Genesis 20:9

20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? ¹  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ² 

Genesis 21:26

21:26 “I do not know who has done this thing,” Abimelech replied. “Moreover, ³  you did not tell me. I did not hear about it until today.”

Genesis 26:8-9

26:8 After Isaac ⁴  had been there a long time, ⁵  Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed ⁶  Isaac caressing ⁷  his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really ⁸  your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” ⁹ 

[20:9]  ¹ tn Heb “How did I sin against you that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin?” The expression “great sin” refers to adultery. For discussion of the cultural background of the passage, see J. J. Rabinowitz, “The Great Sin in Ancient Egyptian Marriage Contracts,” JNES 18 (1959): 73, and W. L. Moran, “The Scandal of the ‘Great Sin’ at Ugarit,” JNES 18 (1959): 280-81.

[20:9]  ² tn Heb “Deeds which should not be done you have done to me.” The imperfect has an obligatory nuance here.

[21:26]  ³ tn Heb “and also.”

[26:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Isaac) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[26:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “and it happened when the days were long to him there.”

[26:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “look, Isaac.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the audience to view the scene through Abimelech’s eyes.

[26:8]  ⁸ tn Or “fondling.”

[26:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “Surely, look!” See N. H. Snaith, “The meaning of Hebrew ‘ak,” VT 14 (1964): 221-25.

[26:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’” Since the verb “said” probably means “said to myself” (i.e., “thought”) here, the direct discourse in the Hebrew statement has been converted to indirect discourse in the translation. In addition the simple prepositional phrase “on account of her” has been clarified in the translation as “to get her” (cf. v. 7).