Kommentar zu Bereschit 20:21

ויסע משם אברהם AND ABRAHAM JOURNEYED FROM THENCE—When he observed that the cities had been destroyed and travellers ceased to pass to and fro, he went away from there. Another explanation is: he journeyed from there to get away from Lot who had gained an evil reputation because of his intercourse with his daughters (Genesis Rabbah 52:3-4).

וישב בין קדש ובי שור, between 2 large cities, in order to have an opportunity to proclaim the holy name of G’d in both these cities, as he did later, the objective being to improve G’d’s image among mankind.

ויסע משם, from Eloney Mamre, the place where he resided most of the time. The Torah fails to mention what prompted Avraham to leave his home in this fashion. It could not have been due to the famine, seeing that at that time no famine is reported as having existed in that region, as opposed to when Yitzchok left his home and went to the land of the Philistines as reported in 26,1. Seeing that in that connection the Torah referred to this famine as being additional to the one in the days of Avraham, and we know that at that time Avraham went to Egypt and did not settle in the region between Kadesh and Shur, we cannot attribute his move to a famine. Perhaps what motivated Avraham was the need to fulfill the commandment by G’d to dwell in all parts of the land of Canaan. The Torah would indicate, obliquely, that the land of the Philistines was included in what G’d had described as “the land of Canaan,” even though the Philistines were distant descendants of Mitzrayim, a grandson of Cham but not directly descended from Canaan. Eventually, the coastal plain inhabited by the Philistines became part of the tribal territory of Yehudah. This may be why the Torah refers to this as ארצה הנגב, the southern region, seeing that Yehudah’s territory is described as the southern part of the country in Joshua chapter15.

When he saw that the cities were destroyed and the travelers ceased... This explanation raises the question: Why did he go to Gerar, which is very distant? Therefore Rashi brings the alternate explanation. Since he wished to distance himself from Lot, he traveled to Gerar which was an inhabited place. (Maharshal)

Für beides dürfte das Motiv zu suchen sein. Wir haben gesehen, wie es Abraham zuerst für seine Aufgabe hielt, sich und die Seinigen fern von dem Verkehr der Städte zu isolieren und daher den unwirtsamen Süden zu seinem frühsten Aufenthalt gewählt hatte. Erst allmälig tritt er in den Verkehr der Städte ein und wohnte zuletzt lange in freundschaftlichster, geachtetster Stellung unter den ihm bundesfreundlich zugeneigten Aner, Eschkol und Mamre. Jetzt auf der Neige seiner Tage sehen wir ihn wieder in den Süden ziehen. Er lässt sich zwischen Kadesch und Schur, somit in dem einsamsten Teile der verkehrlosesten Gegend, in der Nähe der als die vollendetste Öde bekannten Wüste Schur häuslich nieder, und von anderer Seite sucht er gleichwohl eine Verbindung mit dem Städteleben auf, und weilt zeitweilig in Gerar, der Residenz der Philisterkönige.

ויסע משם, “he moved away from there.” He moved away from Eloney Mamre.

וישב בין קדש ובין שור, the Torah did not bother to tell us precisely where Avraham settled. Later on, we are told that he settled in Gerar, the capital of the land of the Philistines. The part of the verse mentioning this fact is not related to the earlier part of the verse. Besides, the terms וישב and ויגר are totally different from one another, the former speaking of someone settling down with a view to remaining there for a long period, whereas the term ויגר always reflects the intention of the person described to remain there only for a relatively brief period of time, as for instance in Genesis 37,1 where when Yaakov settled down, the Torah contrasts this with the fact that his father and grandfather could not settle down there permanently but had only sojourned there,מגורי אביו. It is customary for Scripture to employ different words when repeating basically the same message. Perhaps, initially, Avraham had settled in one of the locations in the regions such as באר לחי רואי, subsequently moving to Gerar, seeing that באר לחי רואי was situated between Kadesh and Shur, as we know from Genesis 16,4.

Täuscht uns nicht alles, so wagen wir zu sagen, die nun so nahe Aussicht auf die Geburt eines Sohnes habe Abraham und Sara zu dieser eigentümlichen Veränderung ihres Wohnsitzes bestimmt. Ein Jizchak soll wieder in der Isolierung, fern von jedem schädlichen Einfluß heranwachsen. Aber die völlig abschließende Isolierung, die den Zögling nie in Berührung mit andern, anders Denkenden, anders Lebenden und Strebenden bringt, ist ein ebenso gefährlicher Fehler der Erziehung. Der junge Mensch, der nie ein anders geartetes Leben als das elterliche erblickt, nie das elterliche an dem und in dem sittlichen Gegensatz achten und schätzen und festhalten gelernt, fällt sicherlich diesen Einflüssen beim ersten Begegnen zur Beute, wie das ängstliche Absperren von der Luft das sicherste Mittel ist, sofort bei dem ersten Hinaustreten in die Luft den Schnupfen zu bekommen. Der Abrahamssohn, der künftige Fortträger des Abrahamsvermächtnisses, soll von Zeit zu Zeit in die nicht-abrahamitische Welt hineintreten, soll dort das Entgegenstehende würdigen lernen und sich durch Übung stählen, den Abrahamsgeist und den Abrahamswandel, inmitten einer entgegenstehenden Welt, seiner Bestimmung getreu zu wahren und zu erhalten. Dazu wählt Abraham die Residenz eines philistäischen Fürsten. Im Lande der Philister scheint die sittliche Entartung nicht die kanaanitische Höhe erreicht zu haben, daher waren ja sie auch nicht in die Vernichtung begriffen, die eben diese Entartung über ihre emoritischen Nachbarn verhängen ließ.

ויאמר אברהם AND ABRAHAM SAID — This time he did not ask her consent but forcibly and against her inclination he stated that she was his sister, because she had already been taken once to Pharaoh’s house on account of this (Genesis Rabbah 52:4).

AND ABRAHAM SAID OF SARAH HIS WIFE, SHE IS MY SISTER. This was not like what happened in Egypt. There, when they entered the land, it is said that the Egyptians saw that the woman was beautiful, and they praised her to the lords and to Pharaoh,²⁷⁵Above, 12:14-15. as they were an immoral people but this king was perfect and upright, and his people were likewise good. However Abraham suspected them, and he told everyone that she was his sister.

ויאמר אבוהם אל שרה. Abraham said about Sarah, etc. This time Abraham did not ask Sarah to be the first to announce that she was Abraham's sister as he had done when they travelled to Egypt. Then he had been motivated by the ugliness of the Egyptians and the contrast with Sarah's white skin which aroused the lust of the Egyptians. The people in Geror did not look different from Abraham and Sarah. Also, their general sexual mores were superior to that of the Egyptians. Avimelech himself felt justified in challenging Abraham's deception if it were based on such suspicions. Pharaoh had not dared to ask such a question. This is also the reason that Avimelech agreed that Abraham reside in his country, something the King of Egypt could not afford to do.

ויאמר...אל שרה אשתו, concerning his wife Sarah he told anyone inquiring about her אחותי היא, he told the same to Avimelech who inquired, as we know from verse 5 when the latter referred to Avraham having told him that Sarah was his sister. We find a similar meaning of the word אל in Samuel I 17,49 when the lineויך את הפלשתי אל מצחו, means: “it struck the Philistine on his forehead,” or the line אל ההרים לא אכל in Ezekiel 18,6 where the word אל does not mean “to” but the line means: “if he has not eaten on the mountains.” Avraham said this as soon as he arrived in Gerar, as he had heard that the people of that town were wicked people, as he mentioned to Avimelech in verse 11 where he told him that there was no fear of G’d in that town. A generation later Yitzchok had a similar experience in Gerar. Neither Avraham nor Yitzchok are on record as having made similar comments about the local populations of other towns they visited. As to why Avraham risked going to a town full of wicked people and endangered both himself and his wife, this is something we discussed in 12,12. What is more surprising is the fact that Sarah, so many years after her experience in Egypt, was still so physically attractive that she inspired physical passions among the people who saw her. Clearly, her good looks must have been the result of her regaining her youthful vigour when she became pregnant at the time the angels visited Avraham, and she herself remarked on that phenomenon. The time frame in which the events reported in this chapter occurred must have been immediately after the beginning of her pregnancy, mentioned in 21,1 in the past tense, i.e. וה' פקד את שרה, “and the Lord had benevolently remembered Sarah (allowing her to become pregnant).

ויאמר אברהם אל שרה אשתו אחותי היא, “Avraham said concerning his wife Sarah that she was his sister.” This was not like in Egypt. In Egypt he had not misrepresented his relationship until after the Egyptians had praised Sarah’s beauty to Pharaoh, and he had been aware that the Egyptians did not respect marital relations when it conflicted with their lust. Here in the land of the Philistines, Avimelech and his servants were civilized, and observed the Noachide laws, as a rule. Still, Avraham was suspicious, and that is why he himself told everyone that Sarah was his sister.

וישלח אבימלך מלך גרר ויקח את שרה, now that Avraham had come to Gerar he had divorced Sarah seeing that he was afraid the local people would kill him if he would reveal that Sarah was his wife. In spite of this, G’d did not allow that Sarah would become separated from him; He did not allow that a righteous woman should become the wife or concubine of an idolater, a sinner. To indicate that this “divorce” was only due to fear, the Torah describes Sarah’s status as והיא בעולת בעל, “she had a husband.” The divorce bill was therefore not fully effective. It was this status which enabled Avimelech to protest to G’d: הגוי גם צדיק תהרוג, “are You going to kill an innocent person? Conditional divorces were not part of the legislation practiced among gentiles, so why should he have had to consider such a clause? He considered himself a righteous person for not having sexually molested Sarah. In addition, he had every reason to believe that Sarah was unattached, as both Avraham and Sarah had described their relationship as that of brother and sister. Such assurances had been given by both of them repeatedly (compare Rabbeinu Bachya).

Indem wir hier, trotz der unangenehmen Erfahrungen, Abraham zum zweitenmale und so auch wieder Jizchak später, sich zu derselben Maßregel entschließen sehen, muß notwendig in den damaligen Sitten eine gebieterische Notwendigkeit zu derselben vorhanden gewesen sein; es müssen, wie bereits oben bemerkt, unverheiratete Frauenzimmer im Volke vor Unziemlichkeiten viel mehr als verheiratete geschützt gewesen sein. Nur Fürsten scheinen gerade unverheiratete Fremde zu fürchten gehabt zu haben. Und in der Tat sehen wir auch nur wieder einen König, der sich an sie wagte, und der auch sich darüber später gar kein Gewissen machte.

ויאמר אברהם אל אשתו, “Avraham said to his wife:” when speaking in her presence he said that she was his sister, while she kept quiet. [the word is considered here as the same as “על,” about; Ed.]

אל שרה אשתו OF SARAH HIS WIFE — means in reference to (אֶל in sense of עַל) just as (1 Samuel 4:21) “in reference to (אל) the ark of God being taken, and in reference to (אל) her father-in-law”, where the word אל, in both cases, has the same meaning as על.

AND ABIMELECH, KING OF GERAR, SENT AND TOOK SARAH. It is wondrous that Sarah, after being worn with age, was extremely beautiful, fit to be taken by kings. When she was taken to Pharaoh, though she was sixty-five²⁷⁶According to the Seder Olam, the famine occurred in Egypt in the year in which Abraham left Haran, and that is when Abraham went there (Chapter 1). Now Scripture states that when he left Haran, Abraham was seventy-five years old (12:4); Sarah who was ten years younger (17:17) was thus sixty-five. years old, it is possible that she still had her beautiful appearance, but after being worn with age and the manner of women had ceased with her, that is a wonder! Perhaps her youthfulness returned to her when the angel brought her the tidings, as our Rabbis have said.²⁷⁷Baba Metzia 87 a: “Her skin became smooth, and the wrinkles straightened, and beauty returned to its form.”

וישלח, after Avimelech heard about Sarah’s beauty, he sent to have her brought to his palace.

בתם לבבי, did I take her as my wife.

ובנקיון כפי, I have not even touched her as yet.

ויבא אלוקים אל אבימלך, this visitation was of a similar kind to that reported with Lavan (31,24) and Bileam (Numbers 22,24) respectively. The Torah refrains from speaking about a מחזה, “a vision,” in order not to place these wicked people on a pedestal similar to our patriarchs. The expression דבור to describe a verbal communication to these individuals is also absent, G’d having reserved such an expression for communications with prophets, as He pointed out to Miriam and Aaron in Numbers 12,6. Avimelech did not experience a visual image of G’d in his dream at all. He perceived a divine voice addressing him.

