Genesis 20

This whole chapter deals with another incident in the lives of Abraham and Sarah in which Sarah was represented by both of them as being the sister of Abraham and not his wife. It appears here that this subterfuge was a definite characteristic of the modus operandi adopted by the patriarch as a maneuver which both of them doubtless considered to be a protective device, designed to prevent Abraham from being killed by someone who coveted his beautiful wife. From the human standpoint, it worked.

Furthermore, it was one of the factors contributing to Abraham's tremendous wealth. It should be noted, however, that the special providence of God's intervention was required in each of the Biblical incidents in order to prevent frustration of the divine purpose regarding the seed of Abraham (and Sarah). That Abraham was wrong in both these episodes is certain. It also appears as a possibility that there might have been some question of whether or not Abraham would continue in God's way until the fruition of the glorious promises concerning him. Certainly, Abraham appears here as one falling short of what God expected of him. It should also be noted that this passing his wife off as his sister was something deliberately planned by them from the very first, leaving the possibility of numerous other instances of this not reported in the Bible.

The greatest significance should be attached to the interference God interposed in order to protect the vehicles through whom the promise for all mankind would be realized. This also sheds light on the question of how Pharaoh learned that Sarah was Abram's wife. It is not at all unlikely that God's treatment of Pharaoh, both in the matter of the dream, and in the prevention of his touching Sarah, was similar to that seen here in the case of Abimelech.

We confidently reject the unproved speculative assertions of alleged scholars to the effect that, "It is impossible to doubt that the two accounts (here and in that recorded in Genesis 12:10-20) are variants of the same tradition."[1] These episodes are far more dissimilar than similar. In fact, about the ONLY correspondence between them lies in the fact of Abraham's passing off his wife as his sister. They occurred at different periods of the patriarch's life, involved different kings, of different countries, resulted in different treatment of Abraham, were marked by different forms of restraint upon the royal intentions, were distinguished by different forms of rebuke to Abraham, and different responses from Abraham; one event took place in Egypt, the other in Gerar, a city of the Philistines; in one Abraham was expelled from the country, and in the other he was kindly treated and invited to remain; one ruler did not believe in the true God, the other did; in one episode, Abraham did not pray for the king; but in the other he did so, resulting in the restoration of perfect health for the beneficiaries of his prayers; in one, Sarah's beauty resulted in Pharaoh's taking her, and in the other, it was the desire to form alliance with Abraham that seems to have been the reason. How could anyone ever believe that these are variant accounts of the SAME episode?

Furthermore, this chapter is exactly where it belongs in the first book of Moses, and is not displaced chronologically. Efforts to move it around in the Book of Genesis do not derive from any solid evidence, but from the intention of trying to make it some kind of variant. "We see no reason for insisting that Genesis is not in its proper chronological position."[2]

There are the best reasons why this deplorable episode from the life of Abraham SHOULD appear exactly here. The Mosaic narrative, at this point, stands poised to relate the birth of the promised "seed" of Abraham, through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed. And it was imperative that the wonder of God's amazing grace should not appear as being the result of merit or sinlessness on Abraham's part. As Willis noted: God wanted to make it clear that, "It was not because of Abraham's righteousness or faith that he gave him a son, but out of God's own mercy and love."[3] The current theory that Abraham was possessed of some glorious kind of "saving faith" at this period of his life is contradicted and destroyed by the events of this chapter. Abraham's faith, as evidenced here, was weak and inadequate, inexcusable doubt and fear having, for a while, taken possession of him. And yet, Abraham was the best human specimen available. And God would see to it that His promise through Him would, in time, be fulfilled.