Genesis 26:10

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 26:10 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? One of the people might easily have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? One of the people might easily have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
Genesis 26:10 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 26

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
10And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? One of the people might easily have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And Abimelech said, what is this thou hast done unto us? etc.] By entertaining suspicions and jealousies of us as bad men, and by exposing us to the temptation of committing iniquity; why hast thou dealt thus with us, and what have we done, or is in our character, that thou shouldest act after this manner? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife; it is much one or other had not before this time, not looking upon it criminal to have to do with a single woman, when they would not have meddled with another man’s wife, Jarchi interprets this of Abimelech himself; and so the Targum of Jonathan, who perhaps had been thinking of taking her to his bed; and was “within a little”…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“26:10-11 Isaac, like his father, was rebuked by Abimelech (see study note on 20:1-18). This legal wording would remind Israel of how important it was to preserve marital purity. Abimelech recognized the danger to his own people. Though his decree preserved his own society, it was also a word from God that preserved the sanctity of Isaac’s and Israel’s marriages. If Isaac’s marriage had ended here, there would have been no Israelite society.”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification