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 signifies literally to weigh, and the shekel was a coin of such a weight, Mr. Ainsworth and others think this to be the origin of our word scale, the instrument to weigh with.

The shekel of the sanctuary weighed twenty gerahs, Exodus 30:13 . And according to the Jews, the gerah weighed sixteen grains of barley. R. Maimon observes, that after the captivity the shekel was increased to three hundred and eighty-four grains or barley-corns. On the subject of ancient weights and measures, very little that is satisfactory is known.

Behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes - It - the one thousand shekels, (not he - Abraham), is to thee for a covering - to procure thee a veil to conceal thy beauty (unto all that are with thee, and with all other) from all thy own kindred and acquaintance, and from all strangers, that none, seeing thou art another mans wife; may covet thee on account of thy comeliness.

Thus she was reproved - The original is ונכחת venochachath , but the word is probably the second person preterite , used for the imperative mood, from the root נכח nachach , to make straight, direct, right; or to speak rightly, correctly; and may, in connection with the rest of the text, be thus paraphrased: Behold, I have given thy Brother (Abraham, gently alluding to the equivocation, Genesis 20:2 , Genesis 20:5 ;) a thousand shekels of silver; behold, It is (that is, the silver is, or may be, or let it be) to thee a covering of the eyes (to procure a veil; see above) with regard to all those who are with thee; and to all (or and in all) speak thou the truth. Correctly translated by the Septuagint, και παντα αληθευσον , and in all things speak the truth - not only tell a part of the truth, but tell the whole; say not merely he is my brother, but say also, he is my husband too. Thus in All things speak the truth. I believe the above to be the sense of this difficult passage, and shall not puzzle my readers with criticisms. See Kennicott.