Genesis 20:2 - Printer Friendly

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

NIV: and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, 'She is my sister.' Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

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

CSB: Abraham said about his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

NLT: Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, 'She is my sister.' So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.

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

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

After moving to a new place, Gerar, Abraham repeats an old scheme he had used much earlier in his life. Genesis 12 reports that Abraham had moved his household into Egypt, forced out of Canaan by a famine in the land. At that time, he was afraid someone would notice his wife's great beauty and kill him to get her (Genesis 12:12). So, he asked Sarah to tell a half-lie for him: Say you are my sister. She was, in fact, his half-sister. They shared the same father, but different mothers (Genesis 20:12). Perhaps Abraham thought someone would ask his permission to marry her and, as her brother, he could simply refuse.

It didn't work. An Egyptian Pharaoh simply took her, added her to his harem, and paid Abraham great sums as her brother. Then, as He often will in these instances, God stepped in to resolve the situation. Here, God will eventually do the same.

This is a frustrating incident in the life of Abraham, who has recently seen many signs of God's great power and faithfulness. Even so, Abraham acts out of fear and faithlessness. Once again, the lie backfires. The king of Gerar, Abimelech, takes Sarah for a wife, believing her to be Abraham's sister.

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.