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Genesis 20 Bible study: He is a prophet

Abraham said again that Sarah was his sister, and God protected her by speaking to a foreign king in a dream. In this chapter the Hebrew words for prophet, dream, pray and heal appear for the first time in the Bible: God called Abraham a prophet, Abraham prayed for the king who had rebuked him, and God healed the king's house.

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“God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also withheld you from sinning against me. Therefore I didn’t allow you to touch her.”
Genesis 20:6 · World English Bible

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“Abraham is the first person the Bible calls a prophet.”

Is that in Genesis 20, or not? Make your call.

What's really going on

The same words again

In the text

In Gerar, "Abraham said about Sarah his wife, 'She is my sister.' Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah" (20:2). Years before, in Egypt, Abram had asked Sarai to say the same, and Pharaoh took her (12:11-15). This time it happens after the LORD has said Sarah will have a son "at the set time" (18:14), and just before "the LORD did to Sarah as he had spoken" (21:1).

Where it leads to Jesus

What God has joined

Interpretation

Genesis 20:3leads toMatthew 19:4-6

God tells Abimelech, "you are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a man’s wife" (20:3), and calls it "sinning against me" (20:6). Asked about divorce (Matthew 19:3), Jesus says of husband and wife, "What therefore God has joined together, don’t let man tear apart" (Matthew 19:6). Jesus doesn't mention Abraham or Abimelech, so setting his words beside this chapter is a reading, not something either text states; others read the chapter's point as God keeping Sarah for the son he had promised (18:10; 21:1-2), not as teaching on marriage.

Honest questions

Questions people ask about Genesis 20

That was a taste

The rest of Genesis 20 is waiting in Favor

  • God speaks to a foreign king
  • "The fear of God is not in this place"
  • The prophet prays
  • "Do my prophets no harm"
  • Three times in Genesis
  • The God who heals
  • 8 questions as you read
  • 7 more Hebrew words
  • A short check at the end
  • Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it

נָבִיאnavisay na-VEE

"Spokesman, speaker, prophet" (Brown-Driver-Briggs). Its first appearance in the Bible is here, when God says of Abraham, "he is a prophet, and he will pray for you" (20:7); it doesn't appear again in Genesis. The psalm that remembers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob uses it of them: "Do my prophets no harm!" (Psalm 105:15). Later God promises Moses, "I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like you" (Deuteronomy 18:18).

For your group

Genesis 20 Bible study questions

  1. 1Abraham did in Gerar what he had done in Egypt years before. Is there an old pattern you fall back into when you're afraid?
  2. 2Abraham thought, "Surely the fear of God is not in this place." When have you misjudged whether others feared God?
  3. 3God sent Abimelech to Abraham for prayer, though Abimelech told Abraham, "You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done!" (20:9). What do you make of that?

Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Genesis 20 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.

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Questions

What is Favor?

Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.

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Your first week is free. After that it's $10 a month per person, the same for everyone, including groups and churches. There are no tiers and nothing extra to unlock.

Can I read Genesis 20 straight away?

Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Genesis 20 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.

Do I need a group?

No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.

I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?

Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.

Which Bible does Favor use?

The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.

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No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home