Kejadian 20:7

20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ¹  he is a prophet ²  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ³  But if you don’t give her back, ⁴  know that you will surely die ⁵  along with all who belong to you.”

Kejadian 26:11

26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches ⁶  this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” ⁷ 

Kejadian 26:1

Isaac and Abimelech

26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred ⁸  in the days of Abraham. ⁹  Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

1 Tawarikh 16:21

16:21 He let no one oppress them,

he disciplined kings for their sake,

Mazmur 105:14

105:14 He let no one oppress them;

he disciplined kings for their sake,

[20:7]  ¹ tn Or “for,” if the particle is understood as causal (as many English translations do) rather than asseverative.

[20:7]  ² sn For a discussion of the term prophet see N. Walker, “What is a Nabhi?” ZAW 73 (1961): 99-100.

[20:7]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “if there is not you returning.” The suffix on the particle becomes the subject of the negated clause.

[20:7]  ⁵ tn The imperfect is preceded by the infinitive absolute to make the warning emphatic.

[26:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “strikes.” Here the verb has the nuance “to harm in any way.” It would include assaulting the woman or killing the man.

[26:11]  ⁷ tn The use of the infinitive absolute before the imperfect makes the construction emphatic.

[26:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “in addition to the first famine which was.”

[26:1]  ⁹ sn This account is parallel to two similar stories about Abraham (see Gen 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Many scholars do not believe there were three similar incidents, only one that got borrowed and duplicated. Many regard the account about Isaac as the original, which then was attached to the more important person, Abraham, with supernatural elements being added. For a critique of such an approach, see R. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 47-62. It is more likely that the story illustrates the proverb “like father, like son” (see T. W. Mann, The Book of the Torah, 53). In typical human fashion the son follows his father’s example of lying to avoid problems. The appearance of similar events reported in a similar way underscores the fact that the blessing has now passed to Isaac, even if he fails as his father did.