date of Abimelech in Genesis

[Kristin]

Does anyone know the date (rough conservative date) of Abimelech in Gen 20? If you go to Gen 20 the info pane pulls up “Abimelech” on the timeline, but the Abimelech in question on the timeline was from the book of Judges and not connected to the Abimelech in Genesis. I searched the timeline to see if there were two people listed, but it appears to just be the guy in Judges.

 

Thanks for any help anyone is able to provide.

Kristin

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

I got this from IVP Dictionary of the Old Testament Pentateuch:

 

Abimelech is identified as a Philistine in Genesis 26:1 (cf. Gen 21:32), an apparently anachronistic identification, since the Philistines did not arrive in Canaan until about 1200 B.C. It is possible to view this identification as proleptic in anticipation of the later arrival of the Philistines (Wenham, 94). K. A. Kitchen suggests that the Philistines of Genesis may have come from the Aegean area, noting that the description of the Philistines in Genesis is inconsistent with their descriptions in Judges and Samuel:

 

This from Smith’s:

 

1. A Philistine, king of Gerar, Genesis 20, 21, who, exercising the right claimed by Eastern princes of collecting all the beautiful women of their dominions into their harem, (Genesis 12:15; Esther 2:3) sent for and took Sarah. A similar account is given of Abraham’s conduct of this occasion to that of his behavior towards Pharaoh. [ABRAHAM] (B.C. 1920.)

 

Does this help any?

[Kristin]

Hi @Nathan Parker,

Thanks for the response. it helps a little, but I am frankly still confused. If you don't mind, I will explain part of my confusion. If you go to Gen 20 the Timeline says that Abimelech reigned between 1120-1117 BC. However, Sarah lived between 2156-2029 BC, so obviously the Abimelech from 1120 is not the king referred to.

 

Then Delitzsch attacks Sarah's appearance saying there is no way Abimelech saw Sarah as attractive as a "woman of 90." But she can't be 90 in this scene, as she was 90 when she gave birth to Isaak.

So I am trying to find out how old Sarah roughly was when she had this fling with Abimelech, as I am sure she wasn't 90 as Delitzsch claimed.

Kristin

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

I believe there is more than one Abimelech in Scripture, as I believe it was more of a title than an actual name. 

 

I’ve tried to look up more details in dictionaries but couldn’t find anything else. I might try some commentaries and see if they shed any light on this.

 

Too bad Doc Brown doesn’t frequent these forums. 🙂 

[ukfraser]

This is from jps commentary

 

Abimelech      This is a fairly common ancient West Semitic personal name. It appears as ʾabmlk in the Ugaritic texts and as abimilki, king of Tyre, in the El-Amarna correspondence (second half 14th cent. B.C.E.). It also appears as an Israelite name that means “my father is king.” 2

 

had Sarah brought to him      She is now nearly ninety years of age (17:17)! What interest, then, did Abimelech have in her? According to rabbinic fancy, “her flesh was rejuvenated, her wrinkles smoothed out, and her original beauty was restored” (BM 87a). Without doubt, from the Narrator’s point of view, this would be consistent with the miraculous renewal of her vitality by divine grace so that she may bear a child. However, on this occasion the text is pointedly silent about Sarah’s beauty. In light of the subsequent relations between Abraham and Abimelech (21:22–32), it is quite possible that the king’s goal was an alliance with the patriarch for purposes of prestige and economic advantage.

 

 

[Kristin]

9 minutes ago, Nathan Parker said:

I believe there is more than one Abimelech in Scripture, as I believe it was more of a title than an actual name. 

 

Hi @Nathan Parker,

Given that Sarah lived about 1000 years before him, ya, I would agree there would have to be more than one Abimelech.

 

Thank you for the JPS quote, @ukfraser. I had looked at JPS, but had overlooked the mention of Gen 17:17, which precedes Gen 20, so apparently she really was that old. Crazy. It has been sort of weird reading the different books squabbling back and forth about whether or not Sarah was still attractive. I am inclined to think she wasn't, since the word of attractive is not used in the passage. But you never really know. There were lots of things that were odd about that couple.

Thank you both,
Kristin

[ReformedDoc]

@Kristin

ABIMELECH, KING OF GERAR (אֲבִימֶלֶךְ, avimelekh). Misled to believe that Sarah (Gen 20) and Rebekah (Gen 26) were the sisters of Abraham and Isaac, respectively. Makes a covenant with Abraham (Gen 21) and Isaac (Gen 26) at Beer-sheba. If Abimelech is a throne name, there could be two people named Abimelech represented in these stories.

Etymology and Occurrences outside the Hebrew Bible
“Abimelech” is made up of two West Semitic elements: אב ('b) meaning “father” and מלך (mlk) meaning “king,” together meaning “my father is king”. The name a-bi-mil-ki occurs eleven times in the El Amarna texts and appears to be the name or title of the official of Tyre. The name also occurs several times in Ugaritic, Akkadian, and Punic texts (Hess, Amarna Personal Names, 18–19). Abimelech is likely a throne name for the ruler of Gerar (Matthews, Genesis, 403).

