Preface: Abraham and his wife go to Gerar and Moses again convinces his wife to say she is his sister.

Preface: Once again, Abraham will tell a half-truth about his relationship to Sarah, and the king of Gerar, the authority of the land where Abraham has moved to, will take Sarah as his wife.

I have to admit that, based on a precursory glance, I wondered if there would be anything in this chapter that was really important (as we have a similar narrative in two other places). However, I have come to find that this is a powerful, information-packed chapter.

This is a deceptive little chapter. First of all, it seems very similar to the time that Abraham went to Egypt and lied about Sarah. Later on, in Genesis 26, Isaac will lie to Abimelech about his wife. So, at first we might think this chapter to be repetitive and perhaps even disconcerting to those of us who believe in the inspiration of Scripture (is this merely a tradition handed down from 3 different sources?). And it is a scant 18 verses long. For these reasons, a great many commentators chose not to even comment on this chapter. That is a big mistake.

One of the most important aspects of this chapter is, Abraham is clearly set up as a type of Christ, both as a man who represents God to man, and as a man who represents man to God. He will intercede on behalf of Abimelech, and heal him. In all of this, Abraham illustrates the Messiah to come. Not only is this quite amazing, but I do not believe that many commentators fully appreciated this.

Fundamental to this chapter is the concept of grace. God is about to bless Abraham and Sarah with a child—a child who will be a type of Christ—who begins the line of promise and is a sign of the good things to come (that is, the fulfillment of God’s many blessings which He has promised to Abraham). And what does Abraham do, literally a month or so before his wife is to conceive—he gets himself into a jackpot in Gerar by lying to the king, and exposes his wife to another man. Abraham puts everything at risk. What Abraham potentially has done here is put his position as father of the Jews into question for all time. He could not have done anything more stupid or dishonorable. All of a sudden, Abraham is doubting God and God’s protection, despite the fact that God has been with Him for all this time. But, despite Abraham’s failure, God does not withdraw His blessing from him. God pours on the blessing. If you understand grace, you are fine with all this. If you do not understand grace, then this chapter becomes confusing. Abraham fails again, and yet, God still blesses him? And Abraham is already a rich man, and God blesses him more. This chapter should rock the world of the legalist. Furthermore, it ought to rock the world of those who believe in covenant theology. They believe that God finally just gave up on the Jews and gave their inheritance away to us, Church Age believers. Then why didn’t God do that right here? Why didn’t God say to Abraham, “Look, you are not the man I thought you were; you have failed me again and again. You just hang out here and do whatever and I will find someone else worthy of My blessings.” But God does not do that. God not only blesses this failure (and right after he failed too), but God later calls Abraham His friend.

Outline of Chapter 20:

Introduction

         vv.     1–2           Thinking That Sarah Is Abraham’s Sister, King Abimelech Takes Her to Wife

         vv.     3–7           God Warns Abimelech of His Sin

         vv.     8–16         Abimelech Returns Sarah to Abraham

         vv.    17–18         Abraham Prays for God’s Judgement to be Lifted from Abimelech’s House

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Parallels between Genesis 19 and Genesis 20

         Introduction         The Prequel of Genesis 20

         Introduction         The Principals of Genesis 20

         Introduction         The Abrahamic Timeline for Genesis 20

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Genesis 20

         Introduction         Matthew Henry’s Outline for Genesis 20

         Introduction         Hajime Murai Organizes Genesis 20:1–18

         v.       1              The Negev; a Graphic and Explanation

         v.       1              A map of Abraham’s journeys

         v.       1              Map of Gerar, Shur and Kedesh-barnea

         v.       1              Kedesh of Judah (a.k.a. Kadesh or Kadesh-barnea)

         v.       1              Map of Gerar and Beersheba

         v.       1              Map of Shur, the Negev and Gerar

         v.       1              Map 12: of the Arabah, Negeb, Wildernesses of Zin and Paran

         v.       1              Speculation: Why did Abraham move?

         v.       2              So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah (a painting)

         v.       2              Summarizing logical points of speculation from Genesis 20:2

         v.       2              Alan Carr: Sin Cannot Derail God's Plan

         v.       3              The 20 Dreams of Scripture

         v.       3              The Bible Query on, Why didn’t Abimelech die?

         v.       3              Doctrine of The Sin Unto Death

         v.       3              How Shem’s Lifetime Overlapped Abraham’s Lifetime

         v.       5              The Poetic Nature of Abimelech’s Words

         v.       6              Examples of God’s protective, overruling will

         v.       7              Commentators on the Use of the word “Prophet” in Genesis 20:7

         v.       7              The Parallels Between the Coming Savior and Abraham in Genesis 20

         v.       8              The Little Prince Meets the King

         v.       8              Had Abimelech believed in the Revealed God?

         v.       9              Abimelech Rebukes Abraham (Graphic)

         v.       9              Whedon Notes the Poetic Nature of Abimelech’s Words

         v.      10              What is fundamental to a good nation?

         v.      10              What is not fundamental to a good nation?

         v.      11              The Abbreviated Doctrine of Fear of the Lord

         v.      11              Did Abraham believe the people of Gerar to be like the Sodomites?

         v.      11              Speculation about Abraham and his lying to the King of Gerar

         v.      13              Coffman on Abraham’s four-fold excuse

         v.      13              Goettsche on How we should view our confessed sins

         v.      13              Goettsche on, Know your weaknesses and avoid them

         v.      14              Abraham receives Sarah from King Abimelech, a painting by Nicolaes Berchem

         v.      14              When Christians Ask— “Why did God let Abraham prosper by lying?”

         v.      16              Commentators Explain Genesis 20:16

         v.      16              Summarizing the Meaning of Genesis 20:16

         v.      16              What Abimelech gives to Abraham

         v.      18              Keeping the dream alive: Abraham and Sarah (Painted by Lars Justinen)

         Summary            Chapter Summary

         Summary            An Abbreviated Exegesis of Genesis 20

         Addendum          Comparing Genesis 12 to Genesis 20

         Addendum          What We Learn from Genesis 20

         Addendum          Why is Genesis 20 in the Word of God

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          Edersheim Summarizes Genesis 20

         Addendum          The Testing of Abraham

         Addendum          Genesis 1–22 Genesis a retrospective

         Addendum          Jesus Christ in Genesis 1–22

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Genesis 20

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Genesis 20

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Genesis 20

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Genesis 20

An Introduction to Genesis 20

I ntroduction: In Genesis 20, Abraham and Sarah move, temporarily, to Philistine territory, to Gerar. Abraham makes it known that Sarah is his sister—he does not claim that she is his wife—in order to protect himself. Consequently, King Abimelech of Gerar claims Sarah, calling for her to come to him and to marry him. While Sarah is in the king’s palace, God comes to Abimelech in a dream, and tells Abimelech that he is a dead man for taking another man’s wife. Abimelech protests to God, saying, “I did this innocently! Abraham told me that she is his sister!” God agrees that Abimelech did this innocently, and tells him to return Sarah immediately, because Abraham is a prophet and that Abraham would pray on behalf of Abimelech, so that he might live.

Abimelech tells his servants and they are afraid; then he calls in Abraham and complains to him for his lies. Abraham offers the excuse that he did not believe that there was a fear of God was in this place, and that he would be killed and Sarah taken from him. Then Abraham gives the excuse that she is actually his half-sister.

Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham, along with many sheep and oxen, as well as male and female servants, by way of apology. He also gave Sarah 1000 pieces of silver to show that she is an innocent party in all of this.

Abraham does pray on behalf of Abimelech and his country, and his wife and female servants are able to bear children again (God had stopped up their wombs while Sarah was in Abimelech’s harem).

Chapter 20 places Abraham in a similar situation to Genesis 12, when Abraham failed a test of trusting in God. God has made many promises to Abraham concerning his seed; and, if this chapter is in order, concerning the seed of his wife, Sarah. Therefore, Abraham cannot be killed without having sired a son by Sarah. These two situations will be compared in the addendum.

It is worth noting that Abraham does not come off looking too good in this chapter. The purpose of a chapter like this is that, God has promised Abraham great things in previous chapters. These promises are related to Abraham’s obedience to God. However, it is important to recognize that Abraham never achieved some semblance of sinless perfection. This chapter records one of his failures, so that we are not ever confused by the fact that after salvation, we will sin. There is no one who has lived at any time who did not sin after they were saved (unless they died 30 seconds later).

There is an extremely important truth to remember from this chapter: God is about to bless Abraham and Sarah with a child—the child of promise that they have been waiting decades for—and immediately before this blessing, Abraham fails, and he fails big-time. Yet God still blesses them. That is grace.

At this point, in Genesis 20, we would expect it to be 1–3 months later, and either Sarah has not yet conceived, or she is barely pregnant with Isaac (but she is obviously not showing yet). We would expect Abraham and Sarah to be dealing with her pregnancy. We would have expected Genesis 17 (where God promises a year from then that Isaac would be born) to go straight to Genesis 21 (the chapter where Isaac is born). However, for whatever reason, Genesis 18–20 is thrown into the middle of this. Genesis 20 is the oddest insertion of them all.

I believe that this chapter is placed in chronological order. Most commentators do not speak to this issue, but Coffman writes: ...this chapter is exactly where it belongs in the first book of Moses, and is not displaced chronologically. Efforts to move it around in the Book of Genesis do not derive from any solid evidence, but from the intention of trying to make it some kind of variant. "We see no reason for insisting that Genesis is not in its proper chronological position."  I have not read a commentator yet who placed this chapter elsewhere and with any reason to (I check about 30 commentators when wrapping up this study).

Genesis 17:19, 21 was quite clear: God said, "No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year." This means at this set time next year. Therefore, Genesis 20 cannot be too far in the future (assuming that it is in chronological order).

In Genesis 18:10–14 The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?" The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son." (ESV)

Now, even though the ESV translation of about this time next year sounds almost like an exact year, that is not necessarily the exact amount. The Hebrew allows for this to be more than a year, but, given the information about Abraham’s age, at most, we are looking at 14–16 months down the road. Probably the child would be born in the same season that they were in, in the following year. However, Genesis 17:21 is more precise (in the Hebrew).

After making this promise in Genesis 17 and then in 18, God and two angels spoke to Abraham of the impending destruction of Sodom. Abraham intercedes for his nephew Lot who is living there, and we learn about the concept of intercessory prayer as well as the concept of a pivot of believers whose presence preserves a geographical area. In Genesis 19, we have the actual destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah followed by the incest of Lot’s daughters (which acts of incest could have occurred any time after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, unrelated to the birth of Isaac, which birth is yet future in our study).

However, Genesis 20 is an even odder chapter to find, because in this chapter, Abraham and his wife move to another area—and yet, we do not even know whether or not she is pregnant yet. Her pregnancy would occur a few months or so after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, assuming that these chapters are in chronological order (and there is no reason to think that they are not). Furthermore, this chapter appears to take place over a period of a month or two at least.

God has promised Abraham that he would have a son, Isaac, through his wife Sarah, and, God put a time frame on this. God told Abraham back in Genesis 17:21: “My covenant I establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time in the next year." And then all of these things happen—the meal with Abraham and our Lord, the warning of God’s judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the move in this chapter—all of these things falling in between this promise, which has a fairly short timetable, and the fulfillment of this promise.

Genesis 20 is the one more thing that happens to seemingly slow down the promise of God (it doesn’t actually, but it seems to). Abraham and company will pull up stakes and move, finally settling in Gerar. At some point, he is questioned about Sarah and he says that Sarah is his sister. When Abimelech, the king of Gerar is told this, he takes Sarah as his wife, but never consummates the marriage. God comes to Abimelech in a dream and warns him of impending death if he does not return Sarah to Abraham. So he does, but he first chews out Abraham for deceiving him as he did.

This does not mean that the Jewish writers of Genesis were confused about chronology. The writer of Genesis often puts a time frame on a chapter. In Genesis 15:1, we begin with the phrase after these things. We find similar phrasing in Genesis 22:1, 20 39:7 40:1 and 48:1. We have several places in the history of Abraham where the action is tied to Abraham’s age: Genesis 12:4 16:16 17:1, 17, 24 21:5. So, it is not that Jewish writers were oblivious to time and chronology; it simply was not their first consideration or the defining structure for their writings.

It is also important to recognize that this chapter is tied directly to the chapter which follows, which chapter describes and defines much of Abraham’s life while living in the land of the Philistines. We learn about Abraham’s first encounter with Abimelech, how Abraham manages to make the very worse first impression that a believer can make on another person; and yet, God, in His grace, allows Abraham to get past this. In the chapter that follows, we will see another meeting between Abraham and Abimelech, and this meeting will be the result of a very important dispute (important to those involved in the dispute). This will actually define Abraham’s life for several decades, so much of this chapter is the setup for that.

There are questions whether the people along the coast are the same Philistines that the judges, Samuel, Saul and David concerned themselves with. According to Kidner, The Philistines arrived in Palestine in force in the early twelfth century; Abimelech's group will have been early forerunners, perhaps in the course of trade. This will be discussed in detail in Genesis 21 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

So that there is no misunderstanding, I have not solved the problem of whether this chapter is chronological or simply placed here for thematic reasons. However, we will eventually come to the conclusion that Genesis 20 is correctly placed in time, because of where Abraham is before Genesis 20 and where he is afterwards. Genesis 20 is consistent with Abraham’s geographical moves, which follow a certain chronology. Before Isaac is born, much of the Abrahamic narrative takes place in east-central Judah; and after Isaac is born, Abraham will be living in southwestern Judah. Isaac will be born in Genesis 21:1–4 and the very end of Genesis 21 will confirm that Abraham is living among the Philistines. That suggests that this chapter is correctly placed time-wise.

There is one more thing that this and the previous two chapters accomplish: they make it seem as if a very long time passes between the promise of a uniquely-born son the Abraham and Sarah and the fulfillment of that promise. There is enough which happens in Genesis 18–20 to nearly forget about God’s covenant with Abraham and about his soon-to-be-born son. This is one of many parallels between the birth of Isaac and the birth of our Lord.

What is happening in Genesis 20 is, Abraham is going to go to a new area where heathen (in his opinion) are in charge, so he will lie about who Sarah is—again—presumably to protect himself. He did this before back in Genesis 12:11–13 and this reveals that Abraham really did not learn anything from that incident.

One of the interesting things that we find in the Bible narrative is, these many parallel incidents which are found throughout the Bible. Over and over again, some incident will occur; and then, 10 years (or 100 years or 1000 years) later a very similar incident would occur, and be recorded in Scripture. As a result, there have been all kinds of theories—the most common among liberal scholars (those who do not believe that the Bible is the Word of God) is, we are seeing the same narrative, but recorded at different times by different people as a result of a different oral tradition; and that this accounts for the differences. However, in our own lives, we have parallel situations which occur. That in no way means that we remember the same incident in two different ways in later life.

