GEN 26

Genesis 26:10

WEB

Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!”

BSB

“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.”

KJV

And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

Matthew Henry

Verses 6–11

Genesis 26:6–11

Isaac had now laid aside all thoughts of going to Egypt, and, in obedience to the heavenly vision, sets up his staff in Gerar, the country in which he was born (Gen 26:6), yet there he enters into temptation, the same temptation that his good father had been once and again surprised and overcome by, namely, to deny his wife, and to give out that she was his sister. Observe,

I. How he sinned, Gen 26:7. Because his wife was handsome, he fancied the Philistines would find some way or other to take him off, that some of them might marry her; and therefore she must pass for his sister. It is an unaccountable thing that both these great and good men should be guilty of so strange a piece of dissimulation, by which they so much exposed both their own and their wives' reputation. But we see, 1. That very good men have sometimes been guilty of very great faults and follies. Let those therefore that stand take heed lest they fall, and those that have fallen not despair of being helped up again. 2. That there is an aptness in us to imitate even the weaknesses and infirmities of those we have a value for. We have need therefore to keep our foot, lest, while we aim to tread in the steps of good men, we sometimes tread in their by-steps.

II. How he was detected, and the cheat discovered, by the king himself. Abimelech (not the same that was in Abraham's days, ch. 20, for this was nearly 100 years after that, but this was the common name of the Philistine kings, as Caesar of the Roman emperors) saw Isaac more familiar and pleasant with Rebekah than he knew he would be with his sister (Gen 26:8): he saw him sporting with her, or laughing; it is the same word with that from which Isaac has his name. He was rejoicing with the wife of his youth, Pro 5:18. It becomes those in that relation to be pleasant with one another, as those that are pleased with one another. Nowhere may a man more allow himself to be innocently merry than with his own wife and children. Abimelech charged him with the fraud (Gen 26:9), showed him how frivolous his excuse was and what might have been the bad consequences of it (Gen 26:10), and then, to convince him how groundless and unjust his jealousy of them was, took him and his family under his particular protection, forbidding any injury to be done to him or his wife upon pain of death, Gen 26:11. Note, 1. A lying tongue is but for a moment. Truth is the daughter of time; and, in time, it will out. 2. One sin is often the inlet to many, and therefore the beginnings of sin ought to be avoided. 3. The sins of professors shame them before those that are without. 4. God can make those that are incensed against his people, though there may be some colour of cause for it, to know that it is at their peril if they do them any hurt. See Psa 105:14, Psa 105:15.

Cross-references: Gen 26:6 · Gen 26:7 · Gen 26:8 · Prov 5:18 · Gen 26:9 · Gen 26:10 · Gen 26:11 · Ps 105:14 · Ps 105:15

Hebrew interlinear

לָּ֑נוּlanuprep + suffix · pronominal · 1st · common · plur

H559

אָמַרʼâmar/aw-mar'/

v — say

Derivation: a primitive root;

to say (used with great latitude)

KJV: answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, × desire, determine, × expressly, × indeed, × intend, name, × plainly, promise, publish, report, require, say, speak (against, of), × still, × suppose, talk, tell, term, × that is, × think, use (speech), utter, × verily, × yet.

אָמַר

vb — utter

אָמַר 5287 vb. utter, say

Qal

1. Say

2. Say in the heart (= think)

3. Promise

4. Command (esp. late)

Niph. be said, told

Hiph. avow, avouch (lit. cause to declare)

Hithp. act proudly, boast

H40

אֲבִימֶלֶךְʼĂbîymelek/ab-ee-mel'-ek/

n-pr-m — Abimelek

Derivation: from 1 and 4428; father of (the) king;

Abimelek, the name of two Philistine kings and of two Israelites

KJV: Abimelech.

אֲבִימֶ֫לֶךְ

n.pr.m — Abimelech

אֲבִימֶ֫לֶךְ n.pr.m. (Melek (= Malik, Molech) is father)

1. king of Gerar

2. king of Gath

3. son of Gideon

4. priest, son of Abiathar

H4100

מָהmâh/maw/

i — what?, how?, why?, when?, what!, how!, what, whatever, that which

Derivation: or מַה; or מָ; or מַ; also מֶה; a primitive particle;

properly, interrogative what? (including how? why? when?); but also exclamation, what! (including how!), or indefinitely what (including whatever, and even relatively, that which); often used with prefixes in various adverbial or conjunctive senses

KJV: how (long, oft, (-soever)), (no-) thing, what (end, good, purpose, thing), whereby(-fore, -in, -to, -with), (for) why.

מָה

pron.interrog — what?

מָה, rarely מָה־, מַה־, מַה‍ּ, מֶה, מַ‍ּ, מָpron.interrog. and indef. what? how? aught

1. interrog. what?

