1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

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

3But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife.

4But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

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

6And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

7 Now therefore restore the man his 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.

8Therefore 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.

9Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended 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.

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

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

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

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

14And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

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

16And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.

17So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.

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

And Abraham iourneyed from thence, toward the South-Countrey, and dwelled betweene Cadesh and Shur, and soiourned in Gerar.

2And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: And Abimelech King of Gerar sent, and tooke Sarah.

3But God came to Abimelech in a dreame by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken: for shee is a mans wife.

4But Abimelech had not come neere her: and he said, LORD, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

5Said he not vnto me, She is my sister? and she, euen she herselfe said, Hee is my brother: in the integritie of my heart, and innocencie of my hands haue I done this.

6And God saide vnto him in a dreame, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integritie of thy heart: for I also withheld thee from sinning against mee, therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

7 Now therefore restore the man his wife: for he is a Prophet, and he shal pray for thee, and thou shalt liue: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

8Therefore Abimelech rose earely in the morning, and called all his seruants, and told all these things in their eares: and the men were sore afraid.

9Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said vnto him, What hast thou done vnto vs? and what haue I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me, and on my kingdome a great sinne? thou hast done deeds vnto mee that ought not to be done.

10And Abimelech said vnto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?

11And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the feare of God is not in this place: and they will slay mee for my wiues sake.

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

13And it came to passe when God caused me to wander from my fathers house, that I said vnto her, This is thy kindnesse which thou shalt shew vnto me; at euery place whither wee shall come, say of me, He is my brother.

14And Abimelech tooke sheepe and oxen, and men-seruants, and women seruants, and gaue them vnto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

15And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee; dwel where it pleaseth thee.

16And vnto Sarah hee said, Behold, I haue giuen thy brother a thousand pieces of siluer: behold, he is to thee a couering of the eyes, vnto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus shee was reproued.

17 So Abraham prayed vnto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maid-seruants, and they bare children.

18For the LORD had fast closed vp all the wombes of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abrahams wife.

I == Gen 16:7 , 14 ; 18:1 ; 26:6

 

II == Gen 12:13 , 15 ; 26:7

 

III == Gen 20:7 ; Job 33:15 ; Ps 105:14

 

 

IV == Gen 18:23 ; 20:18

 

V == 2nd Kings 20:3 ; 2nd Cor 1:12

 

 

VI == Gen 31:7 ; 35:5 ; 39:9 ; Ex 34:24 ; Lev 6:2 ; 1st Sam 25:26 , 34 ; Ps 51:4

 

VII == Gen 2:17 ; Num 16:32-33 ; 1st Sam 7:5 ; 2nd Kings 5:11 ; Job 42:8 ; James 5:14-15 ; 1st John 5:16

 

IX == Gen 26:10 ; 34:7 ; Ex 32:21 ; Josh 7:25

 

XI == Gen 12:12 ; 26:7 ; 42:18 ; Ps 36:1 ; Prov 16:6

 

XII == Gen 11:29

 

 

XIII == Gen 12:1 , 9 , 11 , 13 ; Heb 11:8

 

 

XIV == Gen 12:16

 

 

XV == Gen 13:9

 

 

XVI == Gen 20:5 ; 24:65 ; 26:11

 

 

 

XVII == Job 42:9-10

 

 

XVIII == Gen 12:17

1 Abraham journeyed on to the region of the Negeb, where he settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he stayed in Gerar,

2 he said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah.

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she has a husband."

4 Abimelech, who had not approached her, said: "O Lord, would you slay a man even though he is innocent?

5 He himself told me, 'She is my sister,' and she herself also stated, 'He is my brother.' I did it in good faith and with clean hands."

6 God answered him in the dream: "Yes, I know you did it in good faith. In fact, it was I who kept you from sinning against me; that is why I did not let you touch her.

7 Therefore, return the man's wife - as a spokesman he will intercede for you - that your life may be saved. If you do not return her, you can be sure that you and all who are yours will certainly die."

8 Early the next morning Abimelech called all his court officials and informed them of everything that had happened, and the men were horrified.

9 Then Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him: "How could you do this to us! What wrong did I do to you that you should have brought such monstrous guilt on me and my kingdom? You have treated me in an intolerable way.

10 What were you afraid of," he asked him, "that you should have done such a thing?"

11 "I was afraid," answered Abraham, "because I thought there would surely be no fear of God in this place, and so they would kill me on account of my wife.

12 Besides, she is in truth my sister, but only my father's daughter, not my mother's; and so she became my wife.

13 When God sent me wandering from my father's house, I asked her: 'Would you do me this favor? In whatever place we come to, say that I am your brother.'"

14 Then Abimelech took flocks and herds and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham; and after he restored his wife Sarah to him,

15 he said, "Here, my land lies at your disposal; settle wherever you please."

16 To Sarah he said: "See, I have given your brother a thousand shekels of silver. Let that serve you as a vindication before all who are with you; your honor has been preserved with everyone."

17 Abraham then interceded with God, and God restored health to Abimelech, that is, to his wife and his maidservants, so that they could bear children;

18 for God had tightly closed every womb in Abimelech's household on account of Abraham's wife Sarah

v 1,2. This is a great place to remember 1 Cor. 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. It may seem strange that Abraham would make the same mistake again (don’t we all?), but we will see in v 13 it was a premeditated thing for his own safety.

v 3. The Lord warned Abimelech of his grave situation, innocent, but dead, while Abraham was guilty, but a prophet. A righteous act does not make one a believer, nor a lapse in sin cause a believer to lose salvation.

v 4,5. In this case Abimelech was more righteous than Abraham, and he pleads to God concerning his absolute innocence and integrity.

 

v 6,7. The Lord knew Abimelech’s heart and did not condemn him, but warned him of dire consequences if he refused to give back Sarah. This is the first mention of the word prophet in scripture, and it was Abraham's prayer,v 17, that saved Abimelech’s life.

v 8-10. Abimelech rose early to inform his servants of the situation and confronted Abraham immediately. How sad for believers to have to be rebuked by unbelievers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 11-13. Abraham’s scheme was a half truth, but since it was intended to deceive, it was a deliberate lie. You would think he would have learned from the rebuke from Pharaoh in chapter 12. Sarah must have been a very beautiful woman at ninety years of age, and probably pregnant, for Abraham to fear she would be taken to a harem and himself killed. He was wealthy and powerful by now, and may have thought Abimelech would try for a marriage alliance so they could dwell together peaceably.

 

 

v 14-16. It is amazing that Abimelech gave so many huge gifts to Abraham and Sarah, when they were actually the ones at fault, but he was probably in fear from God’s warning in v 7. As Abraham gave Lot the choice of the land, now Abimelech allows Abraham to dwell in any part of the land he chooses. With the thousand pieces of silver, his intent was that Sarah would be vindicated in the eyes of all who were with her and the situation made right. That is, she could look the world in the face. Abraham must have felt great shame in accepting all those gifts. God had protected His promise and their marriage, first out of the land, now in the land.

V 17,18. This situation must have lasted a few months, for the people to realize all the women had become barren. Now Abraham is back in fellowship and praying terms with the Lord, and the Lord quickly answers his prayer.

Abraham sojourned in Gerara: Sara is taken into king Abimelech's house, but by God's commandment is restored untouched.