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New King James Version
Genesis 20:1
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- CondensedParallel Translations
Avraham journeyed from there toward the land of the South, and lived between Kadesh and Shur. He sojourned in Gerar.
And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
And Abraham journeyed from there to the land of the Negev, and he settled between Kadesh and Shur. And he dwelled as an alien in Gerar.
Abraham left Hebron and traveled to southern Canaan where he stayed awhile between Kadesh and Shur. When he moved to Gerar,
Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident in Gerar,
Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the Negev (the South country), and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he lived temporarily in Gerar.
Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he lived for a time in Gerar.
Afterward Abraham departed thence toward the South countrey and dwelled betweene Cadesh and Shur, and soiourned in Gerar.
And Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar.
Abraham moved to the Southern Desert, where he settled between Kadesh and Shur. Later he went to Gerar, and while there
Avraham traveled from there toward the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. While living as an alien in G'rar,
And Abraham departed thence towards the south country, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned at Gerar.
Abraham left that place and traveled to the Negev. He settled in the city of Gerar, between Kadesh and Shur. While in Gerar,
From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.
AND Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and settled between Rakim and Gadar, and Abraham sojourned in Gadar.
Abraham moved from Mamre to the southern part of Canaan and lived between Kadesh and Shur. Later, while he was living in Gerar,
From there Abraham traveled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,
And Abraham pulled up stakes from there to the land of the Negeb, and lived between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar.
As for Abraham, he departed thence, into the south countre, and dwelt betwixte Cades and Sur, and was a straunger at Gerar,
And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the land of the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.
And Abraham went on his way from there to the land of the South, and was living between Kadesh and Shur, in Gerar.
And Abraham departed thence towarde the south countrey, & dwelled betweene Cades and Sur, and soiourned in Gerar.
And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the land of the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.
And Abraham iourneyed from thence, toward the South-Countrey, and dwelled betweene Cadesh and Shur, and soiourned in Gerar.
And Abraam removed thence to the southern country, and dwelt between Cades and Sur, and sojourned in Gerara.
And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the land of the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.
Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar,
Abraham yede forth fro thennus in to the lond of the south, and dwellide bitwixe Cades and Sur, and was a pilgrym in Geraris;
And Abraham journeyeth from thence toward the land of the south, and dwelleth between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourneth in Gerar;
And Abraham journeyed from thence towards the south country, and dwelt between Kadash and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the South, and lived between Kadesh and Shur. He sojourned in Gerar.
Abraham moved south to the Negev and lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur, and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there as a foreigner,
Abraham traveled from there to the land of the Negev, and made his home between Kadesh and Shur. Then he lived for a time in Gerar.
From there Abraham journeyed toward the region of the Negeb, and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While residing in Gerar as an alien,
And Abraham brake up from thence, towards the land of the South, and fixed his dwelling between Kadesh and Shur, so he sojourned in Gerar.
Abraham removed from thence to the south country, and dwelt between Cades and Sur, and sojourned in Gerara.
From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.
And Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur. And he sojourned in Gerar.
