Genesis 20:1-18

Some critical scholars claim the stories in chapters 12 and 20 must be two accounts of the same event (called “doublets”), but these are two separate events detailing the same sin. Abraham’s failures to trust God for protection could have jeopardized his wife and the covenant had God not intervened each time.

20:7 | Abraham is called a prophet - the first use of the word in the Bible (Ps. 105:12-15). Here, though, it implies a person who has a close relationship with God rather than one speaking for God.

20:9-11 | Sometimes the people of God see right conduct among individuals who are themselves far from God. Abimelech’s words rebuked Abraham’s sinful deceit.

20:11 | No fear of God… in this place means that Abraham did not expect just dealings there (Ps. 36:11). Still, this does not excuse Abraham’s action. Fear of God produces a reverence that shows itself in though, word, and deed (Prov. 16:6). Surprisingly, Abraham feared other humans more than God in this instance.

20:14-18 | Abimelech showed Abraham the kind of grace and generosity that Abraham - who knew God - should have shown to him. When the king returned Sarah and the gifts to Abraham and the Lord reopened the wombs of the women in his household, it publicly affirmed Sarah’s honor. God prevented anything that might discredit the birth of Isaac.