הנך מת על האשה אשר לקחת. "Here you are going to die on account of the woman you have taken." The meaning is "after I reveal to you that she is married you will be guilty of death." Had G'd not informed Avimelech of Sarah's true status as a married woman, he would not have been guilty of death even if he had slept with her. Any Gentile who sleeps with a woman whom he has reason to believe to be single is innocent of adultery. Maimonides explains this in Hilchot Melachim 9,5.

ויבא אלוקים אל אבימלך בחלום הלילה, a similar mode of expression has been chosen by the Torah when reporting G’d as appearing to Lavan and warning him not to harm Yaakov (Genesis 31,24). The wicked who do not deserve a communication from G’d, sometimes experience such a visitation as a mark of honour for the righteous people who are the subject of such a visitation. Pharaoh of Egypt at the time when he had seized Sarah had not been granted even such a dream, but the plagues visited upon him and his servants had been used to indicate the displeasure of Avraham‘s G’d with Pharaoh’s conduct. The differences in G’d’s dealing with different people are described by Elihu in Job 33, 14-16, “for G’d speaks time and again- though man does not perceive it- in a dream at night, a night vision, when deep sleep falls upon men, while they slumber in their beds. Then He opens men’s understanding and by disciplining them leaves His signature.” The two methods G’d employs are either dreams or afflictions.

חלום, die Verwandtschaft mit ,אלם ,הלם ,עלם, den Begriffen des Unentwickelten, Gedrungenen, Gebundenen, einerseits, und die Identität mit חלמות, Dotter, und חלם, der Heilungsprozess, haben wir bereits zur Gewinnung des jüdischen Sprachgedankens vom Traume betrachtet. Es ist der Zustand, in welchem, wie Job 33, 15 geschildert wird: "im Traum, im Nachtgesichte, wenn Betäubung fällt auf Menschen, in Schlummern auf dem Lager, da deckt er der Menschen Ohr auf und prägt in ihr Gebundensein sein Siegel, entrückt den Menschen der Tat und entzieht dem Manne den Körper —". Die Freiheit des Willens ist gebunden, Körper und Sinne folgen anderen Gesetzen; wie im Dotter alle Keime für den künftigen Organismus gebunden liegen und gestaltlos durcheinander schwimmen, weil noch die נפש, jener Funke lebendiger Selbständigkeit fehlt, der die Keime allbeherrschend zu dem einen Gebilde scheidet und bindet: so fehlt im Traume die frei gestaltende Intelligenz der Seele; Gedanken- und Vorstellungskeime weben durcheinander, verknüpfen sich nach den Gesetzen der Affinität und der zufälligen Berührung, weil die bewusstvoll verknüpfende Menschenintelligenz die Zügel nicht führt. Jeder הלום ist ein הלמות, ein Zurücktreten der Psyche in den Embryonen- zustand. Diesen Zustand, in welchem Gedanken und Vorstellungen nicht durch den Menschen, sondern an dem Menschen und in dem Menschen vorgehen, benutzt Gott zuweilen zu Mitteilungen an den Menschen, "deckt auf das Ohr der Menschen und prägt in ihr Gebundensein sein Siegel". — In einem von Gott gesandten Traume ist Gott die gestaltende Intelligenz. —

הנך מת, “you are about to die;” G-d’s dealings with Avimelech prove that gentiles do not have to be cautioned not to commit acts which they know to be punishable.

הנך מת, the impotence which you experienced (verse 18) will result in your death.

והיא בעלת בעל, she is out of bounds to you. Even the first human being had already been commanded not to commit adultery, as our sages derived from the words ודבק באשתו, meaning that he is to have intimate relations exclusively with his own wife. (Genesis 2,24) From all we read it is clear that the people of that time considered the sin of adultery so severe that they were prepared to kill the husband in order not to violate the commandment not to commit adultery. (compare the comment made by Avraham to Sarah in 12,12) They were aware of the sin of committing murder but considered it as a lesser sin. Our sages paid attention to the expression בעלת בעל as opposed to אשת איש, suggesting that according to Avimelech’s mores, a woman who had become married but whose marriage had not yet been consummated would not be included in the prohibition of being someone else’s wife. Girls who were merely betrothed would not be considered as out of bounds on account of their being betrothed. [a major difference between Jewish law and the Noachide laws. Ed.]

The verse may also be understood as telling Avimelech that he was guilty of death having taken Sarah while aware that she was married. However, it is more likely that at the time Avimelech had not known this.

הנך מת du stirbst, man nimmt überhaupt nichts, am allerwenigsten eine Frau, auch ein König nicht, und wenn es auch Sitte ist, so ist es doch nicht sittlich, und dazu ist sie בעלת בעל, es hat bereits ein anderer ein Recht auf sie.—

בעל verwandt mit בהל und פעל, Grundbedeutung: überwältigen, נכהל: geistig überwältigt, bestürzt werden, פעל: der höchste Grad des Machtverhältnisses zu einem andern, produzieren. Während אדון, von אדן Säulenfuß, das Verhältnis des Herrn als Träger, Beschützer und Vertreter des andern, איש ואשה das Verhältnis der Parität ausdrückt, (weshalb schon die Weisen mit Stolz auf den sittlichen Adel unserer Sprache hinweisen, die allein Mann und Weib in ihrer völligen Ebenbürtigkeit wiedergibt): bezeichnet בעל das Herrnverhältnis in überwältigender Obmacht. Daher das charakteristische תקראי אישי ולא תקראי לי עוד בעלי du sollst dich in deinem Verhältnis (Hosea 2, 18) zu Gott nicht niedergeworfen, sondern göttlich aufgerichtet fühlen.

לא קרב אליה HE HAD NOT COME NEAR HER — The Angel prevented him, as it is said (v. 6) “I have not permitted thee to touch her” (cf. Genesis Rabbah 52).

ואבימלך לא קרב אליה, this conforms what G’d told him in response, that it was He, G’d, Who had prevented him from having sexual relations with her. (verse 6)

הגוי גם צדיק, is it fair that You would kill a nation by killing its king, especially when this king is not even guilty of a mortal offence?

ואבימלך לא קרב אליה. Avimelech had not been intimate with her. According to Maimonides Hilchot Melachim 9,7 a Gentile who engages in sexual inercourse with someone else's wife is only guilty of death if the act was performed in the normative manner. If such a Gentile indulges in intercourse with a Jewish woman however, he is guilty of death regardless of the manner in which the sexual act is performed. The Torah indicates that Avimelech was aware of this distinction and that he refrained from touching Sarah because he was afraid she might be married to Abraham the Jew.

ואבימלך לא קרב אליה, the reason was that G’d had restricted his lust. This is why G’d said to him in his dream in response to the accusation that He would kill the innocent, that the only reason Avimelech had not touched her had been that He, G’d, had made him temporarily impotent.

הגוי גם צדיק תהרוג,“are You going to kill also innocent people?” It is entirely possible that Avimelech referred to himself when he said: “are You going to kill a “people?” He meant that as a result of killing him, G’d would cause the death of the צדיק, the righteous Avraham, seeing that the king’s servants would then kill Avraham.

The angel prevented him... Rashi needed to explain this so the verses do not contradict each other. It is written later (v. 6): “I also prevented you from sinning against Me,” implying that Hashem prevented him, whereas this verse implies that Avimelech refrained on his own from coming near her. (Nachalas Yaakov)

הגוי גם צדיק תהרג, wirst du denn auch ein gerechtes Volk umbringen? Eben freilich hast du über Sodom gerichtet, (— auch in ב"ר wird zur Erklärung der Raw Hirsch on Genesis 20: 8 Abimelech und seinen Hof ergreifenden Furcht auf Sodom hingewiesen, לפי שהיו רואים עשנה של סדום עולה ככבשן האש וכו׳, sie sahen noch den Rauch von Sodoms Trümmern aufsteigen und fürchteten, es bereite sich ein gleiches Gottesgericht über sie vor —) auch dort war die Behandlung von Fremdlingen und geschlechtliche Vergehen die nächste Ursache. Allein in Sodom war es unmenschliche Grausamkeit gegen Fremde und viehische Ausschweifung im geschlechtlichen Leben. Dem gegenüber mochte wahrlich Philistäa, wo Abraham und Sara ungestörten Aufenthalt fanden, und wo, was Abimelech mit Sara vorhatte, vielleicht gar noch als eine Ehe angesehen wurde, als גוי צדיק erscheinen.

ואבימלך לא קרב אליה, “while Avimelech had not become intimate with her.” [but he had kidnapped her, Ed.] The reason why the Torah had to emphasise this latter point, i.e. that Avimelech had not violated Sarah sexually, is the fact that her being kidnapped occurred so close to her becoming pregnant with Yitzchok.

הגוי גם צדיק תהרוג WILT THOU SLAY ALSO A RIGHTEOUS NATION? — Even though it be righteous will you slay it? Is such perhaps Your usual way— to destroy nations without cause? That is what you did to the generation of the Flood and to the generation of the Dispersal. I may indeed say that you slew them without proper cause, just as you think to kill me without cause (Genesis Rabbah 52:6).

?הגוי גם צדיק תהרוג, if You were to kill me just as you would kill my people. I am a leader and practice law and justice in my country. I am not on the same level as my common people. This explains also verse 9 where Avimelech distinguishes between himself and his Kingdom (subjects) by saying to Avraham “that you have brought on me and my kingdom (people) this great sin?” Furthermore, he argued that he considered himself righteous, having had reason to believe that Sarah was unattached.

הגוי גם צדיק תהרוג "Are You killing nations even when they are righteous?" Why did Avimelech use the word גוי when he spoke about himself? Why did he say גם צדיק, "also the righteous?" The term תהרוג seems inappropriate seeing G'd gave him the option to return Sarah to Abraham untouched.

ויאמר א־דני, He said: ”My Lord,” i.e. this word is treated as the holy name of G-d.

The matter will become clear in conjunction with Berachot 64 on Kings I 22,17: "they will each return to his house in peace." The prophet Michayu uses the word בשלום instead of לשלום. The former is used when one speaks of the dead. Even though only king Achav died in that battle, the euphemism for death is applied to the entire nation. This teaches that when the king is in distress the whole nation is considered as being in distress. Here too Avimelech's statement reflects the same sentiment. His own problem becomes a national problem. By the same token Avimelech felt that if he personally was righteous this reflected on his entire people; it follows that if G'd were to kill him for a crime he had not committed, G'd would, in effect, kill a whole nation that was innocent. Moreover, he was afraid that G'd would kill him for having taken Sarah even without having slept with her. He added that even if he had slept with her while unaware that she was married, he would not have to face the death penalty, seeing Abraham himself had described her as "my sister."

?הגוי גם צדיק תהרוג, “Are You killing people even if they are innocent?” The verse appears as an abbreviated version of Avimelech’s thoughts. The full version would be: הגם גוי צדיק תהרוג?, “Are You also going to kill an innocent nation?” The word גם appears in the Torah quite often as part of such an abbreviated formulation. An alternate exegesis of this verse: the word, “also,” is treated as someone or something additional i.e. “if You kill me (Avimelech describes himself as if only one of the common people) then you must also kill Avraham the righteous person for having misled me. Had he not described her as his sister I would not have abducted her.

Alternatively, Avimelech thought that G'd had accused him of taking Sarah knowing she was married. He denied this vehemently.

גם הוא ALSO SHE HERSELF — The word “also” presupposes that others also said the same: it serves to include her servants, cameldrivers and assdrivers — all these I asked and they told me, “He is her brother” (Genesis Rabbah 52:6).

בתם לבבי ובנקיון כפי "I acted with innocence and integrity." Avimelech said these words in the event Sarah was married, but not to Abraham. He claimed that if that were so what would Abraham have gained by declaring that she was his sister? This exonerated him from the death penalty, i.e. בתם לבבי. When he added בנקיון כפי, he pleaded that he was not guilty of the death penalty for robbery either, though we have a ruling both in Sanhedrin 57 and in Maimonides (the chapter quoted above) that a Gentile who commits robbery is guilty of the death penalty. It does not matter that the robbery is an act of kidnapping as distinct from stealing. The Talmud deduces this when it discusses the status of a prisoner of war who is considered as the victim of robbery or stealing. Accordingly, from the moment Avimelech took Sarah against her will he became guilty of the death penalty. Avimelech claimed that he thought both Abraham and Sarah were pleased at his taking Sarah for a wife. After all, he was the king and it meant social climbing for them both.

הלא הוא אמר לי, when I asked him concerning Sarah’s marital status. I had not even relied on what my servants had been told, but I asked him personally, to be certain.

To include her servants, camel-drivers, and mule-drivers... גמלים וחמרים is the correct text. It refers to the men who drive the camels and donkeys, [not the animals themselves].

