Genesis 20:18Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Indeed, right after the statement, ‘before all thou art justified,’ meaning that one should disclose the truth to their spouse, Scripture continues: ‘And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants, and they began to give birth; for the Lord had shut up every womb in the house of Abimelech on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife.’ Observe how the Lord, through these instances, increasingly honors the righteous man, providing salvation to the king and all within his household due to the prayers of the patriarch.

From the moment Abimelech sought to take Sarah for himself until her return to Abraham, the women in Abimelech's household were stricken with childbirth ailments, rendering them unable to deliver their children when their time had arrived.

From this, we can infer that King Abimelech warranted greater mercy due to Abraham's intercession on his behalf. Subsequently, both Abraham’s wife and the king’s handmaid bore children, for the Lord had previously closed their wombs because of Sarah, Abraham’s spouse. This also aligns with the divine purpose behind Sarah’s conception as promised by God, of which Scripture speaks: when those who are to conceive are rendered barren by divine correction, it is the will of the Lord that opens the wombs. "Did I not create the barren and the one who gives birth?" declares the Lord (Isaiah 66:9).

The Lord had entirely closed every womb. This should not be mistaken for mere infertility, as such a condition would not be immediately evident, and Sarah's safety would not have been assured if Abimelech had not been informed soon after. It is possible that the sealing of the womb was such that expectant mothers were unable to give birth, or that some other unusual situation occurred, allowing the corrective hand of God to be recognized swiftly.