The Book of Genesis 18 Verses

Genesis 20

Abraham, Sarah, and Abimelech

Chapter 20 Overview · 18 Verses

1Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar, 2Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

3One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him: “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

Genesis 20:1–3 Commentary

The Old Half-Truth Surfaces in Gerar:

Abraham repeats, almost word for word, the same deception he used back in Egypt: he tells Abimelech, king of Gerar, that Sarah is his sister. This is the second of the three “she is my sister” episodes in Genesis, following the earlier incident eight chapters back in Genesis 12:11–13⁠, where Abram told Pharaoh that half-truth while concealing that Sarai was also his wife. The same pattern will repeat again six chapters ahead in Genesis 26:6–11 with his own son Isaac.

Repeating Old Mistakes Until the Lesson Lands:

Abraham tried to substitute human “prudence” for real faith, proving that even the father of the faithful had to grow out of relying on deceptive schemes after repeating the exact same failure.

God Warns Abimelech in a Night Vision:

God intervenes with total urgency in Gerar. In Genesis 20:3⁠, God comes to King Abimelech in a dream of the night, declaring: "Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman you have taken, for she is married." YAHWEH actively protected Sarah's purity to guarantee that the covenant seed (Isaac) was indisputably Abraham’s child.

4Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent? 5Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.”

6Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.”

Genesis 20:4–7 Commentary

The Command Against Adultery Preceded Sinai:

The prohibition against adultery, codified over six centuries later at Mount Sinai in the Seventh Commandment (Exodus 20:14) — “You shall not commit adultery” — already carried full divine force in patriarchal times. Abraham’s great-grandson Joseph would demonstrate this very truth down the corridor of patriarchal history in Genesis 39:9⁠, refusing Potiphar’s wife centuries before Moses: “How could I do such a great evil and sin against God?” God’s moral law is eternal and did not begin at Sinai.

Abraham Named a Prophet for the First Time:

God instructs Abimelech to restore Sarah, explaining that Abraham is a prophet who will pray for him. This title in Scripture can involve foretelling future events, preaching repentance, teaching God’s truth directly, interceding on behalf of others, or several of these roles combined in a single life, exactly as we already saw Abraham doing on Sodom’s behalf two chapters earlier in Genesis 18. This is also the first time the word “prophet,” navi in Hebrew, appears anywhere in Scripture.

8Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified.

9Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.” 10Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?”

11Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’

12Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife. 13So when God had me journey from my father’s house, I said to Sarah, ‘This is how you can show your loyalty to me: Wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

Genesis 20:8–13 Commentary

Abraham Wrongly Assumed God’s Reach Had Limits:

When Abimelech demands an explanation, Abraham admits his underlying fear: he assumed there was no fear of God at all in Gerar, and that the locals would murder him to take his wife. In doing so, Abraham momentarily lapsed into panic, acting as though God’s sovereign protection were confined to his own encampment rather than governing every corner of the earth.

Thinking in Territorial Gods Post-Babel:

Abraham assumes there is zero fear of God in Gerar because, in the ancient mindset, every pagan border was governed by regional deities. That wasn't just ancient superstition: looking back to the dispersion after Babel, Moses over six centuries later on the plains of Moab would explain in Deuteronomy 32:8–9 that the Gentile nations were handed over to the sons of God, and in Deuteronomy 4:19 notes the host of heaven was apportioned to the peoples. Abraham felt like a vulnerable foreigner trespassing in hostile spiritual territory. But his fear blinded him to reality: the Creator who called Abraham holds total jurisdiction over Gerar as well — as Abimelech discovers the moment God invades his dream in Genesis 20:3⁠.

Why Close Marriage Carried Minimal Early Risk:

Abraham explains that Sarah truly is his half-sister, sharing the same father (Terah) but not the same mother (Genesis 20:12)⁠. Given the unusually long lifespans of this early era, and the close genetic proximity of the human race to Adam and Eve at this point in history, close-relative marriages like this one did not yet carry the same biological dangers they would carry later, once genetic mutations had accumulated much further across the generations.

