# Genesis 20 📖: Abraham and Abimelech [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Genesis Overview]] | [[Genesis 19]] | [[Genesis 21]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Abraham and Abimelech [[#Verse 01.]] Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident in Gerar,  [[#Verse 02.]] Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. [[#Verse 03.]] But God appeared to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” [[#Verse 04.]] Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, would you really slaughter an innocent nation?  [[#Verse 05.]] Did Abraham not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience and with innocent hands!” [[#Verse 06.]] Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. That is why I have kept you from sinning against me and why I did not allow you to touch her.  [[#Verse 07.]] But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed he is a prophet and he will pray for you; thus you will live. But if you don’t give her back, know that you will surely die along with all who belong to you.” [[#Verse 08.]] Early in the morning Abimelech summoned all his servants. When he told them about all these things, they were terrified.  [[#Verse 09.]] Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done!”  [[#Verse 10.]] Then Abimelech asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” [[#Verse 11.]] Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of my wife.’  [[#Verse 12.]] What’s more, she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. [[#Verse 13.]] When God made me wander from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’” [[#Verse 14.]] So Abimelech gave sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him.  [[#Verse 15.]] Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” [[#Verse 16.]] To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given 1,000 pieces of silver to your ‘brother.’ This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” [[#Verse 17.]] Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children.  [[#Verse 18.]] For the Lord had caused infertility to strike every woman in the household of Abimelech because he took Sarah, Abraham’s wife. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Gerar was in the southern region near Gaza. 2. This is the first time the Bible uses the word "prophet" (20:7). 3. God speaks to a foreign king in a dream (20:3), as He later does with Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar. 4. Abraham explains that Sarah was his half sister (20:12). 5. Abimelech is likely a royal title meaning "my father is king." 6. Abimelech gave Abraham livestock, servants, and a thousand pieces of silver (20:14, 16). 7. God closed the wombs of Abimelech's household until Abraham prayed (20:18). 8. Sarah was about 90 at the time, yet the king still took her. 9. This story comes right before Isaac's birth, showing how God protected the promise. 10. Isaac later repeats the same lie in Gerar (26:7). ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the faithful One even when we are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13). God protected Sarah despite Abraham's failure, and Abraham's prayer brought healing (20:17). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Abraham repeated the same lie he told in Egypt (20:2; 12:13). Why do old patterns of sin come back? 2. God kept Abimelech from sinning (20:6). How have you seen God protect you from things you did not know about? 3. Abraham assumed there was no fear of God in that place (20:11). How can our assumptions about others lead us astray? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 6: God kept Abimelech from sinning. - 📖 verse 7: God calls Abraham a prophet who will pray for Abimelech. - 📖 verse 17: Abraham prays, and God heals Abimelech's household. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[Genesis 12#Verse 10.|Genesis 12:10-20]] - Abraham's first lie about Sarah. - 🔗 [[Genesis 26#Verse 06.|Genesis 26:6-11]] - Isaac repeats his father's lie. - 🔗 [[2 Timothy 02#Verse 13.|2 Timothy 2:13]] - God remains faithful. - 🔗 [[Psalm 105#Verse 14.|Psalm 105:14-15]] - Do not touch My anointed ones. - 🔗 [[James 05#Verse 16.|James 5:16]] - Pray for one another so that you may be healed. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Genesis 20- SOAP|The Lord Blesses Us Through Rejection]] ## 📂 Internal Notes