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Passage Research

Genesis 20 — Sermon Preparation

Abraham tells Abimelech of Gerar that Sarah is his sister; God warns Abimelech in a dream, and Abraham intercedes for him. Below is a research summary for Genesis 20, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.

18
verses
282 / 112
Hebrew words / lemmas
6
classic sermon excerpts
3
preachers & commentators

Genesis 20 in the Hebrew

Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.

HebrewTransliterationStrong'sCountGlosses
אֲבִימֶלֶךְʼĂbîymelekH4010Abimelek
אַבְרָהָםʼAbrâhâmH858Abraham
אִשָּׁהʼishshâhH8028woman
שָׂרָהSârâhH82835Sarah
אָחוֹתʼâchôwthH2693sister
דָּבָרdâbârH16974word, matter
גְּרָרGᵉrârH16422Gerar

How preachers through history handled this text

6 public-domain excerpts on Genesis 20, from the church fathers to the Puritans.

Matthew Henry4Calvin1John Wesley1

“We are here returning to the story of Abraham; yet that part of it which is here recorded is not to his honour. The fairest marbles have their flaws, and, while there are spots in the sun, we must not expect any thing spotless under it. The scripture, it should be remarked, is impartial in relating the blemishes even of its most celebrated characters. We have here, I. Abraham's sin in denying his wife, and Abimelech's sin thereupon in taking her, ver. 1, 2. II. …”

— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, Vol. 1 (Genesis to Deuteronomy), on Genesis 20:1–35 (Public Domain)

Places in the text

Based on ancient-geography data

  • Gerar— Gen 20:1
  • Kadesh-barnea— Gen 20:1
  • Negeb— Gen 20:1
  • Shur— Gen 20:1

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