What Does Genesis 20:16 Mean?
And to Sarah he said, Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. Behold, he is for you a covering over the eyes, for all who are with you, and with all others, and so she was set straight.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.THE KEY
The silver is named as a covering before everyone, making public correction part of Sarah’s restored standing.
THE MEANING
When a person’s dignity is put at risk before others, repair here takes a public form: the silver is called a covering “unto all” who are with Sarah and all others. The closing “reproved” leaves correction in the scene too, so the covering does not erase the wrong that required an answer.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that a public wrong can be answered only in private: this covering is expressly for those around Sarah and “all other.”
THE ROOT
כְּסוּת
kesut
GROWS FROM
כסה
k-s-h
to cover, conceal, or overlay
“a covering over the eyes” in this verse is kesut. Kesut comes from the same root as the verb “to cover” and related words for a covering. Because this covering is given “unto all,” the image can carry a visible shield or answer, not merely something hidden from sight.
ALSO GROWS
kasah: to cover, conceal
כָּסָה
The verb behind “covering” shows the noun as an action made tangible in the verse.
mikseh: a covering, including a tent covering
מִכְסֶה
This related noun extends the same root from concealment to a protective outer layer.
וְנֹכָחַת
wenokhaḥat
GROWS FROM
יכח
y-kh-ch
to prove, decide, reprove, or correct
“set straight” in this verse is wenokhaḥat. “Reproved” comes from yakach, a root that can mean to reprove, correct, or establish a case. The verse closes with an edge of public correction beside its image of covering.
ALSO GROWS
hokhiach: to reprove, convince, or correct
הוֹכִיחַ
This verb shows the corrective force carried by the root behind the verse’s final word.
tokhechah: reproof or correction
תּוֹכֵחָה
This noun makes the root’s corrective sense explicit, clarifying why the public covering does not erase the wrong.
THE PATTERN
Scripture’s image of covering can describe protection and restored standing, as well as concealment.
A Psalm of David, Maschil. Flourishing is the one whose rebellion is released, whose shortcomings are covered.Hatred wakes strife, but love covers all rebellions.And above all, hold love stretched out among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of missed marks.THE THREAD
Hatred wakes strife, but love covers all rebellions.“Covereth” comes from the same Hebrew root, כסה (kasah, to cover), as “covering” in Genesis. Proverbs speaks of love’s covering, while Genesis keeps the distinct public edge of silver and correction in Sarah’s standing.
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