One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”
Parallel translations
- WEB But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken. For she is a man’s wife.”
- KJV But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.
- NKJV But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, “Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”
- NASB But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is married.”
- NLT 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!”
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
God warns Abimelech in a dream that he is a dead man for taking another man's wife. The Lord acts directly to protect Sarah and the promise.
Overview
God sovereignly intervenes, speaking even to a pagan king to guard Sarah's purity and the integrity of the promised seed. The warning shows that God holds all people accountable to His moral law, not Israel alone. His protective grace toward the covenant line, despite Abraham's failure, demonstrates that salvation history rests on God's faithfulness rather than human merit.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Gen 20:7Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.”
- Matt 27:19While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him.”
- Ps 105:14He let no man oppress them; He rebuked kings on their behalf:
- Job 33:15In a dream, in a vision in the night, when deep sleep falls upon men as they slumber on their beds,
- Gen 28:12And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder.
- Matt 1:20But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
- Gen 40:8“We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”
- Gen 31:24But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
- Job 4:12–13Now a word came to me secretly; my ears caught a whisper of it.
- Jonah 3:4On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”
- Matt 2:12–13And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.
- Gen 37:5Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
- Gen 37:9Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
- Ezek 33:14–15But if I tell the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and he turns from his sin and does what is just and right—
- Gen 41:1–36After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,
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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 20:3 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.