בתם לבבי, in gänzlicher Hingebung meines Sinnes, ich hatte und brauchte nicht den mindesten Skrupel zu haben. — לבב, wahrscheinlich verwandt mit dem chal- däischen לפף zusammenwickeln, ineinander und miteinander verbinden: der Mittelpunkt des Organismus, wo alle Fäden und Hebel des physischen, geistigen und sittlichen Lebens sich vereinigen, und von wo aus sie sich entwickeln. לֵבָב heißt das ganze innere Sinnen; לֵב das schon mehr ausgeprägte, der Wille, Entschluss usw. Hier sagt das בתום לבבי usw.: Ich war gar nicht veranlasst, ein Unrecht darin zu finden, ich konnte mein ganzes Sinnen, ungeteilt, d. h. ohne irgend eine dagegen sprechende Regung, dem Schritte hingeben. Es geht hieraus hervor, dass, nach der damaligen dortigen Sitte, dies durchaus dem Könige frei gestanden haben müsse, sonst hätte er nicht sagen können בתום לבבי. Er fügt freilich hinzu בנקיון כפי, allein obgleich ihm Gott תום לבב Raw Hirsch on Genesis 20:6 zugesteht, so fehlt dort doch das נקיון כפים.

והיא גם היא, the word היא is spelled with the letter י.

בתם לבבי IN THE INTEGRITY OF MY HEART —I did not intend to sin.

With an innocent heart. I did not take Sarah out of lust but out of the innocent desire to marry Avraham’s sister.

והיא גם היא, when I asked Sarah after I had taken her to my palace she also told me that “Avraham is my brother.” In view of this, what is my sin?

Wir haben zwei Ausdrücke für Hand: יד und כף, und ebenso zwei für Reinheit: טהר und נקי.

והיא גם היא, “and she also referred to Avraham as her brother not only in public but also when they were alone.

ובנקיון כפי AND IN THE INNOCENCY OF MY HANDS —I am innocent of this sin because I have not touched her.

Clean hands. The moment I learned that she was married, I separated from her

בתם לבבי, in perfect innocence, if I had had any reason to believe that she was a married lady, even my heart would not have desired her, i.e. I would not even have lusted after her.

יד ist die gestreckte, tätige Hand. כף von כפף: die gebogene, Errungenes haltende Hand. טהר verwandt mit צהרים) ,זהר ,צהר chaldäisch טיהרא) die innere Reinheit, eigentlich das Durchsichtige, den Lichtstrahl Einlassende, somit: der für Göttliches und Reines Empfängliche. נקי von נקה, verwandt mit נכה ,נגח ,נגע, die alle ein bis zu Stoß und Schlag gesteigertes äußeres Berühren bedeuten, eigentlich: von sich wegschleudern, nicht an sich haften lassen, — נער כפיו מתמוך בשחד — bezeichnet die äußere Reinheit, Sauberkeit, sittlich somit: einen äußeren Makel, einen unrechten Besitz, eine an sich unrechte Tat nicht an sich haftend haben. Daher der juridische Begriff נקי. Das jüdische Gericht urteilt nicht nach Antecedentien und sonstigem Charakter, es gilt ihm nur der faktische, zur Verhandlung vorliegende Tatbestand. Der Angeklagte kann darin נקי sein, wenn er auch sonst ein Schuft wäre, und umgekehrt

עשיתי זאת, “have I done this.” This refers to his having kidnapped Sarah. According to a different interpretation, G-d was content with warning Avimelech because he had taken the trouble to investigate Sarah’s marital status. Pharaoh who had not bothered to do so, was struck with a plague immediately. (Compare B’chor shor on end of verse 16.)

ונקיון כפי, and my hands were clean! When I took her to my palace I did not demean her but I respected her dignity in every way.

Bei יד, Tat, Handlungsweise, genügt nicht bloß die äußere Legalität, auch die Motive müssen bieder sein, daher טהור ידים, nicht נקי ידים. Bei כף jedoch, dem äußeren Besitzstande im weitesten Sinne, tritt mehr die äußere Legalität hervor, daher nicht: טהור נקי כפים. sondern :כפים

Abimelech meint, — und mit ihm meinen es so viele — weil er es בתום לבבו getan, sei er auch נקי כפים, als ob der Wert der äußeren Handlung allein durch die reine Gesinnung bedingt wäre. Dies ist aber die jüdische Wahrheit nicht. Es gibt einen Maßstab für den sittlichen Wert unserer Handlungen, unabhängig von der Gesinnung, es ist dies: die objektive Übereinstimmung mit dem göttlichen Willen, הגיד לך אדם מה טוב, idiese Übereinstimmung ist die erste Bedingung. Eine schlechte, d.i. Gott missfällige Tat wird durch die Unschuld der Gesinnung keine gute. Ja, es kann die vermeintlich unschuldige Gesinnung, das תום לבב, bei einer schlechten Tat selbst zum Verbrechen werden. אומר מותר kann eben sowohl קרוב למזיד sein, wie man geneigt wäre, es als קרוב לאונס aufzufassen, denn היה לו ללמוד ולא למד es liegt jedem die Pflicht ob, sich über die Anforderungen zu unterrichten, die Gott an den sittlichen Charakter unserer Handlungen stellt, und wenn es eine Wahrheit ist, dass לא עם הארץ הסיר, dass der in der göttlichen Sittenlehre Ununterrichtete schwerlich ein sittlich vollkommener Mensch sein kann, so ist ein in diesen Dingen עם הארץ sein und bleiben selbst ein Verbrechen, — wie die Weisen dieses Thema (Makkoth 9 a.) eben an Abimelechs Handlungsweise erläutern. Auch Abimelech היה לו ללמוד ולא למד sucht seine ganze Rechtfetigung darin, היא אמרה לי ,הוא אמר לי, in dem, was Abraham und Sara hier gesagt, und vergißt, auch danach zu fragen, was Gott dazu sagt. Und wenn sie nun auch in Wirklichkeit nur seine unverheiratete Schwester gewesen wäre, darf denn eine jede unverheiratete Fremde, die das Territorium eines fremden Fürsten betritt, ohne weiteres dem Gelüste des Fürsten zu Gebote stehen müssen? Und wenn die Sitte eine solche Unsitte heiligt, sind es nicht eben die Fürsten, die mit dem Beispiele vorangehen sollten, nur das an sich Sittliche zur Sitte zu erheben?

'ידעתי כי בתם לבבך וגו I KNOW THAT IN THE INTEGRITY OF THY HEART etc. — It is true that at first you had no intention of sinning, but you cannot claim innocency of hands (Genesis Rabbah 52:6) —

ויאמר אליו האלוקים. G'd said to him (Avimelech). He agreed that Avimelech had not yet become guilty of death considering he had been convinced that Sarah was not married. As to his integrity, however, this was another matter. Whereas he might not have literally "robbed" Sarah [i.e. she did not belong to Abraham. Ed.], nonetheless he had employed the authority of being the king which is a kind of violence. At the very least "his hands were not clean in the matter."

ויאמר...בתם לבבךsignificantly, G’d did not add the words ובנקיון כפיך when acknowledging part of Avimelech’s complaint. The fact that Avimelech had not touched Sarah was evident, could be proved, whereas Avimelech’s intentions were private, could not be proved. Only G’d Himself would know if he spoke the truth.

It is true that at first you had no intention of sinning... Rashi is answering the question: Why is it not written, “I also know that you did this with an innocent heart and clean hands,” as Avimelech said about himself?

חשך, verwandt mit אזק, עזק, חזק, festhalten, umzäunen, fesseln, ebenso חשק, eigentlich umreifen. מחטו לי nicht mit א. Wir finden einigemal den Begriff חטא in der ל"ה-Form. So Koheleth 8, 12. 9, 18. Jesaias 65, 20: אחוטֶא. Ebenso 1. B. M. 31, 39 אְַחַטֶנָה. Wir haben einige Wurzeln, bei denen ל"א und ל"ה in einander spielen, und zwar erscheint da ל"ה in stärkerer Bedeutung. 3. B. מצא finden, מצה ganz in sich aufnehmen. קרא zu sich rufen, קרה etwas durch Balken mit einander verbinden. Möglich daher, dass hier das א zur Verstärkung des Ausdrucks ausgelassen ist, gerade weil Abimelech die Sache so leicht genommen. Du hast es mir zu verdanken, dass es beim bloßen Leichtsinn geblieben und nicht zu einem ernsten Verbrechen geworden, denn es wäre mir, לי, eine schwere Sünde gewesen. Du nennst dich und dein Volk גוי צדיק, so lange solche Vorgänge bei euch durch Sitte geheiligk sind, seid ihr weit entfernt צדיקים zu sein. — לנגע אליה, nicht nur nicht לנגע בה, sondern nicht einmal אליה.

גם אנכי ידעתי כי בתם לבבך וגו׳, “also I am aware that you have acted innocently, etc;” G-d , by saying: גם, includes that not only does He know that Avimelech had not raped Sarah in his heart but that his hands had remained clean also.

because לא נתתיך I PERMITTED THEE NOT — It was not of your own will that you did not touch her, but it was “I” who withheld you from sinning, and “I” did not permit you the possibility to touch her (Genesis Rabbah 52:7). Similar examples of נתן in sense of permitting are, (31:7) “God permitted him not (לא נתנו)” and (Judges 15:1) “But her father did not permit him (ולא נתנו) to go in”.

מחטו לי, the sin would have been directed against G’d only if he had transgressed the laws not to sleep with someone else’s wife, a command issued to all the descendants of Noach. Even if G’d had not issued a specific command in this regard, common sense would dictate such a law in a civilised society. The One Who had provided man with intelligence certainly expects that we use our intelligence to legislate such basic laws without which life on earth would become intolerable, anarchic. We must view our common sense as a messenger from G’d, an instrument that acts as a protection against man experiencing all kinds of harm and problems in his life on earth. When man commits violence against his fellow man this reflects an absence of common sense, i.e. a failure to use one’s common sense, seeing that the end result will be the termination of life on earth. If this is the result of violence perpetrated in order to secure land or chattels, how much more so would such a process of civilisation’s disintegration be accelerated if everyone would go assaulting people physically and raping his neighbour’s wife?

But, do not claim clean hands. You might ask: After all, was Avimelech in fact not free of sin, since he did not transgress? The answer is: Hashem was saying, “Not due to yourself are you free of sin, as you say. Rather, it is due to Me. You would have lain with her even though she told you she was his wife!”

ואחשוך גם אנכי אותך, "I too saved you from sinning." G'd made it plain that when He said that Avimelech was going to die, He meant that if he did not restore Sarah to Abraham but would sleep with her. He had told him of Sarah's status now and thus given him a chance to save himself from sinning.

על כן, this is why it was I Who prevented you from “getting your hands dirty;” I prevented you from touching her immodestly.

מחטו, the letter ו instead of the letter א in this word substitutes for the letter ל in the requisite mode of the verb.

מחטוא לי, from committing a sin against Me. Although Avimelech would not have been guilty of death had he slept with Sarah before becoming aware of her status as a married woman, nonetheless he would have sinned against G'd inasmuch as G'd was especially fond of both Abraham and Sarah and any offence against them would have been an offence against G'd Himself. This is why G'd added the word לי, "against Me."

על כן לא נתתיך, as we explained already, this is a reference to G’d having made Avimelech impotent. By doing this, G’d had done Avimelech a great favour. The reason why G’d extended Himself on his behalf was because He knew that Avimelech had indeed believed that Sarah was unattached. G’d did not want that Avimelech would become a sinner in regard to the wife of the prophet Avraham. Even though, granted that in the final analysis G’d intervened due to Avraham and Sarah being the potential victims, He could have saved Sarah from Avimelech’s clutches by a variety of other means. Seeing that Pharaoh’s thoughts at the time when Sarah was under his control were quite different from those of Avimelech, G’d had subjected Pharaoh and his household to a number of painful physical afflictions instead of appearing to him in a dream. The inhibitions G’d imposed on the entourage of Avimelech were temporary and left no permanent negative effect.

על כן לא נתתיך, "this is why I did not give you a chance, etc." Because of the special circumstances involved, I prevented you from sleeping with her; had you known she was married you would by now have been guilty of death. G'd judges the Gentiles even for a sin that has been planned but not yet carried out merely due to circumstances beyond the control of the sinner. According to Bereshit Rabbah 52,13 that an angel pushed Avimelech away when he tried to sleep with Sarah, the words: "I did not allow you to sin against me" make perfect sense.

לנגע אליה, even touching her without engaging in sexual intercourse. G’d had removed any desire from Avimelech to have physical contact with Sarah.

השב אשת האיש RESTORE THE MAN’S WIFE and do not think that she will be repulsive in his eyes and that he will not take her back or that he will hate you and will not pray for you

כי נביא הוא, the expression נביא, is based on ניב שפתים, (Isaiah 57,19) “words of comfort, heartening words.” He is familiar to Me, he speaks My language, and I love to listen to his prayer.

