Genesis 20:18 | 55
19:37 n Dt 2:9 19:38 o Dt 2:19
20:1 p Ge 18:1 q Ge 26:1, 6, 17
20:2 r ver 12; Ge 12:13; 26:7 s Ge 12:15
20:3 t Job 33:15; Mt 27:19 u Ps 105:14
20:4 v Ge 18:25 20:6 w 1Sa 25:26, 34
20:7 x ver 17; 1Sa 7:5; Job 42:8
20:9 y Ge 12:18; 26:10; 34:7
20:11 z Ge 42:18; Ps 36:1 a Ge 12:12; 26:7
20:14 b Ge 12:16
20:15 c Ge 13:9 20:17 d Job 42:9 20:18 e Ge 12:17
36 So both of Lot’ s daugh ters be came preg nant by their fa ther. 37 The older daugh ter had a son, and she named him Moab a; he is the fa ther of the Mo ab ites n of to day. 38 The youn ger daugh ter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi b; he is the fa ther of the Ammonites c o of today.
Abraham and Abimelek
20:1-18Ref— Ge 12:10-20; 26:1-11
20 Now Abra ham moved on from there p into the re gion of the Negev and lived between Ka desh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Ge rar, q 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah,“ She is my sis ter. r” Then Abim e lek king of Ge rar sent for Sarah and took her. s
3 But God came to Abim e lek in a dream t one night and said to him,“ You are as good as dead be cause of the woman you have taken; she is a mar ried woman.” u
4 Now Abim e lek had not gone near her, so he said,“ Lord, will you de stroy an in no cent nation? v
5 Did he not say to me,‘ She is my sis ter,’ and didn’ t she also say,‘ He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear con science and clean hands.”
6 Then God said to him in the dream,“ Yes, I know you did this with a clear con science, and so I have kept w you from sin ning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now re turn the man’ s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you x and you will live. But if you do not re turn her, you may be sure that you and all who be long to you will die.”
8 Early the next morn ing Abim e lek sum moned all his of fi cials, and when he told them all that had hap pened, they were very much afraid. 9 Then Abim e lek called Abra ham in and said,“ What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my king dom? You have done things to me that should never be done. y” 10 And Abimelek asked Abraham,“ What was your reason for doing this?”
11 Abra ham re plied,“ I said to my self,‘ There is surely no fear of God z in this place, and they will kill me be cause of my wife.’ a 12 Be sides, she really is my sis ter, the daugh ter of my fa ther though not of my mother; and she be came my wife. 13 And when God had me wan der from my fa ther’ s house hold, I said to her,‘ This is how you can show your love to me: Ev ery where we go, say of me,“ He is my brother.”’”
14 Then Abim e lek brought sheep and cat tle and male and fe male slaves and gave them to Abraham, b and he re turned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abim e lek said,“ My land is before you; live wher ever you like.” c
16 To Sarah he said,“ I am giv ing your brother a thou sand shek els d of sil ver. This is to cover the of fense against you be fore all who are with you; you are com pletely vin di cated.”
17 Then Abra ham prayed to God, d and God healed Abim e lek, his wife and his fe male slaves so they could have chil dren again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in Abimelek’ s household from conceiving because of Abraham’ s wife Sarah. e
a 37 Moab sounds like the Hebrew for from father. b 38 Ben-Ammi means son of my father’ s people. c 38 Hebrew Bene-Ammon d 16 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms
19:37 – 38 Moab... Ben-Ammi. These names possibly reflect the circumstances by which the boys are conceived( see NIV text notes). In explaining the origin of the Moabites and Ammonites, this episode clearly casts them in a negative light. Later generations of Israelites may well have been suspicious of these nations.
20:1 – 18 Abraham and Abimelek. Sarah’ s abduction by the king of Gerar threatens to undermine God’ s promise that she will bear Abraham a son. Building on the earlier account of Sarah being taken by Phar aoh( 12:10 – 20), this episode stresses that Abimelek did not touch Sarah, an important consideration in the light of Isaac’ s subsequent birth( 21:1 – 7). 20:1 This episode opens by describing how Abraham moves to a location where he and Sarah are unknown. Gerar. Located in the south of what became known as Israel( see map, p. 2547). 20:2 Because they are unknown in Gerar, Abraham is able to claim that Sarah is his sister. The narrator provides no explanation as to why Abraham makes this claim, presuming that the reader is already familiar with 12:11 – 13. Abraham’ s actions suggest that he lacks faith in God to protect him. Abimelek. Means“ my father is king”; it was a common royal name( 26:1; Ps 34 superscription). 20:3 – 5 God’ s intervention ensures that no harm comes to Sarah. Abim elek rightly proclaims his innocence. Such details underline that he did not have intercourse with Sarah, excluding the possibility that he could be the father of Isaac. 20:3 in a dream. This is the first occasion in the OT when God communicates in this way( see 28:12; 31:10 – 11; 37:5 – 9; 40:5 – 8; 41:1). 20:7 prophet. Abraham is the first person the OT designates as a prophet. God’ s comments emphasize how Abraham is able to intercede on behalf of others, which he previously did for the righteous in Sodom( 18:16 – 33). 20:9 With justification Abimelek points to Abraham’ s deceptive behavior in calling Sarah his sister. guilt. May also be translated“ sin.” Canaanite texts designate adultery as a“ great sin.”
20:11 no fear of God in this place. As Abimelek’ s actions demonstrate, Abraham’ s expectations regarding the people of Gerar are mistaken. 20:12 Abraham looks to excuse his actions by noting that Sarah is his half sister. Abraham’ s use of this half-truth, however, has not prevented others from taking Sarah. But for God’ s intervention, Abimelek would not have returned Sarah to Abraham. 20:14 – 16 Although innocent, Abimelek makes restitution in public to Abraham for having taken Sarah. The king demonstrates that others should not attribute guilt to Sarah. 20:17 – 18 The healing of Abimelek, his wife, and his female slaves highlights God’ s ability to restore fertility. This anticipates the next episode, in which God restores to Sarah the ability to conceive and have a son. By noting that Abraham prayed for the restoration of Abim elek’ s household to normality, the narrator draws attention to the motif of others being blessed through Abraham( 12:3). This is the first occasion in the Bible when healing is associated with intercessory prayer.