BERĔSHITH 20 (Genesis 20)

1 And Aḇraham departed from there to the land of the Negeḇ, and dwelt between Qaḏĕsh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar.

2 And Aḇraham said concerning Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Aḇimeleḵ sovereign of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

3 But Elohim came to Aḇimeleḵ in a dream by night, and said to him, “See, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”

4 However, Aḇimeleḵ had not come near her, and he said, “𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 would You slay a righteous nation also?

5 “Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and in the innocence of my hands I have done this.”

6 And Elohim said to him in a dream, “Though I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart, and so I kept you from sinning against Me, for this reason I did not let you touch her.

7 “And now, return the man’s wife, for he is a naḇi, and let him pray for you and you live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall certainly die, you and all that are yours.”

8 So Aḇimeleḵ rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and spoke all these words in their hearing. And the men were greatly frightened.

9 And Aḇimeleḵ called Aḇraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? In what have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and on my reign a great sin? You have done matters to me that should not be done.”

10 And Aḇimeleḵ said to Aḇraham,  “What did you have in view, that you have done this matter?”

11 And Aḇraham said, “Only because I said, the reverence of Elohim is not in this place, and they shall kill me for the sake of my wife.

12 “And yet, she is truly my sister. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.

13 “And it came to be, when Elohim caused me to wander from my father’s house, that I said to her, ‘This is your kindness that you should do for me: in every place, wherever we go, say of me, “He is my brother.” ’ ”

14 Then Aḇimeleḵ took sheep, and cattle, and male and female servants, and gave them to Aḇraham. And he returned Sarah his wife to him.

15 And Aḇimeleḵ said, “See, my land is before you, dwell wherever it is good in your eyes.”

16 And to Sarah he said, “See, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. See, it is to you a covering of eyes before all who are with you and before all others, and you are cleared before everyone.”

17 And Aḇraham prayed to Elohim, and Elohim healed Aḇimeleḵ, and his wife, and his female servants, so they bore children,

18 for 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 had closed up all the wombs of the house of Aḇimeleḵ because of Sarah, Aḇraham’s wife.