Abimelech

Family: Philistines · Role: king of Gerar · First appears: Genesis 20

Abimelech, king of Gerar among the Philistines, took Sarah after Abraham presented her as his sister. God warned him in a dream that taking Sarah, another man’s wife, made him liable to death, then commanded him to restore her to Abraham so that he might live. Abimelech returned Sarah and gave Abraham sheep, oxen, menservants, and womenservants; God had closed the wombs of his household because of Sarah, and after Abraham prayed, God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his maidservants.

In Genesis 21, Abimelech and Phichol approached Abraham, acknowledging that God was with him. Abimelech asked Abraham to deal kindly with him, his son, his son’s son, and the land where Abraham had sojourned, and the two made a covenant concerning the well, with Abraham giving him sheep and oxen.

In Genesis 26, Abimelech came with Ahuzzath and Phichol and discovered that Rebekah was Isaac’s wife after seeing them together. He ordered Isaac to leave because he had become stronger than the Philistines, though Isaac accused Abimelech’s people of hating him. Later, Abimelech sought a covenant with Isaac, saying, “That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good,” and they swore an oath before Isaac sent them away in peace.