ועתה השב את אשת האיש, before you perish from the sickness.

ועתה השב אשת האיש בי נביא הוא. "Now restore the wife to the man for he is a prophet!" Until now Avimelech did not know who Sarah was married to. By mentioning that her husband was a prophet it became clear to Avimelech that it must be Abraham seeing he was the only prophet in that age.

. ועתה...כי נביא הוא. He is therefore close to Me, and I am close to him, willing to respond favourably to his prayer. I will not forgive you even when you give back this man’s wife to him, until he manages to pacify me by means of his prayer. Then I will forgive you, and you will know this when all the afflicted people will have been cured from their affliction. The fact that Sarah was not married is not the only consideration in this affair. The fact that you took her against her will is a sin of violence, a very severe sin, all the more so seeing that she is the sister of such a righteous man as Avraham. Violating the feelings of such a man constitutes a sin in its own right. You are guilty of punishment, even if not of the death penalty.

And do not think: perhaps she has become repugnant in his eyes... Rashi explains this because “Return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet” implies Avimelech should return her only because Avraham is a prophet and Sarah is a married woman. But were he not a prophet, he would not return her although she is a married woman. How can this be? Illicit relations are forbidden to all Noach’s descendants! Therefore Rashi answers that “For he is a prophet” means: “And do not think...”

Schwierig ist der Gedankengang in dem Satze: Gib die Frau des Mannes zurück, denn er ist ein Prophet. Wie, wenn er ein Bettler gewesen wäre? Gewiss ist dies nicht das Motiv zur Begründung der Pflicht, die Frau herauszugeben. Daher הז"ל ת"ר כל אלו שאמרו דמי בשתו אבל צערו הביא כל אילי נביות (.Baba kama 93.a) שבעולם אין נמחל לו עד שיבקש ממנו שנא׳ השב אשת האיש כי נביא הוא ויתפלל בעדך דאשת נביא בעי אהדורי אשת אחר לא בעי אהדורי אמר ר׳ שמואל בר נחמני אמר ר׳ יונתן השב אשת האיש מכל מקום ודקא אמרת הגוי גם צדיק תהרוג הלא הוא אמר לי אחותי היא והיא גם היא אמרה אחי הוא נביא הוא וכבר לימד (במכות ט׳ גרס׳ ממך למד) אכסנאי שבא לעיר על עסקי אכילה ושתיה שואלים אותו או על עסקי אשתו שואלים אותו אשתך היא אחותך היא מכאן לבן נח שנהרג שהיה לו ללמוד ולא למד.

כי נביא הוא FOR HE IS A PROPHET and he knows that you have not touched her (Genesis Rabbah 52:8); therefore—ויתפלל בעדך HE WILL PRAY FOR THEE.

ויתפלל בעדך, and he will pray on your behalf. Avimelech and entourage were in need of G’d’s mercy, as we know from verse 18.

וחיה, and be healed and stay alive; we find a similar construction in Joshua 5,8 עד חיותם, “until they have been healed.”

וחיה, as if the Torah had written ותחיה “and you will live.” The construction is parallel to Genesis 12,3 והיה ברכה, “you will become a source of blessing. The verb ותרפא is in a “weak” mode as in Joshua 5,8 עד חיותם, ”until they have re- covered.” We find a similar construction in Isaiah 38,21 וימרחו על השחין ויחי, “if they will smear it on the rash he will recover.”

Another reason that G'd mentioned that Abraham was a prophet was to reassure Avimelech that Sarah's husband would know he had not defiled her because he had prophetic powers.

Verstehen wir diese Stelle recht, so erkennen die Weisen in dem השב אשת האיש die Verpflichtung, ein mehreres zu tun, als ein bloßes Freilassen der Frau, und in der Tat, da es nicht heißt הוציא את האשה, oder השב את האשה, sondern השב אשת האיש, so liegt darin die Anforderung, Abraham für die ihm getane Unbill zu begütigen, und zwar also ihn zu befriedigen, dass er noch für dich bete. Dies setzt aber voraus, dass Abimelech allein, und nicht Abraham der Schuldige, und Abimelechs Berufung auf Abrahams und Saras Äußerungen völlig nichtig gewesen. Dies wird durch das כי נביא הוא motiviert. Er ist ein נביא und beurteilt daher die Zustände und die Handlungsweise der Menschen nicht nach den zeitlich und örtlich herkömmlichen Anschauungen, sondern nach dem ewig unveränderlichen Sittengesetz. Mag bei euch die Sitte das Unsittliche geheiligt haben, dass ein fremdes Frauenzimmer jedenfalls, wenn verheiratet dem Volke, und wenn unverheiratet dem fürstlichen Belieben sich hingebe, und, statt den Fremden nach den Bedürfnissen seiner gastfreundlichen Aufnahme zu fragen, eure erste Frage sein: ists deine Frau? ists deine Schwester? Er hat ein anderes Fremdenrecht nicht nur gekannt, sondern bereits selbst durch seine offenkundige Gastfreundlichkeit gelehrt. Er war (nach der Lesart in Makkoth ממך למד) durch die bei euch herrschende Unsitte gezwungen, sein Weib zu verleugnen, um es und sich vor den Angriffen aus dem Volke wenigstens sicher zu stellen.

אתה וכל אשר לך, all the fetuses whose progress had been arrested within their mothers’ wombs.

וכל אשר לך, the reason why they have all be stricken is that they all approved of what you did and no one suggested that you give back Sarah to Avraham.

נביא von נבא, verwandt mit נבע, ihervorquillen: der Quell, durch welchen das Gotteswort zu Tage quillt, das Organ, durch welches der Geist Gottes zum Menschen spricht. Die Form des Wortes ist daher auch passiRaw Hirsch on Genesis 20: Das Wort selbst, mit welchem unsere Sprache den Propheten bezeichnet, ist somit schon an sich der entschiedenste Protest gegen alles, wozu man sonst den "Propheten" und die Prophetie zu machen beliebt. ist nicht Pro-phet, Vorhersager, sondern wesentlich: Gottesorgan. In Kreisen, in נביא welchen man mit dem Begriff der Prophetie wie mit dem der Offenbarung ein täuschendes Spiel treibt, erhebt man Dichter und Begeisterung zu Propheten und Prophetie, um nachher Prophet und Prophetie zu Dichtung und Begeisterung zu machen, und נבואה nichts, als auch ein Produkt des Menschengeistes sein zu lassen. Unser Prophet ist נביא, Gefäß und Organ, durch welches der Gottesgeist und das Gotteswort an die Menschen gelangt; nicht aus ihm, sondern zu ihm spricht Gott, וידבר ד׳ אל משה um sein Wort weiter zu tragen: לאמר.

Dieses Wort Gottes an Abimelech ist aber auch für die ganze Folgezeit von höchster Wichtigkeit. Es ist das erstemal, dass Gott Abrahams Bedeutung den Fremden, unter denen er weilte, unmittelbar zum Bewusstsein brachte. War ja Abimelech und sein Volk derjenige Kreis, in dessen Mitte Jizchak geboren werden und den größten Teil seines Lebens verleben sollte, und waren sie ja diejenigen, die die bleibenden unmittelbaren Nachbarn des einstigen Abrahamvolkes werden sollten! Dieses Ereignis war der Warneruf an sie: !אל תגעו במשיחי ובנביאי אל תרעו

ויתפלל בעדך von פלל, richten, verwandt mit בלל. Wie wir schon bei dem Ereignis der Sprachenteilung erkannt, heißt בלל nicht verwirren, geordnet vorhandene Stoffe ineinander und durcheinander mischen, sondern: ein neues Element in eine Masse bringen, es in alle ihre Teile dringen lassen und sie dadurch zu einer neuen Masse gestalten. Das ist nun aber nach jüdischem Begriff das Geschäft des Richters. Die Lüge und das Unrecht scheiden, sie schaffen streitende Gegensätze. Der Richter bringt das Recht, die göttliche Wahrheit der Dinge, in die streitigen Verhältnisse, lässt es alle Fügen beherrschend durchdringen und gestaltet durchs Recht zu harmonischer Einheit, was rechtlos auseinander klafft. Die Vollbringung dieses Geschäftes an sich selber heißt: .התפלל התפלל/ heißt: das Element der göttlichen Wahrheit nehmen, damit unser ganzes Wesen in allen Fugen und Beziehungen durchdringen, und damit uns die in Gott zu gewinnende Einheit des ganzen Daseins erringen. Die jüdische תפלה ist daher der vollendete Gegensatz zu dem was man sonst "Gebet" nennt. Es ist nicht ein Erguss von innen heraus, ein Ausdruck dessen, wovon bereits das Herz voll ist, dafür haben wir andere Ausdrücke, תְחִנָה ,שִיםַ usw., sondern es ist ein erneutes Aufnehmen und Durchdringen mit Wahrheiten, die von außen gegeben sind. Wäre das Gebet nicht תפלה, wäre beten nicht התפלל, eine Arbeit an dem eignen inneren Selbst, es auf die Höhe der Wahrheitserkenntnis und der gottdienenden Entschlüsse zu bringen, es wäre ja ein Unsinn, bestimmte Zeiten und vorgeschriebene Formeln zu haben; es setzte dies ja voraus, es sei periodisch zu bestimmten Zeiten immer die Menge einer Gesamtheit von einem und demselben Gefühle, von einem und demselben Gedanken erfüllt. Ja, es wäre ein solches Gebet ein ziemlich überflüssiges Werk. Gefühle und Gedanken, die bereits in uns lebendig vorhanden sind, bedürfen nicht erst des Ausdrucks, am allerwenigsten des vorgebildet in die Hand gegebenen Ausdrucks. Dem vollen Herzen hat noch nie der Ausdruck gefehlt, oder es war so voll, dass der Ausdruck selbst die Fülle nur geschmälert hätte und Schweigen der entsprechendste Ausdruck dieser Fülle war. Unsere vorgeschriebenen Gebete sind daher nicht Wahrheiten, deren lebendige Anerkennung sie bei uns bereits voraussetzen, sondern deren Erkenntnis und Anerkenntnis sie immer aufs neue in uns wecken, beleben, befestigen und erhalten wollen; und man kann in Wahrheit sagen, je weniger wir uns zum Gebete gestimmt fühlen, um so größer müsse das Bedürfnis zu beten sein, um so wichtiger und rettender ist die Arbeit an uns, die wir in der תפלה an uns zu vollbringen haben. Die mangelnde Stimmung selbst ist das deutlichste Merkmal von der Verdunklung j enes Geistes und j ener Wahrheit in uns, den die תפלה nicht voraussetzt, den sie vielmehr schaffen, beleben und be- richtigen soll. —

Hier sehen wir nun die Wirksamkeit des Gebetes für andere von Gott selber sanktioniert, es wurzelt diese Wirksamkeit in demselben Begriff, der uns schon in Abrahams Bitte für Sodom entgegengetreten. Wenn der Betende ein צדיק, oder noch mehr eine Gesamtheit ist, die nach dem schönen Ausdruck משתתף בצערו של חברו sind, sich mit dem Leid des andern identifizieren, sein Leid in Wahrheit zu dem ihrigen machen, so verheißt Gott die Möglichkeit, dass um ihretwillen, um sie mit Schmerz zu verschonen, auch der sonst vielleicht Unwürdige des Leides enthoben werden könne. Nun gar hier, גם ענוש לצדיק לא טוב. Es tut dem Braven, es tut einem Abraham bitter wehe, wenn um ihn ein anderer selbst mit verdienter Strafe betroffen würde.

וישכם, he did not wait until the hour that kings normally rise from their beds seeing that his heart was trembling on account of the dream he had just experienced, in which G’d told him that he was in need of forgiveness and the prayer by the prophet even though he would restore Avraham’s wife to him.

The men were very frightened. They were afraid that Avraham would refuse to pray for them.

וייראו האנשים, according to Rabbi Abba, the people of Gror still saw smoke rising from the valley where Sodom once used to be situated, and that frightened them very much. They were afraid that the angels who had wrought that havoc would show up near them at any moment.

ויראו האנשים מאר, all his servants who had agreed with their king appropriating this woman, and who had praised her beauty in his ears.

מעשים אשר לא יעשו THINGS THAT OUGHT NOT TO BE DONE — A plague such as does not ordinarily fall upon human beings has come upon us through you, viz, the closing up of all the secretory channels — those of semen, urine, excrement, of the ears and the nose (cf. Bava Kamma 92a).

