Genesis 20:7

Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.

Cross-references

Genesis 20:18 Historical context

In Genesis 20:18, the LORD closes all the wombs in Abimelech’s house — the direct consequence of God’s threat here, showing the warning fulfilled.

Genesis 20:3 Historical context

In Genesis 20:3, God first warns Abimelech 'you are a dead man' — this initial warning provides context for the fuller command given here.

Genesis 20:14 Historical context

In Genesis 20:14, Abimelech returns Sarah with livestock and servants — direct obedience to God's command here.

Genesis 20:17 Historical context

In Genesis 20:17, Abraham prays and God heals Abimelech — fulfilling the promise that Abraham's prayer would bring life.

In Genesis 12:17, God afflicts Pharaoh for taking Sarah — the same pattern of a king suffering plagues for possessing Abraham’s wife.

In Genesis 12:15, Pharaoh's men took Sarah just as Abimelech did — God again intervenes to protect Abraham's wife from a foreign king.

In 2 Kings 19:2-4, Hezekiah sends to Isaiah asking him to pray for the remnant — a king directing a prophet's intercession to save lives.

James 5:14 Parallel

In James 5:16, the prayer of a righteous person is powerful — here Abraham the prophet’s intercession restores Abimelech’s life after his sin.

Psalm 105:9 Allusion

Psalm 105:15 echoes 'Do not touch my anointed ones, do not harm my prophets' — directly recounting God's protection of Abraham among foreign rulers.

Job 42:8 Parallel

In Job 42:8, God tells the friends to have Job pray for them so He won't punish their folly — a righteous man's prayer averts judgment on the guilty.

In 1 Chronicles 16:22, God commands 'Do not touch my anointed ones, do not harm my prophets' — the exact principle behind God's warning to Abimelech here.

In 1 Samuel 12:19, the people urgently ask Samuel to pray so they won't die — the same dynamic: a prophet's intercession stands between the guilty and death.

Acts 8:24 Parallel

In Acts 8:24, Simon begs Peter to pray so God's judgment won't fall — same dynamic: a sinful person seeks a prophet's intercession to avert divine punishment.

In Numbers 21:7, the Israelites beg Moses to intercede after sinning — same dynamic: a prophet intercedes for those under divine judgment so they may live.

In Numbers 12:6, God defines how He communicates with prophets — through visions and dreams. This matches what happened here: God spoke to Abimelech in a dream, identifying Abraham as a prophet.

Psalm 105:15 echoes this directly: 'Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.' God's protection of Abraham as prophet is generalized for all His chosen prophets.

In Matthew 10:41, Jesus teaches that receiving a prophet brings reward. The inverse is shown here: threatening a prophet brings judgment unless intercession is sought.

In Jeremiah 15:1, even Moses and Samuel couldn't change God's mind — a stark contrast where intercession fails against persistent disobedience.

In Jeremiah 14:11, God forbids Jeremiah from praying for the people — the opposite of what happens here, where God calls for the prophet's prayer.

1 John 5:16 Parallel

In 1 John 5:16, some sins lead to death and others don’t — here God warns Abimelech his sin will bring death, yet offers restoration through prophetic prayer.

James 5:16 Parallel

James 5:16 underscores the efficacy of a righteous person's prayer, as seen in Abraham's intercession for Abimelech's household.

In Jeremiah 27:18, false prophets are challenged to intercede so temple vessels won't be taken — prophets expected to pray and prevent loss, though here they can't.

In Psalm 105:14, God rebukes kings for the sake of His anointed — a divine warning to a king who unknowingly took God’s chosen prophet’s wife.

In 1 Samuel 7:5, Samuel serves as prophet-intercessor for Israel at Mizpah. Abraham likewise intercedes for Abimelech's household as a prophet.

In 1 Samuel 7:8, Israel begs for continued prophetic intercession. Both passages show the vital role of a prophet's prayer for survival.

In 1 Kings 13:6, Jeroboam asks the man of God to pray for his restored hand — a king seeking a prophet's prayer to restore what God has taken.

In 2 Samuel 24:17, David begs God to turn judgment on him instead of the people — another righteous figure interceding to spare others from death.

In 1 Samuel 12:23, Samuel says it would be sin to stop praying for them — affirming that a prophet's duty to intercede is not optional but obligatory.

John 9:31 Related theme

In John 9:31, the healed man declares 'God does not hear sinners' — echoing the logic here: God hears the righteous prophet and warns the sinner to seek intercession.

Exodus 7:1 Parallel

Exodus 7:1 designates Aaron as prophet to Moses before Pharaoh — both show God appointing prophets as His spokesmen who mediate between God and others.