Genesis 20

This chapter belongs to the patriarchal narratives of Genesis and covers part of the life of Abraham. It follows the destruction of Sodom in chapter 19, and Isaac's birth follows immediately in chapter 21.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 Abraham journeys toward the south country and sojourns in Gerar, between Kadesh and Shur. When he says that his wife Sarah is his sister, Abimelech king of Gerar takes her.
• Verses 3–7 God comes to Abimelech in a dream by night and warns him that he is a dead man for taking another man's wife. When Abimelech protests that he acted in the integrity of his heart, God answers that He knew this and therefore withheld him from sinning. He then commands Abimelech to restore the woman to Abraham, who is a prophet.
• Verses 8–10 Abimelech rises early in the morning, tells his servants what has happened, and summons Abraham to demand why he has done this.
• Verses 11–13 Abraham replies that he feared he would be killed because there was no fear of God in that place. He explains that Sarah is in fact his half-sister, and that ever since his wanderings began, they had agreed she would call him her brother wherever they went.
• Verses 14–18 Abimelech gives Abraham sheep, oxen, and servants, restores Sarah to him, invites him to dwell wherever he pleases, and gives him a thousand pieces of silver. Abraham prays, and God heals Abimelech's household so that they can again bear children, for every womb in that house had been closed because of Sarah.

Key Verses

• Genesis 20:6 "For I also withheld thee from sinning against me." In this scene God intervenes beforehand to prevent wrongdoing, even amid human failure.
• Genesis 20:7 "For he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee." This is commonly regarded as the first occurrence of the word "prophet" in the Bible.
• Genesis 20:11 "Surely the fear of God is not in this place." Abraham's reply reveals both his fear and his own reasoning.

Characters and Places

• Abraham: Sarah's husband, whom God calls a prophet.
• Sarah: Abraham's wife and, by his account, his half-sister.
• Abimelech: King of Gerar.
• Gerar: A town in the western part of the south country (the Negev).
• Kadesh: Commonly identified with Kadesh Barnea.

Points for Reflection

Accounts in which a wife is presented as a sister also appear in chapter 12 (Abraham and Pharaoh) and chapter 26 (Isaac and Abimelech). Traditional interpretation regards these as separate events that illustrate the recurring weakness of human beings. Some historical-critical scholars regard them as variant forms of a single tradition.

The statement that Sarah was Abraham's half-sister appears only in this chapter. Some Jewish traditions identify Sarah with Iscah in Genesis 11:29, but the text itself offers no such explanation. Since Sarah is about ninety years old in chapter 17, interpreters have also offered various explanations regarding her age.

The New Testament does not quote this chapter directly. However, Psalm 105:14–15 looks back on events of this kind, celebrating how God reproved kings for the patriarchs' sake. Some read the chapter as showing the preservation of the household of promise just before Isaac's birth, and Abraham's prayer is also cited as an example of intercessory prayer.