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Person

Abimelech (King of Gerar)

Mentioned in 23 verses, first in Genesis 20:2. The verses below are the ones linked to this person (the Theographic dataset, with our sourced corrections).

In these stories

In the Bible

All 23 verses, in Bible order. Text from the Berean Standard Bible; verse numbers follow the KJV.

Genesis

  • Genesis 20:2

    Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

  • Genesis 20:3

    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.”

  • Genesis 20:4

    Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he replied, “Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent?

  • Genesis 20:8

    Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified.

  • Genesis 20:9

    Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.”

  • Genesis 20:10

    Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What prompted you to do such a thing?”

  • Genesis 20:14

    So Abimelech brought sheep and cattle, menservants and maidservants, and he gave them to Abraham and restored his wife Sarah to him.

  • Genesis 20:15

    And Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you. Settle wherever you please.”

  • Genesis 20:17

    Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children—

  • Genesis 20:18

    for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.

  • Genesis 21:22

    At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do.

  • Genesis 21:25

    But when Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that Abimelech’s servants had seized,

  • Genesis 21:26

    Abimelech replied, “I do not know who has done this. You did not tell me, so I have not heard about it until today.”

  • Genesis 21:27

    So Abraham brought sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two men made a covenant.

  • Genesis 21:29

    and Abimelech asked him, “Why have you set apart these seven ewe lambs?”

  • Genesis 21:32

    After they had made the covenant at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army got up and returned to the land of the Philistines.

  • Genesis 26:1

    Now there was another famine in the land, subsequent to the one that had occurred in Abraham’s time. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar.

  • Genesis 26:8

    When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines looked down from the window and was surprised to see Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

  • Genesis 26:9

    Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”

  • Genesis 26:10

    “What is this you have done to us?” asked Abimelech. “One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”

  • Genesis 26:11

    So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, “Whoever harms this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

  • Genesis 26:16

    Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Depart from us, for you are much too powerful for us.”

  • Genesis 26:26

    Later, Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army.

Dictionary

From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), as attached to this record by Theographic. The entry is for the name and can describe more than one person who bore it. Easton wrote in 1897, and some of his views are now debated.

Read Easton’s entry

A king of Gerar in the time of Isaac, probably the son of the preceeding (Gen. 26:1-22). Isaac sought refuge in his territory during a famine, and there he acted a part with reference to his wife Rebekah similar to that of his father Abraham with reference to Sarah. Abimelech rebuked him for the deception, which he accidentally discovered. Isaac settled for a while here, and prospered. Abimelech desired him, however, to leave his territory, which Isaac did. Abimelech afterwards visited him when he was encamped at Beer-sheba, and expressed a desire to renew the covenant which had been entered into between their fathers (Gen. 26:26-31).

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