KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
To get what Genesis 20:3 means based on its source text, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“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.”
What does this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Hebrew | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Hebrew word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Hebrew word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “But God” | אֱלֹהִ֛ים | Gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative | God |
| “came” | וַיָּבֹ֧א | To go or come (in a wide variety of applications) | came |
| “to” | אֶל | Near, with or among; often in general, to | to |
| “Abimelech” | אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ | Abimelek, the name of two Philistine kings and of two Israelites | Abimelech |
| “in a dream” | בַּֽחֲל֣וֹם | A dream | dream |
| “by night,” | הַלָּ֑יְלָה | Properly, a twist (away of the light), i.e., night; figuratively, adversity | night |
| “and said” | וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | To say (used with great latitude) | said |
| “to him, Behold,” | הִנְּךָ֥ | Lo! | Behold |
| “thou a dead man,” | מֵת֙ | To die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill | dead man |
| “art but” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “for” | עַל | Above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applications | for |
| “the woman” | הָֽאִשָּׁ֣ה | A woman | woman |
| “which” | אֲשֶׁר | Who, which, what, that; also (as an adverb and a conjunction) when, where, how, because, in order that, etc | which |
| “thou hast taken;” | לָקַ֔חְתָּ | To take (in the widest variety of applications) | taken |
| “for she” | וְהִ֖וא | He (she or it); only expressed when emphatic or without a verb; also (intensively) self, or (especially with the article) the same; sometimes (as demonstrative) this or that; occasionally (instead of copula) as or are | for she |
| “is” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “a man's” | בָּֽעַל׃ | A master; hence, a husband, or (figuratively) owner (often used with another noun in modifications of this latter sense) | mans |
| “wife.” | בְּעֻ֥לַת | To be master; hence, to marry | wife |
See Genesis 20:3 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
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1 And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
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.
4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?
5 Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this.
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.