Genesis 20:6

Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that 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.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — God addresses Abimelech within a dream, responding directly to the king’s claim of innocent intent in Genesis 20:5. This communication occurs at the exact moment Abimelech is about to take Sarah, halting the physical act before it begins.

The words — The term יָדַ֙עְתִּי (ya.Da'.ti) translates literally as "I know," establishing God’s immediate awareness of Abimelech’s unblemished conscience. This declaration of knowledge directly precedes the statement of divine restraint that prevents the violation.

The thread — The motif of God actively holding back a person from sin or violence appears in 1 Samuel 25:34 and 1 Samuel 25:26. Proverbs 21:1 extends this pattern by describing God’s sovereign control over the direction of human hearts.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that moral boundaries are maintained by divine intervention rather than human willpower alone. It demands submission to God’s active role in preserving others from sin and in directing human affairs.

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

And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

Cross-references

1 Samuel 25:34 Otherwise, as surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, then surely no male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by morning light.”
1 Samuel 25:26 Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, since the LORD has held you back from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, may your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be like Nabal.
Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.
Genesis 31:7 And although he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, God has not allowed him to harm me.
Genesis 35:5 As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.
Exodus 34:24 For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the LORD your God.
Psalms 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
2 Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way.
Genesis 20:18 for on account of Abraham’s wife Sarah, the LORD had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech’s household.
Genesis 39:9 No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”