Genesis 20:9
in Genesis 20Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and wherein have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
KJV
Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
⋯
This verse in Genesis 20
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Who would not rather be in the place of Abimelech than of the honored but sadly offending patriarch! What a dignified attitude is that of the king--calmly and justly reproving the sin of the patriarch, but respecting his person and heaping coals of fire on his head by the liberal presents made to him.
This site's exposition
Early the next morning Abimelech got up
on Genesis 20:8-9
Abimelech got up early and summoned all his servants. When he described what had happened, the men were terrified. His question to Abraham, What have you done to us, stands between Pharaoh's words in 12:18 and a later king's to Isaac in 26:10.
This site's exposition
What have you done to us
Abimelech speaks for his whole kingdom. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown admire his bearing, calm and just in the rebuke and respectful of Abraham's person. They would sooner stand in the king's place than in the patriarch's.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
John ChrysostomCommentary (church-history corpus) · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
What was the reason, he asked, that you wanted to embroil me in such a terrible sin? What on earth did you have in mind in doing it? See how Abimelech shows by his own words the threat delivered against him by God. You see, since God had said to him, "If you do not restore her, death will come upon you and all that is yours," Abimelech interprets this very thing in saying, "What offense did I give you to cause you to bring such a great sin on me and my kingdom?" I mean, surely the extent of the punishment did not stop at me? My whole kingdom was set to be utterly destroyed through the deception you contrived. "So what did you have in mind in doing it?"
The Puritans and the Awakening3 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.
Note, We ought to reckon, that those do us the greatest dislikedness in the world, that any way tempt us or expose us to sin, though they may pretend friendship, and offer that which is grateful enough to the corrupt nature.
Then Abimelech called Abraham,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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
24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקְרָ֨א | vaiyikra' | and he summoned | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֲבִימֶ֜לֶךְ | ʾavimelekh | Abimelech | H40 → | 66 times |
| לְאַבְרָהָ֗ם | leavraham | <to> Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֜וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| מֶֽה־ | meh- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| עָשִׂ֤יתָ | ʾasita | have you done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָּ֙נוּ֙ | lanu | to <the> us | ||
| וּמֶֽה־ | umeh- | and what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| חָטָ֣אתִי | chatati | have I sinned | H2398 → | 238 times |
| לָ֔ךְ | lakh | to <the> you | ||
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הֵבֵ֧אתָ | heveta | you have brought | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָלַ֛י | ʾalai | on me | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מַמְלַכְתִּ֖י | mamlakhti | kingdom my | H4467 → | |
| חֲטָאָ֣ה | chataah | a sin | H2401 → | |
| גְדֹלָ֑ה | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| מַעֲשִׂים֙ | maasim | deeds | H4639 → | 236 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵֽעָשׂ֔וּ | yeasu | they will be done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עָשִׂ֖יתָ | ʾasita | you have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עִמָּדִֽי׃ | ʾimadi | with me | H5978 → | 42 times |
וַיִּקְרָ֨אand he summoned
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
אֲבִימֶ֜לֶךְAbimelech
ʾavimelekhH40 →66 times
לְאַבְרָהָ֗ם<to> Abraham
leavrahamH85 →175 times
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
ל֜וֹto <the> him
lo
מֶֽה־what?
meh-H4100 →752 times
עָשִׂ֤יתָhave you done
ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times
לָּ֙נוּ֙to <the> us
lanu
וּמֶֽה־and what?
umeh-H4100 →752 times
חָטָ֣אתִיhave I sinned
chatatiH2398 →238 times
לָ֔ךְto <the> you
lakh
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הֵבֵ֧אתָyou have brought
hevetaH935 →2568 times
עָלַ֛יon me
ʾalaiH5921 →5755 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
מַמְלַכְתִּ֖יkingdom my
mamlakhtiH4467 →
חֲטָאָ֣הa sin
chataahH2401 →
גְדֹלָ֑הgreat
gedolahH1419 →526 times
מַעֲשִׂים֙deeds
maasimH4639 →236 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יֵֽעָשׂ֔וּthey will be done
yeasuH6213 →2628 times
עָשִׂ֖יתָyou have done
ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times
עִמָּדִֽי׃with me
ʾimadiH5978 →42 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 12:18So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
it leads to
- Genesis 20:9–10
Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 20:9–10
Through
Genesis 39:9No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 12:13
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” “The LORD has taken away your sin,” Nathan replied. “You will not die.
- Genesis 42:18
and on the third day he said to them, “I fear God. So do this and you will live:
- Genesis 20:6
Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did…
- 2 Samuel 12:13
Through
2 Samuel 13:12“No, my brother!” she cried. “Do not humiliate me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!
it leads to
- Judges 20:6
Then I took my concubine, cut her into pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance, because they had committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.
- Leviticus 20:17
If a man marries his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of…
- Judges 19:23
The owner of the house went out and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Do not commit this…
- Genesis 34:7
When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that…
- Judges 20:6
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 Chrysostom, Commentary (church-history corpus); 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.