Bible Strands
Genesis 26:10
“What is this you have done to us?” asked Abimelech. “One of the people could easily have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Abimelech confronts Isaac after discovering Rebekah is his wife, immediately following Isaac’s earlier claim that she was his sister. The king speaks directly to Isaac in the Philistine camp, right after the deception is uncovered.
The words — The phrase מַה־זֹּאת עָשִׂיתָ (mah-zot asita) literally means “what is this you have done.” The warning כִּמְעַט שָׁכַב אֶחָד (kim’at shakhav echad) translates to “one of the people could easily have lain with her.”
The thread — Abimelech’s accusation echoes his earlier confrontation with Abraham over Sarah in Genesis 20:9 and parallels Pharaoh’s rebuke of Abram in Genesis 12:18. Each instance follows a patriarch’s deception regarding his wife’s identity.
Why it lands — The text forces a reader to recognize how a protective lie creates communal danger rather than personal safety. It demands accountability for actions that risk endangering others under the guise of self-preservation.
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 Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
Cross-references
- Genesis 12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
- Genesis 20:9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and asked, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such tremendous guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done things to me that should not be done.”