Genesis 20, Abraham in Gerar

After Sodom, Abraham moves on. He settles for a time along a riverbed in the Negev desert (part of modern Israel; see this Wikipedia page on Gerar.)

Genesis 20: 1-7, Abraham lies again about Sarah

Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he stayed in Gerar, and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman."

Now Abimelech had not gone near her, so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation? Did he not say to me, `She is my sister,' and didn't she also say, `He is my brother'? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands."

Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die."

Abraham has done this before, with the Pharaoh of Egypt. Again, God intervenes and we see Abimelech arguing with God in a dream.

Genesis 20: 8-13, Abimelech confronts Abraham

Early the next morning Abimelech summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they were very much afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said, "What have you done to us? How have I wronged you that you have brought such great guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done."

And Abimelech asked Abraham, "What was your reason for doing this?"

Abraham replied, "I said to myself, `There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.' Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. And when God had me wander from my father's household, I said to her, `This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, "He is my brother."'"

Abraham claims two things: there is no fear of God in that place -- but there was! -- and that, technically, she is his (half-)sister.  This is the first we hear of this claim.

Genesis 20: 14-18, Abimelech makes amends

Then Abimelech brought sheep and cattle and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, "My land is before you; live wherever you like."

To Sarah he said, "I am giving your brother a thousand shekels of silver. This is to cover the offense against you before all who are with you; you are completely vindicated."

Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his slave girls so they could have children again, for the LORD had closed up every womb in Abimelech's household because of Abraham's wife Sarah.

According to the NIV footnotes, a thousand shekels of silver is "about 25 pounds (about 11.5 kilograms)", a considerable amount of silver.

This story parallels that of the Egyptian pharaoh from Genesis 12.

Wow, what a rough time for Abimelech!  And Abraham does not look good here (again!) The story of Abraham and Abimelech is not over but will continue in the next chapter, after a brief interruption.  Alter argues that the infertility of Abimelech's harem implies that it is Abimelech who is suddenly impotent.  The question about the "closed wombs" in Abimelech's harem leads naturally to the insertion of a story about Sarah's fertility -- that brief interruption of the Abraham/Abimelech tale starts immediately in the next chapter.