Genesis 20:14-16 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 20:14-18

Here is, I. The kindness of a prince which Abimelech showed to Abraham. See how unjust Abraham's jealousies were. He fancied that if they knew that Sarah was his wife they would kill him; but, when they did know it, instead of killing him they were kind to him, frightened at least to be so by the divine rebukes they were under. 1. He gives him his royal licence to dwell where he pleased in his country, courting his stay because he gives him his royal gifts (Gen. 20:14), sheep and oxen, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 20:14

And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham ,.... In a good measure satisfied with what Abraham had said to excuse himself; and these gifts he gave unto him, that he might, as Jarchi observes, pray and intercede for him, that he and his family might be healed, having understood by the divine oracle that he was a prophet, and if he prayed for him he would be restored to health: and these were not given to bribe him to give his consent... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 20:15

And Abimelech said, behold, my whole land is before thee ,.... Instead of bidding him be gone, and sending him away in haste out of his country, as the king of Egypt did in a like case, he solicits his stay in it; and to encourage him to it, makes an offer of his whole kingdom to him, to choose which part of it he would to dwell in: dwell where it pleaseth thee ; if there was anyone part of it better than another, or more convenient for him, his family and his flocks, he was welcome to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 20:16

And unto Sarah he said, behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver ,.... Or shekels of silver, as the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem, which, if two shillings and sixpence of our money, amount to one hundred and twenty five pounds; though perhaps little pieces of silver, current in this country, may be meant, that were not worth so much. Some think that the sheep, oxen, &c.; Abimelech had given to Abraham, were worth so many pieces of silver: but it rather seems... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 20:16

And unto Sarah he said - But what did he say? Here there is scarcely any agreement among interpreters; the Hebrew is exceedingly obscure, and every interpreter takes it in his own sense. A thousand pieces of silver - Shekels are very probably meant here, and so the Targum understands it. The Septuagint has χιλια διδραχμα , a thousand didrachma, no doubt meaning shekels; for in Genesis 23:15 , Genesis 23:16 , this translation uses διδραχμα for the Hebrew שקל shekel . As shakal... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 20:14

Verse 14 14.And Abimelech took sheep. Abraham had before received possessions and gifts in Egypt; but with this difference, that whereas Pharaoh had commanded him to depart elsewhere; Abimelech offers him a home in his kingdom. It therefore appears that both kings were stricken with no common degree of fear. For when they perceived that they were reproved by the Lord, because they had been troublesome to Abraham; they found no method of appeasing God, except that of compensating, by acts of... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 20:16

Verse 16 16.He is to thee a covering of the eyes. Because there is, in these words, some obscurity, the passage is variously explained. The beginning of the verse is free from difficulty. For when Abimelech had given a thousand pieces of silver; in order that his liberality might not be suspected, he declare6 that he had given them to Abraham; and that since Abraham had been honorably received, his wife was not to be regarded as a harlot. But what follows is more obscure, ‘He shall be a veil to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 20:1-18

Abraham in Gerar, or two royal sinners. I. THE SIN OF THE HEBREW PATRIARCH 1. An old sin repeated . "Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister." Twenty years before the same miserable equivocation had been circulated in Egypt. A sin once committed is not difficult to repeat, especially if its legitimate consequences, as in the case of Abraham and Sarah, have been mercifully averted. One is apt to fancy that a like immunity will attend its repetition. 2. A ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 20:14

And Abimelech —as Pharaoh did ( Genesis 12:18 ), but with a different motive—to ok sheep, and oxen, and men-servants, and women-servants . The LXX . and Samaritan insert "a thousand didrachmas" after "took," in order to include Sarah's present, mentioned in Genesis 20:16 ; but the two donations are separated in order to distinguish them as Abraham's gift and Sarah's respectively (Rosenmüller, Delitzsch), or the sum of money may indicate the value of the sheep and oxen, &c.; which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 20:15

And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. Literally, in the good in thine eyes ; the generous Philistine offering him a settlement within his borders, whereas the Egyptian monarch hastened his departure from the country ( Genesis 12:20 ). read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 20:14-18

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 20:14

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 20:15

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 20:16

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 20:16

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 20:14

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 20:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 20:1-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 20:14

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 20:15

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