Genesis 20
20
Abraham and Abimelek
Ge 12:10–20; 26:1–11
1#Ge 26:6; 18:1Abraham journeyed from there toward the Negev, settled between Kadesh and Shur, and then he sojourned in Gerar. 2#Ge 12:15; 26:7Then Abraham said about Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So Abimelek, king of Gerar, sent for her and took Sarah.
3#Job 33:15; Ps 105:14But God came to Abimelek in a dream by night and said to him, “You are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”
4#Ge 18:23–25; 1Ch 21:17Abimelek had not gone near her, and he said, “Lord, will You slay a righteous nation? 5#1Ki 9:4; Ps 7:8Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and did not even she herself say, ‘He is my brother’? In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”
6#1Sa 25:26; 25:34And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also kept you from sinning against Me. Therefore, I did not let you touch her. 7#1Sa 7:5; Job 42:8Therefore return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet and he will pray for you. Moreover, you will live. However, if you do not return her, know that you will surely die, you and all who are yours.”
8So Abimelek rose early in the morning, and called all his servants and told them all these things, and the men were very afraid. 9#Ge 12:18; 26:10Then Abimelek called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I offended you that you would bring on me and on my kingdom a great sin? You have done things to me that should not have been done.” 10Then Abimelek said to Abraham, “What were you thinking of, that you did this thing?”
11#Ge 12:12; 26:7Abraham said, “Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will slay me because of my wife. 12#Ge 11:29Still, indeed, she is my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. She became my wife. 13#Ge 12:1; 12:9When God caused me to travel from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is your kindness which you must show me: Every place where we go, say concerning me, He is my brother.’ ”
14#Ge 12:16Then Abimelek took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him. 15#Ge 13:9; 34:10Abimelek said, “My land is before you; settle wherever it pleases you.”
16#Ge 20:5; Pr 27:5To Sarah he said, “I have given your brother a thousand shekels of silver.#About 25 pounds, or 12 kilograms. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.”
17#Jas 5:16So Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children. 18#Ge 12:17For the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelek because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Military Bible Association
Genesis 20
20
1-2a Abraham traveled from there south to the Negev and settled down between Kadesh and Shur. While he was camping in Gerar, Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She’s my sister.”
2b-3 So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. But God came to Abimelech in a dream that night and told him, “You’re as good as dead—that woman you took, she’s a married woman.”
4-5Now Abimelech had not yet slept with her, hadn’t so much as touched her. He said, “Master, would you kill an innocent man? Didn’t he tell me, ‘She’s my sister’? And didn’t she herself say, ‘He’s my brother’? I had no idea I was doing anything wrong when I did this.”
6-7God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know your intentions were pure, that’s why I kept you from sinning against me; I was the one who kept you from going to bed with her. So now give the man’s wife back to him. He’s a prophet and will pray for you—pray for your life. If you don’t give her back, know that it’s certain death both for you and everyone in your family.”
8-9Abimelech was up first thing in the morning. He called all his house servants together and told them the whole story. They were shocked. Then Abimelech called in Abraham and said, “What have you done to us? What have I ever done to you that you would bring on me and my kingdom this huge offense? What you’ve done to me ought never to have been done.”
10Abimelech went on to Abraham, “Whatever were you thinking of when you did this thing?”
11-13Abraham said, “I just assumed that there was no fear of God in this place and that they’d kill me to get my wife. Besides, the truth is that she is my half sister; she’s my father’s daughter but not my mother’s. When God sent me out as a wanderer from my father’s home, I told her, ‘Do me a favor; wherever we go, tell people that I’m your brother.’”
14-15Then Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, and along with her sent sheep and cattle and servants, both male and female. He said, “My land is open to you; live wherever you wish.”
16And to Sarah he said, “I’ve given your brother a thousand pieces of silver—that clears you of even a shadow of suspicion before the eyes of the world. You’re vindicated.”
17-18Then Abraham prayed to God and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his maidservants, and they started having babies again. For God had shut down every womb in Abimelech’s household on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.