Genesis 20; Genesis 26:6–11

red bookmark icon blue bookmark icon gold bookmark icon
Genesis 20

Abraham and Abimelech

From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between pKadesh and Shur; and he qsojourned in rGerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, sShe is my sister. And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. tBut God came to Abimelech uin a dream by night and said to him, Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife. Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, vLord, will you kill an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, She is my sister? And she herself said, He is my brother. In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this. Then God said to him in the dream, Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning wagainst me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. Now then, return the man’s wife, xfor he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you yand all who are yours.

So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done. 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, What did you see, that you did this thing? 11 Abraham said, I did it because I thought, zThere is no fear of God at all in this place, and athey will kill me because of my wife. 12 Besides, bshe is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when cGod caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, dsay of me, He is my brother.

14 Then Abimelech etook sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, Behold, fmy land is before you; dwell where it pleases you. 16 To Sarah he said, Behold, I have given gyour brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is ha sign of your innocence in the eyes of all1 who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated. 17 Then iAbraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the Lord jhad closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.


Genesis 26:6–11

Isaac and Abimelech

So Isaac settled in Gerar. When the men of the place asked him about his wife, fhe said, She is my sister, for ghe feared to say, My wife, thinking, lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah, because hshe was attractive in appearance. When he had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac laughing with1 Rebekah his wife. So Abimelech called Isaac and said, Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, She is my sister? Isaac said to him, Because I thought, Lest I die because of her. 10 Abimelech said, What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and iyou would have brought guilt upon us. 11 So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.