About this time, Abimelech came with Phicol, his army commander, to visit Abraham. “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,” Abimelech said.
Parallel translations
- WEB At that time, Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his army spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do.
- KJV And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
- BSB At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do.
- NKJV And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do.
- NASB Now it came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all that you do;
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 and his commander acknowledge that God is with Abraham in all he does. The pagan king recognizes God's evident blessing on Abraham.
Overview
Abimelech, having seen God's protection of Abraham, openly confesses that the Lord prospers him in everything. This testimony from an outsider confirms that God's covenant blessing on Abraham was visible to the nations. Such recognition foreshadows the promise that through Abraham's seed all peoples would be blessed, a promise ultimately fulfilled in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Gen 26:26Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his army.
- Josh 3:7Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
- Gen 26:28They said, “We saw plainly that Yahweh was with you. We said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you,
- Gen 20:2Abraham said about Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
- 1 Cor 14:25And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed. So he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed.
- Isa 8:10Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand: for God is with us.”
- Rom 8:31What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Heb 13:5Be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.”
- 2 Chr 1:1Solomon the son of David was firmly established in his kingdom, and Yahweh his God was with him, and made him exceedingly great.
- Gen 30:27Laban said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, stay here, for I have divined that Yahweh has blessed me for your sake.”
- Matt 1:23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel”; which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
- Rev 3:9Behold, I give some of the synagogue of Satan, of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.
- Isa 45:14Yahweh says: “The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours. They will go after you. They shall come over in chains; and they will bow down to you. They will make supplication to you: ‘Surely God is in you; and there is no one else. There is no other god.
- Gen 20:17Abraham prayed to God. God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his female servants, and they bore children.
- Zech 8:23Yahweh of Armies says: “In those days, ten men will take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, ‘We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”
- Gen 28:15Behold, I am with you, and will keep you, wherever you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken of to you.”
- Gen 39:2–3Yahweh was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
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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 21:22 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
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