ויאמר לו מה עשית? He said to him: "What did you do to me?" What did Avimelech mean by the word: עשית? What did Abraham do? If Avimelech referred to the evil deed, i.e. the lie, he should have prefaced his remarks by referring to the sin! Perhaps the very absence of the initial מה חטאתי לך at the beginning of his complaint is the key here. It means that the words מה עשית לנו mean: "what did you do ever do for us, and how did we repay you with ingratitude that you saw fit to treat us with such suspicions!" Avimelech hinted that there is no greater evil one can do to someone than to repay kindness with evil. Abraham's conduct had almost resulted in Avimelech's death! The entire verse is to be viewed as a rebuke.

ויקרא, he wanted to hear Avraham’s arguments and to appease him so that he would forgive him and pray on his behalf.

Deeds that ought not to be done. You brought harm to a stranger with whom you had no prior relationship of enmity, and without profit to yourself.

A plague that is unusual to befall any beings... I.e., “Deeds that ought not to be done” cannot refer to Avraham, as he had not performed any deed. He only spoke.

(9-10) Abimelech vergisst sich zuerst und macht statt Entschuldigungen Vorwürfe, er lenkt aber mit Raw Hirsch on Genesis 20: 10 ein und bittet um Aufschluss.

?מה עשית לנו, by saying that she is your sister, thereby placing traps for me and my servants.

ומה חטאתי לך, how did I sin against you that you repaid me with evil making me guilty of death?

?והבאתי עלי ועל ממלכתי חטאה גדולה, if I had been killed by G’d my kingdom would have been lost, as he said “are You going to a righteous nation also?”

אשר לא יעשו, it is not fitting for a man of your stature to be the cause of your fellowmen becoming guilty of mortal sin.

ויאמר אבימלך. Avimelech said. Seeing that the previous verse had been a rebuke only, he now switched to a question. This is why the sentence had to begin once more with the words: "Avimelech said," though Abraham had not yet responded to the accusation. Avimelech now conceded that he did not consider Abraham capable of wanting to harm him intentionally.

ויאמר, Avimelech wanted to know why Avraham had not personally protested the forced abduction of Sarah instead of allowing the king to become guilty of a greater crime. Surely a man such as he must have had a good reason for allowing this to happen without protest!?

What did you see. What caused you to fear me? — The Philistines of those days were civilized and honorable.

רק אין יראת אלהים SURELY THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD — When a stranger arrives in a city do people ask him about what he would like to eat or to drink, or do they ask him about his wife—“Is this your wife?” or “Is this your sister?” (Bava Kamma 92a) (Surely if they ask at all, it is about his needs; if they ask regarding his relationship to the lady accompanying him, it is evidence that they are not God-fearing people!)

רק אין יראת אלוקים במקום הזה, there is no respect for the government’s authority. The Philistines did not have kings, but their political leaders were known as סרנים, as we know from the story of Goliath, who was a law unto himself due to his personal strength and was not subject to the authority of such סרנים. Compare Goliath’s boast הלא אנכי הפלשתי ואתם עבדים לשאול, “am I not the Philistine, whereas you are slaves of Sha-ul.” (Samuel I 17,8)

בי אמרתי…אין יראת אלוקים במקום הזה. "For I said (to myself) that there is no fear of the Lord in this place." This is the answer to the question: "what did you see?" Abraham prefaced his answer with the word רק, "only." He wanted to forestall Avimelech saying to him that if he, Abraham, considered the men as lacking in basic fear of the Lord, why did he worry more about their murdering him and then taking his wife? He should have worried more about the latter! Abraham said: רק, i.e. "I reasoned that they would try and minimise their culpability. As long as I would be alive every man sleeping with my wife would commit a capital offence every time, and would accordingly face many punishments. If they killed me first, they would only be guilty of murder once, whereas they would not become culpable for sleeping with my widow. If a number of them would conspire to kill me, each one causing a single injury not in itself fatal, they would claim that they were not even guilty of murder." Abraham said that this was why he decided to describe Sarah as his sister.

ויאמר..רק אין יראת אלוקים, Avraham replied that though the land was good there was no feeling of fear of the Lord in it. This was the only drawback of that country. As a result, if I would have protested they would have killed me in order not to become guilty of the greater sin of adultery.

There is no fear of Elokim. He informed him that even culture and refinement are no guarantee that a person’s passions will not overcome his intellect, leading him to commit the basest crimes. The only attribute that can be trusted to prevent him from sinning is fear — in particular fear of Heaven. In this place. There can be no fear of Heaven without belief in Providence.

Ihr habt mir nichts getan, ich habe auch keine besonderen Erfahrungen bei euch gemacht, die mich zu dem Verfahren veranlasst haben. Es fehlt bei euch nichts, es herrscht bei euch dieselbe staatliche Ordnung wie überall, nur habe ich wie überall, so auch bei euch, nicht die Gottesfurcht vorausgesetzt, die Gottesfurcht, die mir verbietet, mein Weib freiwillig preiszugeben, die euch verbieten sollte, das Weib eines Fremden anzutasten, oder ihn zu töten, wenn er es wagen wollte, sich eurer Unsitte zu widersetzen. Dieses רק ist nur aus der Allgemeinheit des Mangels an Gottesfurcht zu verstehen, die daraus keinen besonderen Vorwurf für Abimelechs Land machen ließ, nicht aber als ob ein solcher Mangel an sich in Abrahams Äußerung als etwas Geringfügiges bezeichnet wäre.

רק אין יראת, “there is only no awe of the Lord, etc;” Avraham could have said that there was no fear of any retribution for criminal acts from a deity. There are three diminutives in this verse, i.e. the words: ,רק, אך and מן. We have a rule that one diminutive is designed to exclude something from the rule discussed, whereas two such diminutives are a signal that something additional is to be added. It follows that when there are tree diminutives, it again is meant to exclude something. In this instance Avraham acknowledged that there were things in the universe which the Philistines feared, but it was not judgment by an invisible G-d. Rabbi Chavell refers the reader to the comment on this verse cited in Torah Shleymah #54. by an invisible G-d.

אחותי בת אבי היא SHE IS MY SISTER, THE DAUGHTER OF MY FATHER — And the daughter of the same father is permitted to be married to a descendant of Noah, for the paternal relationship is not taken into consideration in the case of the marriages between idolators (i.e. the “Sons of Noah”). He answered them in this way in order to bear out his former statement that she was his sister. If, however, you ask, “But was she not his brother’s daughter? (see chapter 11:29, and so she was granddaughter of Terah, Abraham’s father), then I reply, one’s children’s children are considered as one’s own children. Thus, too, did he say to Lot, (13:8) “For we are brethren” (although the relationship was that of uncle and nephew, as here it was that of uncle and niece).

AND YET SHE IS MY SISTER, THE DAUGHTER OF MY FATHER. I know not the sense of this apology. Even if it were true that she was his sister and his wife, nevertheless when they wanted to take her as a wife and he told them, She is my sister,²⁷⁸Verse 2 here. in order to lead them astray, he already committed a sin towards them by bringing upon them a great sin,²⁷⁹Verse 9 here. and it no longer mattered at all whether the thing was true or false!
Perhaps it was because Abimelech said, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing?²⁸⁰Verse 10 here. meaning “What sin or wickedness have you seen in me that caused you to do this out of fear? I have never attempted to take women away from their husbands.” Then Abraham answered: “I did not know you, but I thought, perhaps the fear of G-d is not in this place,²⁸¹Verse 11 here. for in most places in the world there is no fear of G-d. Therefore, from the time I left my country and aimlessly wandered among the nations not knowing to which place we would come, I made this condition with her that she say thus in all places. For the matter is true, and I thought that by doing this, human life would be saved. I did not begin this practice upon entering your country for I did not see that you had committed any sin.” And yet she is my sister, the daughter of my father. This expression represents a different argument. Abraham said: “According to my custom, I said so for it is true, and I further thought that in case they will want her they will ask me if she is also my wife. Since your servants took her and they did not ask me any questions, I said, ‘The fear of G-d is also not in this place’ and I remained quiet.”
It is possible that he established this condition with her when they came to Egypt even though he said that he did it when G-d caused me to wander from my father’s house.²⁸²Verse 13 here. It may be that he again warned her there in Egypt at the time of the event, as I have explained.²⁸³Above, 12:11.
Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra’s opinion is that all these words were to put off Abimelech.

אחותי בת אבי, grandchildren are treated just like children and Sarah was a granddaughter of Terach.

וגם אמנה, also you, the king himself, have sinned in taking the woman because I said she is my sister for you should have asked me if she was also my wife. The fact is that she is both my sister and my wife.

וגם אמנה אחותי היא, "Moreover, she is in fact my sister." Here Abraham accuses Avimelech by exonerating himself also from the accusation of having lied. He implied that he never said that Sarah was not his wife! He had not deliberately misled G'd-fearing people. He had said that Sarah was his sister which did not preclude her from also being his wife. It was up to the Philistines to ascertain that she was not his wife if they were really G'd-fearing people. Perhaps Avimelech gave Abraham generous gifts because he accepted Abraham's rebuke. He may have wanted to demonstrate to one and all that Abraham had not lied. Righteous people are wont to worry that one should not even think they had done something improper.

וגם אמנה, besides she is indeed my sister. The expression אמנה is equivalent to באמת, “in truth.” The word occurs in the same sense in Joshua 7,20 אמנה חטאתי, where Achan admits having stolen from the booty of Jericho. The word אמנם or אמנה both mean basically the same. Avraham in effect told Avimelech: “even though I did not protest the violence committed against Sarah this does not make me a liar, as she is indeed my sister, being the daughter of my brother, Legally, nieces are just as children as grandchildren are considered as legally equivalent to children.” (compare Rashi.

וגם אמנה אחותי בת אבי היא אך לא בת אמי. “and she is indeed my sister, daughter of my father, though she is not the daughter of my mother.” Nachmanides writes that he does not know the point of Avraham’s apology if indeed Sarah was his half-sister and his wife at one and the same time, and when the people from the palace came to take her to the palace he revealed that she was also his sister in order to deceive them about the relationship. He had thereby caused them to commit a sin if he had not previously revealed that Sarah was his wife. It makes no difference whether this claim was true or false, as he had caused them to sin the moment he claimed that Sarah was his sister. Perhaps Avraham felt the need to respond to Avimelech’s accusation: “what did you see so terrible in this place that you felt the need to be devious and to bring guilt upon us?” He felt the need to justify himself vis-à-vis Avimelech personally, who had steadfastly claimed that he had never taken women for himself whom he knew to be married to other husbands. Avraham’s point was that he had no prior knowledge of the moral ethical standards prevailing among the Philistines, and had feared that they did not observe the 7 universal laws given by G’d to Noach. He cited his ample experience during previous sojourns in different countries in all of which no fear of the Lord was customary, and in all of which he conducted himself according to this assumption. Hence his caution was not a reflection on Avimelech, personally. He had been prompted by the sole motive of saving his own life. In addition, he explained that passing his wife off as his sister had not even been a lie, as indeed she was his sister by his father. According to Ibn Ezra, all Avraham’s explanations served only to confound Avimelech, his argument was basically similar to Yaakov, when challenged as to his identity, claiming in the presence of Yitzchok: אנכי, עשו בכורך, “it is I, Esau is your firstborn.”

וגם אמנם, “and besides, indeed, etc.” The word אמנם is equivalent to אמונה בפי, “I spoke truthfully; she is my sister seeing that she is the daughter of my father.” Actually this was not quite so seeing Sarah was a daughter of Haran, Avraham’s brother, a son of Terach, as we know from Genesis 11,29 “the daughter of Haran, father of both Yiskah (Sarai) and Milkah.” We learn from here that grandchildren may be described as children. The words “daughter of my father” therefore meant “daughter of my father’s son.”

In order to make his words truthful, he responded in this fashion... I.e., Avraham should have said, “She is my brother’s daughter,” and then he would not have needed to say, “But not the daughter of my mother.” He said as he did to make truthful what he had said earlier: “She is my sister.” You might ask: In 12:19, [Avraham was asked a similar question.] Why did Avraham not respond to Pharaoh at all? The answer is: Pharaoh had asked him only once, so he did not respond. But Avimelech asked twice, therefore he found it necessary to respond. (Maharshal)

Sie war früher meine Schwester als mein Weib. Sie ist dem Geiste nach meine Schwester, Tochter eines früh verstorbenen Bruders, und mit mir unter einem väterlichen Einfluß erzogen, wuchs mit mir im väterlichen Hause zusammen heran, und weil sie so an Geist und Gesinnung mir schwesterlich verwandt war, ward sie meine Frau. Es war nämlich, den Weisen zufolge, Sara identisch mit Jiska, der Tochter des früh verstorbenen Haran, dessen Kinder nach 1. B. M. 11, 31 dem Hause des Großvaters Therach verblieben zu sein scheinen.

