And Abraham traveled on toward the Negev, and settled between Kadesh and Shur. And while he was staying in Gerar, he told people that Sarah, his wife, was his sister. And Abimelech, king of Gerar, had Sarah brought to him. But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said, “You are a dead man: the woman you have taken is a married woman.”
Now Abimelech had not slept with her, and he said, “My Lord, will you kill a man even though he is innocent? Didn’t he tell me that she was his sister, and didn’t she say it too? I did this with clean hands and a blameless heart.”
And God said to him in the dream, “I know that you did this with a blameless heart; it was I who made you incapable of sleeping with her and thus kept you from sinning against me. But now you must return this man’s wife; he is a prophet and will pray for you, and you will recover. But if you don’t return her, know that you will die—you and all your household.”
And the next morning Abimelech summoned his officials and told them what had happened. And they all were very frightened. And Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “Why did you do this to us? What harm have I ever done you, to make you bring this great sin on me and my kingdom?”
And Abraham said, “I did it because I thought that there was no fear of God in this place, and that people would kill me because ofmy wife. And besides, she is my sister—my fathers daughter, though not my mother’s. And when God sent me out from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘Do this for me as a loyal wife: wherever we go, tell people that I am your brother.’ ”
And Abimelech took sheep and oxen and male and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah to him. And Abimelech said, “Look, my whole country is open for you to live in; you may settle wherever you wish.” And to Sarah he said, “I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver, to compensate you for everything that has happened and to prove that your honor has not been stained.”
And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech.