Genesis 20:4 BSB — MannaFest

Genesis 20:4

Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent?

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Now Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay even a righteous nation?

KJV

But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?

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Commentary

2 voices

Origen of Alexandria

SELECTIONS ON GENESIS (253)

The expression "had not touched" is emphatic, like the statement "it is good for a man not to touch a woman," which means, even apart from sexual union, in no other way either to gaze at or to touch a woman with passion. God, of course, did not permit Abimelech to touch Sarah, though perhaps too because he had perfect self-control in all matters. Such a quality is truly a divine gift.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Not such a nation as Sodom, which was indeed justly destroyed, but a nation which, in this matter, was innocent. God gives a very full answer to what he had said.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

10 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַאֲבִימֶ֕לֶךְ	va.'a.vi.Me.lekh	and Abimelech	H40 →
לֹ֥א	lo'	not	H3808 →
קָרַ֖ב	ka.Rav	he had drawn near	H7126 →
אֵלֶ֑יהָ	'e.Lei.ha	to her	H413 →
וַיֹּאמַ֕ר	vai.yo.Mar	and he said	H559 →
אֲדֹנָ֕י	'a.do.Nai	O Lord	H136 →
הֲג֥וֹי	ha.Goy	¿ a nation	H1471 →
גַּם־	gam-	also	H1571 →
צַדִּ֖יק	tza.Dik	righteous	H6662 →
תַּהֲרֹֽג׃	ta.ha.Rog	will you kill	H2026 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Genesis 19:24
Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
leads to
- Deuteronomy 29:23
  All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the…
- Isaiah 13:19
  And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms, the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Jude 1:7
  In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal…
- 2 Peter 2:6
  if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly;
- Amos 4:11
  “Some of you I overthrew as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
Through
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…
leads to
- 1 Samuel 25:34
  Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, then surely no male belonging to Nabal…
- 1 Samuel 25:26
  Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, the LORD has held you back from coming to bloodshed and avenging yourself with your own hand. May your enemies and…
- Proverbs 21:1
  The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.

Featured studies on this passage

Walks through Genesis 20

Sarah: Mother of Nations · MannaFest

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About Genesis

The Creation of Light — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Genesis: the study guide →Read chapter 20 →The featured study →

Continue: Genesis 20 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Genesis

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Genesis