Genesis 20 is one of those parallel situations. Abraham had been in this situation before and he mishandled the situation, and, this time, he will make the same mistake. However, what we are to understand is, the Bible is filled with parallels. The relationship between a father and a son parallel God’s relationship with us. When Abraham offers up his uniquely-born son as a sacrifice to God (this is coming in Genesis 22), that was a parallel to Jesus offering up Himself on the cross to God. In the psalms, we come across remarkable passages, where the writer seems to be recording his thoughts and feelings about one incident; but that the words that he writes actually look forward to a parallel situation (for instance, Psalm 22, which appears to both describe David when deathly ill and, at the same time, describe our Lord on the cross).

Therefore, God wants to get our attention with these parallel situations in Scripture, so that we are able to recognize other parallels which are pertinent to our lives and our relationship with Him.

You know that Jesus taught in parables and He is the Living Word of God (John 1:1–3, 14). So it is logical that the written Word of God contain real life situations which have meaning beyond the narrative given.

One more thing: it is important to realize that, Abraham has not reached some pinnacle of sinlessness so that God can now bless him with a child. Although, as we get older and more spiritually mature, it is likely that our sins will reduced; but that does not mean that we will ever enter into some kind of sinless perfection. So, what appears to occur right before Sarah gives birth is, there is again another attack upon the line of Abraham and another failure on the part of Abraham.

The Patriarchal Timeline for Genesis 20

Coffman presents a short summation: This whole chapter deals with another incident in the lives of Abraham and Sarah in which Sarah was represented by both of them as being the sister of Abraham and not his wife. It appears here that this subterfuge was a definite characteristic of the modus operandi adopted by the patriarch as a maneuver which both of them doubtless considered to be a protective device, designed to prevent Abraham from being killed by someone who coveted his beautiful wife.

——————————

This is one of the oddest chapters in the Bible. We have been expecting the birth of Isaac since Genesis 17 (the text seemed to indicate that 1 years from that time, Sarah would give birth to a boy), and yet, 3 chapters later, and it has not occurred yet (his birth will occur in Genesis 21).

Just as interesting, this chapter is quite similar to Genesis 12 and 26 (which involves Isaac and Abimelech). In this chapter, the Philistines are in contrast to the Sodomites of the previous chapter; and in Genesis 26, there will be a contrast drawn between the Philistines of this generation and those of the next generation.

Perhaps because of the similarities between this and Genesis 12, many commentators had very little to say about this chapter of Genesis.

Coffman presents a short summation: We confidently reject the unproved speculative assertions of alleged scholars to the effect that, "It is impossible to doubt that the two accounts (here and in that recorded in Genesis 12:10-20) are variants of the same tradition."These episodes are far more dissimilar than similar. In fact, about the ONLY correspondence between them lies in the fact of Abraham's passing off his wife as his sister. They occurred at different periods of the patriarch's life, involved different kings, of different countries, resulted in different treatment of Abraham, were marked by different forms of restraint upon the royal intentions, were distinguished by different forms of rebuke to Abraham, and different responses from Abraham; one event took place in Egypt, the other in Gerar, a city of the Philistines; in one Abraham was expelled from the country, and in the other he was kindly treated and invited to remain; one ruler did not believe in the true God, the other did; in one episode, Abraham did not pray for the king; but in the other he did so, resulting in the restoration of perfect health for the beneficiaries of his prayers; in one, Sarah's beauty resulted in Pharaoh's taking her, and in the other, it was the desire to form alliance with Abraham that seems to have been the reason. How could anyone ever believe that these are variant accounts of the SAME episode? 

These two accounts will be studied side-by-side at the end of this chapter.

Thinking That Sarah Is Abraham's Sister, King Abimelech Takes Her to Wife

Driver, perhaps with a smile, entitled this: Sara’s adventure at the Court of Gerar.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. Taken from http://targum.info/targumic-texts/pentateuchal-targumim/ and first published in 1862.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so sets out from there Abraham land-ward, the Negev. And so he stays between Kadesh and between Shur. And so he resides in Gerar.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   Unfortunately, what was recovered the Dead Sea Scrolls of Genesis, with very little of the second third of the book being preserved. Nothing of Genesis 20 survives.

Targum of Onkelos                And Abraham went on from thence to the land of the south, and dwelt between Rekam and Chagra, and had his habitation in Gerar.

Latin Vulgate                          Abraham removed from thence to the south country, and dwelt between Cades and Sur, and sojourned in Gerara.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    AND Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and settled between Rakim and Gadar, and Abraham sojourned in Gadar.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Abraham journeyed from there to the southern country, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

Significant differences:           Two of the targum and Syriac city names do not match the Hebrew.

Gill: 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.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Abraham and Sarah visit Gerar

Abraham traveled from there toward the land of the arid southern plain, and he settled as an immigrant in Gerar, between Kadesh and Shur.

Contemporary English V.       Abraham moved to the Southern Desert, where he settled between Kadesh and Shur. Later he went to Gerar, and while there...

Easy English                          Abraham and Abimelech

Abraham went from that place to the area called the Negev. He lived between the cities called Kadesh and Shur. And he stayed in Gerar for some time.

Easy-to-Read Version            Abraham left that place and traveled to the Negev. [111] Abraham settled in the city of Gerar, between Kadesh and Shur. While in Gerar,...

Good News Bible (TEV)         Abraham moved from Mamre to the southern part of Canaan and lived between Kadesh and Shur. Later, while he was living in Gerar,...

The Message                         Abraham traveled from there south to the Negev and settled down between Kadesh and Shur. While he was camping in Gerar,...

New Berkeley Version           Abraham moved from there to the South country and lived between Kadesh and Shur; then he lived for a time in Gerar. Gerar is 6 miles south of Gaza, on the Philistine boundary

New Living Translation           Abraham Deceives Abimelech

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,.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Thereafter, AbraHam moved to the southern part of the country and took up living between Cades and Sur, staying for a while in GeraRa.

Ancient Roots Translinear      Abraham journeyed from there to the land of South-Canaan, and dwelled between the rest-stop and the trade-route. When he stayed in Gerar,.

Christian Community Bible     Abraham and Sarah at Gerar

Abraham left there for the territory of the Negeb, and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he stayed for a time in Gerar..

NIRV                                      Abraham and Abimelech

Abraham moved away from there into the Negev Desert. He lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar.

New Jerusalem Bible             Abraham left there for the region of the Negeb, and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While staying in Gerar,...

New Simplified Bible              Abraham moved from Mamre to the southern part of Canaan and lived between Kadesh and Shur. Later, while he was living in Gerar,...

Revised English Bible            Abraham journeyed by stages from there into the Negeb, and settled between Kadesh and Shur, living as an alien in Gerar.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Bible in Basic English             And Abraham went on his way from there to the land of the South, and was living between Kadesh and Shur, in Gerar.

Conservapedia                       Abraham traveled from there toward the Negev, and lived between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed as a guest in Gerar.

