And he said to Sarah, “See, I am giving your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you; you are completely cleared.”
Parallel translations
- WEB To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. Behold, it is for you a covering of the eyes to all that are with you. In front of all you are vindicated.”
- KJV And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.
- NKJV Then to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver; indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody.” Thus she was rebuked.
- NASB To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is your vindication before all who are with you, and before everyone you are cleared.”
- NLT And 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.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Abimelech gives Sarah a thousand pieces of silver as a public vindication of her honor. The gift clears Sarah's name before all.
Overview
The substantial sum serves as a formal, public acknowledgment of Sarah's innocence and integrity, removing any cloud over her reputation. By calling Abraham her 'brother,' Abimelech gently exposes the deception while still acting honorably. God ensures that Sarah, the mother of the promised seed, is openly vindicated, preserving the honor of the covenant household.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Prov 27:5Better an open rebuke than love that is concealed.
- Gen 20:5Didn’t Abraham tell me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.”
- Gen 24:65and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “It is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.
- Rev 3:19Those I love, I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
- Prov 12:1Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.
- Prov 9:8–9Do not rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
- Prov 25:12Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man’s rebuke to a listening ear.
- Gen 26:11So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”
- Jonah 1:6The captain approached him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps this God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
- 1 Chr 21:3–6But Joab replied, “May the LORD multiply His troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all servants of my lord? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 20:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.