And Abimelech said, I wot not who hath done this thing: neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to day.

GENESIS 21:26KJV
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Genesis 21:26 (KJV)

What does Genesis 21:26 mean?

Genesis 21:26 records Abimelech’s response to Abraham’s complaint about a seized well. Abimelech says he does not know who was responsible and that he learned about the matter only that day. His answer presents the seizure as something that had happened without his knowledge.

Abraham has raised the complaint because Abimelech’s servants took the well. In response, Abimelech points to both the unknown person who acted and the lack of an earlier report. A well was an important source of water for people and their animals in that dry region.

The Hebrew behind Genesis 21:26

  • “wot” — יָדַע (yadaʿ): This word means “know.” The KJV’s older English “I wot not” means “I do not know”; here Abimelech is speaking about the identity of the person responsible.
  • “tell” — נָגַד (nagad): This word can mean “report” or “make known.” Abimelech uses it to say that Abraham had not previously brought the matter to his attention.

Why Genesis 21:26 matters

  • Abimelech’s answer concerns his own knowledge, not a denial that the well was taken. He says, “I wot not who hath done this thing,” after Abraham has identified Abimelech’s servants in verse 25.
  • The timing is part of Abimelech’s answer. “Neither yet heard I of it, but to day” presents the complaint as new information to him.
  • The discussion of the well continues after this exchange. In verses 30–31, Abraham sets apart seven ewe lambs as a witness that he dug the well, giving the two men a way to mark his claim.

Where else these words appear

“but” Hebrew H1115 · used in 29 verses

  • Genesis 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
  • Numbers 14:16 Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.
  • Job 14:12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

“Abimelech” Hebrew H40 · used in 62 verses

  • Genesis 20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.
  • Genesis 26:16 And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
  • Judges 9:34 And Abimelech rose up, and all the people that were with him, by night, and they laid wait against Shechem in four companies.

“neither” Hebrew H3808 · used in 73 verses

  • Genesis 2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
  • Numbers 19:2 This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:
  • Psalms 17:1 A Prayer of David. Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.