The Expanded Bible              Abraham Tricks Abimelech

Abraham left Hebron [13:18] and traveled to ·southern Canaan [^Lthe Negev; 13:1] where he stayed awhile between Kadesh [16:14] and Shur [16:7]. When he ·moved to [sojourned/lived as an alien in] Gerar [^Cnorth of Kadesh and Shur; present-day Tell Abu Hureirah], he said to people about Sarah his wife, "She is my sister" [12:10-20; 26:1-11]. Abimelech king of Gerar heard this, so he sent some servants to take her. V. 2 is included for context.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Abraham and Abimelech

Abraham then removed quietly from there landward, and settled between Kadesh and the Wall, and resided at Gherar.

NET Bible®                             Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev [Or "the South [country]"; Heb "the land of the Negev."] [Negev is the name for the southern desert region in the land of Canaan.] region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident [Heb "and he sojourned."] in Gerar. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote.

NIV – UK                                Abraham and Abimelech

Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar,...

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Avraham traveled from there toward the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. While living as an alien in G'rar,...

exeGeses companion Bible   ABRAHAM PULLS STAKES

And from there

Abraham pulls stakes toward the south land

and settles between Qadesh and Shur

and sojourns in Gerar.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negeb and settled between kadesh and shur. While he was sojourning in Gerar,...

Kaplan Translation                 Sarah and Abimelech

Abraham migrated from there to the land of the Negev, and he settled between Kadesh and Shur [This would be the area around Beer Lachai Roi, see note on Genesis 16:14.]. He would often visit Gerar [On the southwest border of the Holy Land, see note on Genesis 10:19. The Midrash identifies it as Gerdike or Gerarike (Bereshith Rabbah 52), which is this Gerar. It is a city some 55 miles north of Kadesh, so although Abraham's primary dwelling was to the south, he would often visit Gerar, perhaps for supplies (cf. Radak). Some, however, suggest that this Gerar was Wadi Gerur, some 13 miles southwest of Kadesh, literally between Kadesh and Shur. See Genesis 26:17. (Also see Yov'loth 16:10).]. The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Exodus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

The Scriptures 1998              And Araham set out from there to the land of the South, and dwelt between Qaĕsh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                NOW ABRAHAM journeyed from there toward the South country (the Negeb) and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he lived temporarily in Gerar. "Primitive geographic expressions such as 'the South country (the Negeb)' (Gen. 12:9; 13:1, 3; 20:1; 24:62) and 'the east country' (Gen. 25:6) are used in the time of Abraham... After the time of Genesis they have well-known and well-defined names; I submit that they were written down in early days, and that no writer after Moses could have used such archaic expressions as these" (P. J. Wiseman, New Discoveries in Babylonia About Genesis).

Concordant Literal Version    And journeying thence is Abraham to the south-rim. And dwelling is he between Kadesh and Shur, and is sojourning in Gerar.

Green’s Literal Translation    And Abraham pulled up stakes from there to the land of the Negeb, and lived between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar.

Heritage Bible                        And Abraham pulled up from there toward the land of the Negev, and sat down between Kadesh and Shur, and resided temporarily in Gerar.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Sarah Again in Danger

And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. From the grove of Mamre at or near Hebron Abraham gradually journeyed, with all his possessions, to the extreme southern part of Canaan, very likely in search of better pasturage. The region where he tented was, roughly speaking, between Kadesh and Shur, and in his wanderings he encamped also at Gerar, in the land of the Philistines.

Modern KJV                           And Abraham moved from there toward the south country, and lived between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar.

NASB                                     Abraham's Treachery

Now Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev [I.e. South country], and settled [Lit dwelt] between Kadesh and Shur; then he sojourned in Gerar.

New RSV                               From there Abraham journeyed towards the region of the Negeb, and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While residing in Gerar as an alien,....

Syndein/Thieme                     {Disillusion, Degradation, Decoration - Verse 1 - Disillusion} And Abraham kept on journeying from there toward the south country {Abraham leaving the land is always a picture of a believer out of fellowship - see Chapter 19:26-28 for the reason why}, and kept on dwelling in prosperity {yashab} between Kadesh {name means prostitution - picture of idolatry or eyes off the Lord} and Shur {name means 'to stir up dust' or 'get excited' - emotions now rule Abraham}, and kept on 'dwelling temporarily'/sojourning in Gerar {name's meaning comes from its sound (ana-poetic) - means sawing and came to mean 'dragging away' - so here Abraham is 'dragged away' and is 'out of fellowship}'.

Webster Bible                        And Abraham journeyed from thence towards the south country, and dwelt between Kadash and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

Young’s Updated LT             And Abraham journeys from there toward the land of the south, and dwells between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourns in Gerar.

The gist of this verse:          Abraham travels down south to Gerar.

A great deal has happened. God promised Abraham and his wife a son in one year’s time. Sodom has been destroyed, and, for all Abraham knows, so has his nephew Lot. Without being given a reason, Abraham pulls up stakes and he moves to Gerar, which is a Philistine controlled area. These may not be related to the Philistines which interfere so much with Israel in the time of the Judges and Samuel and David.

Translation: Abraham set out from there toward the land of the Negev,...

Abraham had apparently lived in Mamre for about 20 years; which can be surmised from Genesis 13:18 18:1 and the Abrahamic Timeline Now, he is suddenly picking up and moving.

The Negev; a Graphic and Explanation, from newsyoucanbelieve.com, accessed August 29, 2014.

Peter Pett: [Abraham] had been established many years by the Oaks of Mamre but now he moves on, although he would later return to the area. There Sarah died and was buried (Genesis 23:19), and he himself was buried there (Genesis 25:9). Isaac later returns there (Genesis 35:27) and Jacob was also buried there (Genesis 50:13).

Matthew Henry: In a world where we are strangers and pilgrims we cannot expect to be always in the same place...Wherever we are, we must look upon ourselves but as sojourners.

We’re not really given any reason for Abraham picking up stakes and moving on, but there are several reasons that come to mind: trading groups that usually pass through there may no longer come through because the entire Sodom and Gomorrah area has been destroyed. And, Abraham has livestock and they need to be constantly attended to and moved about to those greener pastures. However, I think that the actual reason is, Abraham was somewhat disillusioned with God. He believed that he had successfully argued for Sodom to be spared, and yet he saw it destroyed, and probably thought that Lot and his family were dead as well.

At some point, someone knew that Lot was still alive. Since we don’t really know anything about Lot after his daughters had sex with him, it is likely that Abraham did not know if Lot was still alive at this point in time. However, at some point, perhaps a few generations later, the presence of the Ammonites and the Moabites became better known; and, obviously, their origins became known as well.

Abraham set out from there toward the land of the Negev,... I don’t know what Abraham was thinking or feeling at this time, as it was clear the whole area where Lot lived had been devastated, as there was billowing smoke coming from there (Genesis 19:27–28). We don’t know if Abraham went down there to investigate and found out or if he wrote Lot off as dead, and simply moved to the southern part of Judah. Abraham could have gone through or near that area traveling in the direction that he does. He would have seen all of the devastation as he traveled east of Sodom and Gomorrah; and it is highly unlikely that he would have seen Lot. Furthermore, just seeing this land, as destroyed as it was, with smoke and strange gases billowing up, probably caused Abraham to move more toward the Mediterranean Sea.

Clarke: It is very likely that...[Abraham] 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.

Abraham is moving southwest; south, would have been the direction of Lot and the destroyed cities. Now, whether Abraham chose to go this route to first look for Lot, we are not told. If they ever saw one another again, we are not told. It seems unlikely.

