Skip to content
mannafest.faith
Read

Genesis 20:3

in Genesis 20

One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, because of the woman whom thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.

KJV

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.

⋯

This verse in Genesis 20

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

But God came to Abimelech - Thus we find that persons who were not of the family of Abraham had the knowledge of the true God. Indeed, all the Gerarites are termed גוי צדיק goi tsaddik, a righteous nation, Gen 20:4.

This site's exposition

You are as good as dead

on Genesis 20:3-5

This is the first dream in Genesis, and it comes to a pagan king. Abimelech answers God with the plea Abraham had made over Sodom, that God would spare a nation which is innocent. The plea is allowed to stand. Clarke reads the exchange as a sign that knowledge of the true God reached past Abraham's household.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron) · Written before 735.

proposed

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him: Behold, you are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she has a husband; but Abimelech had not touched her and said: Lord, will you kill an …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

But God came to Abimelech in a dream - It appears by this that God revealed himself by dreams, which evidenced themselves to be divine and supernatural, not only to his servants the prophets, but even to those that were out of the pale of the church; but then usually it was with some regard to God's own people.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), his danger of sin, telling him that the woman is a man's wife, so that if he take her he will wrong her husband; his danger of death for this sin: Thou art a dead man; and God's saying so of a man makes him so. Note, Every wilful sinner ought to be told that he is a dead man, as the condemned malefactor, and the patient whose disease is mortal, are said to be so.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night,.... Put a dream into his mind, by which he cautioned him against taking Sarah to be his wife; so careful was the Lord that no wrong should be done to such a godly and virtuous person, to which she was exposed through the weakness of her husband.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

But God came to Abimelech in a dream--In early times a dream was often made the medium of communicating important truths; and this method was adopted for the preservation of Sarah.

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיָּבֹ֧אand he came

    vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times

  • אֱלֹהִ֛יםGod

    ʾelohimH430 →2601 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְAbimelech

    ʾavimelekhH40 →66 times

  • בַּחֲל֣וֹםin a dream

    bachalomH2472 →65 times

  • הַלָּ֑יְלָהthe night

    halayelahH3915 →233 times

  • וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • ל֗וֹto <the> him

    lo

  • הִנְּךָ֥here you

    hinekhaH2009 →843 times

  • מֵת֙[are] about to die

    metH4191 →839 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הָאִשָּׁ֣הthe woman

    haishahH802 →781 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־whom

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • לָקַ֔חְתָּyou have taken

    lakachtaH3947 →966 times

  • וְהִ֖ואand she

    vehiv'H1931 →1879 times

  • בְּעֻ֥לַת[is] married of

    beulatH1166 →

  • בָּֽעַל׃a husband

    baalH1167 →84 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Job 33:15In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds,14 works1 Chronicles 16:21He let no man oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf:9 worksGenesis 31:24But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”9 worksGenesis 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 all who belong to you.”6 worksMatthew 27:19While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”6 worksMatthew 19:9Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery.”6 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Genesis 28:12And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder.6 worksPsalms 105:14He let no man oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf:5 worksMatthew 1:20But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.4 worksNumbers 22:9Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”4 worksGenesis 41:1After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,4 worksMatthew 2:12–13And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.3 worksGenesis 37:9Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”3 worksJonah 3:4On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”3 worksGenesis 40:8“We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”3 worksGenesis 37:5Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.3 worksJob 4:12–13Now a word came to me secretly; my ears caught a whisper of it.3 worksGenesis 26:26Later, Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.3 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Job 33:15

    In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds,

    it leads to

    • Numbers 12:6

      He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Job 4:13

      In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,

    • Genesis 31:24

      But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

    • Daniel 4:5

      I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.

  • Through

    Genesis 28:12

    And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder.

    it leads to

    • John 1:51

      Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

    • Genesis 32:1–2

      Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

    • Job 33:15–16

      In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds,

    • Genesis 15:1

      After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

Where this verse is studied

About Genesis

The Tower of Babel, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563. Public domain.
The Tower of Babel, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563. Public domain.
Genesis: the study guide →Read Genesis 20 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Genesis 20 →