Genesis 20:16 - Exposition

And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy Brother a thousand pieces of silver. Literally, a thousand of silver, the exact weight of each piece being uncertain. If sacred shekels (Gesenius, Keil, Kalisch) their value would be over £130, if shekels ordinary somewhat less. Behold, he— i.e. thy brother; or it, i.e. the present ( LXX ; Vulgate, Targums, Syriac)— is to thee a covering of the eyes. כְּסוּת עֵינַיִם (from a root signifying to cover over) has been understood as

and, according as the subject of the sentence has been regarded as Abraham or the sum of money, the sense of the clause has been given as either

The exact sense of this difficult passage can scarcely be said to have been determined, though of the above interpretations the choice seems to lie between the first and second. Unto all that are with thee, and with all other . I .e. in presence of thy domestics and of all with whom thou mayest yet mingle, either Abraham will be thy best defense, or let my gift be an atonement, or a veil, &c.; Thus she was reproved . וְנֹכָחַת . If a third person singular niph. of יָכַח (Onkelos, Arabic, Kimchi, Gesenius, Rosenmüller, Furst), then it is the historian's statement signifying that Sarah had been convicted, admonished, and left defenseless (Gesenius); or, connecting the preceding words וִאֶת־כֹּל , that, with regard to all, right had been obtained (Furst), or that all had been done that she might be righted (Murphy); but if a second person singular niph. ( LXX ; Vulgate, Delitzsch, Keil, Lange, Murphy, Kalisch), then it is a continuation of Abimelech's address, meaning neither καὶ πάντα ἀλήθευσον ( LXX .), nor memento te deprehensam (Vulgate), but either, " and thou art reproved" (Wordsworth), or, " and thou wilt be recognized" (Kalisch), or, again connecting with the preceding words, "and with all, so thou art justified or set right" (Delitzsch, Keil, Lange), or, "and all this that thou mayest be righted " (Murphy) or " reproved " (Ainsworth).