Bible Strands
Genesis 20:17
Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants, so that they could again bear children—
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Abraham prays to God immediately after Abimelech restores Sarah and explains the divine judgment on his household. The moment follows the king’s confrontation and restitution in Genesis 20:16.
The words — The text highlights וַ/יִּתְפַּלֵּ֥ל (va/i.yit.pa.Lel), meaning "and he prayed," followed by וַ/יִּרְפָּ֨א (va/i.yir.Pa'), meaning "and he healed." These verbs frame the sequence of human intercession and divine response.
The thread — The pattern of intercessory prayer leading to physical restoration appears in James 5:16 and Job 42:9. Proverbs 15:8 further establishes the prayer of the upright as a recognized biblical theme.
Why it lands — The text records Abraham’s prayer and God’s subsequent healing of the closed wombs in Abimelech’s household. It requires the reader to acknowledge that divine restoration follows specific intercession.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
Cross-references
- James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
- Job 42:9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the LORD had told them; and the LORD accepted Job’s prayer.
- Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Matthew 21:22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
- Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- Genesis 20:7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die—you and all who belong to you.”
- Genesis 29:31 When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.
- 1 Samuel 5:11 Then the Ekronites called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel. It must return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people!” For a deadly confusion had pervaded the city; the hand of God was very heavy upon it.
- Ezra 6:10 Then they will be able to offer sacrifices of a sweet aroma to the God of heaven and to pray for the lives of the king and his sons.
- Isaiah 45:11 Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: “Concerning things to come, do you question Me about My sons, or instruct Me in the work of My hands?