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We are here returning to the story of Abraham; yet that part of it which is here recorded is not to his honour. The fairest marbles have their flaws, and, while there are spots in the sun, we must not expect any thing spotless under it. The scripture, it should be remarked, is impartial in relating the blemishes even of its most celebrated characters. We have here, I. Abraham's sin in denying his wife, and Abimelech's sin thereupon in taking her (Gen 20:1, Gen 20:2). II. God's discourse with Abimelech in a dream, upon this occasion, wherein he shows him his error (Gen 20:3), accepts his plea (Gen 20:4-6), and directs him to make restitution (Gen 20:7). III. Abimelech's discourse with Abraham, wherein he chides him for the cheat he had put upon him (Gen 20:8-10), and Abraham excuses it as well as he can (Gen 20:11-13). IV. The good issue of the story, in which Abimelech restores Abraham his wife (Gen 20:14-16), and Abraham, by prayer, prevails with God for the removal of the judgment Abimelech was under (Gen 20:17, Gen 20:18).

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 20 This chapter relates the removal of Abraham to Gerar, Gen 20:1; the king of Gerar's taking to him Sarah, whom Abraham had called his sister, Gen 20:2; who is rebuked of God for it in a dream, Gen 20:3; for which he makes an apology that is admitted, only he is ordered to restore to Abraham his wife, Gen 20:4; and accordingly early in the morning he called his servants, and acquainted them with what had happened, Gen 20:8; and then sent for Abraham, and expressed his resentment at his usage of him, Gen 20:9; which Abraham defended as well as he could, Gen 20:10; the issue of all which was, great kindness was shown to Abraham, and his wife restored to him, though with a reproof to her from the king, Gen 20:14; upon which Abraham prayed for the healing of Abimelech and his family, in which he was heard and answered, Gen 20:17.

And God said unto him in a dream,.... The same dream continued: yea, or "also" I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; not only thou knowest, but I, who know all things, know and acknowledge that this was so done by thee. Abimelech's plea is admitted, and a very great testimony borne to his integrity in this matter; and throughout the whole account he appears to be a man of great honour and uprightness, especially in this affair, if not a good man: for I also withheld thee from sinning against me; for had he committed adultery with her, it had been not only a sin against her, and against her husband, but against God being contrary to his will revealed in the minds of men by the law and light of nature, before the law of Moses was given: and indeed all sin against the neighbour is ultimately against God, see Psa 51:4; and now from the commission of this sin God restrained Abimelech, either by some impulse upon his mind not to take her to be his wife as yet, or by throwing some thing or other in the way of it, in his providence, or by inflicting some disease upon him, which rendered him incapable of it, Gen 20:17, therefore suffered I thee not to touch her; that is, to have carnal knowledge of her, see Co1 7:1; as there is nothing done but what is done by divine permission, so many more evils would be committed than there are, were it not that men are restrained from them by the power and providence of God, not suffering them to do them; and in particular this sin was prevented, that it might not in any respect be a doubtful point whether Isaac, whom Sarah had now conceived, was a legitimate son of Abraham; and these expressions of Abimelech not coming near her, Gen 20:4; and not touching her as here, are used for that purpose.

But what is the meaning of that which Scripture adds: “And the Lord did not permit him to touch her”? If Sarah represents virtue and Abimelech wished to receive virtue “with a pure heart,” why is it said that “the Lord did not permit him to touch her”?Abimelech means “my father is king.” It seems to me therefore that this Abimelech represents the studious and wise men of the world, who by giving attention to philosophy, although they do not reach the complete and perfect rule of piety, nevertheless perceive that God is the Father and King of all things. Those, therefore, so far as it pertains to ethics (that is, moral philosophy), are acknowledged also to have given attention in some respects to purity of heart and to have sought the inspiration of divine virtue with all their mind and zeal. But “God did not permit” them “to touch” her. For this grace was designed to be delivered to the Gentiles not by Abraham, who, although he was great was nevertheless a servant, but by Christ.… Abraham was eager that what was said to him be fulfilled through and in himself, that “all the nations shall be blessed in you.” Nevertheless the promise to him is established in Isaac, that is, in Christ, as the apostle says: “He did not say, And to his seeds, as of many, but as of one, and to your seed, which is Christ.”26 Nevertheless “the Lord heals Abimelech and his wife and his handmaids.”