2. Used adverbially

3. Indef. pron.

4. With preps.

H2063

זֹאתzôʼth/zothe'/

d — this

Derivation: irregular feminine of 2088;

this (often used adverb)

KJV: hereby (-in, -with), it, likewise, the one (other, same), she, so (much), such (deed), that, therefore, these, this (thing), thus.

זֶה

demonstr.pron — this

זֶה demonstr.pron. and adv.; fem. זֹאת, once זֹאתָה; this, here

1. standing alone

2. In appos. to subst.

3. More oft. as pred.

4. It is attached enclitically, almost as an adv., to certain words, esp. interrog. pronouns, to impart, in a manner often not reproducible in Engl. idiom, directness and force, bringing the question or statement made into close relation with the speaker.

5. In poetry, as a relative pron. (rare)

6. With prefixes (in special senses)

H6213

עָשָׂהʻâsâh/aw-saw'/

v — do, make

Derivation: a primitive root;

to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest application

KJV: accomplish, advance, appoint, apt, be at, become, bear, bestow, bring forth, bruise, be busy, × certainly, have the charge of, commit, deal (with), deck, displease, do, (ready) dress(-ed), (put in) execute(-ion), exercise, fashion, feast, (fight-) ing man, finish, fit, fly, follow, fulfill, furnish, gather, get, go about, govern, grant, great, hinder, hold (a feast), × indeed, be industrious, journey, keep, labour, maintain, make, be meet, observe, be occupied, offer, officer, pare, bring (come) to pass, perform, pracise, prepare, procure, provide, put, requite, × sacrifice, serve, set, shew, × sin, spend, × surely, take, × thoroughly, trim, × very, vex, be (warr-) ior, work(-man), yield, use.

עָשָׂה

vb — do

עָשָׂה 2622 vb. do, make

Qal 2524

I.

1. do (1560 t.)

2. deal with

3. oft. in phr. do kindness with

4. abs. act, act with effect

II.

1. make (670 t.)

2. produce, yield

3. prepare, esp. of dressing and cooking food

4. make offering

5. attend to, put in order

6. observe, celebrate, religious festival

7. acquire property of various kinds

8. appoint priests

9. bring about of י׳’s effecting a deliverance

10. use

11. spend, pass, days of life

Niph. 97

1. be done

2.

a. be made, of concr. things

b. be produced from vine

c. be prepared, of food

d. be offered

e. be observed, passover

f. be used

Pu. I was made

עָשָׂה

vb — press

[עָשָׂה] vb. Pi. press, squeeze

H4592

מְעַטmᵉʻaṭ/meh-at'/

n-m — little, few

Derivation: or מְעָט; from 4591;

a little or few (often adverbial or comparative)

KJV: almost (some, very) few(-er, -est), lightly, little (while), (very) small (matter, thing), some, soon, × very.

מְעַט

subst — a little

מְעַט 101 subst. a little, fewness, a few

H7901

שָׁכַבshâkab/shaw-kab'/

v — lie down

Derivation: a primitive root;

to lie down (for rest, sexual connection, decease or any other purpose)

KJV: × at all, cast down, (lover-)lay (self) (down), (make to) lie (down, down to sleep, still with), lodge, ravish, take rest, sleep, stay.

שָׁכַב

vb — lie down

שָׁכַב 212 vb. lie down

Qal

1. lie down

2. = lodge (for night)

3. of sexual relations, lie with

4.

a. lie down in death

b. esp. in phr. lie down with his fathers

5. fig. = relax

Niph. Pu. = be lain with (sexually; subj. women), only as Qr for Kt [שָׁגֵל] Niph. Pu. q.v.

Hiph. lay

Hoph. laid

H259

אֶחָדʼechâd/ekh-awd'/

a — united, one, first

Derivation: a numeral from 258;

properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) first

KJV: a, alike, alone, altogether, and, any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-) ly, each (one), eleven, every, few, first, highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some, together,

אֶחָד

adj.num — one

אֶחָד 972 adj.num. one

1. one

2. = each, every

3. = a certain

4. = indef. art.

5. only, & (fem.) once

6. oneanother, onethe other

7. as ordinal first

8. in combin.

H5971

עַםʻam/am/

n-m — people, tribe, troops, attendants, flock

Derivation: from 6004;

a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock

KJV: folk, men, nation, people.

עַם

n.[m.] — kinsman

[עַם] n.[m.] kinsman (on father's side)

עַם

n.m — people

עַם, עָם 1810 n.m. people

1. a people, nation

2. = smaller units

3. = common people

4. people in gen., persons

5. phrases

H854

אֵתʼêth/ayth/

prep — nearness, near, with, by, at, among

Derivation: probably from 579;

properly, nearness (used only as a preposition or an adverb), near; hence, generally, with, by, at, among, etc.