Abraham traveled from there south to the Negev and settled down between Kadesh and Shur. While he was camping in Gerar, Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She's my sister." So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. But God came to Abimelech in a dream that night and told him, "You're as good as dead—that woman you took, she's a married woman." Now Abimelech had not yet slept with her, hadn't so much as touched her. He said, "Master, would you kill an innocent man? Didn't he tell me, ‘She's my sister'? And didn't she herself say, ‘He's my brother'? I had no idea I was doing anything wrong when I did this." God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know your intentions were pure, that's why I kept you from sinning against me; I was the one who kept you from going to bed with her. So now give the man's wife back to him. He's a prophet and will pray for you—pray for your life. If you don't give her back, know that it's certain death both for you and everyone in your family." Abimelech was up first thing in the morning. He called all his house servants together and told them the whole story. They were shocked. Then Abimelech called in Abraham and said, "What have you done to us? What have I ever done to you that you would bring on me and my kingdom this huge offense? What you've done to me ought never to have been done." Abimelech went on to Abraham, "Whatever were you thinking of when you did this thing?" Abraham said, "I just assumed that there was no fear of God in this place and that they'd kill me to get my wife. Besides, the truth is that she is my half sister; she's my father's daughter but not my mother's. When God sent me out as a wanderer from my father's home, I told her, ‘Do me a favor; wherever we go, tell people that I'm your brother.'" Then Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, and along with her sent sheep and cattle and servants, both male and female. He said, "My land is open to you; live wherever you wish." And to Sarah he said, "I've given your brother a thousand pieces of silver—that clears you of even a shadow of suspicion before the eyes of the world. You're vindicated." Then Abraham prayed to God and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his maidservants, and they started having babies again. For God had shut down every womb in Abimelech's household on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
am cir, 2107, bc cir, 1897
from: Genesis 13:1, Genesis 18:1, Genesis 24:62
Kadesh: Genesis 14:7, Genesis 16:1, Genesis 16:7, Genesis 16:14, Numbers 13:26, Numbers 20:16, Deuteronomy 1:19, Deuteronomy 32:51, 1 Samuel 15:7, Psalms 29:8
Gerar: Gerar was a city of Arabia Petrea, under a king of the Philistines, 25 miles from Eleutheropolis beyond Daroma, in the south of Judah. From Genesis 10:19, it appears to have been situated in the angle where the south and west sides of Canaan met, and to have been not far from Gaza. Jerome, in his Hebrew Traditions on Genesis, says, from Gerar to Jerusalem was three days' journey. There was a wood near Gerar, spoken of by Theodoret; and a brook - Genesis 26:26, on which was a monastery, noticed by Sozomen. Genesis 10:19, Genesis 26:1, Genesis 26:6, Genesis 26:20, Genesis 26:26, 2 Chronicles 14:13, 2 Chronicles 14:14
Reciprocal: Genesis 21:34 - General Genesis 25:18 - Havilah Genesis 26:3 - Sojourn 1 Chronicles 16:20 - they went Psalms 105:14 - General
Cross-References
And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. [fn]
Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and attacked all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar.
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; [fn] observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, [fn] as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said to her, "This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, "He is my brother.""'
Then Abimelech took sheep, oxen, and male and female servants, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored Sarah his wife to him.
Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi, for he dwelt in the South.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And Abraham journeyed from thence towards the south country,.... He returned from the plains or oaks of Mamre, where he had lived fifteen or twenty years, into the more southern parts of the land of Canaan: the reason of this remove is not certain; some think, because he could not bear the stench of the sulphurous lake, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were become; and others, because of the scandal of Lot's incest with his daughters, which prejudiced the idolatrous people in those parts more against the true religion; neither of which are likely, by reason of the distance; but the better reason seems to be, that it was so ordered in Providence that he should remove from place to place, that it might appear that he was but a sojourner in the land:
and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; two wildernesses, as Jerom says y, one of which joined to Egypt, to which the people of Israel went when they passed over the Red sea, and the other, Kadesh, reached to the desert of the Saracens. Onkelos and Jonathan paraphrase the words between Rekam and Chagra, or Hagra, the same place where the angel of the Lord met with Hagar at the well, :- and
:-:
and sojourned in Gerar; or Gerara, as Jerom z calls it,
"from whence he says the Geraritic country in his time beyond Daroma, or the south, had its name, and was twenty five miles distance from Eleutheropolis to the south, and was formerly the southern border of the Canaanites, and the metropolis of Palestine.''
According to the Samaritan version, Gerar is the same with Ashkelon, which was afterwards, when aristocracy took place in this country, one of the five lordships of the Philistines; and so says Africanus a; and that Gerar was in the country of the Philistines, and Abimelech was king of them, is clear from Genesis 21:32. This place was about six miles from Mamre b, from whence Abraham removed.
y De loc. Heb. fol, 91. I. z De loc. Heb. fol. 91. I. a Apud Syncell. Chronic. p. 100. b Bunting's Travels, p. 57.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Abraham in Gerar
2. 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 nokachat an unusual form, either for נכחת nokaḥat the second person singular feminine perfect or נכחה nokeḥâh the third person singular feminine perfect, from a verb signifying in hiphil, “make straight, right.”
