Genesis 20:4

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, 1  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? 2 

Genesis 21:1

The Birth of Isaac

21:1 The Lord visited 3  Sarah just as he had said he would and did 4  for Sarah what he had promised. 5 

1 tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

2 tn Apparently Abimelech assumes that God’s judgment will fall on his entire nation. Some, finding the reference to a nation problematic, prefer to emend the text and read, “Would you really kill someone who is innocent?” See E. A. Speiser, Genesis (AB), 149.

3 sn The Hebrew verb translated “visit” (פָּקַד, paqad ) often describes divine intervention for blessing or cursing; it indicates God’s special attention to an individual or a matter, always with respect to his people’s destiny. He may visit (that is, destroy) the Amalekites; he may visit (that is, deliver) his people in Egypt. Here he visits Sarah, to allow her to have the promised child. One’s destiny is changed when the Lord “visits.” For a more detailed study of the term, see G. André, Determining the Destiny (ConBOT).

4 tn Heb “and the Lord did.” The divine name has not been repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

5 tn Heb “spoken.”