Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother. From which it is clear that the Philistine monarch, equally with the Egyptian Pharaoh, shrank from the sin of adultery. In the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. I .e. he assumes the right of kings to take unmarried persons into their harems, read more
- Abraham in Gerar2. אבימלך .2 'ǎbı̂ymelek, Abimelekh, “father of the king.”7. נביא nābı̂y' “prophet,” he who speaks by God, of God, and to God, who declares to people not merely things future, but also things past and present, that are not obvious to the sense or the reason; related: “flow, go forth.”13. התעוּ hı̂t‛û is plural in punctuation, agreeing grammatically with אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym. ו(w), however, may be regarded as the third radical, and the verb may thus really be singular.16. נכהת... read more
Genesis 20:3. But God came to Abimelech in a dream It appears by this that God revealed himself by dreams, which evidenced themselves to be divine and supernatural, not only to his servants the prophets, but even to those that were out of the pale of the church; but then usually it was with some regard to God’s own people. read more
Genesis 20:4. Wilt thou also slay a righteous nation? He probably referred to the late destruction of Sodom and the cities of the plain, which, no doubt, must have caused great consternation, if not also some degree of reformation, in that neighbourhood. As Abimelech’s plea was not rejected by the Lord, there is reason to hope that both he and his subjects were not only free from the abominations of Sodom, and from the reigning idolatries of Canaan, but that the fear of God, and some... read more
Abraham deceives Abimelech (20:1-18)From Hebron Abraham moved into the territory of the Philistine king Abimelech. As a result of Abraham’s deceit concerning Sarah, Abimelech took Sarah as a wife and brought God’s threat of death upon him (20:1-7). Upon discovering the truth, Abimelech acted quickly and honourably. He restored Sarah’s honour in the eyes of the people, gave gifts to Abraham, and invited Abraham to settle in his land (8-16). Humbled by these events, Abraham turned again in faith... read more
dream. 20 recorded in Scripture (see App-10 ). Genesis 20:3 ; Genesis 28:12 ; Genesis 31:10 , Genesis 31:24 ; Genesis 37:5 , Genesis 37:9 ; Genesis 40:5 , Genesis 40:6 ; Genesis 41:1 , Genesis 41:5 , Genesis 41:5 .Judges 7:13 . 1 Kings 3:5 .Daniel 2:3 ; Daniel 4:5 ; Daniel 7:1 .Matthew 1:20 ; Matthew 2:12 , Matthew 2:13 , Matthew 2:19 ; Matthew 27:19 . man . . . for. Figure of speech Aposiopesis, or "sudden silence". We must supply "If thou dost not restore her"; or "I will slay thee". See... read more
LORD* = Jehovah. One of the 134 emendations of the Sopherim. See App-32 . also, i.e. as well as Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 19:0 . nation. Abimelech evidently expected God to slay the whole nation. read more
"And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech sent, and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, because of the woman thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife."This was not merely the second offense of Abraham after this manner, but it was just another outcropping of what had been a regular procedure by him and Sarah throughout the many years of their wanderings, as indicated by Genesis 20:13. The... read more
"Now Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay even a righteous nation? Said he not himself unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and the innocency of my hands have I done this. And God said unto him in the dream, Yea, I know that in the integrity of thy heart hast thou done this, and I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her."It is important to note that... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 20:4
But Abimelech had not come near her . Apparently withheld by the peculiar disease which had overtaken him. The statement of the present verse (a similar one to which is not made with reference to Pharaoh) was clearly rendered necessary by the approaching birth of Isaac, who might otherwise have been said to be the child not of Abraham, but of the Philistine king. And he said, Lord ,—Adonai ( vide Genesis 15:2 )— wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Anticipating that the stroke... read more