Genesis 20:9

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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Abimelech	אֲבִימֶ֜לֶךְ 'a.vi.Me.lekh	H40	Abimelek · proper noun, a man's name
called	וַיִּקְרָ֨א vai.yik.Ra'	H7121	to call out to (i.e. properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Abraham	לְאַבְרָהָ֗ם le.'av.ra.Ham	H85	Abraham · preposition + proper noun, a man's name
said	וַיֹּ֨אמֶר vai.Yo.mer	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
done	עָשִׂ֤יתָ 'a.Si.ta	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
offended	חָטָ֣אתִי cha.Ta.ti	H2398	properly · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular
brought	הֵבֵ֧אתָ he.Ve.ta	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, hiphil perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
kingdom	מַמְלַכְתִּ֖י mam.lakh.Ti	H4467	dominion · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
great	גְדֹלָ֑ה ge.do.Lah	H1419	great (in any sense) · adjective, feminine singular absolute
sin	חֲטָאָ֣ה cha.ta.'Ah	H2401	an offence · noun, common feminine singular absolute
done	יֵֽעָשׂ֔וּ ye.'a.Su	H6213	to do or make · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
deeds	מַעֲשִׂים֙ ma.'a.Sim	H4639	an action (good or bad) · noun, common masculine plural absolute
done	עָשִׂ֖יתָ 'a.Si.ta	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 12:18 And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
Genesis 26:10 And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have br…
Genesis 39:9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I…
Genesis 34:7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought f…
Genesis 38:24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, be…
Exodus 32:21 And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them?
Exodus 32:35 And the LORD plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
Leviticus 20:10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 20:8-13

Abimelech, being thus warned of God in a dream, takes the warning, and, as one truly afraid of sin and its consequences, he rises early to obey the directions given him. I. He has a caution for his servants, Gen 20:8. Abraham 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. II. He has a chiding for Abraham. Observe, 1. The serious reproof which Abimelech gave to Abraham, Gen 20:9, Gen 20:10. His reasoning with Abraham upon this occasion was very strong, and yet very mild. Nothing coul…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 20:9

Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said . . . What hast thou done?--In what a humiliating plight does the patriarch now appear--he, a servant of the true God, rebuked by a heathen prince. 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.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 20:8

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. Abraham is then called, and in a most respectful and pious manner the king expostulates with him for bringing him and his people under the Divine displeasure, by withholding from him the information that Sarah was his wife; when, by taking her, he sought only an honorable alliance with his family.

John Gill on Genesis 20:9

Then Abimelech called Abraham,.... Who might be in the king's palace, being taken into it caressed by the king for the sake of Sarah: and said unto him; not in a passion, as might have been expected, but in a mild and gentle manner, yet with great strength of reasoning, and making very just expostulations with him: what hast thou done unto us? what evil to him, his family, and his subjects? this was very probably said in the presence of his servants he had called, and therefore the plural number is used: and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me, and on my kingdom, a great sin? the sin of adultery, he had been in danger of committing, which by the light of nature was kno…

The Church Fathers

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?" Homilies on Genesis
— John Chrysostom,

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Abimelech — My father a king, or father of a king, a common name of the Philistine kings, as “Pharaoh” was of the Egyptian kings. (1.) The Philistine king of Gerar in the time of Abraham (Gen. 20:1-18). By an…
Abraham — Father of a multitude, son of Terah, named (Gen. 11:27) before his older brothers Nahor and Haran, because he was the heir of the promises. Till the age of seventy, Abram sojourned among his kindred…
Cowardice · .Abraham, in — .Abraham, in
Ignorance · .Abimelech — .Abimelech
Marriage · Consanguinous, Abraham and Sarah — Consanguinous, Abraham and Sarah
Nation · Involved in sins of rulers — Involved in sins of rulers
Sarah · Gerar, takes her; she is restored to Abraham by means of a dream — Gerar, takes her; she is restored to Abraham by means of a dream

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Genesis 20:9

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 20:8-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 20:9

Adam Clarke on Genesis 20:8

John Gill on Genesis 20:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 20:9

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 20:8-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 20:9

Adam Clarke on Genesis 20:8

John Gill on Genesis 20:9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 20:9

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 20:8-9

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 20:8-10

Rashi on Genesis 20:9