Abimelech, King of Gerar (Early Second Millennium BC)
A character named Abimelech appears four different times in Genesis: in the accounts of the deception of Abraham and Isaac (Gen 20:1–18; 26:1–16) and the covenant at Beer-sheba (Gen 21:22–34; 26:26–33). In Genesis 20:1–18, Abimelech takes Sarah into his house because he believes she is Abraham’s sister. The text states that he does not approach her sexually; whether Abimelech is an upright person or has been rendered sexually impotent by God (Gen 20:17–18) is open to debate (Novick, “Almost, at Times, the Fool”, 277–290). Abimelech reappears in Gen 21:22, accompanied by Phicol (his general) to make a covenant with Abraham, establishing Abraham’s (and his descendants’) claim to the well, and the site of Beer-sheba. In Genesis 21:34, Abraham dwells in the land of the Philistines—most likely an anachronistic name for the people of the region (see Hamilton, Genesis, 94)—implying that Abimelech is their king.
These two stories closely parallel stories about Isaac, Abraham’s son. In Genesis 26:1–16, which recapitulates both Gen 12:10–20 and 20:1–18, Isaac goes to Abimelech, called “king of the Philistines,” in Gerar during a famine. However, Abimelech does not take Rebekah into his house, even though Isaac has declared that she is his sister. Abimelech spies on Isaac and sees him caressing Rebekah; thus he discerns the truth. He rebukes Isaac and warns his people to stay away from Rebekah. Unlike the friendly resolution of Abraham’s story, Abimelech sends Isaac away in Gen 26:16 because his wealth poses a threat to Abimelech’s people. Later in Genesis 26:26–33, Abimelech initiates proceedings for a second peace-covenant between his people and Isaac’s, which takes place at Beer-sheba.

Other Occurrences
In Psalm 34, the name Abimelech appears as the king before whom David pretended to be insane. In First Samuel 21:10–15, the king’s name is Achish, indicating either historical inaccuracy or a second, possibly semitic, name for Achish (Dahood, Psalms 1–50, 205). Finally, the Masoretic text of 1 Chronicles 18:16 names Zadok and Abimelech as priests during David’s reign. Second Samuel 8:17 and most other textual witnesses of 1 Chronicles 18:16 use the name Ahimelech instead.

 

[Kristin]

Hi @ReformedDoc,

Thank you for the info. Just to be clear though, I am aware that there are lots of men named Abimelech, and the meaning of the name. The fundamental question had almost been a bug report, since if you go to Gen 20 it will show Abimelech on the timeline, but the Abimelech on the timeline it shows is an Abimelech from the book of Judges. So my post was sort of an attempt to report this, as it would be helpful if in Gen 20 the timeline points to the correct generation.

Apart from that, my post was also since I was trying to figure out how old Sarah was. I guess the answer is 89, if Gen 17-20 all occur in a year (as JPS seems to suggest, and obviously not "in her 90s" as Walke claims), but it just seems odd, so I was trying to nail down a year. I guess the answer is she was 89, I guess.

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Not in Accordance, but I have ArtScroll’s Chumash with commentary if you want me to check it. I could scan the printed page here. 

[Kristin]

Hi @Nathan Parker,

Ya, that would be helpful if you don't mind.

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Try these. The print edition is on ArtScroll.com if you ever want the complete volume (this one would be fun to have in Accordance some day).

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Also, on the Timeline @David Lang might have some insight there. I’m thinking it’s not really a “bug”, but it’s a design in the Timeline where it’s only searching for the name when you Amplify to it. Since that’s the one that appears in the Timeline, that’s where it’s going. I guess if we could pinpoint a time range for the other one that would be accurate, we could always add it.

[ukfraser]

Has anyone got Bava Metsia , if so what is at 87a? (I still like the idea of rabbinic fancy in the jps.)

 

also wondered if because of that reference in jps, is there is anything in carasik's commentators commentary to see how it has been  interpreted?

Edited May 17, 2023 by ukfraser

[Brian K. Mitchell]

10 hours ago, Nathan Parker said:

Try these. The print edition is on ArtScroll.com if you ever want the complete volume (this one would be fun to have in Accordance some day).

Hello Nathan Parker,

 

It would also be fun to have the Jaffa edition of Art Scroll's Chumash/Pentateuch in Accordance by Mesorah Publishing:

[ukfraser]

19 minutes ago, Brian K. Mitchell said:

It would also be fun to have the Jaffa edition of Art Scroll's Chumash/Pentateuch in Accordance by Mesorah Publishing:

That binding would make a fabulous tablet cover!

 

;o) 

[Brian K. Mitchell]

7 hours ago, ukfraser said:

Has anyone got Bava Metsia , if so what is at 87a? (I still like the idea of rabbinic fancy in the jps.)

 

also wondered if because of that reference in jps, is there is anything in carasik's commentators commentary to see how it has been  interpreted?

Yes, to both of your inquiries. Please check your Accordance forum inbox 

[ukfraser]

27 minutes ago, Brian K. Mitchell said:

Yes, to both of your inquiries. Please check your Accordance forum inbox 

Thanks.
 

The explanation from NAHMANIDES in the commentators commentary and Rav Hisda @9 from Sefaria makes very interesting reading. It will be great if the discussions with Sefaria and accordance work out. 

Edited May 17, 2023 by ukfraser

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

 @Brian K. Mitchell Thanks for posting those! I have the Stone Chumash at the moment. Might have to pick that one up.

 

I’d love to see more ArtScroll stuff in Accordance. I do have their iOS app with the digital library subscription. It doesn’t have all their content, but plenty of stuff for me to study. The rest I buy in print.

 

ArtScroll has very luxurious bindings on their books. It makes me even appreciate Judaica even more.