Chapter 20 Abraham and Abimelech.
“Abraham moved from Mamre to the southern
part of Canaan and lived between Kadesh and
Shur. Later, while he was living in Gerar, 2 he said that his wife Sarah
was his sister. So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. 3 One
night God appeared to him in a dream and said, “You are going to die, because
you have taken this woman; she is already married.” 4 But Abimelech had
not come near her, and he said, “Lord, I am innocent! Would you destroy me and
my people? 5 Abraham himself said that she was his sister, and she said
the same thing. I did this with a clear conscience, and I have done no wrong.”
6 God replied in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did it with a clear
conscience; so I kept you from sinning against me and did not let you touch
her. 7 But now, give the woman back to her husband. He is a prophet, and
he will pray for you, so that you will not die. But if you do not give her
back, I warn you that you are going to die, you and all your people.” Gen 20:1-7 (TEV)
“Then Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham,
and at the same time he gave him sheep, cattle, and slaves. 15 He said to
Abraham, “Here is my whole land; live anywhere you like.” 16 He said to
Sarah, “I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver as proof to all
who are with you that you are innocent; everyone will know that you have done
no wrong.” 17-18 Because of what had happened to Sarah, Abraham’s wife,
the Lord had made it impossible for any woman in Abimelech’s palace to have
children. So Abraham prayed for Abimelech, and God healed him. He also healed
his wife and his slave women, so that they could have children.”
Gen 20:14-17 (TEV)
“Abimelech secured his reputation as a good
man (see note on 20:4-5) and demonstrated his integrity. He
made amends by allowing Abraham to live in the region, and by giving him
slaves, livestock (cp. 21:27), and 1,000 pieces of silver (Hebrew
1,000 [shekels] of silver, about 25 pounds or 11.4 kilograms in weight) to
compensate... for any wrong done to Sarah.”—NLT Study Bible [$7,000.00]
The Birth of Isaac.
“The Lord blessed Sarah, as he had
promised, 2 and she became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham when he was
old. The boy was born at the time God had said he would be born. 3 Abraham
named him Isaac, 4 and when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised
him, as God had commanded. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac
was born. 6 Sarah said, "God has brought me joy and laughter.
Everyone who hears about it will laugh with me." 7 Then she added,
"Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I
have borne him a son in his old age." 8 The child grew, and on the
day that he was weaned, Abraham gave a great feast.” Gen 21:1-8 (TEV)
Hagar and Ishmael sent away.
“Early the next morning Abraham gave Hagar
some food and a leather bag full of water. He put the child on her back and
sent her away. She left and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba
“Abraham was upset by Sarah's demand to
oust Hagar and Ishmael. God told him to comply, assuring Abraham that Ishmael
would also have a future as Abraham's offspring.
21:14-21 God again rescued Hagar in the
wilderness and guaranteed her future (cp. 16:7-14). This passage is similar to ch 16,
but the differences are great. Here, Hagar and Ishmael are rescued, but there
is no commemorative naming. God's earlier promise to Hagar is reiterated, but
this time Hagar is not told to return to Sarah. The repeated motifs on the two
occasions confirm God's sovereign plan for Hagar and Ishmael. As Joseph told
Pharaoh, the twofold event showed that God confirmed it (41:32). God did not abandon Hagar and
Ishmael but met them in their despair (cp. 16:7), provided sustenance for them, and
promised again that Ishmael would found a great nation (21:13; cp. 16:11 -12). Paul uses this event in his
letter to the Galatians to illustrate how God's people must relinquish all that
threatens the fulfillment of God's promise (Gal 4:21-31).” —NLT Study Bible
The Agreement between Abraham and
Abimelech
“At that time Abimelech went with Phicol, the commander of his army, and said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do. 23 So make a vow here in the presence of God that you will not deceive me, my children, or my descendants. I have been loyal to you, so promise that you will also be loyal to me and to this country in which you are living." 24 Abraham said, "I promise." 25 Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well which the servants of Abimelech had seized. 26 Abimelech said, "I don't know who did this. You didn't tell me about it, and this is the first I have heard of it." 27 Then Abraham gave some sheep and cattle to Abimelech, and the two of them made an agreement. 28 Abraham separated seven lambs from his flock, 29 and Abimelech asked him, "Why did you do that?" 30 Abraham answered, "Accept these seven lambs. By doing this, you admit that I am the one who dug this well." 31 And so the place was called
worshiped
the Lord, the Everlasting God. 34 Abraham lived in Philistia
for a long time.” Gen 21:22-34 (TEV)
21:22-34 This passage, at its climax,
explains the name of Beersheba Beersheba
21:22-23 Abimelech pressed for the treaty
so that Abraham would not cheat or deceive him. Abimelech knew that God was
blessing Abraham even though Abraham was not entirely trustworthy (20:9-10). This sad contradiction made the
treaty necessary. By contrast, God's faithful people are exhorted to speak the
truth (Eph 4:15, 25), and Jesus warned against manipulating
truth by the clever use of oaths (Matt 5:37; Jas 5:12).
21:25 The motif of the well appears again
(cp. 16:14; 21:19). God provided water (a symbol of
blessing) in the barren wilderness, and later even brought water out of a rock
for Israel
21:27-31 Abraham's gifts to Abimelech (cp. 20:14) secured his legal right to dwell
peaceably in the land and to claim ownership of the well. Beersheba
“The Philistines in Genesis are different
from the Philistines of Judges through Kings. The earlier Philistines had
Semitic names (e.g., Abimelech) and Canaanite culture. The later Philistines
were apparently of Greek origin, with Greek customs and culture. They seem to
have arrived in Canaan by sea from the Aegean
area around 1200 bc, during the time of the judges. Probably the name of the
later Philistines was used here simply to describe the region's earlier
inhabitants.—NLT Study Bible
22:1-2 The greatest test in
Abraham's life came after he had received the promised child following a long
wait. He had grown to love Isaac and had enjoyed his presence for a number of
years.” —NLT Study Bible
No comments:
Post a Comment