sarah, of course, have agreed to such a thing. Abraham does not rely very much on God here, because he still does not know how and when God will want to intervene in his life. Abraham has his own experience of communion with God, but he does not yet have stable ideas about relationship with God. Today we know, at least theoretically, that God never leaves us. In antiquity people looked at this differently: no god was obligated to remain beside a human being constantly. Gods came and went, appeared and disappeared. One could ask one's god for help and hope for his intervention, but it was impossible to be sure of it. Abraham had to look at his God this way too, because he was a man of his time. He did not yet know in practice what God's omnipresence means. Pagan gods were not like that; they appeared and disappeared precisely because they could not be everywhere at once.

The God of Abraham was different. The One is not like pagan gods; but Abraham did not know this yet. He still had to become convinced that for his God there are no distances. As for Abimelech, he knew even less and acted, according to his own testimony, with a pure heart and without any hidden intention. That is why God stops him with a simple warning: there was no guilt at all in Abimelech for what was happening. The main lesson here was for Abraham, not for Abimelech. It was a lesson that may seem completely obvious to us today, but that was new for Abraham, like everything connected in his life with his God.

Hide
Bible
Notes
FAQ
Links
About
Site map
Design and development:  © 2001–2026 W-M v:2.0.3.107

After registering, you can subscribe to any Bible reading plan.

Personalized settings and other services for registered users are planned, so we recommend registering now. Registration is free.