אך לא בת אמי BUT NOT THE DAUGHTER OF MY MOTHER — For Haran (her father was born of a different mother than Abraham (Bava Kamma 92a).

אך לא בת אמי, however she is not a sister who was born to my biological mother. This is why she is permitted for me to marry, and she became my wife.

אך לא בת אמי, seeing Avraham’s brother Haran had been born to his father Terach by another wife than his mother. Furthermore, seeing that Avimelech was certainly unaware of this, it would have been quite in order for Avraham to marry Sarah even if she had been the granddaughter of Terach from the same wife as the one who had born Avraham. Our sages, taking their cue from what Avraham said here, state that a paternal sister is not of the same category as a maternal sister, only the latter being considered as full a sister. (Sanhedrin 58). According to this, Avraham would have been entitled to marry a first generation paternal sister, not only a second generation paternal sister such as Sarah. He would not have been allowed to marry a first generation maternal sister, however.

'ויהי כאשר התעו אותי וגו AND IT CAME TO PASS WHEN GOD CAUSED ME TO WANDER etc. — Onkelos translates it in his own way, but it can be explained in another manner that is also appropriate: When the Holy One, blessed be He, brought me forth from my father’s house to be a nomad, wandering from place to place, I knew that I would traverse places where there are wicked people ואמר לה זה חסדך AND so I SAID UNTO HER THIS IS THY LOVINGKINDNESS [WHICH THOU SHALT SHOW UNTO ME].

כאשר התעו אותי, He exiled me from my home by ordering me “go forth for yourself from your homeland.” (12,1). This is the true meaning of Deut. 26,5 ארמי אובד אבי. Yaakov’s troubles stemmed from having been exiled from his father’s home, at the behest of his father, whereas Avraham’s exile was at the behest of G’d. Both the expression התעו אותי and אובד אותי are repeats of the same expression similar to Psalms 119,176 תעיתי כשה אובד, “I wandered without destination, lost like a sheep.” Lost sheep were my companions, their shepherd having misled them.

התעו אותי אלוקים, on account of the various alien gods which I despise I have been forced to leave my father’s house and to travel to areas I did not know, not to places of my own choice. This is why he described himself as תועה, someone who wanders, does not have a fixed destination.

ויהי כאשר התעו אותי אלוקים, "Ever since G'd caused me to wander, etc." Now Abraham explained the background to his behaviour from the start. It had been based on the premise that there was lack of fear of the Lord in the place. He explained that his conduct was not directed specifically against the people of Geror. He had made it a general rule in his wanderings to suspect people of lack of fear of the Lord. The Philistines had not done anything to cause him to exempt them from such a doubt.

התעו אותי אלוקים, the meaning of the word התעו is similar to הגלו, “exiled.” When someone is exiled from a place with which he is familiar, he will tend to lose his way in areas with which he is unfamiliar.

ויהי כאשר התעו אותי אלוקים מבית אבי, “Ever since Elohim caused me to wander away from my father’s home, etc.” He meant that the idolatry practiced in his father’s house caused him to abandon their idolatrous lifestyles and to have the strength to follow his monotheistic convictions. (based on Onkelos) As a result, he had been wandering from one place to another.

.ויהי כאשר התעו אותי אלוקים מבית אבי , “it was when G’d made me wander from my father’s home, etc.” By the choice of the word התעו, which also means “led me astray,” Avraham hinted that his father Terach was an idolater and that his emigration was due to his father’s teachings and the making of strange gods he had been forced to leave that environment and to move to another country and to say to his wife: “this is the loving kindness you can perform for me, etc.”

When Elokim caused me to wander. Elohim here refers to the pagan gods. Thus the verse should actually be rendered, “When the gods of my father’s house caused me to wander” — that is, when he left home to proclaim the true faith throughout the world.

Nach einer anderen, dem Plural des Wortlautes und dem התעו sich besser anschließenden Auffassung: Als nun die Götter, d. i. das allverbreitete Götterunwesen, mich aus meinem väterlichen Haus in die Irre wies, d. h. vielleicht, da ich aus meinem väterlichen Hause als ein Apostat vom Volksglauben auswandern mußte, man duldete mich als einen תועה מדרכי אלילים nicht in der Heimat. Vielleicht lag auch durch diesen Gegensatz zum Heidentum für Abraham noch mehr als für jeden andern eine Gefahr in dem Widerstande, sich einer, wer weiß, vom heidnischen Götterkult geheiligten Unsitte zu fügen, und machte eine solche Maßregel für ihn um so notwendiger. Der bekannte Kultus der phönizischen Astarte, zusammengehalten mit dem Verlangen der sodomitischen Männer, lässt wenigstens eine solche Annahme nicht eben ungeheuerlich erscheinen.

כאשר התעו אותי אלוקים, “When G-d caused me to wander, etc,” Avraham refers to the time after he had been saved from Nimrod’s furnace when that ruler had expelled him from his country. He had not really had a permanent residence anywhere ever since. He had only been relatively safe after having defeated Nimrod (Amrafel) and his armies as reported in Genesis chapter 14.

כאשר התעו WHEN GOD (CAUSED ME TO WANDER — The verb is in the plural. Do not be surprised at this for in many passages words denoting Godship or denoting Authority are grammatically treated as plural, e. g., (2 Samuel 7:23) “Whom God went (הלכו plural) to redeem”; (Deuteronomy 5:23) “the living (חיים adjective, plural) God”; (Joshua 24:19) “a Holy (קדושים adjective, plural) God”. So, too, the idea of Authority is expressed by the plural form, as (39:20) “And the master of (אדני construct plural) Joseph took him” and as (Deuteronomy 10:17) “Lord of (אדני) lords (האדנים)”, and (42:30) “the lord of (אדני) the land”; as well as (Exodus 22:14) “if its owner (בעליו) be with it”, and (Exodus 21:19) “and warning has been given to its master (בעליו)”. If you ask why does it here use the term התעו, I reply, anyone who is exiled from his home and has no settled abode may be styled תועה a wanderer (or “one moving about aimlessly”), as (21:14) “And she, Hagar, went and strayed about (ותתע) in the wilderness”; (Psalms 119:176) “I have gone astray (תעיתי) like a lost sheep”, and (Job 38:41) “they wander (יתעו) through lack of food”, i.e. they go out and wander about to seek their food.

אמרי לי, “say concerning me.”

אלוקים, this word here is sacred. The reason why the word is used in the plural is because the listeners refer to their gods in the plural, so the Torah uses a syntax familiar to ordinary people. In spite of this the word is treated as a sacred name of G’d, one that must not be erased, such as when Job speaks of אלו-ה עושי, literally: the “G’d Who have made me.” (not: has made me). (Job 35,10). We find a similar construction where אלוקים is sacred and at the same time treated as if totally in the plural mode in Psalms 149,2 ישמח ישראל בעושיו instead of בעושו. (as opposed to בראשית ברא אלוקים where the verb is in the singular) A somewhat less perplexing construction is found in Joshua 24,19 אלוקים קדושין הוא. [even though the adjective is in the plural, at least the pronoun הוא is in the singular. Ed.]

תעה identisch mit טעה, verwandt mit תהה, wovon תהו, das, was keine klare Vorstellung bietet; rabbinisch תהה erstaunen, also ebenfalls eine Unklarheit der Vorstellung und, auf Gemütsbewegung übertragen: bereuen, gemütsunruhig über etwas sein. Lautverwandt mit דחה: in das Ungefähr hin stoßen, von dem festen, gesicherten Stand wegstoßen.

אמרי לי means say regarding me (the ל of לי signifies על); similar are: (26:7) “And the men of the place asked לאשתו” where לאשתו is the same as על אשתו regarding his wife; (Exodus 14:3) “And Pharaoh will say לבני ישראל” where לבני is the same as על בני ישראל; (Judges 9:54) “That men say not (לי) regarding me, a woman slew him”.

מבית אבי, from the house of my brothers and family, as when G’d instructed him in 12,1 מארצך ומבית אביך וגו'.

ואומר לה, seeing that we were coming to countries about which we knew nothing or very little, I said to her, out of my fear of the local inhabitants,

אל כל המקום, actually, we find that this stratagem was employed by Avraham only twice. We must therefore assume that Avraham meant that he had told Sarah that in any location which appeared to warrant such a white lie, he told her to use it. As soon as we hear from others that the people in the place which we are approaching are evil people, we need to avail ourselves of this strategy in order to enhance my chances of survival. This applied to locations in which Avraham would only be a transient. Wherever he settled down, people knew who he was and respected him, and would not dream of molesting either him or Sarah. We know that Avner, Eshkol and Mamre were actually allies of Avraham. Even the people of Kiryat Arba referred to him as a “prince in our midst.” (23,6)

אמרי לי, on my account, concerning me; Actually, many people asked Avraham concerning Sarah’s marital status.

ויתן לאברהם AND GAVE THEM UNTO ABRAHAM, so that he might he mollified and pray for him.

ויקח, He appeased him both with words and money, asking him for forgiveness and urging him to pray on his behalf. He also told him that he was welcome to stay in his country wherever he chose to settle, seeing that he would issue orders that neither he nor Sarah be molested.

So that he be mollified and pray for him. [Rashi knows this] because for taking his wife, [gifts were not necessary]. As Avimelech did not touch her, it is like he never took her. [You might ask:] Why did Avimelech need to mollify Avraham, while Pharaoh did not? The answer is: Pharaoh was completely unaware [that he had taken a married woman], because Avraham on his own craftily told Sarah (12:13): “Please say that you are my sister.” But here, they asked Avraham if she is his wife or his sister. He feared they would kill him and was compelled to say, “She is my sister.” That is why Pharaoh was smitten only with a disease for which relations are harmful, and after he returned her he no longer needed a cure. Whereas even after Avimelech had returned her, mollified Avraham and gave gifts, nonetheless it says: “Adonoy restrained every womb.” This was because Avimelech was considered a nearly deliberate sinner, since they interrogated Avraham: “Is she your wife?” As it says in Bava Kama 92a, “When a guest arrives in a city... is he asked about his wife?” [see Rashi, v. 11].

הנה ארצי לפניך BEHOLD MY LAND IS BEFORE THEE — But Pharaoh had said to him (12:19) “Behold thy wife, take her and go”, because he feared for Sarah’s safety since the Egyptians were addicted to lewd practices (see Rashi on this passage).

כטוב בעיניך שב, “settle wherever it pleases you.” The contrast with Pharaoh’s reaction to having felt deceived by Avraham is quite remarkable. The former could not forgive Avraham for having been the instrument that made him suffer chastisement by G’d, although he knew himself to have been wrong..

ולשרה אמר AND UNTO SARAH HE SAID — Abimelech said — out of respect for her and to mollify her: “Behold I have shown you this mark of respect, viz., I have given money to your brother — to him of whom thou didst say “he is my brother”. הנה BEHOLD, this money and this evidence of respect

BEHOLD, I HAVE GIVEN THY BROTHER A THOUSAND PIECES OF SILVER. The sheep, the cattle and the servants which he gave him were worth a thousand pieces of silver. He thus said to Sarah: “Behold, I have given much money to your brother. Now the money will serve you as a cause for the covering of the eyes of all those who look at your beauty,²⁸⁴“Had I given the money to you, people might say it was a harlot’s hire. But now that I have given it to your brother, people will say that I had to redeem myself against my will, and this will thus enable you to speak freely in your defense.” (Bachya.) closing their eyes, and those of their leaders, the seers,²⁸⁵See Isaiah 29:10, And your heads, the seers hath He covered. to prevent them looking at you and at all that belongs to you, even your manservants and maidservants. Thus your being taken forcibly to my house was for your benefit as they will fear you and cover their eyes to avoid looking at you, saying: ‘The king had to redeem himself for having stretched forth his hand to the prophet’s wife.’”
The verse thus tells that Abimelech mollified Abraham with money, and Sarah with words, so that he should not be punished on account of either of them. The verse states in conclusion, venochachath,²⁸⁶According to Ramban, as is clear from the text further on, the translation of this word is, “and she continued to protest.” as Sarah did not accept his apology, for with all this,²⁸⁷The money he gave to Abraham and the words of apology he offered her. she yet continued arguing with him, saying that she would not forgive him. The verse thus speaks in her praise. Abraham, however, was appeased, and he prayed for the king. The word venochachath is similar in usage to these verses: And with Israel ‘yithvakach’ (He has an argument);²⁸⁸Micah 6:2. But my ways ‘ochiach’ (will I argue) before Him;²⁸⁹Job 13:15. There the upright ‘nochach’ (might reason) with Him.²⁹⁰Ibid., 23:7.
It is possible that the expression, a thousand pieces of silver to thy brother, means thousands of pieces of silver, much wealth, according to the bounty of the king.²⁹¹Esther 1:7. Similarly, The smallest shall become a thousand,²⁹²Isaiah 60:22. [means that the smallest will become] a great people. Similarly: Restore, I pray you, to them even this day, their fields, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundred pieces of silver, and the corn, the wine, and oil, that ye exact of them²⁹³Nehemiah 5:11. — [here too the hundred pieces of silver refer to] many hundreds, a great deal of money.

