The First Book of Moses, called Genesis
Genesis 20
Chapter XX · Vol. I, pp. 244–245
1 Abraham sojourneth at Gerar, and denieth his wife, and loseth her. 3 Abimelech taketh her, but is reproved of God in a dream. 9 He rebuketh Abraham, 14 restoreth Sarah, and reproveth her. 17 He is healed at Abraham's prayer.
1 And Abraham journeyed from athence toward the south country,2 and dwelled between bKadesh and Shur, and sojourned in cGerar.3
a ch. 18.1.
2 'Toward the country of Negeb.'—P.
b De. 1. 19. ch. 14. 7; 16.14. 1 Sa. 15.7.
c ch. 26.1.20. 2 Ch. 14. 13,14.
3 Gerar was situated in a pastoral valley about twenty miles south-east of Gaza.—P.
2 And Abraham dsaid of Sarah his wife, She is my sister:4 and Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
d ch. 12.13; 26.7. Pr. 24.16. 2 Cr. 19.2; 20.37. Ep. 4.25. Col. 3.9.
4 We may not excuse Abraham for this second instance of equivocation, any more than for the first, ch. 12.13; but we can account for it by fear, ver. 11, rising against faith, see ch. 15.1.—Note, The overruling wisdom and grace of God converting the fault of Abraham into an occasion of manifesting his being and providence, and of inculcating upon a whole kingdom that most important public virtue, matrimonial fidelity. See ver. 3-7.—C.
3 But eGod came to Abimelech in a dream by night,3 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.
A.M. 2108. B.C. 1896.
e Ps. 105.14. Eze. 33.14. Jn. 3.4.
3 God seems often to have made known his will by dreams, in ordinary cases, as distinct from prophetical intimations. Such things may be done still. But all such supposed communications must be tried by the infallible standard of the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.—I.
4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, LORD, wilt thou fslay also a righteous nation?
f ch. 34.24. 2 Sa. 4.11, with ch. 18.25; ver. 17, 18.
5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity4 of my heart, and innocency of my hands, have I done this.
4 Or simplicity, or sincerity, 1 Ki. 9.4. 1 Ch. 29.17. Ps. 24.4; 73.13; 86.2.
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 gwithheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.
g ch. 31.7; 35.5. Ex. 34.24. 1 Sa. 25.26. Pr. 21.1. ch. 39.9. Ps. 51.4. Le. 6.2, with Ps. 81.12. 2 Th. 2.7,11.
7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a hprophet, and he shall ipray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, knowk thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
h Ps. 105.15; 25.14. He. 1.1.
i 1 Ki. 13.6. 2 Ki. 5.11. Je. 14.11; 15.1; 27.18. 2 Sa. 24.17. Job 42.8. Ja. 5.16. Re. 11.5,6.
k ver. 18; ch. 12.17. Ps. 105.14. Job 34.19. He. 13.4.
8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears:5 and the men were sore afraid.
5 It appears by this whole history of Abimelech, that he was a man of great virtue in those days, and not an idolater, but a worshipper of the true God, as Melchizedeck, the high-priest of the country, was; yet not so well acquainted with divine revelation as Abraham was.—Patrick.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, lWhat hast thou done unto us? And what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me, and on my kingdom, ma great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
l ch. 12.18; 26.10.
m ch. 39.9. He. 13.4. Le. 20.10. 2 Sa. 12.10,11. Ro. 2.14.
10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?6
6 Abimelech's expostulation and remonstrance were weighty, convincing, and mild; but Abraham's answer implied criminal distrust of God, groundless suspicion of the Gerarites, and a settled plan of misconduct; and his excuse was tinctured with equivocation.—I.
11 And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surelyn the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.
n Ps. 36.1-4; 14.4.
12 And yet indeed oshe 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 show unto me; at every place whither we shall come, psay of me, He is my brother.
p ch. 12.13.
14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and women-servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
15 And Abimelech said, Behold. my land is qbefore thee; dwell where it pleaseth thee.7
A.M. 2108. B.C. 1896.
q ch. 13.9.
