So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
Parallel translations
- WEB Abraham prayed to God. God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his female servants, and they bore children.
- BSB Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children—
- NKJV So Abraham prayed to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children;
- NASB Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his female slaves, so that they gave birth to children.
- NLT Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, so they could have children.
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
Abraham prays, and God heals Abimelech, his wife, and his servants so they can bear children. Abraham's intercession brings restoration.
Overview
Abraham fulfills his prophetic role by interceding, and God answers by healing the household's barrenness. This demonstrates the power of believing prayer and God's mercy toward the repentant. Abraham's mediation, securing life and fruitfulness for others, points forward to Christ, whose intercession brings true healing and life to all who trust Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Jas 5:16Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
- Job 42:9–10So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job.
- Prov 15:8The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
- Matt 21:22And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
- Phil 4:6Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
- Gen 20:7Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
- Gen 29:31And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.
- 1 Sam 5:11–12So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it slay us not, and our people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.
- Ezra 6:10That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.
- 1 Th 5:25Brethren, pray for us.
- Matt 7:7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
- Isa 45:11Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
- Acts 3:24Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
- Prov 15:29The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 20:17 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.