And it came to pass at that time,—possibly in immediate sequence to the incident of the preceding chapter, but, "according to the common law of Hebrew narrative, probably not long after the birth of Isaac."
(Murphy)—that Abimelech—the king of Gerar (Genesis 20:2; Genesis 26:1, Genesis 26:16)—and Phi-chol—if the name be Shemitic, "mouth of all," i.e. spokesman of all (Murphy), ruler of all (Gesenius); or "the distinguished" (Furst); believed to have been a titular designation of the Philistine monarch's grand vizier or prime minister (Lange, 'Speaker's Commentary'), who was also—the chief captain of his host (i.
e. the commander-in-chief of his forces) spake unto Abraham (having come from Gerar for the purpose), saying, God is with thee in all that thou doest—a conviction derived from his former acquaintance with the patriarch (Genesis 20:1-18.
), his knowledge of Isaac's birth, and his general observation of the patriarch's prosperity.