> [[genesis-19|← Previous]] | [[genesis-00|TOC]] | [[genesis-21|Next →]] --- # Genesis, Chapter 20 **[[abraham|Abraham]] at Gerar.** 1 From there [[abraham|Abraham]] journeyed on to the region of the Negeb, where he settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he resided in Gerar as an alien, ^genesis-20-1 2 [[abraham|Abraham]] said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah. ^genesis-20-2 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him: You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she has a husband. ^genesis-20-3 4 Abimelech, who had not approached her, said: “O Lord, would you kill an innocent man? ^genesis-20-4 5 Was he not the one who told me, ‘She is my sister’? She herself also stated, ‘He is my brother.’ I acted with pure heart and with clean hands.” ^genesis-20-5 6 God answered him in the dream: Yes, I know you did it with a pure heart. In fact, it was I who kept you from sinning against me; that is why I did not let you touch her. ^genesis-20-6 7 So now, return the man’s wife so that he may intercede for you, since he is a prophet, that you may live. If you do not return her, you can be sure that you and all who are yours will die. ^genesis-20-7 8 Early the next morning Abimelech called all his servants and informed them of everything that had happened, and the men were filled with fear. ^genesis-20-8 9 Then Abimelech summoned [[abraham|Abraham]] and said to him: “What have you done to us! What wrong did I do to you that you would have brought such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have treated me in an intolerable way. ^genesis-20-9 10 What did you have in mind,” Abimelech asked him, “that you would do such a thing?” ^genesis-20-10 11 [[abraham|Abraham]] answered, “I thought there would be no fear of God in this place, and so they would kill me on account of my wife. ^genesis-20-11 12 Besides, she really is my sister, but only my father’s daughter, not my mother’s; and so she became my wife. ^genesis-20-12 13 When God sent me wandering from my father’s house, I asked her: ‘Would you do me this favor? In whatever place we come to, say: He is my brother.’” ^genesis-20-13 14 Then Abimelech took flocks and herds and male and female slaves and gave them to [[abraham|Abraham]]; and he restored his wife Sarah to him. ^genesis-20-14 15 Then Abimelech said, “Here, my land is at your disposal; settle wherever you please.” ^genesis-20-15 16 To Sarah he said: “I hereby give your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This will preserve your honor before all who are with you and will exonerate you before everyone.” ^genesis-20-16 17 [[abraham|Abraham]] then interceded with God, and God restored health to Abimelech, to his wife, and his maidservants, so that they bore children; ^genesis-20-17 18 for the LORD had closed every womb in Abimelech’s household on account of [[abraham|Abraham]]’s wife Sarah. ^genesis-20-18 \* (20:1] – [18) [[abraham|Abraham]] again passes off his wife Sarah as his sister to escape trouble in a foreign land (cf. [12:10] – [13:1], the J source). The story appears to be from a different source (according to some, E) and deals with the ethical questions of the incident. [Gn 26:6] – [11] is yet another retelling of the story, but with Isaac and Rebekah as characters instead of [[abraham|Abraham]] and Sarah. \* (20:1) Kadesh and Shur: Kadesh-barnea was a major oasis on the southernmost border of Canaan, and Shur was probably the “way to Shur,” the road to Egypt. Gerar was a royal city in the area, but has not been identified with certainty. \* (20:6) Abimelech is exonerated of blame, but by that fact not cleared of the consequences of his act. He is still under the sentence of death for abducting another man’s wife; the consequences result from the deed not the intention. \* (20:7) Prophet: only here is [[abraham|Abraham]] explicitly called “prophet,” Hebrew *nabi* (cf. [Ps 105:15]). \* (20:11) Fear of God is the traditional though unsatisfactory rendering of Hebrew *yir’at YHWH*, literally, “revering Yahweh.” The phrase refers neither to the emotion of fear nor to religious reverence of a general kind. Rather it refers to adherence to a single deity (in a polytheistic culture), honoring that deity with prayers, rituals, and obedience. The phrase occurs again in [26:24]; [43:23]; and [50:19]. It is very common in the wisdom literature of the Bible. \* (20:12) My sister: marrying one’s half sister was prohibited later in Israel’s history. a. (20:13) [[genesis-12|Gen 12]]:13.. --- ## Navigation [[genesis-00|[← Previous]]] · [[genesis-01|[Next →]]] --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[genesis-19|← Previous]] | [[genesis-00|TOC]] | [[genesis-21|Next →]]