17. אמה 'āmâh “hand-maid,” free or bond. שׁפחה shı̂pchâh “bond-maid” 1 Samuel 25:41.
The concealment of his relation to Sarah calls to our mind a similar act of Abraham recorded not many pages back. We are to remember, however, that an interval of twenty-four years has elapsed since that event. From the present passage we learn that this was an old agreement between him and his wife, while they were wandering among strangers. It appears that Abraham was not yet conscious of anything wrong or even imprudent in this piece of policy. He therefore practises it without any hesitation. On this occasion he appears for the first time as a prophet. He is the first of this order introduced to our notice in the Old Testament, though Henok had prophesied at an earlier period Jude 1:14, and Noah’s benediction was, at the same time, a prediction.
Genesis 20:1-7
Abimelek takes Sarah. Abraham had been dwelling near Hebron. But the total separation between him and Lot, and the awful overthrow of Sodom and Amorah in the vicinity, may have loosened his tie to Hebron, and rendered it for the present not an agreeable place of residence. He therefore travels southward and takes up his abode at Gerar (see note on Genesis 10:19). Sarah, though now eighty-nine years of age, was as youthful in look as a person of forty would now be. She had, moreover, had no family, was remarkable for her good looks, and was at present, no doubt, renewed in health and vigor Genesis 12:11-16.
Genesis 20:3-7
The Supreme Being here appears as God אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym, and therefore in his eternal power and independence, as he was antecedent to the creation of man. He communicates with Abimelek in a dream. This prince addresses him as אדני 'ǎdonāy, “Lord.” We have already seen that the knowledge of the true God had not yet disappeared from the Gentile world, who were under the Noachic covenant. “Thou wilt die.” Thou art dying or at the point of death if thou persist. A deadly plague was already in the body of Abimelek, on account of Sarah. “Wilt thou slay a righteous nation also?” Abimelek associates his nation with himself, and expects that the fatal stroke will not be confined to his own person. He pleads his integrity in the matter, which the Lord acknowledges. Gentiles sometimes act according to the dictates of conscience, which still lives in them, though it be obscured by sin. Abimelek was innocent in regard to the “great sin” of seizing another man’s wife, of which God acquitted him. He was wrong in appropriating a woman to himself by mere stretch of power, and in adding wife to wife. But these were common customs of the time, for which his conscience did not upbraid him in his pleading with God. “And the God.” The presence of the definite article seems to intimate a contrast of the true God with the false gods to which the Gentiles were fast turning. Abimelek was at least in the doubtful ground on the borders of polytheism.
Genesis 20:7
Abraham is here designated by the Lord a prophet. This constituted at once the gravity of Abimelek’s offence Psalms 105:15, and the ground of his hope of pardon. It is at the same time a step in advance of all the previous spiritual attainments of Abraham. A prophet is God’s spokesman, who utters with authority certain of the things of God Exodus 7:1; Exodus 4:15. This implies two things: first, the things of God are known only to him, and therefore must be communicated by him; secondly, the prophet must be enabled of God to announce in correct terms the things made known to him. These things refer not only to the future, but in general to all such matters as fall within the purpose and procedure of God. They may even include things otherwise known or knowable by man, so far as these are necessary to the exposition of the divine will. Now Abraham has heretofore received many communications from God. But this did not constitute him a prophet. It is the divinely-authorized utterance of new truth which raises him to this rank. And Abraham’s first exercise in prophecy is not in speaking to men of God, but to God for men. “He shall pray for thee.” The prophetic and the priestly offices go together in the father of the faithful. These dignities belong to him, not from any absolute merit, for this he has not, but from his call to be the holder of the promise, and the father of that seed to whom the promises were made.
