Genesis 20:14
in Genesis 20So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and men-servants and women-servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
KJV
And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
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This verse in Genesis 20
Commentary
2 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Abimelech brought sheep and cattle
on Genesis 20:14-15
Sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants go to Abraham, and Sarah is restored to him. The older writers read the gifts as restitution, and Abimelech tells him the land is before him, to settle wherever he pleases. Gill notes the wronged king offering any part of the kingdom.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
ויקח, He appeased him both with words and money, asking him for forgiveness and urging him to pray on his behalf.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The word Elohim is to be rendered as God. 19 Hitu is the plural.
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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֨ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֲבִימֶ֜לֶךְ | ʾavimelekh | Abimelech | H40 → | 66 times |
| צֹ֣אן | tzon | sheep | H6629 → | 274 times |
| וּבָקָ֗ר | uvakar | and cattle | H1241 → | 183 times |
| וַעֲבָדִים֙ | vaavadim | and [male] servants | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וּשְׁפָחֹ֔ת | ushefachot | and female servants | H8198 → | 63 times |
| וַיִּתֵּ֖ן | vaiyiten | and he gave [them] | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְאַבְרָהָ֑ם | leavraham | to Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| וַיָּ֣שֶׁב | vaiyashev | and he restored | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| ל֔וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שָׂרָ֥ה | sarah | Sarah | H8283 → | 38 times |
| אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃ | ʾishto | wife his | H802 → | 781 times |
וַיִּקַּ֨חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
אֲבִימֶ֜לֶךְAbimelech
ʾavimelekhH40 →66 times
צֹ֣אןsheep
tzonH6629 →274 times
וּבָקָ֗רand cattle
uvakarH1241 →183 times
וַעֲבָדִים֙and [male] servants
vaavadimH5650 →799 times
וּשְׁפָחֹ֔תand female servants
ushefachotH8198 →63 times
וַיִּתֵּ֖ןand he gave [them]
vaiyitenH5414 →2011 times
לְאַבְרָהָ֑םto Abraham
leavrahamH85 →175 times
וַיָּ֣שֶׁבand he restored
vaiyashevH7725 →1056 times
ל֔וֹto <the> him
lo
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
שָׂרָ֥הSarah
sarahH8283 →38 times
אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃wife his
ʾishtoH802 →781 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 20:2Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
it leads to
- Genesis 26:7
But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 12:15
When Pharaoh’s officials saw Sarai, they commended her to him, and she was taken into the palace of Pharaoh.
- Genesis 26:7
Through
Genesis 20:7Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and…
it leads to
- Job 42:8
So now, take seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. Then My servant Job will pray for you, for I will accept his prayer…
- 1 Samuel 7:5
Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD on your behalf.”
- Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
- 2 Samuel 24:17
When David saw the angel striking down the people, he said to the LORD, “Surely I, the shepherd, have sinned and acted wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let Your hand…
- Job 42:8
Through
Genesis 20:11Abraham replied, “I thought to myself, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place. They will kill me on account of my wife.’
it leads to
- Genesis 12:12
and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live.
- Job 28:28
And He said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”
- Genesis 12:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsSarahAbraham's wife — barren, then bearing Isaac by promise “past age” through faith; Paul's allegory of the covenant of promise (Gal 4…
- PersonPatriarchsAbrahamCalled out of Ur, the father of all who believe, justified by faith, and the friend of God through whose seed all nations are bles…
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.