People of the Bible › Abimelech
Abimelech אֲבִימֶ֫לֶךְ
Canaanite king. Abimelech was a Philistine king who had dealings with both Abraham and Isaac, involving incidents where the patriarchs claimed their wives were their sisters.
Also called Abimelek.
Where Abimelech appears
Genesis (23)
Key verses
- Genesis 20:2 first mention — And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
- Genesis 20:3 — But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.
- Genesis 20:4 — But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
- Genesis 20:9 — Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done.
- Genesis 20:15 — And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee.
- Genesis 20:17 — So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
- Genesis 20:18 — For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.
- Genesis 21:22 — And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and Phichol the chief captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest:
- Genesis 21:25 — And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away.
- Genesis 21:27 — And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
- Genesis 21:32 — Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
- Genesis 26:1 — And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.
Person data: STEPBible.org TIPNR, Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0), adapted. Several people in the Bible share this name; this page is about the one described above. Verse text: King James Version.