Genesis 20:3

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman."^[a]

Genesis 20:3 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 20:3

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night
Put a dream into his mind, by which he cautioned him against taking Sarah to be his wife; so careful was the Lord that no wrong should be done to such a godly and virtuous person, to which she was exposed through the weakness of her husband. Aben Ezra wrongly interprets this of an angel, when it was God himself: and said unto him, behold, thou [art but] a dead man, for the woman
which thou hast taken;
that is, God would punish him with death, unless he restored the woman, whom he had taken, to her husband; not for any uncleanness he had committed with her, but for taking her without her free and full consent, and without inquiring more strictly into her relation to Abraham, and connection with him, and for his impure and unlawful desires after her, if persisted in: for she [is] a man's wife,
or "married to an husband" ^F3; and therefore it was unlawful in him to take her to be his wife.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 (leb tleb) "maritata marito", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator, Schmidt.

Genesis 20:3 In-Context

1 From there Abraham traveled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived in Gerar,

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

3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman."

4 Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, "Lord, would you destroy a nation even though it is innocent?

5 Didn't he himself say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' I did this with a clear conscience and clean hands."

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit is possessed by a husband