Abraham would have gone by the area within a week of Genesis 19, when God destroyed the 4 cities, and it would have appeared to Abraham, from the west view, that no one has survived. If everyone was destroyed, then it would have appeared unsafe even to travel on the ground that had been destroyed and was probably covered with burning oils and sulphur.

Normally, the amount of movement described in this verse would take place over a period of 5 or 10 years. However, if this is in chronological order, then this movement would have taken place in the space of a few months. This may have simply been the right time for Abraham to try new pastures for his animals; and he may have been looking for a new place the settle down to, not wanting to remain at a place from which he could see the smoke of Sodom.

Translation: ...and he stayed between Kadesh and Shur.

Shur is the desert region along the Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Palestine. Kadesh is a city about 50 miles southwest from the southern tip of the Dead Sea.

So far, this is what we have: Abraham set out from there toward the land of the Negev, and he stayed between Kadesh and Shur. Logically, given what has taken place in previous chapters, it seems unlikely that this is a trip that Abraham has made prior to Genesis 17. Abraham moves toward the land of the Negev, meaning that he is moving south-southwest from the Oaks of Mamre. At first, Abraham stops between Kadesh and Shur and the text here seems to indicate that Abraham was considering staying there. However, he seems to backtrack somewhat and go back up towards Gerar. In all, if Abraham and company actually stay for a week or so between Kadesh and Shur, this journey could have taken 1–2 months. Timing, at this point, is critical, because we are in a countdown to the conception and then birth of Isaac.

The map of Abraham’s journeys is from

http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/0415236614/resources/maps/map3.jpg accessed March 5, 2013.

What appears to be the case is, Abraham first went between the Desert of Shur and the city of Kadesh, and then he circled back up into the land of the Philistines.

Although I found several graphics based upon Genesis 20, it was surprisingly more difficult to find a map of exactly Abraham’s route. The one above more or less gives his movement over several years, the bottom portion covering where Abraham journeyed in Genesis 20. It was difficult to simply find maps with Shur, Kadesh and Gerar.

If you look at the map to the right, Abraham has lived in Mamre for an extended period of time. In order for him to go south between Shur and Kadesh, he would be traveling west or northwest of Sodom and Gomorrah. He would not be able to see the small city that Lot escaped to; he would have no idea at this time that Lot is still alive. All that Abraham can see if great devastation.

Then he moves north-northwest toward Gerar. He would be moving away from Sodom and Gomorrah, which no doubt have tons of noxious fumes spreading out from ground zero. Moving to Gerar will take Abraham and his compound away from the fumes and the sight of a God-destroyed region.

This Map of Gerar, Shur and Kedesh-barnea is from:

http://www.christian-knowledg e.com/images/canaan.jpg (Accessed March 5, 2013).

The overall map is one of the better, more detailed maps of Canaan, mostly during this time period.

So far, v. 1 reads: Abraham set out from there toward the land of the Negev, and he stayed between Kadesh and Shur. So Abraham originally moves south (which is what Negev means). He apparently does not go as far as Kadesh, but stops between Kadesh and Shur. The verb here is the Qal imperfect of yâshab (יָשַב) [pronounced yaw-SHAH^BV], which means to remain, to stay; to dwell, to live, to inhabit; to sit. Strong's #3427 BDB #442. An imperfect verb can view action as extended over a period of time or as future. However, here, we have 3 wâw consecutives with 3 imperfect verbs. This suggests the order in which things were done. He sets out, he stays and then he resides. In a construction like this, the period of time is not in view, just the succession of actions. So this could describe something taking place over 10 years time or over the period of a month. Given everything else that we know (the series of events on both sides of this chapter), this probably all took place over the period of a month.

Hagar, when she left Abraham and Sarah, was on the road to Shur when God spoke to her (Genesis 16:7).

Gill: [Kedesh and Shur are the] two wildernesses, as Jerom says, 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.

Translation: Therefore, he was temporarily residing in Gerar.

Gerar is a city in southern Philistia, and it appears that Abraham would have circled back to get to it.

Keil and Delitzsch: Here he dwelt between Kadesh (Genesis 14:7) and Shur (Genesis 16:7), and remained for some time in Gerar, a place the name of which has been preserved in the deep and broad Wady Jurf el Gerâr (i.e., torrent of Gerar) about eight miles S.S.E. of Gaza, near to which Rowland discovered the ruins of an ancient town bearing the name of Khirbet el Gerâr.

Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge: 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.

Genesis 20:1 And Abraham moved from there toward the south country [or, the Negev], and lived between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar.

Genesis 20:1 Abraham set out from there toward the land of the Negev, and he stayed between Kadesh and Shur. Therefore, he was temporarily residing in Gerar. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Genesis 20:1 Abraham set out from there toward the land of the Negev and he stayed between Kadesh and Shur. Therefore, he resided temporarily in Gerar. (Kukis paraphrase)

From:

http://www.genesisfiles.com/Maps/Gerar/Gerar_MR.jpg

All of this is in what would later become southern Judah. In fact, Shur refers to the desert which is between Egypt and Israel. Kedesh here refers to Kedesh-Barnea, which is about 100 km south-southwest of Beersheba on the boundary line below, below the southern portion of the map below.

Map of Gerar and Beersheba. So Abraham has moved far into the south. Even though this is within the territory of Philistia, Abraham is still within the geographical will of God, because God gave Abraham a huge amount of land, in which Abraham was to walk (Genesis 13:17).

So far we have examined Genesis 20 overall and have concluded that it belongs here both thematically and chronologically. And we have studied the first verse:

Genesis 20:1 And Abraham moved from there toward the south country, and lived between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar.

This move could have taken anywhere from 2 weeks to a month or two. I mention the time, as we are in a countdown to the conception and birth of Isaac. Abraham has moved from the east central part of Judah to the southwestern part of Judah. The land that he has moved to is controlled by Philistines.

All the land that Abraham travels on is controlled by peoples that the Jews would later defeat—initially under Joshua and also under King David.

Map of Shur, the Negev and Gerar. Taken from My Bible (on News You Can Believe); accessed August 29, 2014.

This would put Abraham southwest of the Dead Sea. We are not always told exactly why Abraham picks up and moves from point A to point B, except that God had commanded him some time ago to walk the length and the breadth of the land which He had given him (Gen. 13:17). What will occur is another test; Abraham failed this test the first time and he will, essentially, fail this test again. However, it might be important to point out that when we fail a test, we have not necessarily completely failed that test. Abraham will fail the test here; he will be corrected severely by an unbeliever; and, if he ever was faced with the same choice again, Abraham would have made the correct choice.

This map is from the Bible Atlas Maps in e-sword. It is Map 12: of the Arabah, Negeb, Wildernesses of Zin and Paran. This can also be found online here and here. You can see from the map where the people of Esau (the son of Abram and his wife’s personal servant) settled (called Edom). You can also see where the Moabites (descendants of Moab, the son/grandson of Lot) took up residence. It is also helpful to see the topological aspects of this region.

——————————

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so says Abraham unto Sarah his wife, “My sister, she.” And so sends Abimelech king of Gerar and so he takes Sarah.

Targum of Onkelos                And Abraham said concerning Sarah his wife, She is my sister. And Abimelek, king of Gerar [JERUSALEM. King of Arad.], sent and took Sarah.

