Genesis 20:4

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, ¹  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? ² 

Genesis 20:10

20:10 Then Abimelech asked ³  Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” ⁴ 

Genesis 20:17

20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children.

Genesis 21:27

21:27 Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech. The two of them made a treaty. ⁵ 

Genesis 21:29

21:29 Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these ⁶  seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?”

Genesis 26:11

26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ⁷  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ⁸ 

Genesis 26:16

26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, ⁹  for you have become much more powerful ¹⁰  than we are.”

Genesis 26:26

26:26 Now Abimelech had come ¹¹  to him from Gerar along with ¹²  Ahuzzah his friend ¹³  and Phicol the commander of his army.

[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.

[20:10]  ³ tn Heb “And Abimelech said to.”

[20:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “What did you see that you did this thing?” The question implies that Abraham had some motive for deceiving Abimelech.

[21:27]  ⁵ tn Heb “cut a covenant.”

[21:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “What are these?”

[26:11]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.

[26:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Go away from us.”

[26:16]  ¹² sn You have become much more powerful. This explanation for the expulsion of Isaac from Philistine territory foreshadows the words used later by the Egyptians to justify their oppression of Israel (see Exod 1:9).

[26:26]  ¹³ tn The disjunctive clause supplies pertinent supplemental information. The past perfect is used because the following narrative records the treaty at Beer Sheba. Prior to this we are told that Isaac settled in Beer Sheba; presumably this treaty would have allowed him to do that. However, it may be that he settled there and then made the treaty by which he renamed the place Beer Sheba. In this case one may translate “Now Abimelech came to him.”

[26:26]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and.”

[26:26]  ¹⁵ tn Many modern translations render the Hebrew term מֵרֵעַ (merea’) as “councillor” or “adviser,” but the term may not designate an official position but simply a close personal friend.