Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Genesis 20:18 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 18. 18For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The narrator explains that the LORD had completely closed every womb in Abimelech's household because of Sarah, Abraham's wife. The emphatic wording identifies divine judgment and Sarah's true status, but it does not diagnose every infertility condition or make reproductive suffering a simple index of personal guilt.
Read It With
- Genesis 20:1–18
Read verses 2–7 and 14–18, then Genesis 21:1–7. Sarah is taken as though available, God prevents contact, restoration and prayer occur, and the household's reproductive life is restored. The next story turns to Sarah's promised conception. Reading verse 18 alone could create cruel fertility formulas or medical speculation.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The final explanation names the reproductive judgment and Sarah's true marriage before Genesis turns to Isaac's promised birth.
Read Genesis 20:17–18 together
Why these verses belong together: Abraham's prayer and God's healing fulfill the dream command and explain the household's reproductive crisis.
Verse 17. 17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
Verse 18. 18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.
Follow the Context
- Abraham travels into the Negev, settles between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourns in Gerar (20:1).
- Abraham says of Sarah his wife, 'She is my sister,' and Abimelech sends for and takes Sarah (20:2).
- God comes to Abimelech in a night dream, identifies Sarah as a married woman, and warns him of death (20:3).
- Abimelech, who has not approached Sarah, appeals to a righteous nation, Abraham's and Sarah's statements, integrity of heart, and innocence of hands (20:4–5).
- God affirms Abimelech's integrity regarding the deception, says that divine restraint prevented him from sinning and touching Sarah, and commands him to restore the prophet's wife so Abraham may pray and he may live (20:6–7).
- Abimelech rises early, tells his servants, and the household fears greatly; he summons and rebukes Abraham for bringing a great sin on the kingdom and doing what should not be done (20:8–10).
- Abraham explains his assumption that the place lacked fear of God, his fear of being killed, Sarah's paternal half-sister relationship, and the standing sister strategy he asked Sarah to use wherever they traveled (20:11–13).
- Abimelech gives Abraham livestock and enslaved male and female servants, restores Sarah, offers land, and announces a thousand-silver gift whose 'covering of eyes' wording is difficult (20:14–16).
- Abraham prays; God heals Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants, and the narrator explains that the LORD had completely closed every womb because of Sarah, Abraham's wife (20:17–18).
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“had fast closed up”
In plain language: Had completely or firmly closed.
The Hebrew repetition strongly emphasizes the restriction.
Why it matters: KJV fast means completely, not quickly.
How certain? very strong“all the wombs”
In plain language: The reproductive capacity of the household's women is collectively described.
The crisis extends beyond the royal couple.
Why it matters: Corporate consequence does not assign personal guilt to each woman.
How certain? very strong“because of Sarah Abraham's wife”
In plain language: The narrator ties the crisis to Sarah's taking and names her true marriage.
The closing line restores the identity concealed at the start.
Why it matters: Sarah's status, not an abstract fertility mechanism, frames the whole scene.
How certain? very strongWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
The verse does not teach that all infertility is punishment for a specific sin.
Closed wombs do not make the women personally guilty for Abraham's deception or Abimelech's taking.
The wording does not identify a disease, duration, miscarriage, or every person's exact symptoms.
The following birth of Isaac does not imply sexual contact with Abimelech; verses 4 and 6 explicitly deny it.
Divine healing here does not guarantee fertility for every believer or household.
What Remains True
Reproductive life is under God's care, yet one narrated judgment cannot explain every person's infertility, authorize blame, or turn pregnancy into a measure of divine favor.
How It Can Shape Life
- Speak about infertility with humility: avoid assigning hidden sin, guarantee language, or pressure. Offer prayer, medical support, confidentiality, and practical care while respecting the person's choices and grief.
Teach It Back
Explain Genesis 20:18's contribution to Genesis 20:1–18. Include why the nearby verses are required, what the verse clearly says, and one conclusion it does not justify.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Genesis 20:1–18 — God Protects Sarah in GerarSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
Where care is needed
Genesis does not provide enough information to determine the medical mechanism, exact duration, or how quickly the reproductive restriction became evident.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Displayed wording, boundary, repeated wife-sister pattern, explicit non-contact, rebuke, restoration, prayer, healing, promise placement, and later kinship law.
Exact location: Genesis 20:1–18 in the pinned eng-kjv2006 source; compared with Genesis 12:10–20; 18:1–33; 21:1–7; 26:1–11; Leviticus 18:9, 11; 20:17
Open source ↗hebrew text morphology and lemma data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project
Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026
Supports: Marriage language, integrity, innocence, divine restraint, non-contact, prophet and prayer, fear, loyal-kindness request, plural wandering verb, difficult silver phrase, healing, giving birth, and emphatic womb closure.
Exact location: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible, wlc/Gen.xml, Genesis 20:1–18; lemmas and morphology for ishah, be'ulat ba'al, tom-levav, niqyon kappayim, chasakh, naga, navi, palal, yare, hesed, ta'ah, kesut einayim, yakach, rapha, yalad, atsar, and rechem
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Prophet and intercession syntax, emphatic death warning, plural verb, silver weight, difficult covering-of-eyes idiom, vindication, emphatic womb closure, and proposed timeline.
Exact location: NET Bible, Genesis 20:1–18 and translator notes, especially 20:7, 13, 16–18
Open NET Genesis 20 ↗peer reviewed narrative and gender study
On Account of Sarai: Gen 12:10–13:1
Howard Wallace
Australian Biblical Review 44, 1996
Supports: Sarah-centered narrative safeguards, wife and woman terminology, power, repeated wife-sister structure, and refusal to infer consent from silence.
Exact location: Australian Biblical Review 44, pages 32–41, with Genesis 20 comparison
Open source ↗