And I know that you have done this with a simple heart; therefore I have kept you from sinning against me. But also that he immediately rose in the night, called all his servants, and narrated to them what had happened to him; and that they, having heard the danger of the offense into which the king had fallen, were all greatly afraid, demonstrates how devoted to justice both the king and his servants were: For the king himself, when he said to Abraham: What have you done to us? What did we sin against you, that you have brought upon me and my kingdom a great sin? clearly implies that he did not consider the sin of ignorance to be trivial, which he confessed was harmful not only to himself but also to his kingdom. Hence, he did not believe it sufficient for him that he had obtained pardon from God, or had deserved to be kept from sinning by God’s favor, unless he also gave money abundantly along with the returned wife to the man against whom he had unknowingly sinned, so that he might be appeased, as it is read in the following passages. Nor is it to be wondered that uncircumcised men at that time could have been worshippers of truth, since the blessed Job and his royal friends are believed to have faithfully served the Lord with all that they had after the times of the given circumcision, without the sacrament of circumcision: but also, it is evident that the patriarch Shem, along with Arphaxad, Salah, Heber, his sons or grandchildren, were still alive in the flesh at that time and led a life pleasing to God without the law of circumcision. From this, it seems likely that the sign in the circumcision of Abraham was given only to him and his seed and family, but among other nations, there could still have been some who naturally served God devotedly according to the law; whether by the offerings of sacrifices or certainly by the profession of true faith alone, cleansed from the stain of the first transgression, especially those who still survived and remembered the destruction of the human race in the flood, the building of the tower and the division of tongues, or the ruin of Sodom. For the very history of Genesis testifies that Shem himself endured in the body up until the fiftieth year of Jacob’s birth; to which opinion the blessed Pope Gregory agrees, saying it should by no means be believed that the lifespan of men in those times was as short as the few records of his writers seem to comprehend in Moses’ law. And when Abraham replied to the king who persistently questioned him why he had said his wife was his sister, and answered among other things: Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; the ancient translation has more fittingly: Indeed, she is my sister by my father, but not by my mother; that is, the daughter of his brother, not his sister; for brothers or sisters are sometimes called kin in the Scriptures, who are of one family, that is, from the fatherland, which the Latins interpret as fatherhoods, when many branches of the family spread from one root; otherwise, how is it that Abraham, a just man, took his father’s daughter as his wife, when in the first men for the sake of the ears’ health the Scripture does not name it, preferring to be understood rather than openly stated? And that the king said to Sarah:

Abraham leaves Mamre, and, after having sojourned at Kadesh and Shur, settles in Gerar, Gen 20:1. Abimelech takes Sarah, Abraham having acknowledged her only as his sister, Gen 20:2. Abimelech is warned by God in a dream to restore Sarah, Gen 20:3. He asserts his innocence, Gen 20:4, Gen 20:5. He is farther warned, Gen 20:6, Gen 20:7. Expostulates with Abraham, Gen 20:8-10. Abraham vindicates his conduct, Gen 20:11-13. Abimelech restores Sarah, makes Abraham a present of sheep, oxen, and male and female slaves, Gen 20:14; offers him a residence in any part of the land, Gen 20:15; and reproves Sarah, Gen 20:16. At the intercession of Abraham, the curse of barrenness is removed from Abimelech and his household, Gen 20:17, Gen 20:18.

ABRAHAM'S DENIAL OF HIS WIFE. (Gen. 20:1-18) Abraham journeyed from thence . . . and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur--Leaving the encampment, he migrated to the southern border of Canaan. In the neighborhood of Gerar was a very rich and well-watered pasture land.

After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham removed from the grove of Mamre at Hebron to the south country, hardly from the same fear as that which led Lot from Zoar, but probably to seek for better pasture. Here he dwelt between Kadesh (Gen 14:7) and Shur (Gen 16:7), and remained for some time in Gerar, a place the name of which has been preserved in the deep and broad Wady Jurf el Gerr (i.e., torrent of Gerar) about eight miles S.S.E. of Gaza, near to which Rowland discovered the ruins of an ancient town bearing the name of Khirbet el Gerr. Here Abimelech, the Philistine king of Gerar, like Pharaoh in Egypt, took Sarah, whom Abraham had again announced to be his sister, into his harem, - not indeed because he was charmed with the beauty of the woman of 90, which was either renovated, or had not yet faded (Kurtz), but in all probability "to ally himself with Abraham, the rich nomad prince" (Delitzsch). From this danger, into which the untruthful statement of both her husband and herself had brought her, she was once more rescued by the faithfulness of the covenant God. In a dream by night God appeared to Abimelech, and threatened him with death (מת הנּך en te moriturum) on account of the woman, whom he had taken, because she was married to a husband.