Kejadian 20:3-7

20:3 But God appeared ¹  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ²  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ³ 

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, ⁴  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? ⁵  20:5 Did Abraham ⁶  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ⁷  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ⁸  and with innocent hands!”

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ⁹  That is why I have kept you ¹⁰  from sinning against me and why ¹¹  I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ¹²  he is a prophet ¹³  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ¹⁴  But if you don’t give her back, ¹⁵  know that you will surely die ¹⁶  along with all who belong to you.”

[20:3]  ¹ tn Heb “came.”

[20:3]  ² tn Heb “Look, you [are] dead.” The Hebrew construction uses the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with a second person pronominal particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) with by the participle. It is a highly rhetorical expression.

[20:3]  ³ tn Heb “and she is owned by an owner.” The disjunctive clause is causal or explanatory in this case.

[20:4]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[20:4]  ⁵ tn Apparently Abimelech assumes that God’s judgment will fall on his entire nation. Some, finding the reference to a nation problematic, prefer to emend the text and read, “Would you really kill someone who is innocent?” See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 149.

[20:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and she, even she.”

[20:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “with the integrity of my heart.”

[20:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “with the integrity of your heart.”

[20:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I, even I, kept you.”

[20:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “therefore.”

[20:7]  ¹² tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.

[20:7]  ¹³ sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.

[20:7]  ¹⁴ tn After the preceding jussive (or imperfect), the imperative with vav conjunctive here indicates result.

[20:7]  sn He will pray for you that you may live. Abraham was known as a man of God whose prayer would be effectual. Ironically and sadly, he was also known as a liar.

[20:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.

[20:7]  ¹⁶ tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.