Abimelech expresses his ignorance of what Abraham is complaining about: I do not know who has done this thing. This thing refers to the seizing of the well, and so we may say, for example, “I do not know who took this well.” In some translations this is expressed idiomatically; for instance, “I don’t know about this. Who might have done it?”

Abimelech then places some of the blame on Abraham for not reporting it to him: you did not tell me. This may have to be completed in translation to say, for example, “you did not tell me about this” or “you did not tell me that my servants had taken this well.”

Furthermore Abimelech says he could not have done anything, because I have not heard of it until today; that is, “I have only heard of it today for the first time” or “only right here and now have I heard about it.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .