Every Woman's Bible Genesis sampler - Flipbook - Page 40
GENESIS 20
27Abraham got up early that morning and hurried
out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s
presence. 28 He looked out across the plain toward
Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of
smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace.
29 But God had listened to Abraham’s request and
kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that
engulfed the cities on the plain.
Lot and His Daughters
Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of
the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the
mountains with his two daughters. 31 One day the
older daughter said to her sister, “There are no men
left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too
old to have children. 32Come, let’s get him drunk with
wine, and then we will have sex with him. That way
we will preserve our family line through our father.”
33 So that night they got him drunk with wine, and
the older daughter went in and had intercourse with
her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.
34 The next morning the older daughter said to her
younger sister, “I had sex with our father last night.
Let’s get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you
go in and have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So that
night they got him drunk with wine again, and the
younger daughter went in and had intercourse with
him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or
getting up again.
36As a result, both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their own father. 37 When the older daughter
gave birth to a son, she named him Moab.* He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the
Moabites. 38 When the younger daughter gave birth
to a son, she named him Ben-ammi.* He became the
ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.
30
Abraham Deceives Abimelech
Abraham moved south to the Negev and
lived for a while between Kadesh and Shur,
and then he moved on to Gerar. While living there
as a foreigner, 2Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah,
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30
by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of
Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at
his palace.
3 But that night God came to Abimelech in a dream
and told him, “You are a dead man, for that woman
you have taken is already married!”
4 But Abimelech had not slept with her yet, so he
said, “Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?
5 Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she
herself said, ‘Yes, he is my brother.’ I acted in complete innocence! My hands are clean.”
6 In the dream God responded, “Yes, I know you are
innocent. That’s why I kept you from sinning against
me, and why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return
the woman to her husband, and he will pray for you,
for he is a prophet. Then you will live. But if you don’t
return her to him, you can be sure that you and all
your people will die.”
8 Abimelech got up early the next morning and
quickly called all his servants together. When he told
them what had happened, his men were terrified.
9 Then Abimelech called for Abraham. “What have
you done to us?” he demanded. “What crime have I
committed that deserves treatment like this, making me and my kingdom guilty of this great sin? No
one should ever do what you have done! 10 Whatever
possessed you to do such a thing?”
11Abraham replied, “I thought, ‘This is a godless
place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get
her.’ 12And she really is my sister, for we both have the
same father, but different mothers. And I married her.
13 When God called me to leave my father’s home and
to travel from place to place, I told her, ‘Do me a favor.
Wherever we go, tell the people that I am your brother.’”
14 Then Abimelech took some of his sheep and
goats, cattle, and male and female servants, and he
presented them to Abraham. He also returned his
wife, Sarah, to him. 15 Then Abimelech said, “Look
over my land and choose any place where you would
like to live.” 16And he said to Sarah, “Look, I am giving
your ‘brother’ 1,000 pieces of silver* in the presence
of all these witnesses. This is to compensate you for
any wrong I may have done to you. This will settle any
claim against me, and your reputation is cleared.”
17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed
Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they
19:37 Moab sounds like a Hebrew term that means “from father.” 19:38 Ben-ammi means “son of my kinsman.” 20:16 Hebrew
1,000 [shekels] of silver, about 25 pounds or 11.4 kilograms in weight.
19:30-35 Lot’s daughters’ plan to have sex with their drunk
father showed that they, too, had been corrupted by Sodom’s
culture. They saw incest as the only way to carry on their family
line. Ironically, their father had offered them to be raped (19:68), but they raped him instead. Their illicit unions produced the
ancestors of the Moabites and Ammonites, perennial enemies
of Israel (but see Deuteronomy 2:9, 19).
20:2 Abraham maintained his practice of introducing Sarah
as his sister (see 12:13; 20:13), jeopardizing God’s promise that
Sarah would bear Abraham a son. His reasoning—“This is a
godless place” (20:11)—was faulty. Abimelech responded
immediately when God confronted him; his household was terrified of having offended a deity (20:3-10). Abimelech was angry
that Abraham’s deception had made him guilty of “this great sin”
(20:9). Evidently, he knew taking another man’s wife was wrong.
20:17-18 The barrenness of Abimelech’s household suggests
that some time had passed. The fact that infertility has been
divine punishment for sin does not mean that it usually is.
However, the story clearly conveys that God alone controls
fertility.