Bible/Genesis/20

Genesis 20:3

20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
But 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. a man's: Heb. married to an husband

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But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken. For she is a man’s wife.”

But 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.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, you are but a dead man, for the woman which you have taken; for she is a man’s wife.

20:4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

What does Genesis 20:3 mean?

Genesis 20:3 is a verse in the book of Genesis, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlôhîym), בּוֹא (bôwʼ), אֲבִימֶלֶךְ (ʼĂbîymelek). It connects to 17 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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But
Godאֱלֹהִיםʼĕlôhîym/el-o-heem'/H430gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
cameבּוֹאbôwʼ/bo/H935to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
to
AbimelechאֲבִימֶלֶךְʼĂbîymelek/ab-ee-mel'-ek/H40Abimelek, the name of two Philistine kings and of two Israelites
in
a
dreamחֲלוֹםchălôwm/khal-ome'/H2472a dream
by
night,לַיִלlayil/lah'-yil/H3915properly, a twist (away of the light), i.e. night; figuratively, adversity
and
saidאָמַרʼâmar/aw-mar'/H559to say (used with great latitude)
to
him,
Behold,
thou
art
but
a
dead
man,מוּתmûwth/mooth/H4191to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill
for
the
womanאִשָּׁהʼishshâh/ish-shaw'/H802a woman
which
thou
hast
taken;לָקַחlâqach/law-kakh'/H3947to take (in the widest variety of applications)
for
she
is
a
man'sבַּעַלbaʻal/bah'-al/H1167a master; hence, a husband, or (figuratively) owner (often used with another noun in modifications of this latter sense)
wife.בָּעַלbâʻal/baw-al'/H1166to be master; hence, to marry
a
man's:
Heb.
married
to
an
husband

Commentary on Genesis 20:3

HENRY_FULL · Genesis 20:3–4
d Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. Here is, 1. Abraham's removal from Mamre, where he had lived nearly twenty years, into the country of the Philistines: He sojourned in Gerar, v. 1 . We are not told upon what occasion he removed, whether terrified by the destruction of Sodom, or because the country round was for the present prejudiced by it, or, as some of the Jewish writers say, because he was grieved at Lot's incest with his daughters, and the reproach which the Canaanites cast upon him and his religion, for his kinsman's sake: doubtless there was some good cause for his removal. Note, In a world where we are strangers and pilgrims we cannot expect to be always in the same place. Again, Wherever we are, we must look upon ourselves but as sojourners. 2. His sin in denying his wife, as before ( ch. xii. 13 ), which was not only in itself such an equivocation as bordered upon a lie, and which, if admitted as lawful, would be the ruin of human converse and an inlet to all falsehood, but was also an exposing of the chastity and honour of his wife, of which he ought to have been the protector. But, besides this, it had here a two-fold aggravation:— (1.) He had been guilty of this same sin before, and had been reproved for it, and convinced of the folly of the suggestion which induced him to it; yet he returns to it. Note, It is possible that a good man may, not only fall into sin, but relapse into the same sin, through the surprise and strength of temptation and the infirmity of the flesh. Let backsliders repent then, but not despair, Jer. iii. 22 . (2.) Sarah, as it should seem, was now with child of the promised seed, or, at least, in expectation of being so quickly, according to the word of God; he ought therefore to have taken particular care of her now, as Judg. xiii. 4 . 3. The peril that Sarah was brought into by this means: The king of Gerar sent, and took her to his house, in order to the taking of her to his bed. Note, The sin of one often occasions the sin of others; he that breaks the hedge of God's commandments opens a gap to he knows not how many; the beginning of sin is as the letting forth of water. 3 But 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. 4

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Genesis 20:7

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.

Genesis 28:12

And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.

Genesis 31:24

And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night, and said unto him, Take heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad. either: Heb. from good to bad

Genesis 37:5

And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

Genesis 37:9

And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

Genesis 40:8

And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.

Genesis 41:1

And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.

Job 4:12

Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. secretly: Heb. by stealth

Job 4:13

In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,

Job 33:15

In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;

Ezekiel 33:14

Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; that: Heb. judgment and justice

Ezekiel 33:15

If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.

Jonah 3:4

And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

Matthew 1:20

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. conceived: Gr. begotten

Matthew 2:12

And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

Matthew 2:13

And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

Matthew 27:19

When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

Topics

AdulteryDreamsIgnorance

People & places in this verse

People

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Genesis 20:3.

Genesis 1:14

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: the day: Heb. between the day and between the night

Genesis 2:22

And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. made: Heb. builded

Genesis 3:1

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Yea: Heb. Yea, because, etc.

Genesis 3:4

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

Genesis 1:11

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. grass: Heb. tender grass

Genesis 1:16

And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. to rule the day: Heb. for the rule of the day, etc.

Genesis 1:18

And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:20

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. moving: or, creeping life: Heb. soul fowl: Heb. let fowl fly open: Heb. face of the firmament of heaven

Frequently asked questions

What does Genesis 20:3 say?

Genesis 20:3 (King James Version) reads: "But 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. a man's: Heb. married to an husband"

Is Genesis 20:3 in the Old or New Testament?

Genesis 20:3 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Genesis.

Who wrote the book of Genesis?

The book of Genesis is traditionally attributed to Moses.

Reflect

As you read Genesis 20:3, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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