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Genesis Chapter 20 (JPS)

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Genesis Chapter 20
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1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the land of the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.

2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife: 'She is my sister.' And Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

3 But G-d came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him: 'Behold, thou shalt die, because of the woman whom thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.'

4 Now Abimelech had not come near her; and he said: 'L-rd, wilt Thou slay even a righteous nation?

5 Said he not himself unto me: She is my sister? and she, even she herself said: He is my brother. In the simplicity of my heart and the innocency of my hands have I done this.'

6 And G-d said unto him in the dream: 'Yea, I know that in the simplicity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I also withheld thee from sinning against Me. Therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

7 Now therefore restore the man's wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live; and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.'

8 And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears; and the men were sore afraid.

9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him: 'What hast thou done unto us? and wherein have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.'

10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham: 'What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?'

11 And Abraham said: 'Because I thought: Surely the fear of G-d is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake.

12 And moreover she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and so she became my wife.

13 And it came to pass, when G-d caused me to wander from my father's house, that I said unto her: This is thy kindness which thou shalt show unto me; at every place whither we shall come, say of me: He is my brother.'

14 And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and men-servants and women-servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

15 And Abimelech said: 'Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.'

16 And unto Sarah he said: 'Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver; behold, it is for thee a covering of the eyes to all that are with thee; and before all men thou art righted.'

17 And Abraham prayed unto G-d; and G-d healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-servants; and they bore children.

18 For HaShem had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens between Abraham and Abimelech in Genesis 20?
Abraham again tells a foreign king, Abimelech of Gerar, that Sarah is his sister, and Abimelech takes her; God warns Abimelech in a dream that she is a married woman, so Abimelech restores Sarah untouched, gives Abraham gifts, and Abraham prays for God to heal Abimelech's household, which had been struck with barrenness.
How did God protect Sarah in Abimelech's house?
Verse 6 says God kept Abimelech from touching her, telling him in a dream 'I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.'
Why did Abraham say Sarah was his sister again?
Verse 11 has Abraham explain he assumed 'the fear of God is not in this place' and feared being killed for his wife's sake, and verse 12 notes she was technically his half-sister, sharing his father but not his mother.

Today's Verse

And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him.

Mark 1:20 | ASV

Verse Of The Day

Abimelech, who insists he acted in innocence, returns Sarah to Abraham along with sheep, oxen, and silver, and Abraham then prays for Abimelech's household, which God had closed up because of Sarah. This account of a household restored through a prophet's intervention echoes in 1 Samuel 25:34, and Abraham's long-awaited fatherhood is fulfilled with Isaac's birth in Genesis 21.