KJV: against, among, before, by, for, from, in(-to), (out) of, with. Often with another prepositional prefix.

אֵת

prep — with

אֵת, prep. with—prep. denoting proximity

1. Of companionship, together with

2. Of localities

3. אֵת פּ׳ denotes specially

a. in one's possession or keeping

b. in one's knowledge or memory

4. מֵאֵת from proximity with

Note. אֵת expresses closer association than עִם: hence while מֵעִם sts. denotes hardly more than from the surroundings or belongings of, מֵאֵת expresses from close proximity to.

H802

אִשָּׁהʼishshâh/ish-shaw'/

n-f — woman

Derivation: feminine of 376 or 582; irregular plural, נָשִׁים;(used in the same wide sense as 582)

a woman

KJV: (adulter) ess, each, every, female, × many, none, one, together, wife, woman. Often unexpressed in English.

אִשָּׁה

n.f — woman

אִשָּׁה 773 n.f. woman, wife, female

1. woman

2. Wife (woman belonging to a man, usually cstr. or sf.)

3. Female of animals

4. With distrib. & recipr. sense, each woman from her neighbor; each one

H935

בּוֹאbôwʼ/bo/

v — go, come

Derivation: a primitive root;

to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)

KJV: abide, apply, attain, × be, befall, besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, × certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, × doubtless again, eat, employ, (cause to) enter (in, into, -tering, -trance, -try), be fallen, fetch, follow, get, give, go (down, in, to war), grant, have, × indeed, (in-) vade, lead, lift (up), mention, pull in, put, resort, run (down), send, set, × (well) stricken (in age), × surely, take (in), way.

בּוֹא

vb — come in

בּוֹא 2569 vb. come in, come, go in, go

Qal

1. come in

2. come (approach, arrive)

3. go, i.e. walk, associate with

4. go from speaker, but with limit of motion given

Hiph.

1. cause to come in, bring in (conduct, lead, obj. persons and animals)

2. cause to come, bring, bring near, etc. (animate obj.)

Hoph.

a. be brought in (of pers. and things)

b. be brought

c. be introduced, put

H5921

עַלʻal/al/

prep — above, over, upon, against

Derivation: properly, the same as 5920 used as a preposition (in the singular or plural often with prefix, or as conjunction with a particle following);

above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications

KJV: above, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, × as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, × both and, by (reason of), × had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of, (from) (off), (up-) on, over, than, through(-out), to, touching, × with.

כִּי עַל כֵּן

forasmuch as

כִּי עַל כֵּן forasmuch as

עַל

subst — above

עַל, עָ֑ל

I. subst. height

II. As prep. upon, and hence on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against

1. Upon, of the substratum upon which an object in any way rests, or on which an action is performed

a.

(a). of clothing, etc., which any one wears

(b). With verbs of covering or protecting, even though the cover or veil be not over or above the thing covered, but around or before it

b. Of what rests heavily upon a person, or is a burden to him

c. Of a duty, payment, care, etc., imposed upon a person, or devolving on him

d. על is used idiom. to give pathos to the expression of an emotion, by emphasizing the person who is its subject, and who, as it were, feels it acting upon him

e. חָיָה עַל to live upon (as upon a foundation or support)

f. Of the ground or basis, on which a thing is done

2. It expresses excess

3. It denotes elevation or pre-eminence

4. It expresses addition

5. It expresses the idea of being extended, or suspended over anything, without however being in contact with it, above, over

6. From the sense of inclining or impending over, על comes to denote contiguity or proximity, Engl. by (or sts. on)

7. In connection with verbs of motion (actual or fig.)

8. By writers of the silver age, על is sts. used with the force of a dative

9. With other particles:

III. As conj.

a. עַל אֲשֶׁר because that

b. עַל כִּי similar in meaning, but less frequent

c. עַל alone:

(a). because

(b). notwithstanding that, although

IV. Compounds:

1. with כְּ (rare and late)

a. as concerning, as upon

b. the like of their deeds is the like of (that which) he will repay

2. מֵעַל from upon, from over, from by

H817

אָשָׁםʼâshâm/aw-shawm'/

n-m — guilt, fault, sin-offering

Derivation: from 816;

guilt; by implication, a fault; also a sin-offering

KJV: guiltiness, (offering for) sin, trespass (offering).

אָשָׁם

n.m — offence

אָשָׁם n.m. offence, guilt

1. offence, trespass, fault

2. guilt

3. compensation (or satisfaction for injury)

4. trespass-offering

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