Genesis 20

1And Abraham journeyeth from thence toward the land of the south, and dwelleth between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourneth in Gerar;

2and Abraham saith concerning Sarah his wife, ‘She is my sister;’ and Abimelech king of Gerar sendeth and taketh Sarah.

3And God cometh in unto Abimelech in a dream of the night, and saith to him, ‘Lo, thou [art] a dead man, because of the woman whom thou hast taken — and she married to a husband.’

4And Abimelech hath not drawn near unto her, and he saith, ‘Lord, also a righteous nation dost thou slay?

5hath not he himself said to me, She [is] my sister! and she, even she herself, said, He [is] my brother; in the integrity of my heart, and in the innocency of my hands, I have done this.’

6And God saith unto him in the dream, ‘Yea, I — I have known that in the integrity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I withhold thee, even I, from sinning against Me, therefore I have not suffered thee to come against her;

7and now send back the man's wife, for he [is] inspired, and he doth pray for thee, and live thou; and if thou do not send back, know that dying thou dost die, thou, and all that thou hast.’

8And Abimelech riseth early in the morning, and calleth for all his servants, and speaketh all these words in their ears; and the men fear exceedingly;

9and Abimelech calleth for Abraham, and saith to him, ‘What hast thou done to us? and what have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought upon me, and upon my kingdom, a great sin? works which are not done thou hast done with me.’

10Abimelech also saith unto Abraham, ‘What hast thou seen that thou hast done this thing?’

11And Abraham saith, ‘Because I said, ‘Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they have slain me for the sake of my wife;

12and also, truly she is my sister, daughter of my father, only not daughter of my mother, and she becometh my wife;

13and it cometh to pass, when God hath caused me to wander from my father's house, that I say to her, This [is] thy kindness which thou dost with me: at every place whither we come, say of me, He [is] my brother.’

14And Abimelech taketh sheep and oxen, and servants and handmaids, and giveth to Abraham, and sendeth back to him Sarah his wife;

15and Abimelech saith, ‘Lo, my land [is] before thee, where it is good in thine eyes, dwell;’

16and to Sarah he hath said, ‘Lo, I have given a thousand silverlings to thy brother; lo, it is to thee a covering of eyes, to all who are with thee;’ and by all this she is reasoned with.

17And Abraham prayeth unto God, and God healeth Abimelech and his wife, and his handmaids, and they bear:

18for Jehovah restraining had restrained every womb of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

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Genesis 20

Abraham and Abimelech

1From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between #ch. 16:7, 14 Kadesh and Shur; and he #ch. 26:3 sojourned in #ch. 26:6Gerar. 2And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, #See ch. 12:13-20; 26:7-11“She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3#Ps. 105:14 But God came to Abimelech #Job 33:15, 16; Matt. 1:20; 2:12in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, #ch. 18:23; [1 Chr. 21:17]“Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning #ch. 39:9; Ps. 51:4against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. 7Now then, return the man’s wife, #1 Sam. 7:5; Job 42:8 for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you #[Num. 16:32, 33]and all who are yours.”

8So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, #Prov. 16:6 ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and #ch. 12:12; 26:7they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12Besides, #[ch. 11:29]she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13And when #ch. 12:1 God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, #ch. 12:13say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

14Then Abimelech #ch. 12:16took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15And Abimelech said, “Behold, #ch. 13:9; 34:10my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given #[ver. 5] your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is #[ch. 24:65]a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all#20:16 Hebrew It is a covering of eyes for all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” 17Then #[James 5:16]Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18For the Lord #[ch. 12:17]had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

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