Genesis 20:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.”

NIV: To Sarah he said, 'I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated.'

NASB: To Sarah he said, 'Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you, and before everyone you are cleared.'

CSB: And he said to Sarah, "Look, I am giving your brother one thousand pieces of silver. It is a verification of your honor to all who are with you. You are fully vindicated."

NLT: And he said to Sarah, 'Look, I am giving your ‘brother’ 1,000 pieces of silver in the presence of all these witnesses. This is to compensate you for any wrong I may have done to you. This will settle any claim against me, and your reputation is cleared.'

KJV: And 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.

NKJV: Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked.

Years earlier, the Lord had promised to unconditionally bless Abraham. He continues to do so here. Even when Abraham appears to act dishonorably in fear and faithlessness, God blesses him in it. It happened after Abraham's lie about Sarah being his sister in Egypt, and it happens again here.

King Abimelech, eager to be healed and show himself obedient to Abraham's God, has returned Sarah, untouched (Genesis 20:4), to Abraham along with great gifts: herds, cattle, servants, and the choice of any land in the kingdom for a homestead (Genesis 20:15). Now the king goes even further, blessing Abraham and Sarah in two more ways.

First, Abimelech gives Abraham a thousand pieces of silver. That's a lot of money in this era, far beyond the normal price for a bride. Abimelech's stated reason for doing so is the second blessing: It is meant as a sign of Sarah's innocence in this matter. Somehow, this large sum of silver was meant to protect Sarah's reputation, to tell everyone that she had not been compromised while in Abimelech's household.

Notice that while telling this to Sarah, he still calls Abraham her "brother" and not her husband. Since that was the half-truth, half-lie used by Abraham, Abimelech might mean that statement as a not-so-subtle sign of his continued displeasure with fearful Abraham.

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.