Genesis 20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 20
Abraham at Gerar.[a] 1 From there Abraham journeyed on to the region of the Negeb, where he settled between Kadesh and Shur.[b] While he resided in Gerar as an alien, 2 Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him: You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she has a husband. 4 Abimelech, who had not approached her, said: “O Lord, would you kill an innocent man? 5 Was he not the one who told me, ‘She is my sister’? She herself also stated, ‘He is my brother.’ I acted with pure heart and with clean hands.” 6 [c]God answered him in the dream: Yes, I know you did it with a pure heart. In fact, it was I who kept you from sinning against me; that is why I did not let you touch her. 7 So now, return the man’s wife so that he may intercede for you, since he is a prophet,[d] that you may live. If you do not return her, you can be sure that you and all who are yours will die.
8 Early the next morning Abimelech called all his servants and informed them of everything that had happened, and the men were filled with fear. 9 Then Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him: “What have you done to us! What wrong did I do to you that you would have brought such great guilt on me and my kingdom? You have treated me in an intolerable way. 10 What did you have in mind,” Abimelech asked him, “that you would do such a thing?” 11 Abraham answered, “I thought there would be no fear of God[e] in this place, and so they would kill me on account of my wife. 12 Besides, she really is my sister,[f] but only my father’s daughter, not my mother’s; and so she became my wife. 13 When God sent me wandering from my father’s house, I asked her: ‘Would you do me this favor? In whatever place we come to, say: He is my brother.’”(A)
14 Then Abimelech took flocks and herds and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham; and he restored his wife Sarah to him. 15 Then Abimelech said, “Here, my land is at your disposal; settle wherever you please.” 16 To Sarah he said: “I hereby give your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This will preserve your honor before all who are with you and will exonerate you before everyone.” 17 Abraham then interceded with God, and God restored health to Abimelech, to his wife, and his maidservants, so that they bore children; 18 for the Lord had closed every womb in Abimelech’s household on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah.
Footnotes
- 20:1–18 Abraham again passes off his wife Sarah as his sister to escape trouble in a foreign land (cf. 12:10–13:1, the J source). The story appears to be from a different source (according to some, E) and deals with the ethical questions of the incident. Gn 26:6–11 is yet another retelling of the story, but with Isaac and Rebekah as characters instead of Abraham and Sarah.
- 20:1 Kadesh and Shur: Kadesh-barnea was a major oasis on the southernmost border of Canaan, and Shur was probably the “way to Shur,” the road to Egypt. Gerar was a royal city in the area, but has not been identified with certainty.
- 20:6 Abimelech is exonerated of blame, but by that fact not cleared of the consequences of his act. He is still under the sentence of death for abducting another man’s wife; the consequences result from the deed not the intention.
- 20:7 Prophet: only here is Abraham explicitly called “prophet,” Hebrew nabi (cf. Ps 105:15).
- 20:11 Fear of God is the traditional though unsatisfactory rendering of Hebrew yir’at YHWH, literally, “revering Yahweh.” The phrase refers neither to the emotion of fear nor to religious reverence of a general kind. Rather it refers to adherence to a single deity (in a polytheistic culture), honoring that deity with prayers, rituals, and obedience. The phrase occurs again in 26:24; 43:23; and 50:19. It is very common in the wisdom literature of the Bible.
- 20:12 My sister: marrying one’s half sister was prohibited later in Israel’s history.
Битие 20
Библия, синодално издание
20 (A)Авраам тръгна оттам към юг и се посели между Кадес и Сур; и престоя временно в Герар;
2 (B)и рече Авраам за жена си Сарра: тя ми е сестра. (Защото се страхуваше да каже, че му е жена, да не би жителите на оня град да го убият за нея.) И герарският цар Авимелех прати и взе Сарра.
3 (C)И дойде Бог при Авимелеха нощем насъне и му рече: ето, ти ще умреш поради жената, която си взел, защото тя си има мъж.
4 (D)А Авимелех не беше се докоснал до нея, и рече: Господи, нима ще погубиш (оногова, който не знаеше това) и невинния народ?
5 (E)Нали сам той ми рече: тя ми е сестра? И тя сама рече: той ми е брат. Аз направих това с просто сърце и с чисти ръце.
6 И рече му Бог насъне: и Аз зная, че си направил това с просто сърце, и те удържах от грях пред Мене, затова и не те допуснах да се докоснеш до нея;
7 (F)а сега върни жената на мъжа ѝ, защото той е пророк, ще се помоли за тебе, и ти ще бъдеш жив; ако пък я не върнеш, знай, че непременно ще умреш ти и всички твои.
8 И стана Авимелех сутринта рано, повика всичките си слуги, и им разказа да чуят всички тия думи; и (всички) тия хора много се уплашиха.
9 (G)И Авимелех повика Авраама и му рече: какво направи ти с нас? С какво сгреших аз против тебе, та щеше да нанесеш голям грях върху мене и върху царството ми? Ти направи с мене работи, каквито не се правят.
10 И Авимелех рече Аврааму: какво имаше наум, когато стори това нещо?
11 Авраам рече: помислих, че в това място няма страх Божий, и че ще ме убият за жена ми;
12 (H)па тя и наистина ми е сестра; тя е дъщеря на моя баща, само че не дъщеря на майка ми; и стана моя жена;
13 когато Бог ме изведе от бащиния ми дом да странствувам, аз ѝ рекох: направи ми това добро: в което място отидем, навред казвай за мене: той ми е брат.
14 Тогава Авимелех взе (хиляда сикли сребро и) дребен и едър добитък, и слуги и слугини, и ги даде на Авраама; па върна и жена му Сарра.
15 И рече Авимелех (на Авраама): ето отпреде ти моята земя: живей, дето ти е воля.
16 А на Сарра рече: ето, аз дадох на брата ти хиляда сикли сребро; ето, това е на тебе було за очите пред всички, които са с тебе, и пред всички си оправдана.
17 И помоли се Авраам Богу, и Бог изцери Авимелеха, и жена му, и слугините му, и те взеха да раждат;
18 защото Господ бе заключил всички утроби в дома Авимелехов поради Авраамовата жена Сарра.
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