Genesis 20:4-7

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, ¹  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? ²  20:5 Did Abraham ³  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ⁴  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ⁵  and with innocent hands!”

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ⁶  That is why I have kept you ⁷  from sinning against me and why ⁸  I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ⁹  he is a prophet ¹⁰  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ¹¹  But if you don’t give her back, ¹²  know that you will surely die ¹³  along with all who belong to you.”

Genesis 26:10-11

26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? ¹⁴  One of the men ¹⁵  might easily have had sexual relations with ¹⁶  your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ¹⁷  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ¹⁸ 

Genesis 26:1

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ¹⁹  in the days of Abraham. ²⁰  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ²¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

[20:4]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[20:4]  ² tn Apparently Abimelech assumes that God’s judgment will fall on his entire nation. Some, finding the reference to a nation problematic, prefer to emend the text and read, “Would you really kill someone who is innocent?” See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 149.

[20:5]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and she, even she.”

[20:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”

[20:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”

[20:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”

[20:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “therefore.”

[20:7]  ⁹ tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.

[20:7]  ¹⁰ sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.

[20:7]  ¹¹ tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.

[20:7]  ¹² tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.

[20:7]  ¹³ tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.

[26:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “What is this you have done to us?” The Hebrew demonstrative pronoun “this” adds emphasis: “What in the world have you done to us?” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 24, §118).

[26:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “people.”

[26:10]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew verb means “to lie down.” Here the expression “lie with” or “sleep with” is euphemistic for “have sexual relations with.”

[26:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.

[26:11]  ¹⁸ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.

[26:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

[26:1]  ²⁰ sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.

[1:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.