ולשרה אמר, words of appeasement and consolation, explaining to her that when he had first taken her he had not employed forceful means but had treated her as if she had been a willing bride, giving her a dowry as was customary in those days for the groom to do. He had given 1000 pieces of silver to her brother, seeing that he had assumed that Avraham was no more than her brother to her as he had been led to believe. She herself had said so. This is not to be confused with the livestock which Avimelech gave Avraham at the conclusion of this story, the gifts mentioned in verse 14. The 1000 pieces of silver he had given before Sarah was taken to his palace. Even Pharaoh who had been punished more severely had made generous gifts not only to Avraham but even Lot had been enriched. (12,15). All this had been before any marriage ceremony. Avimelech clearly had been at least as generous.

הנה נתתי אלף כסף לאחיך, as dowry, as was the custom for any groom marrying the daughter or sister of a man.

ולשרה אמר הנה נתתי אלף כסף, in addition to the livestock, men and women servants he had given Avraham, mentioned in verse 14. The purpose of the cash was to enable her to buy herself elegant clothing.

הנה הוא לך כסות עינים, “let this be a visible proof of your vindication, etc.” Avimelech referred to the financial compensation he had felt forced to pay to Avraham in order to mollify him. The word אלף is not to be understood literally, but means the “thousands of shekel, etc.” The expression כסות עינים extends also to Avraham’s entire entourage, including any unattached women. Anyone even looking at these girls would be liable to a monetary fine for having done so. Knowing that even the King had been forced to pay a fine, the ordinary people would be most careful not to become subject to similar penalties.

Avimelech said it was out of respect for her, in order to mollify her... This means as follows: Avimelech really gave them to Avraham so that Avraham would pray for him, as Rashi explained on v. 14. If so, why did Avimelech say to Sarah that it was to honor her? [The answer is:] He said the opposite [of the truth] in order to mollify her. The Re’m asks: How does Rashi know that Avimelech gave them to Avraham in order to mollify him? Perhaps he really gave them in Sarah’s honor! The Re’m answers: Since Hashem said, “Now return the man’s wife... and he will pray for you,” we learn that Avimelech’s goal [in returning Sarah] was to mollify Avraham so he would pray for him. Assumedly, Avimelech gave the gifts for the same reason. But it seems to me [that the answer is:] If Avimelech really gave for her honor, why did he give to Avraham? According to what Avimelech said [his intentions were], he should have given them to Sarah, which would have honored her more! Perforce, the main [reason for] giving the gifts to Avraham was so Avraham would pray for him, and Avimelech said what he did to Sarah only to honor and mollify her.

Dass ich, der König, der es nur versuchte, dir zu nahen, diesen Versuch so offenkundig büßte und so glänzend zu sühnen mich bestrebte, das wird dir fortan im ganzen Lande einen solchen Augenschutz gewähren, es wird fortan so wenig irgend jemand es wagen, sein Auge zu dir ungeziemend zu erheben, dass du von nun an gegen jedermann dich nicht zu verleugnen brauchst, sondern geradezu als Abrahams Weib auftreten kannst. —

הנה נתתי אלף כסף לאחיך, “here I have given one thousand silver pieces to your brother;” The root אלף has different meanings in different contexts. For instance, in Job 33,33, ואאלפך חכמה, it means: “I will teach you wisdom.” It also appears as an expression for excessive desire, as in Genesis 31,30: כי נכסוף נכספת, where Lot acknowledges Yaakov’s great “longing to return to his father’s home after so many years of absence.” In our verse the correct interpretation is that Avimelech having given this amount of silver to Sarah’s brother Avraham who had told him that he was her brother, means that it should teach her a lesson to really love him. An alternate interpretation is that it is used as an expression for craving after material wealth as in Deuteronomy 7,13: שגר אלפיך, “the exceptional increase in your flocks and sheep, the example quoted by Rashi who says that it is a metaphor for riches, something nearly everyone is craving for. הנה לך כסות עינים, “here it shall serve you as a cover for the eyes;” Avimelech refers to the word אחיך, saying that Sarah had described her husband as her brother out of a sense of chastity. Had she referred to him as “my husband,” anyone hearing her say this would immediately have understood it as “my sexual partner.” She was too chaste to refer to anyone other than to her husband in such terms.

הנה נתתי אלף כסף לאחיך, “here I have given 1000 pieces of silver to your brother;” Avimelech uses the word “your brother” sarcastically, meaning that he had given this amount of money to the person whom she had described as her brother. It was customary in those days to give expensive gifts to a bride’s brother. (Rash’bam) (We find that Eliezer had done the same to Rivkah’s brother and family.)

לך כסות עינים לכל אשר אתך SHALL BE UNTO THEE A COVERING OF THY EYES TO ALL WHO ARE WITH THEE — these will put a covering over the eyes of all who are with thee so that they shall not hold you in light esteem. But had I sent you back empty-handed, they might have said, “After he abused her he sent her back”; now, however, that I have had to lavish money and to mollify you they will understand that I have sent you back against my own will forced to do so by a miracle.

נתתי אלף כסף, the distant past tense, i.e. “I had given it “ at the very beginning. The same sequence occurred when Pharaoh abducted Sarah, and the same procedure was offered by Shechem and Chamor in Genesis 34,12 as part of the offer to marry Dinah. Also, in Genesis 24,53 we find Eliezer making such generous gifts prior to obtaining Lavan’s consent for Rivkah to marry Yitzchok.

הנה לך כסות עינים, clothing consisting of a variety of colours which women used to wear as a mark of distinction. The dowry he gave her brother was intended to show that he did not consider her a whore but someone reputable, and that he did not mean her to be his concubine but his regular wife. Also, he meant that he would not have let Sarah go so easily except for Divine intervention which forced him to let her go.

וכל אשר אתך, all your entourage should also have been outfitted with elegant clothing. Anyone belonging to your household was meant to look their best thanks to this money I gave to your brother.

ונוכחת. “and you will be vindicated.” You will have a valid argument in countering any gossip spread about you (Sarah). Alternatively, the meaning of the expression is the Torah’s way of saying that whereas the money compensated Avraham for the wrong done to him, it did not mollify Sarah’s injured dignity. She would continue to argue that the wrong done to her could not be righted by money; the Torah mentioned this in tribute to Sarah’s lofty principles. Some commentators understand the expression כסות עינים as meaning that the monetary compensation would have the same effect as stunningly beautiful garments, which would raise the image of the wearer in the eyes of the beholder. The money would enable both her and her servant maids to buy beautiful clothes.

ואת כל ונוכחת, “and you will be found justified before all and sundry.” Avimelech warns her that not everyone understands such lofty moral standards; therefore they would have taken you at your word, not knowing that they were a metaphor. In future, therefore, she is not to mislead people by describing her husband as her brother. The only people who do not misunderstand your reference to your ”brother”, are the ones that are part of your household. Beware not to be the source of being so misunderstood.

הנה הוא לך כסות עינים לכל אשר אתך, “this is to enable you to call your husband your brother, i.e. as a cover up, but this is to be used only as an explanation to your immediate entourage.

ואת כל AND WITH ALL — means and with all people in the world.

הנה הוא לך כסות עינים לכל אשר אתך ואת כל, the thousand pieces of silver I had given to your brother represent a great honour for you, and they will serve as proof for one and all that you have not been disgraced in any way. Nobody will ever be able to claim that you have been treated as helpless, as a woman who had no honour to lose.

לכל אשר אתך, before the eyes of everybody, so that they know in your household that everything is above board.

לאחיך, to the person you had described to me as “your brother.”

את כל ונוכחת, “he prepared all this when he purchased for her a wardrobe, in order to demonstrate to everyone that he felt the need to mollify Sarah.” The word נוכחת means preparing something, inviting someone, and appears in this context in Genesis 24,44 אשר הוכיח ה' לבן אדוני, “the one whom the Lord has prepared for the son of my master (as a wife)”. Ibn Ezra explains the words הנה הוא לך כסות עינים as Avimelch saying to Sarah: “concerning Avraham whom you had told me that he was your brother, it fulfils the function of an “eye-cover” (veil) for you to ensure no one will dare raise his eyes to you”. At the same time his stature also protects all your maids against anyone daring to take advantage of them. They will all enjoy the protection of the status of being wives of his servants. Yet another explanation of the words הנה הוא לך כסות עינים understands it as a reference to Sarah having described Avraham as her brother as a defensive stratagem, to protect his life, and the fact that all the entourage of Avraham and Sarah conspired together in this deception so as not to endanger their master’s life. At any, rate, Avimelech added, now that everything has been cleared up, ונוכת, you will be safe and do not need to misrepresent yourself.

ואת כל, but concerning the general population in my country you must not continue to describe your husband as your brother. Otherwise other people may become the victims of the same error I have become a victim of. The letter ו in the word: ונוכחת is superfluous, as are numerous letters, [especially when the Torah quotes human beings rather than G-d as the speaker. Ed] In the Jerusalem Targum we find the following translation/exegesis: “the money I have given to your brother as compensation that he has been deprived of your presence for a single night; even if I would give you all my wealth it would not be enough to compensate you for the embarrassment that I have caused you. Suffice it to say that your husband Avraham is a righteous man who is aware that I have not violated you.”An alternate exegesis: הנה נתתי, if I have only given 1000 pieces of silver and nothing else to the person whom you describe as your brother, this will serve as something small enough for him to hide, and you would become embarrassed because people would say that I have paid a bribe to your brother to keep him from raising a fuss, but they would still think that I have violated you. Now that I have also given you sheep and cattle, male and female slaves, openly, everyone will know that you and I have nothing to hide. You will be able to hold your head high and argue with everyone, seeing that your hands are clean and I have returned you to your husband against my will. Yet another explanation of this difficult verse: “Your brother Avraham is the one that can serve as your blindfold. It was he who had hidden from one and all that he was your husband and that you were his wife. He had commanded your entire entourage to go along with this charade, You have also played along, so that my sin must be viewed in that context and not be considered as so severe.”

ונכחת AND THOU MAYEST FACE EVERY ONE — You will have an opening of the mouth (an opportunity) to defend yourself (להתוכח) and to point to these evident facts. This expression יכח in the Hiphil means everywhere making a thing plain; in old French éprouver; English to prove. Onkelos translated in a different manner, and the words of the text fit in with the Targum in the following way: Behold this shall be to you as a veil of honour on account of my eyes which have gazed upon (literally, ruled over) you and upon all who are with you; and that is why he translates it by: “because that I saw you and your people that are with you”. There are Midrashic explanations, but I have given the more exact meaning of the text.

כסות עינים, they will not be able to look at you as someone who had been discredited. We find the word כסה used in a similar sense in Exodus 10,5 וכסה את עין הארץ, “it (the locust) will cover the visible part of the earth, i.e. the earth will not be “naked,” “exposed.” A similar sequence appears in this sense in Ezekiel 28,17 לראוה בך, “so that they may gaze upon,” (not turn away in shame and disgust). The expression also occurs in a similar sense in Micah 7,10 עיני תראינה בה, “my eyes shall behold her.”

ואת כל ונוכחת, and you will be perceived exonerated in every respect even in the eyes of those who would have felt tempted to interpret what happened to you in a negative light, reflecting discredit upon you.

כסות עינים, something appealing to your eyes and all those who look at you. Your brother was supposed to use this money to buy such garments for you. What are meant are specifically coloured garments, as the word עינים frequently describes gay colours. Compare the Torah’s description of the appearance of the manna in Numbers 11,7 as ועינו כעין הבדולח, “and its colour like the colour of crystal.” Or, Ezekiel 1,16 כעין תרשיש, “as the colour of beryl.” It is possible that the embroidering on the garment consisted of a variety of colours.

ונוכחת, you will be able to hold your head high in view of the fact that you have been treated with so much honour and respect. Avimelech said all this in honour of Sarah and not as a rebuke to her.

ואת כל ונוכחת, the Torah tells its readers that after all that Sarah had experienced at the hands of Pharaoh and Avimelech, she never again described Avraham as her brother instead of as her husband. If the word ונוכחת were to be understood as part of what Avimelech had said to Sarah, the letter ת at the end of this word would have required to have a dot, dagesh in it, whereas it is spelled “weak,” i.e. without such a dagesh, to indicate that it is in a third person feminine mode and not part of direct speech, second person feminine. (compare a similar construction in Isaiah 23,15)

וילדו AND THEY BROUGHT FORTH — Explain it as the Targum takes it: “and they were relieved” — their channels were opened (cf. 5:9) and they brought forth their secretions — and this is לידה “bringing forth”, as far as they are concerned.

