John Calvin Commentary Genesis 20:14

"And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and men-servants and women-servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife." — Genesis 20:14 (ASV)

And Abimelech took sheep. Abraham had previously received possessions and gifts in Egypt; but with this difference, that whereas Pharaoh had commanded him to depart elsewhere, Abimelech offers him a home in his kingdom. It therefore appears that both kings were stricken with an uncommon degree of fear. For when they perceived that they were rebuked by the Lord because they had caused trouble for Abraham, they found no method of appeasing God except by compensating, by acts of kindness, for the injury they had brought on the holy man.

This latter difference alluded to flowed from this: Pharaoh, being more severely censured, was so terrified that he could scarcely bear the sight of Abraham; whereas Abimelech, although alarmed, was nevertheless soon composed by an additional word of consolation, when the Lord said to him, He is a prophet, and he shall pray for you.

For there is no other remedy to remove fear than the Lord’s declaration that He will be propitious. Indeed, it is of little advantage for the sinner to offer God only what fear compels. But it is a true sign of repentance when, with a composed mind and quiet conscience, he yields himself, obedient and docile, to God.

And since Abimelech allowed Abraham a habitation in his realm, a blessing of no small kind followed this act of humanity, because Isaac was born there, as we will see in the next chapter (Genesis 20:1).