Sinai Later Codified the Genetic Boundary:

Such unions were explicitly forbidden over six centuries later under God’s Law at Mount Sinai (Leviticus 18:9)⁠, which bans marriage to a sister or half-sister once genetic mutations had multiplied and formal civil statutes were codified for the nation of Israel.

14So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him. 15And Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please.” 16And he said to Sarah, “See, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you; you are completely cleared.”

Genesis 20:14–16 Commentary

Silver Payment Clears Sarah’s Honor:

Abimelech does what Pharaoh did eight chapters earlier back in Genesis 12:16⁠: he loads Abraham with sheep, cattle, and servants, and sends him off richer than he arrived, with the added offer of any land he wants. Then he turns to Sarah and says he is giving her “brother” a thousand pieces of silver, and he tells her what the silver is for: it is her vindication before everyone with her, proof that she is completely cleared. The Hebrew idiom is a Kesut Einayim, a “covering of the eyes,” a payment meant to ensure no one has reason to look at her with suspicion again. The pattern from Egypt repeats: a foreign king takes Sarah, YAHWEH intervenes, and Abraham leaves with wealth and with his wife restored.

17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children— 18(for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, YAHWEH had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household).

Genesis 20:17–18 Commentary

Sarah’s Long Stay in Abimelech’s House Is Implied:

Abraham prays, and God heals Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, who had been unable to bear children during this entire episode. This detail indicates Sarah’s stay in Abimelech’s compound lasted long enough for the household to recognize a sudden, total medical affliction on every female in the palace — a reproductive curse that was only lifted once Abraham interceded on Abimelech’s behalf and Sarah was safely restored.

Genesis 20 Footnotes

Genesis 20 · Footnote 556 (Genesis 12:11–13): Genesis 12:11–13 — 11As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman, 12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. 13Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”

Genesis 20 · Footnote 557 (Genesis 26:6–11): Genesis 26:6–11 — 6So Isaac settled in Gerar. 7But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” (For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.”) 8When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 9Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.” 10“What is this you have done to us?” asked Abimelech. “One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” 11So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

Genesis 20 · Footnote 558 (Genesis 20:3): Genesis 20:3 — One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him: “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

Genesis 20 · Footnote 559 (Exodus 20:14): Exodus 20:14 — You shall not commit adultery.

Genesis 20 · Footnote 560 (Genesis 39:9): Genesis 39:9 — No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”

Genesis 20 · Footnote 561 (Deuteronomy 32:8–9): Deuteronomy 32:8–9 — 8When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. 9 But YAHWEH’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted inheritance.

Genesis 20 · Footnote 562 (Deuteronomy 4:19): Deuteronomy 4:19 — When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what YAHWEH your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

Genesis 20 · Footnote 563 (Genesis 20:3): Genesis 20:3 — One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him: “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

Genesis 20 · Footnote 564 (Genesis 20:12): Genesis 20:12 — Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife.

Genesis 20 · Footnote 565 (Leviticus 18:9): Leviticus 18:9 — You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.

Genesis 20 · Footnote 566 (Genesis 12:16): Genesis 12:16 — He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.

Genesis 20 · Footnote 1391 (Genesis 20:1–3): Genesis 20:1–3 — 1Now Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was staying in Gerar, 2Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. 3One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him: “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

Genesis 20 · Footnote 1392 (Genesis 20:4–7): Genesis 20:4–7 — 4Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent? 5Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.” 6Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.”

Genesis 20 · Footnote 1393 (Genesis 20:8–13): Genesis 20:8–13 — 8Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified. 9Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.” 10Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?” 11Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’ 12Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife. 13So when God had me journey from my father’s house, I said to Sarah, ‘This is how you can show your loyalty to me: Wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

Genesis 20 · Footnote 1394 (Genesis 20:14–16): Genesis 20:14–16 — 14So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him. 15And Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please.” 16And he said to Sarah, “See, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you; you are completely cleared.”

Genesis 20 · Footnote 1395 (Genesis 20:17–18): Genesis 20:17–18 — 17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children— 18(for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, YAHWEH had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household).