Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you have done this thing?”
Parallel Translations
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Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you have done this thing?”
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And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
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And Abimelech said unto Abraham: 'What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?'
Cross-references
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Explain this verse (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 10. What sawest thou that thou hast done this…
10. What sawest thou that thou hast done this thing ? By this question the king provides against the future. He thinks that Abraham had not practiced this dissimulation inconsiderately; and, since God was grievously offended, he fears to fall again into the same danger. He therefore testifies, by an inquiry so earnest, that he wishes to remedy the evil. Now, it is no common sign of a just and meek disposition in Abimelech, that he allows Abraham a free defense. We know how sharply, and fiercely, they expostulate, who think themselves aggrieved: so much the greater praise, then, was due to the moderation of this king, towards an unknown foreigner. Meanwhile, let us learn, by his example, whenever we expostulate with our brethren, who may have done us any wrong, to permit them freely to answer us.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 20:10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest…
Gen 20:10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?
Ver. 10. What sawest thou?] He hath not yet done, but further expostulateth the injury, and setteth on the reproof. Personatae reprehensiones frigent ." Rebuke them sharply". {Tit 1:13}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain What levity or miscarriage didst thou discern in us…
What levity or miscarriage didst thou discern in us which moved thee to deal thus with us?
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Abimelech said unto Abraham,.... Continuing his discourse with…
And Abimelech said unto Abraham,.... Continuing his discourse with him:
what sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? he desires to know what he had observed, either in him or his people, that gave him any reason to conclude that they were a lustful people, and would stick at nothing to gratify their lusts, which put him upon taking such a method to secure his life, lest they should kill him for his wife's sake.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain What sawest thou that thou hast done this thing…
What sawest thou that thou hast done this thing - What reason hadst thou to think, that if we had known her to be thy wife, thou wouldst have been exposed to any danger by it?
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 10. What sawest thou — What didst thou observe…
10. What sawest thou — What didst thou observe in us or among us to lead thee to do this thing? What didst thou take us to be? Others take the question to mean, “What hadst thou in thine eye; or what object hadst thou in view?”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10. What sawest thou] i.e. “what hadst thou in…
10. What sawest thou] i.e. “what hadst thou in view?” An unusual use of the verb “to see.” Cf. Psa_66:18, “if I regard (lit. ‘see’) iniquity in my heart.” Some scholars prefer, by a slight alteration of the text, the reading, “what didst thou fear?” yarêtha for ra’îtha (Bacher).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (10) What sawest thou?—Some modern commentators explain the Hebrew…
(10) What sawest thou?—Some modern commentators explain the Hebrew as meaning, What purpose hadst thou? What didst thou look for? But the old rendering is probably right. Abimelech first denies by indignant questions that he had been guilty of any wrong towards Abraham, and then asks what he had seen in the conduct of himself and people to justify such mistrust of them. Throughout, the king speaks as a man conscious that his citizens so respected the rights of a stranger and of marriage, that Sarah would have been perfectly safe had Abraham openly said that she was his wife.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, either,…
And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, either, What hadst thou in view? (Knobel, Delitzsch, Keil, Murphy, et alii), or, What didst thou see? Didst thou see any of my people taking the wives of strangers and murdering their husbands? (Rosenm "Speaker"s Commentary")that thou hast done this thing?
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 What prompted you to do this thing?
What prompted you to do this thing?
"What caused you to do this?" or "Why did you do this?" What Abraham did can be stated explicitly. AT: "Why did you tell me that Sarah is your sister?" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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Because I thought, 'Surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.'
This is a quotation within a quotation. It can be stated as an indirect quotation. AT: "Because I thought that since no one here fears God, someone may kill me so they can take my wife." (See: Quotes Within Quotes and Direct and Indirect Quotations)
no fear of God in this place
Here "place" refers to the people. AT: "no one here in Gerar fears God" (See: Metonymy)
fear of God
This means to deeply respect God and show that respect by obeying him.
Besides, she is indeed my sister
"Also, it is true that Sarah is my sister" or "Also, Sarah really is my sister"
the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother
"we have the same father, but we have different mothers"
translationWords
Abimelech
Abraham
fear
God
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.