Latin Vulgate                          And he said of Sara his wife: She is my sister. So Abimelech the king of Gerara sent, and took her.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister; and Abimeleck king of Gadar sent and took Sarah.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Abraham said concerning Sarah his wife, She is my sister, for he feared to say, She is my wife, lest at any time the men of the city should kill him for her sake. So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

Significant differences:           The Greek has a lot of additional text.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       ...he told everyone that his wife Sarah was his sister. So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

Easy English                          And Abraham said that Sarah was his sister. So Abimelech, the king of Gerar, sent for Sarah. And he took her into his *household.

Easy-to-Read Version            Abraham told people that Sarah was his sister. Abimelech, king of Gerar, heard this. Abimelech wanted Sarah, so he sent some servants to take her.

New Berkeley Version           About Sarah, his wife, Abraham said, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

New Century Version             ...he told people that his wife Sarah was his sister. Abimelech king of Gerar heard this, so he sent some servants to take her.

New Life Bible                        Abraham said about his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." So Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her for his wife.

New Living Translation           Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, "She is my sister." So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          And [there], AbraHam said concerning SarAh his woman, 'She's my sister.' He didn't want to tell them 'She's my woman,' for fear that the time would come when men of that city would kill him because of her.

So AbiMelech (the king of GeraRa) sent for SarAh and took her [to be his woman].

Beck’s American Translation Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She’s my sister.” Anbd so Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent men who took Sarah away.

God’s Word™                         Abraham told everyone that his wife Sarah was his sister. So King Abimelech of Gerar sent men to take Sarah.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Conservapedia                       Abraham said about his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah to marry her. "Abimelech" means "my father the king."

The Expanded Bible              ...he said to people about Sarah his wife, "She is my sister" [12:10-20; 26:1-11]. Abimelech king of Gerar heard this, so he sent some servants to take her.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Avraham was saying of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister"; so Avimelekh king of G'rar sent and took Sarah.

exeGeses companion Bible   And Abraham says of Sarah his woman,

She is my sister:

and Abi Melech sovereign of Gerar

sends and takes Sarah:...

Kaplan Translation                 [There] he announced that his wife Sarah was his sister, and Abimelekh [Literally, 'father-king.' This was a title given to Philistine kings, much like Pharaoh was given to Egyptian monarchs (Psalms 34:1, Rashi ad loc.; cf. Sefer HaYashar 65,66). Persian kings were given the title Padi-shach, which also means 'father-king.' In Hebrew, av means master as well as father. So the designation Avi-melekh may mean 'master-king' or arch-king. See note on Genesis 41:43.], king of Gerar, sent messengers and took Sarah.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister. And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah [into his harem].

Concordant Literal Version    And saying is Abraham concerning Sarah, his wife, "My sister is she,for he feared to say, "My wife is she,lest he be killed by the men of the city because of her. And sending is Abimelech, king of Gerar, and taking Sarah.

Context Group Version          And Abraham said of Sarah his woman { or wife }, She's my sister. And Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    And Abraham said of Sarah, his wife, She is my sister; and Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah. As in Egypt, Genesis 12:13, Abraham did not tell the exact and complete truth when he stated that Sarah was his sister. So the king of Gerar, whose standing title was Abimelech, acted in good faith when he added her to his harem. Either the transformation worked in Sarah as a result of God's promise had renewed her youth, or Abimelech found it to his advantage to be related to the rich Abraham by marriage.

LTHB                                     And Abraham said with regards to his wife Sarah, She is my sister. And Abimelech the king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

Syndein                                  {Disillusion, Degradation, Decoration - Verse 2 - Degradation}

And Abraham kept saying {'amar} of Sarah his wife, 'She is my sister'. And Abimelech king of Gerar kept on sending and taking { laqach - for his wife} Sarah. {Note: When God restored Sarah's womb, apparently her physical beauty was also restored. So, Abraham is afraid that he will be killed so they can 'have' Sarah.}.

Young’s Updated LT             And Abraham says concerning Sarah his wife, “She is my sister;” and Abimelech king of Gerar sends and takes Sarah.

The gist of this verse:          Abraham has continued to tell folks that Sarah is his sister. The king of Gerar, Abimelech, sends men to bring Sarah to him.

Translation: And Abraham said regarding Sarah his wife, “She [is] my sister.”

When Abraham went to Egypt, he had this same agreement with Sarah. She would identify herself as his sister. He had assumed the heathenism to be at a stage where, if they knew she was his wife, they would kill him and take her. Quite obviously, this shows a lack of faith in God, as God has made specific promises to her and Abraham. Let me suggest that Abraham observed the destruction of Sodom and might had been disheartened by it.

Matthew Henry: [Abraham’s] sin in denying his wife, as before (Genesis 12:13), which was not only...a lie, and which, if admitted as lawful, would be the ruin of human converse and an inlet to all falsehood, but was also an exposing of the chastity and honour of his wife, of which he ought to have been the protector...[Furthermore,] he had been guilty of this same sin before, and had been reproved for it, and convinced of the folly of the suggestion which induced him to it; yet he returns to it. Note, It is possible that a good man may, not only fall into sin, but relapse into the same sin, through the surprise and strength of temptation and the infirmity of the flesh. Let backsliders repent then, but not despair (Jer. 3:22).

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown: [Abraham’s] conduct was highly culpable. It was deceit, deliberate and premeditated––there was no sudden pressure upon him––it was the second offense of the kind [see on Genesis 12:13] ––it was a distrust of God every way surprising, and it was calculated to produce injurious effects on the heathen around. Its mischievous tendency was not long in being developed.

Genesis 20:2a And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.”

Abraham is near a large city and the king there, Abimelech, has become aware of Abraham’s arrival. He did not know Abraham or anything about Abraham, other than he is said to be traveling with a very beautiful woman (Sarah is apparently quite beautiful despite her age).

This sort of action by a ruler appears to be customary. He would send for the most prominent woman of a caravan, and such an action would apparently establish a peace between the two parties. He got the women and the caravan were at peace with him in the land that he controlled. People who have power tend to take advantage of possessing this power.

Now, this ought to also strike us as unusual: Sarah is still attractive enough to be desired at age 90. Recall that the age of man was higher then than it is now; and that Abraham will live to be 175. Now, my recollection of Suzanne Somers is that, at around age 70, she is still very attractive. This suggests that it is possible, in that day and age, for Sarah to be attractive at age 90. As you will recall, man’s age began to fall after the flood from living 800–1000 years, and, with Abraham, we are down to 175 years. Sarah will live to be 127 years old.

In our day and age, it is typical for a woman to enter into menopause between the ages of 40 and 61. Sarah became menopausal around age 85–90, as she clearly does not see herself as having children when the Revealed Lord told her that she would (Genesis 18:11–12). However, this narrative suggests to us that she does not look like any 90 year old woman that we have ever seen.

Stephen Cole approached this proportionally. Sarah, at age 90, is comparable to a woman who is 53 and will love to be 75. It is very possible for a woman at age 53 to be attractive.

Genesis 20:2a And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.”

This is the second time that Abraham has done this. It suggests that whenever he and Sarah went anywhere where there was a prominent ruler, he take this approach. He continued with human viewpoint. Recall that God has promised him a son by Sarah, and that was going to occur in the very near future. We are talking mere months away. And yet, with this deception, Abraham appears to doubt the protection of God.

This tells us that Abraham vacillated between very strong faith (when he allowed himself to be circumcised) and no faith, e.g. here, where he thinks that lying is the best solution. in a previous chapter, we learned his reasoning: that some heathen leader would simply kill him and take his wife (Genesis 12:11–13). The Greek text contains this thought as well; it appends this portion of v. 2 with ...for he feared to say, She is my wife, lest at any time the men of the city should kill him for her sake.

I want you to notice just who is put at risk here: Sarah. This has happened before. If a ruler takes a liking to Sarah or if a ruler decides to take Sarah, Abraham figures that, if they are brother and sister, he will be preserved and Sarah would go into a harem. However, you will recall in the previous chapter that God’s promise to Abraham would be fulfilled in Sarah. She will bear his son. She cannot bear a son to Abraham if she is in the harem of some foreign prince. This would forever call into question Isaac’s paternity.

Abraham should have continued to exercise faith in God; yet he chooses not to.

What is in the making is one of the most important births in human history, and it was designed to not just move the Jewish race ahead to a second generation, but to foreshadow the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ as well. Therefore, Sarah being in a harem is not a part of God’s plan.

Application: What Abraham does here is clearly wrong. However, as you will find in life, God will use you, despite your many failures. I can personally testify to that.

Let’s take a moment and think this through. At some point, messengers from Abimelech of Gerar would have stopped Abraham’s very large caravan and inquired as to the nature of the people there, their intentions, and a number of other questions which were standard. They would have ascertained from the beginning, who was in charge (Abraham), and they would have checked out his wife/sister Sarah. It is clear that she has great status within this large caravan—making her suitable for a king. It is likely, as suggested above, that she is also beautiful. So, Abimelech’s messengers, always on the lookout for the king, tell him about Sarah.

Abimelech, hearing all of this, sends for Sarah. Gill suggests that Sarah is taken by force; however, there is no indication of that. Now, there may have been some slight intimidation involved, but only because soldiers of the king had come to Abraham. Again, remember that Abraham and his men put down in military action one of the greatest powers known in that era (Genesis 14), so it is not as if Abraham could not have mustered his troops into action. However, things like this can go down in a much congenial fashion. No threat needs to be stated or even implied, as Abraham and his caravan are on the land of the king. Abraham has made no personal claim upon Sarah, and now the king has called for her. Abraham essentially set himself up here for all of this to happen.

All of this is legitimate in the minds of the messengers from Gerar because Abraham presents Sarah as his sister; and kings in that era (men of power in many eras) had several wives. However, as we will find out, Abimelech is not at immoral as Abraham supposes him to be.

Very likely, Abimelech viewed this as making an alliance with Abraham. He has just promised to take care of Abraham’s sister Sarah for the rest of her life.

What would have been the proper approach by Abraham? Clearly, honesty; and, given what we know about the king, later on in this chapter, he would not have called for Sarah—but he may have called for Abraham and Sarah for a meal or a discussion. Let’s say that the messengers from Gerar were hostile. Abraham has both a scratch army which defeated the greatest army of that day; and he has Y^ehowah God with him, Who has made great promises to Abraham.

Let me add that, Abraham and his very large caravan are now in the land of Gerar and subject to the laws of the king of Gerar. Since Abraham has absolutely no evidence of hostility on the part of Abimelech or his men, then his approach is to be at peace with all men. Remember, Abraham got Sarah to agree to this even before the messengers from the king of Gerar came to them. So Abraham had prejudged these people, knowing very little about them.

Application: We need to evaluate every situation that we are in and act accordingly. As believers, we all have God the Holy Spirit and, if you have grown spiritually, then you know Bible doctrine, and you are learning how to think like God in your soul.

Why does Abraham appear to lack trust in God at this point? He just stood face to face with God and got God to agree to spare Sodom (or so Abraham thought). And Sodom lay in ruins, as Abraham observed, both from afar and recently when traveling along side that region. Why does Abraham distrust the king of Gerar? Although Abraham had met the king of Sodom before (Genesis 14), it is clear that Sodom had descended into great degeneracy (even though Abraham may lack the details of this). So, since God is giving him the land, perhaps Abraham has supposed that all the indigenous people are like the Sodomites.

Genesis 20:2a And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” Abraham is lying and he gets his wife to go along with it. As a result, she is taking all of the risk; he is taking none of it.

Arthur Pink: The contents of Genesis 20 furnish a striking proof of the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures. No fictitious historian would have recorded this dark blot on the life of such an illustrious personage as Abraham. The tendency of the human heart is ever toward hero worship, and the common custom of biographers is to conceal the defects and blemishes in the careers of the characters which they delineate, and this, had it been followed, would naturally forbid the mention of such a sad fall in the life of one of the most venerated names on the scroll of history. Ah! but herein the Bible differs from all other books. The Holy Spirit has painted the portraits of Scripture characters in the colors of nature and truth. He has given a faithful picture of the human heart such as is common to all mankind.

Ellicott: Holy Scripture neither represents its heroes as perfect, nor does it raise them disproportionately above the level of their own times.

Translation: Therefore, Abimelech the king of Gerar sent [for her]...

We are going to find that this particular king is fairly likeable and fairly moral. However, he takes as a perk of his job, appropriating any woman that comes into his territory. As we will find out, he probably would not take a man’s wife.

Abimelech is transliterated from the Hebrew word ʾĂbiymelek^e (אֲבִימֶלֶךְ) [pronounced u^b-vee-MEH-lek] and it means my father is Melek, my father is king. Strong’s #40 BDB #4. This name shows up in Genesis 26, so it is reasonably a title for the king. Abraham in the Hebrew is father; the y is the possessive pronoun my; and melek means king. Barnes suggests father of the king, but I believe that to be incorrect.

Translation: ...and he took Sarah.

We do not know how large Abraham’s entourage happened to be, but, apparently at some point, they were stopped and interviewed by Abimelech’s people, and Sarah apparently stood out to these men.

Poole: For though Sarah was ninety years old, yet she retained her beauty in good measure, partly, because she had not been broken by bearing and nursing of children; partly, because in that age of the world men and women, as they lived longer, so they did not so soon begin to decay, as now they do; and partly, because of God’s special blessing upon her.

Barnes: 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 9Genesis 12:11–16).

Peter Pett: Sarah was an outstandingly beautiful woman, and, even though she has now matured, the bloom of childbearing is on her and there are unquestionably some women who have something about them which gives them an attraction far beyond the norm at all ages. Sarah was clearly one of them. The beauty and attractiveness of a tribeswoman may well have been very different from that of Philistine women. So if Abraham did persist in describing her as his sister when they moved about the surprise is that there were only two such incidents known. Men will move mountains for an alluring woman.

Some commentators suggested that, since Sarah’s reproductive organs were activated, that she may have taken on a more youthful appearance for that reason as well.

So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah (a painting). From Prayer: Communication with God; accessed August 29, 2014.

Genesis 20:2 And Abraham said regarding Sarah his wife, “She [is] my sister.” Therefore, Abimelech the king of Gerar sent [for her] and he took Sarah. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Genesis 20:2 And Abraham said, regarding Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” Therefore, Abimelech, the king of Gerar, sent servants for Sarah and took her. (Kukis paraphrase)

Genesis 20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech the king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

Even though Abraham has come a very long way, spiritually speaking, he is certainly not a sinless man. Again, he claims that Sarah is his sister and not his wife. This essentially invites King Abimelech to take her. There is nothing which stops him. Furthermore, taking Sarah as a wife is seen as (1) a favor to Abraham; and as (2) a possible alliance.

