EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Genesis 20:2
2While he was there, Abraham told people that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. Because of this, the king of Gerar took Sarah so that she would become his wife. The king's name was Abimelech.
Genesis 20:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
- New International Version (NIV)and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.
Context of Genesis 20:2
1Abraham travelled south to the Negev desert. He lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a time he stayed in Gerar. While he was there, Abraham told people that his wife, Sarah, was his sister. Because of this, the king of Gerar took Sarah so that she would become his wife. The king's name was Abimelech. 3But God appeared to Abimelech in a dream. He said to Abimelech, ‘Now you will die! The woman that you have taken to be your wife is already a married woman.’ 4But Abimelech had not yet touched Sarah. He said to God, ‘Lord, I have not done anything wrong. Surely you will not destroy me and my people.
Read all of Genesis 20Genesis 20:2 word by word
וַיֹּ֧אמֶר אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־שָׂרָ֥ה אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ אֲחֹ֣תִי הִ֑וא וַיִּשְׁלַ֗ח אֲבִימֶ֙לֶךְ֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ גְּרָ֔ר וַיִּקַּ֖ח אֶת־שָׂרָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Abrahamאַבְרָהָם'abrâhâm · AbrahamH85
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- ofאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
- Sarahשָׂרָהώârâh · SarahH8283
- his wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
- my sisterאָחוֹת'âchôth · sisterH269
- and Abimelechאֲבִימֶ֫לֶךְ'ăbîymelek · AbimelechH40
- kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Gerarגְּרָרgerâr · GerarH1642
- sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- and tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
Cross-references for Genesis 20:2
- Genesis 12:11When Abram came near to Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘Listen to me. I know that you are a very beautiful woman.
- Genesis 26:7The men of Gerar asked Isaac about his wife. He told them, ‘She is my sister.’ He was afraid to say, ‘She is my wife.’ He thought that the men of Gerar might kill him because Rebekah was very beautiful.
- 2 Chronicles 19:2The prophet Jehu, Hanani's son, went to meet him. He said to King Jehoshaphat, ‘You agreed to help a wicked man. You became the friend of someone who hates the Lord. You should not have done that. You have caused the Lord to be very angry with you.
- 2 Chronicles 20:37Dodavahu's son Eliezer from Mareshah warned Jehoshaphat with a message from the Lord. He said, ‘You should not have become a friend of Ahaziah. Because of that, the Lord will destroy the things that you have made.’ A storm destroyed the ships and they never went anywhere.
- 2 Chronicles 32:31After that, the rulers of Babylon sent some officers to visit Hezekiah. They wanted to ask him about the miracle that had happened in Judah. God let Hezekiah decide what to tell them. He wanted to test Hezekiah, to see if he would be faithful.
- Proverbs 24:16If an honest person falls down seven times, he will still stand up again. But when trouble comes to a wicked person, that is the end of him.
- Ecclesiastes 7:20There is nobody on the earth who is so righteous that they always do what is right. There is nobody who never does a wrong thing.
- Galatians 2:11But later, when Peter came to Antioch, I spoke against him. I told him clearly that he had done something wrong.
- Ephesians 4:25So you must stop telling lies. Each of you must say only true things to one another. Remember that all of us belong to one another, like parts of the same body.
- Colossians 3:9Do not deceive each other with lies. Remember that you have taken off your old nature, like an old coat. As a result, you can stop doing all the bad things that you liked to do before.
- Genesis 12:15The king's officers saw her. They told Pharaoh that she was very beautiful. They took her to the king's palace.
- Genesis 26:1There was another famine in the land. This had happened before, when Abraham was alive. Now Isaac went to Gerar to visit Abimelech, the king of the Philistines.
Commentaries on Genesis 20:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2She is my sister - See the parallel account, Genesis 12 (note), and the notes there. Sarah was now about ninety years of age, and probably pregnant with Isaac. Her beauty, therefore, must have been considerably impaired since the time she was taken in a similar manner by Pharaoh, king of Egypt; but she was probably now chosen by Abimelech more on the account of forming an alliance with Abraham, who was very rich, than on account of any personal…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-18Verses 1-18 - Abraham in Gerar 2. אבימלך .2 'ǎbı̂ymelek Abimelekh, “father of the king.” 7. נביא nābı̂y' “prophet,” he who speaks by God, of God, and to God, who declares to people not merely things future, but also things past and present, that are not obvious to the sense or the reason; related: “flow, go forth.” 13. התעוּ hı̂t‛û is plural in punctuation, agreeing grammatically with אלהים 'ĕlohı̂ym ו (w), however, may be regarded as the third…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Abraham lied to Abimelech, just as he had lied to Pharaoh (12:13). Isaac later did the same (26:1–11), probably learning this from his father. Abimelech (which means "my father the king") was probably a title like Pharaoh (37:36; Exodus 1:15), not a personal name (see study note on Genesis 26:1).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister--Fear of the people among whom he was, tempted him to equivocate. His conduct was highly culpable. It was deceit, deliberate and premeditated--there was no sudden pressure upon him--it was the second offense of the kind [see on Ge 12:13]--it was a distrust of God every way surprising, and it was calculated to produce injurious effects on the heathen around. Its mischievous tendency was not long in being…Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 20:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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