Genesis 20:8
in Genesis 20Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
KJV
Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid.
⋯
This verse in Genesis 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAbraham himself could not be more careful than he was to command his household in this matter. Note, Those whom God has convinced of sin and danger ought to tell others what God has done for their souls, that they also may be awakened and brought to a like holy fear.
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.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Do you see how it was not idly or to no purpose that the good man had shifted place? I mean, had he remained at his former encampment, how would all the people of Gerar have been able to realize the degree of favor he enjoyed from God? "But all the people were very frightened." A great fear fell on them; they worried about everything. Then "Abimelech summoned Abraham," the text goes on. Consider, I ask you, the degree of notoriety with which the just man is now brought into the presence of the king after being treated a little before as beneath contempt, in the manner of a vagabond and stranger. When everyone is assembled in haste, the patriarch is summoned, for the time being ignorant of all this, and he then learns from the king in person what has happened to him on his account at God's hands.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Abimelech rose early, etc. - God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and we find as the day broke he arose, assembled his servants, (what we would call his courtiers), and communicated to them what he had received from God. They were all struck with astonishment, and discerned the hand of God in this business.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם | vaiyashkem | and he rose early | H7925 → | 65 times |
| אֲבִימֶ֜לֶךְ | ʾavimelekh | Abimelech | H40 → | 66 times |
| בַּבֹּ֗קֶר | baboker | in the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| וַיִּקְרָא֙ | vaiyikra' | and he summoned | H7121 → | 733 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | <to> all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֲבָדָ֔יו | ʾavadav | servants his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וַיְדַבֵּ֛ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַדְּבָרִ֥ים | hadevarim | the words | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הָאֵ֖לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| בְּאָזְנֵיהֶ֑ם | beazeneihem | in ears their | H241 → | 187 times |
| וַיִּֽירְא֥וּ | vaiyireu | and they were afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים | haanashim | the men | H582 → | 566 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | exceedingly | H3966 → | 300 times |
וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨םand he rose early
vaiyashkemH7925 →65 times
אֲבִימֶ֜לֶךְAbimelech
ʾavimelekhH40 →66 times
בַּבֹּ֗קֶרin the morning
babokerH1242 →214 times
וַיִּקְרָא֙and he summoned
vaiyikra'H7121 →733 times
לְכָל־<to> all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
עֲבָדָ֔יוservants his
ʾavadavH5650 →799 times
וַיְדַבֵּ֛רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַדְּבָרִ֥יםthe words
hadevarimH1697 →1440 times
הָאֵ֖לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
בְּאָזְנֵיהֶ֑םin ears their
beazeneihemH241 →187 times
וַיִּֽירְא֥וּand they were afraid
vaiyireuH3372 →315 times
הָאֲנָשִׁ֖יםthe men
haanashimH582 →566 times
מְאֹֽד׃exceedingly
meodH3966 →300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 45.16; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.