Genesis 20:10
in Genesis 20Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
KJV
And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
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This verse in Genesis 20
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd Abimelech said unto Abraham,.... Continuing his discourse with him: what sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? he desires to know what he had observed, either in him or his people, that gave him any reason to conclude that they were a lustful people, and would stick at nothing to gratify their lusts, which put him upon taking such a method to secure his life, lest they should kill him for his wife's sake.
This site's exposition
What prompted you to do such a thing
on Genesis 20:10-11
The king asks what prompted it. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read Abraham's answer, that he assumed there was no fear of God in this place, as a judgment carried out of Sodom and laid on an untested town. He had feared for his life on account of his wife.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(1.) He calls that sin which he now found he had been in danger of a great sin. Note, Even the light of nature teaches men that the sin of adultery is a very great sin: be it observed, to the shame of many who call themselves Christians, and yet make a light matter of it.
What reason hadst thou to think that if we had known her to be thy wife thou wouldst have been exposed to any danger by it?" Note, A suspicion of our goodness is justly reckoned a greater affront than a slight upon our greatness.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
ויאמר, Avimelech wanted to know why Avraham had not personally protested the forced abduction of Sarah instead of allowing the king to become guilty of a greater crime. Surely a man such as he must have had a good reason for allowing this to happen without protest!?
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Avimelech [then] said to Avraham, What did you see that you did such a thing?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ | ʾavimelekh | Abimelech | H40 → | 66 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַבְרָהָ֑ם | ʾavraham | Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| מָ֣ה | mah | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| רָאִ֔יתָ | raita | did you see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עָשִׂ֖יתָ | ʾasita | you have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַדָּבָ֥ר | hadavar | the thing | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְAbimelech
ʾavimelekhH40 →66 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַבְרָהָ֑םAbraham
ʾavrahamH85 →175 times
מָ֣הwhat?
mahH4100 →752 times
רָאִ֔יתָdid you see
raitaH7200 →1300 times
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
עָשִׂ֖יתָyou have done
ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַדָּבָ֥רthe thing
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּֽה׃<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.