Genesis 20:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?”

NIV: And Abimelek asked Abraham, 'What was your reason for doing this?'

NASB: And Abimelech said to Abraham, 'What have you encountered, that you have done this thing?'

CSB: Abimelech also asked Abraham, "What made you do this? "

NLT: Whatever possessed you to do such a thing?'

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

NKJV: Then Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you have in view, that you have done this thing?”

Abraham's actions put the king and his family at risk—they were stricken with disease and barrenness (Genesis 20:17–18) until God confronted Abimelech in a dream (Genesis 20:3). At that point, Abimelech appealed to his good intentions, and that he had not yet touched Sarah. In the prior verse, Abimelech had demanded to know why Abraham had acted so inappropriately, by lying and allowing this risk to fall on his family.

After beginning with an angry series of confrontational questions in the previous verse, Abimelech's question here seems more pointed. He genuinely wants to know why Abraham lied and said that Sarah was his sister. More specifically, Abimelech asks what Abraham has seen or encountered that would motivate this kind of deception. Abimelech honestly doesn't get it. In light of all of God's goodness to Abraham, his answer in the following verses will not be very satisfying to us either, though it will sound very human.

Genesis 20:1–18 describes what happens when Abraham once again moves to a new place and insists on lying that Sarah is merely his sister and not his wife. Abimelech, the king of Gerar, takes Sarah as one of his wives. He is soon struck with an illness and visited in a dream with a warning from God that he will die if he doesn't return Sarah to Abraham and if Abraham doesn't pray for him. Sarah is returned untouched, Abraham prays, and all are healed.

Here, Abraham practically duplicates one of the oddest episodes in his earlier life. As he did with the Egyptians in Genesis chapter 12, Abraham moves through a new area and claims that Sarah is his sister. The king of Gerar, Abimelech, takes Sarah for one of his wives, but he is soon struck ill. God appears and tells Abimelech he will die for taking a married woman. Abimelech insists he did not know and has not slept with Sarah. The Lord says that if he returns her, and if Abraham prays for them, all will be healed.

After the dramatic events of the previous chapters, Abraham moves south of Gaza to Gerar. As he did in Egypt, he claims that his wife is his sister. The king of Gerar, Abimelech, takes Sarah as his wife, but is soon struck ill and never approaches her. The Lord offers to spare Abimelech and his household if he will return Sarah and if Abraham will pray for them. Sarah is returned. All are healed, including all the women who have been unable to bear children. In the following chapter, Sarah herself will finally bear Abraham a son—an outcome God safeguards through His actions in this chapter.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 5/4/2024 1:02:05 PM