7 Heb. as is good in thine eyes.
16 And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy rbrother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering8 of the eyes unto all that are with thee, and with all other. sThus she was reproved.9
r ver. 3. Pr. 27.5.
8 The present of silver being 'destined' to the purchase of a covering of the eyes, or veil for Sarah and all her married household, seems to have been a parabolic act.—C.
s Jn. 1.6.
9 The reproof seems to be in calling Abraham her brother, and thereby reminding her of having joined in his equivocation.—Note, The wife who was appointed an help meet for man in innocency, should not now become his helper in sin; or the husband, who is constituted head of the wife, should not pervert his authority to weaken, but employ it to strengthen and confirm her, in good.—C.
Notes
Ver. 3. God often intimated his mind in dreams, ch. 28. 12; 31. 24; 37. 5; 40. 8; 41. 1; 1 Ki. 3. 5; Je. 23. 25, 28, 32; Da. 2. 1; 4. 5.
Ver. 4. He was afraid that he, or even his subjects, however innocent in this point, might for his sake, 2 Sa. 24. 17; 1 Ch. 21. 17; Je. 15. 4, be destroyed as the Sodomites had been.
Ver. 7. Abraham was a prophet and interpreter of God's will, Ex. 7. 11, and one to whom he freely and familiarly manifested his perfections and purposes, Am. 3. 7.
Ver. 11. The true fear of God is not a slavish dread of him, as ch. 15. 1; but an abiding, kindly, and reverential awe of him, wrought in the heart by his Spirit—disposing and enabling to keep his commandments, and to hate and avoid whatever is sinful, Je. 32. 40; Ec. 12. 13; Pr. 8. 13; 16. 6; Ge. 22. 12; 39. 9; 42. 18; Ne. 5. 15; Job 1. 1; Ro. 3. 18.
Ver. 16. Either he gave this present of about £115 sterling to Sarah, to purchase veils for her and her maidens, for the concealment of their beauty; or to Abraham, as a memorial for Sarah to take heed henceforth to own him, not as her brother, but as her husband, as the best safeguard of her chastity.—[Kalisch gives what appears to be the true meaning of this obscure passage. He translates it thus:—'And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given to thy brother a thousand shekels of silver[≈ 11 kg · 25 lb · silver worth ≈ US$20,000]: behold, he is to thee a protection, and to all who are with thee, and with all: and thou wilt be recognized.' His exposition is as follows:—'Since Sarah deserved likewise a compensation for the anxiety suffered by her in the house of the stranger, he gave to Abraham for her a thousand shekels of silver[≈ 11 kg · 25 lb · silver worth ≈ US$20,000], and addressed to her a remark embodying the experience which he had just made, and the respect with which it inspired him; he said, though she might profess that Abraham was her brother, he was her protector against every man; she might be taken by others as his sister, but she would soon be known and convicted of being his wife by the supernatural interference of God, who, both in his case and that of the Egyptian king, had watched over her purity.' P.]
Reflections.—In my wanderings through this world let me commit myself and all my concerns to God, as my God! If Jehovah be my God, my shield, and my exceeding great reward, I have no need of assistance or protection from Satan, nor of any evasive arts to shelter me from danger. Never therefore let remarkable favours from God be immediately followed with sinful unwatchfulness and fear of man, which causeth a snare! And if I have been once overcome by them, let me take heed to my steps, lest my last error be worse than my first; but especially if I have real grace, let me beware of becoming a tempter to the profane or graceless! How much God detests uncleanness! To prevent it he inflicts judgments upon and gives extraordinary warnings even to heathens. How pitiful are the best excuses which men, particularly saints, can make for their sinning! And it must be considered as an infinite mercy that God, though he sometimes puts his people to shame for their folly, takes more care of their honour, and especially of the honour of his promises, than they do. And the prayers of penitent saints are profitable to the greatest men upon earth.
Measures in square brackets are modern equivalents added for this edition. They are not in the King James text or in Brown’s notes. They use common scholarly estimates: a cubit is about 45.7 cm (18 in), a shekel about 11.4 g (0.4 oz), an ephah about 22 litres. Money values give the worth of the silver or gold at spot prices on 28 October 2026, not what the sum would buy in the ancient world.