Men did not typically have multiple wives in that era (there are a lot of practical considerations involved here—such as, having two women under the same roof (remember Sarah and Hagar?). However, there does not appear to be a universally accepted moral law against it (no more than there is a universal moral law which would forbid men marrying their half-sisters).

However, it will become clear the adultery is clearly forbidden. Both Abraham and Abimelech are in agreement on this point of moral behavior. When Abimelech finds out that Sarah is Abraham’s wife, that in itself is understood to be an evil that God would punish.

Despite her age, Sarah is apparently still a beautiful woman, attractive enough for a king to take as his wife.

Arthur Pink: Sad indeed, inexpressibly sad, was Abraham's conduct. It was not the fall of a young and inexperienced disciple, but the lapse of one who had long walked the path of faith that here shows himself ready to sacrifice the honor of his wife, and what is worse, give up the one who was the depositary of all the promises...What made the matter so much worse in Abraham's ease was that it was not a question of being surprised into a sudden fault. It was the recurrence of an old sin. Long ago he had followed the same wicked course in Egypt, where his duplicity had been discovered and from whence he was banished in disgrace. But the experience profited him not. Some twenty or twenty-five years had passed since then, and in the interval he had built an altar unto the Lord, had vanquished Chedorlaomer, had been blessed by Melchizedek the priest of the Most High God, had repulsed the offer of the King of Sodom to be enriched at his hands, and had received wondrous revelations and promises from God; yet now we see him leaving God out of his reckoning, and ensnared by the fear of man, resorting to the most shameful deception.

Two things that we learn from this: God has given Abraham a beautiful woman who has remained beautiful throughout most of her life. Secondly, Abraham is not living in sinless perfection. He still sins, and God still blesses him.

Now, Sarah is definitely an older woman, but we do have examples today of women who are older, who are quite attractive. Suzanne Somers comes immediately to mind. Furthermore, recall that people from the era of Abraham still lived long lives (Abraham will live to be 175).

Sarah is probably reasonably attractive, even though she is 90+ years old in this chapter. It is likely that Abimelech desires a political alliance with Abraham as a rich, nomadic chieftain (as Zodhiates puts it). Abraham, like all believers, has a Christian life with its high and its low points. This is a low point.

Abraham is apparently at some low point in his life, despite the fact that God is about to give him a son. Abraham set out from there toward the land of the Negev and he stayed between Kadesh and Shur. Therefore, he resided temporarily in Gerar. And Abraham said, regarding Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” Therefore, Abimelech, the king of Gerar, sent servants for Sarah and took her. As speculated above, perhaps he began to distrust the Lord, because he could see the destruction of Sodom with his own eyes.

Arthur Pink: As we have seen, it was stress of circumstances which revealed the state of Abraham's heart, as it is of ours. Though the wording of it might be improved, we thoroughly agree with the sentiment of a preacher who long ago said, "We possess no more religion than what we have in the time of trouble." It is comparatively easy to trust God while everything goes along pleasantly, but the time of disappointment, of loss, of persecution, of bereavement, is the time of testing; and then how often we fail! Here is where the Lord Jesus is in such striking contrast from all others. Stress of circumstances only served to display the perfections of His heart. When He was a hungered, and tempted by Satan to make bread to supply His own need, He lived by every word of God. When He sat by the well, worn with His journey, He was not too weary to speak words of grace and life to the poor Samaritan woman. When the cities in which His mightiest works had been done rejected His message, He meekly submitted, saying "Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Your sight" (Matthew 11:23-26). When He was reviled, He reviled not again. And in the supreme crisis, on the cross, His perfections were fully displayed- praying for the forgiveness of His enemies, speaking the word of acceptance to the repentant thief, making provision for His widowed mother, yielding up His spirit into the hands of the Father.

We see over and over again, the imperfections of the great saints. Here it is Abraham; soon it will be Isaac and Jacob. But our Lord has no such imperfections. But despite Abraham’s shortcoming, God has given him a firm timetable for the birth of Isaac, and God will always keep His Word, regardless of how unfaithful we are.

Rev. Bruce Goettsche writes: Have you ever had someone tell you that all Christians are hypocrites because of their inconsistency? They hear us proclaim a love of holiness but they also see us sin. A Christian stumbles and all the world seems to point their finger at them. This shows that there is an inherent misunderstanding of grace and discipleship. He then adds: Grace is given to us not because we are good but because God is gracious and good even though we are not. In fact, one of the prerequisites of salvation is a confession that we are helpless to save ourselves. Before we can be "saved" we have to confess that we are sinners. When we do this and receive the gift of life that comes from the Lord we are made clean before the Lord . . . sin's penalty is taken care of. . . however, sin's power and influence continues to pursue us. Old habits die hard . . . very hard. Then Goettsche quotes Paul in Romans 7:16-25 (NLT) I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it. It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

——————————

God Warns Abimelech of His Sin

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so comes Elohim unto Abimelech in a dream the night and so He says to him, “Behold you—dying upon the woman whom you took. And she is married of a lord.”

Targum of Onkelos                And a word came from before the Lord unto Abimelek, in a dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, you die, because of the woman whom you have carried away, and she a man’s wife.

Latin Vulgate                          And God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and he said to him: Lo you will die for the woman that you have taken: for she has a husband.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    But God came to Abimeleck in a dream by night and said to him, Behold, you will die on account of the woman whom you have taken; for she is another man's wife.

Septuagint (Greek)                And God came to Abimelech by night in his sleep, and said, Behold, you'll die for the woman whom you have taken, for she has lived with a husband.

Significant differences:           None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       But God came to Abimelech in a dream and said, "You have taken a married woman, and for this you will die!"

Easy-to-Read Version            But one night, God spoke to Abimelech in a dream. God said, “You will die. That woman you took is married.”

Good News Bible (TEV)         One night God appeared to him in a dream and said, "You are going to die, because you have taken this woman; she is already married."

The Message                         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."

New Berkeley Version           But in a dream by night God came to Abimelech and said to him: Tanke notice! You are about to die because of the woman you have taken; for she has a husband.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          But God came to AbiMelech at night in a dream and told him: 'Look; You're going to die because of this woman you've taken, because she [already has] a husband!'

Ancient Roots Translinear      But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "You will die here over the woman you took. She married a master."

Beck’s American Translation But in a dream one night God came to Abimelech. “You will die,” He told him, “because you took that woman. She is a man’s wife.”

God’s Word™                         God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You're going to die because of the woman that you've taken! She's a married woman!"

New Jerusalem Bible             But God visited Abimelech in a dream one night. 'You are to die,' he told him, 'because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.'

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Conservapedia                       But God came to Abimelech in a dream that night, and told him, "Look, you're as good as dead, on account of the woman you thought to marry, because she belongs to someone else."

The Expanded Bible              But one night God spoke to Abimelech in a dream and said, "You will die. The woman you took is married."

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 God, however, came to Abimelech in a dream at night, and said, “Beware of death because of this woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”

HCSB                                     But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman."

New Advent Bible                  And God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and he said to him: Lo you shall die for the woman that you have taken: for she has a husband.

NET Bible®                             But God appeared [Heb "came."] to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, "You are as good as dead [Heb "Look, you [are] dead." The Hebrew construction uses the particle hinnêh (הִנֵּה) [pronounced hin-NAY] with a second person pronominal particle hinnêh (הִנֵּה) [pronounced hin-NAY] with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.] because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else's wife [Heb "and she is owned by an owner." The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case]."