Genesis 20:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.

NIV: Then God said to him in the dream, 'Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her.

NASB: Then God said to him in the dream, 'Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.

CSB: Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. I have also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I have not let you touch her.

NLT: In the dream God responded, 'Yes, I know you are innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against me, and why I did not let you touch her.

KJV: And 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.

NKJV: And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her.

God has appeared to king Abimelech in a nighttime dream with a startling message: You are going to die from your current illness, because you took a married woman as your wife. Abimelech's response has been that not only had he not yet slept with Sarah, he had acted with integrity. He believed Abraham's lie that Sarah was merely his sister. Abimelech's question to the Lord from verse 4 still hangs in the air: Will you kill the innocent?

Now the Lord relieves the tension a little. He agrees that Abimelech has acted with integrity. He also reveals that He, the Lord, has kept Abimelech from even touching Sarah. This is part of God's faithfulness in protecting His promise to Abraham and Sarah, that they would soon have a natural-born son (Genesis 17:15–16). Making it clear that Sarah and Abimelech were not intimate is key to this passage.

Though the text doesn't say so here, verse 17 reveals that Abimelech had been ill. In Genesis 12, when Abraham lied in the same way and an Egyptian Pharaoh had taken Sarah as his wife, God had sent plagues on the Pharaoh's household (Genesis 12:17). Abimelech's illness may even have been why he has been unable to touch Sarah and complete his sin against the Lord.

Notice that God describes this potential adultery as a sin against Himself and not just against Sarah and Abraham. Later, God will make abundantly clear to His people Israel that adultery is strictly forbidden in all cases.

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.