Genesis 20:8-13
Abimelek retraces his steps, and rectifies his conduct. He makes known his dream to his assembled court, who are filled with astonishment and apprehension. He then calls Abraham, and in bold and manly style remonstrates with him for leading him into error and sin. Abraham is apparently silent from confusion and self-condemnation. Abimelek, after a pause, demands of him his reason for so doing. Abraham now replies with great simplicity and candor. He had said within himself, “The fear of God is not in this place.” This is another indication that polytheism was setting in. He concluded that his life would be in danger on account of his wife, and resorted to his wonted expedient for safety. He had learned to trust in the Lord in all things; but he did not think this inconsistent with using all lawful means for personal security, and he was not yet fully alive to the unlawfulness of his usual pretence. He pleads also in extenuation that she is in reality his sister (see Genesis 12:19-20). “Caused me to wander.” The verb here is not necessarily plural. But if it be, it is only an instance of the literal, meaning of אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym, the Eternal Supernatural Powers, coming into view. “Thy kindness.” The old compact of Abraham with Sarah tended to palliate his conduct in the eyes of Abimelek, as he would see that it had no special reference to himself.
Genesis 20:14-18
Abimelek seems to have accepted his apology, as he probably felt that there was truth in the character Abraham gave of his people, and was precluded from resenting it by the salutary impression of his dream; while at the same time Abraham’s mode of avoiding danger appeared warrantable according to his own and the common code of morals. He therefore hastens to make honorable amends for his conduct. He makes Abraham a valuable present, restores his wife, and makes him free to dwell in any part of his dominions. He then accosts Sarah in respectful terms, informing her that he had presented her brother with one thousand silver pieces, probably shekels, on her account. He does not offer this directly to herself, that it may be distinctly understood that her honor was unstained. This may refer either to Abraham or to the sum of money. The latter is more natural, as the sentence then affords a reason for addressing Sarah, and mentioning this particular gift. “A covering of the eyes” does not mean a veil, the proper word for which is צעיף tsā‛ı̂yp, but is a figurative phrase for a recompense or pacificatory offering, in consideration of which an offence is overlooked. “Unto all that are with thee.” All her family were concerned in this public vindication of her character. “And all this that thou mayest be righted.” The original of this is most naturally taken as a part of Abimelek’s speech, and then it is to be translated as above. All this has been done or given that the injury to Sarah may be redressed. If the original be regarded as a part of the narrative, it must be rendered, “And all this (was done) that she might be righted.” The sense is the same in substance. In the former case the verb is in the second person, in the latter in the third.
Genesis 20:17-18
These verses record the fact of Abraham’s intercession for Abimelek, and explain in what sense he was on the point of dying (Genesis 20:3). “They bare” means that they were again rendered capable of procreating children, and in the natural course of things did so. The verb is in the masculine form, because both males and females were involved in this judicial malady. The name Yahweh is employed at the end of the chapter, because the relation of the Creator and Preserver to Sarah is there prominent.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER XX
Abraham leaves Mamre, and, after having sojourned at Kadesh and
Shur, settles in Gerar, 1.
Abimelech takes Sarah, Abraham having acknowledged her only as
his sister, 2.
Abimelech is warned by God in a dream to restore Sarah, 3.
He asserts his innocence, 4, 5.
He is farther warned, 6, 7.
Expostulates with Abraham, 8-10.
Abraham vindicates his conduct, 11-13.
Abimelech restores Sarah, makes Abraham a present of sheep,
oxen, and male and female slaves, 14;
offers him a residence in any part of the land, 15;
and reproves Sarah, 16.
At the intercession of Abraham, the curse of barrenness is removed
from Abimelech and his household, 17, 18.
NOTES ON CHAP. XX
Verse Genesis 20:1. And Abraham journeyed — It is very likely that this holy man was so deeply affected with the melancholy prospect of the ruined cities, and not knowing what was become of his nephew Lot and his family, that he could no longer bear to dwell within sight of the place. Having, therefore, struck his tents, and sojourned for a short time at Kadesh and Shur, he fixed his habitation in Gerar, which was a city of Arabia Petraea, under a king of the Philistines called Abimelech, my father king, who appears to have been not only the father of his people, but also a righteous man.