‘VAYEILEIDU’ (AND THEY BORE CHILDREN). If this is understood literally as referring to his wife, and his maidservants and stating that the Eternal had restrained their wombs, it is astonishing! For it appears that on the first night that Sarah was taken to Abimelech’s house, and he had not even approached her,²⁹⁴Verse 4 here. G-d immediately came to him in the dream, and in the morning he rose early and called his servants and also Abraham.²⁹⁵Verses 8-9 here. When then did they experience this restraining of the womb? Perhaps it so happened that they were in their due time, experiencing the pangs of childbirth, unable to be relieved by giving birth. Perhaps, also, Abraham delayed his prayer for many days. But according to this interpretation, the nature of Abimelech’s healing as well as his sickness have not been explained in Scripture.
Now Rashi comments: “Vayeileidu — and they were relieved,²⁹⁶In our Rashi: “Explain it as the Targum does, ‘and they were relieved.’” their channels were opened, and they brought forth their wastes. This was the leidah (bringing forth) as it referred to them. All the wombs means every opening of the body.”
But this is not correct. Even if we were to say concerning the word vayeileidu that it means “bringing forth” — as we do indeed find the word leidah used in many contexts, such as: Yea, he conceiveth mischief ‘veyolad’ (and bringeth forth) falsehood;²⁹⁷Psalms 7:15. Before the decree ‘ledeth’ (bring forth);²⁹⁸Zephaniah 2:2. for thou knowest not what a day ‘yolad’ (may bring forth),²⁹⁹Proverbs 27:1. meaning what the days will bring forth and originate — but the word rechem (womb) never refers to any other openings. This is not contradicted by the verse, Or, who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth, and issued out of the womb,³⁰⁰Job 38:8. for this is merely a figure of speech,³⁰¹Meaning when the sea broke from the abyss, where it was formed as a child in his mother’s womb. (Ramban in his commentary to Job, ibid.,) similar to “the belly of the earth.”³⁰²See Jonah 2:3, the belly of the netherworld.
Now Onkelos’ opinion is not like that of the Rabbi³⁰³Rashi. for even if he translated, “and they were relieved,” yet the word rechem (womb) he renders literally as “the opening for giving birth to a child.” However, [the reason why Onkelos translated it, “and they were relieved,” and not “and they gave birth,” is that] he wanted to include Abimelech also in the word vayeileidu.
In Bereshith Rabbah³⁰⁴52:14. it is said: “For the Eternal had fast closed up (‘atzor atzar’),³⁰⁵Verse 18 here. i.e., closed up the mouth, closed up the neck, closed up the eye, closed up the ear, closed up above,³⁰⁶“Above… below,” a reference to urination, the minor function of the body, and defecation, the major function. and closed up below.” Now the Rabbis derived this exposition from the double usage of the expression, atzor atzar, but they did not explain the expression, every womb, as meaning every opening of the body.
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that from the day Sarah was taken to Abimelech’s house, Abimelech was stricken in his limbs and was unable to fulfill his needs. This is [what the verse alludes to when it says], Therefore I did not suffer thee to touch her,³⁰⁷Verse 6 here. as “touching” or “approaching” women are euphemisms for sexual intercourse, as in the verse, Draw not near a woman;³⁰⁸Exodus 19:15. And I came unto the prophetess.³⁰⁹Isaiah 8:3. And He restrained the wombs of his wife and his maidservants who were pregnant so they could not give birth. “Restraining a womb” means that the woman could not conceive, even as it says, And the Eternal had closed up her womb.³¹⁰I Samuel 1:5. But “restraining the womb” denotes inability to give birth, similar in usage to the verse, He hath hedged me about, that I cannot go forth.³¹¹Lamentations 3:7.
Sarah stayed in Abimelech’s house many days, and Abimelech did not repent his way as he did not understand his transgression until G-d came to him in a dream and informed him of it. Now Scripture does not explain Abimelech’s sickness explicitly but mentions it only by hint in an ethical manner and out of respect for Sarah. After Abraham’s prayer, Abimelech and his wife and his maidservants were healed, and the women gave birth.

ויתפלל...את אבימלך, he again possessed an active libido, just as he had before G’d struck him.

וילדו, “they proceeded to give birth.” According to Rashi their wombs had been as if sealed while Sarah was in Avimelech’s palace. Now their wombs were reopened. Apparently all orifices of the women had been sealed.

ויתפלל אברהם אל האלוקים, “Avraham prayed to G’d, etc.” Using a kabbalistic approach, the (unusual) name for G’d used here by Avraham is a reference to the tenth emanation. [this is the “lowest” of the ten emanations and therefore closest to our world. Ed.] As a result, his prayer was answered immediately as we read in the very same verse that “G’d healed Avimelech, his wife, his maidservants, and all those who were expecting to give birth could do so again and did so successfully.” As a result of Avraham’s prayer the attribute of Justice which had been active in that region was supplanted by the attribute of Mercy. We had previously read that the attribute of Mercy i.e. ה', had been exchanged for the attribute of Justice as you will see by reading the text carefully. In verse three G’d appears to Avimelech as אלוקים, i.e. as the attribute of Justice in honour of Avraham. When Avimelech justified his behaviour he addressed the attribute א-דני. G’d responds to him as ה-אלוקים, the definite article ה indicating that it was the same attribute that had appeared to him in verse three. At that point G’d tells Avimelech that He too is aware of Avimelech’s thoughts as well as his deeds. G’d used the אנכי rather than the pronoun אני when referring to Himself. This word אנכי refers to the One who is invisible, who was instrumental in preventing Avimelech from committing any sin with Sarah. This aspect of G’d is less manifest than that represented by the term אני when employed as G’d speaking, or identifying himself to His creatures. Perhaps the absence of the letter א in the word מחטו-לי in verse 6 is a hint that when someone commits a sin against G’d [as distinct from a sin against his fellow man, Ed.] he actually rebels against G’d in His Uniqueness, Oneness, i.e. against the invisible non-manifest G’d.

וילדו, “they gave birth.” Avimelech is not included in the statement: “they gave birth.” It refers only to the females mentioned in the verse. We have proof that this is the correct interpretation from Genesis 29,39 ויחמו הצאן, when the sheep were in heat, where the Torah uses the masculine mode, although obviously it was the female sheep which were in heat, as the male do not conceive and give birth. There is further proof that the expression וילדו, “they gave birth,” cannot refer to Avimelech personally, from verse 18, where the Torah relates that while Sarah was in Avimelech’s palace, captive, all the women in his household, had been unable to give birth though highly pregnant. After Avraham prayed for Avimelech, G-d healed them so that they all gave birth simultaneously as a sign of G-d’s intervention. Another example of a similar formulation in the Torah, which at first glance appears incredible is in Genesis 30,26, where after the birth of Joseph, and completion of a total of 14 years of service to Lavan, Yaakov demands: תנה את נשי ואת ילדי אשר עבדתי אותך בהן, “Hand over my wives and my children for whom I have served you!” Yaakov had served Lavan only for his wives, not for his children.

ואת אשתו ואמהותיו, the ones who had been supposed to give birth but had been unable to due to this affliction. Even though, generally speaking, we cannot determine precisely when a baby that is due to be born will be born, the women who had entered labour at the time the affliction struck could not give birth so that it was clear what the affliction was connected to. After Avimelech had dreamt the dream which the Torah described in detail, he called together both his servants as well as Avraham early in the morning. If so, when did they experience the impediment to delivering the babies due? Perhaps they experienced labour pains which were not relieved for even brief periods in between. Or, perhaps, Avraham took his time before he appealed to G’d in prayer to relieve the situation. We know that when women are in labour there are a number of ways in which their husbands can alleviate their pains and bring on the birth. All of these attempts had failed so that it became clear that some supernatural power had its hand in what was happening.

וילדו, this word may refer to Avimelech’s wife and his maidservants; alternately, it may refer to Avimelech’s ability to ejaculate semen again, something he had not been able to do. Onkelos translates this as ואתרוחו, meaning that their orifices which had been closed opened up again. Why would he not translate the word וילדו as “they gave birth?” Perhaps what he meant was that they did give birth, and he did not really mean that their orifices had been closed so that they could neither urinate nor defecate, as seems to be the opinion of our sages (Baba Kama 72).

בעד כל רחם GOD HAD CLOSED UP EVERY רחם — means had closed up every opening (of the body)

כי עצר עצר ה' בעד כל רחם, to kill their (unborn) offspring if Avimelech would not display remorse and penitence. G’d had warned him specifically that not only his own life was at risk (verse 7)

כי עצור עצר ה׳ בעד כל רחם. For G'd had blocked all body orifices. This was so that people should not be able to say that Sarah had become pregnant by Avimelech. Avimelech was impotent during that period. The Torah also wanted to demonstrate that Abraham's prayer was effective to make the formerly barren fertile again. We also learn from this that if someone prays for someone else to be healed in an area that he himself needs healing, his own needs will be attended to by G'd first. This is why the next verse tells us about Sarah having become pregnant. While it is true that G'd had already promised this previously, if a certain sequence in scripture is not applicable to the subject under immediate discussion, it may be applied to another subject as will be discussed shortly.

כי עצר עצר בעד כל רחם, among the women, and possibly also among the animals which were meant to give birth at that time. (as we quoted our sages as saying). In fact the Talmud says that even hens which lay eggs instead of producing live chicks from their bodies were equally affected.

בעד כל רחם, “every womb.” Again, Rashi understands the word as applying to every bodily orifice. Nachmanides writes that the expression רחם cannot be applied to orifices other than the womb. He sees a further difficulty in the fact that according to the plain meaning of the text all of this transpired during a single night, and that Sarah was restored to Avraham on the morrow, immediately. If so when had the sealing of the orifices of potential mothers even been perceived as an affliction? Perhaps they experienced pains and were unable to give birth, or their menstrual cycle did not operate normally, or Avraham waited until he prayed on behalf of all these women. Personally, I feel that from the day that Sarah had been abducted to Avimelech’s palace, Avimelech’s reproductive organs had been stricken so that he could not have sexual relations with Sarah. Avimelech’s wife and servant maids were equally afflicted. This was the meaning of G’d telling Avimelech in his dream ולא נתתיך לנגוע אליה, “I did not allow you to touch her.” Whenever the term נגיעה or קרבה is used in connection with women, it has a sexual connotation. This is the meaning of וה' סגר רחמם. It is an expression applying only to prevention of the birthing process being initiated. A parallel expression is סגר ה' בעדה, when the prophet describes Channah’s being unable to have children at the beginning of the Book of Samuel. Apparently, Sarah was locked up in the palace of Avimelech for a considerable length of time, and until the night when G’d appeared to Avimelech in his dream, no one knew the cause of this peculiar affliction. At that point, G’d gave Avimelech a hint about what had caused this problem in his household. After Avraham’s prayer on behalf of those afflicted the problem was resolved. 21.1. וה' פקד את שרה, “at this time G’d remembered Sarah benevolently;” The words כאשר אמר, “as He had said,” implies that the word פקד refers to her becoming pregnant, whereas the words כאשר אמר, refer to her giving birth, according to Rashi. Nachmanides writes that the expression פקידה always refers to remembering something pertaining to the party that is being remembered, such as פקוד יפקוד אלוקים אתכם, “G’d will surely remember you, etc.” in Genesis Therefore, the meaning of ה' פקד את שרה is that “G’d remembered Sarah and did for her as He had said.” This formula is customary in connection with women who had been barren until G’d remembered them benevolently, as in the case of Rachel Genesis 30,22 who could give birth after being benevolently remembered by G’d. Rabbi Joseph Kimchi points out that the reason that the Torah used the term פקידה when referring to Sarah, and the term זכירה for remembering with Rachel, was that in the case of Sarah who was already way past child bearing age, G’d had to extend Himself more than in the case of Rachel who was still in her twenties. G’d had to restore bodily functions to Sarah, functions that had not ceased functioning in the case of Rachel. The Mishnaic term for the days between two menstrual cycles is מפקידה לפקידה. Rachel’s menstrual cycles had not yet ceased to occur regularly at the time she became pregnant and bore Joseph as a result. In the case of Channah giving birth to Shemuel, at a time when she was still young, the prophet uses the term זכירה, when she first prayed for children, (Samuel I 1,11) whereas when we hear about her having 5 more children in Samuel I 1,21 the prophet attributes this to a פקידה by G’d. seeing she had aged greatly in the interval.

כי עצור עצר ה' בעד כל רחם ”for the Lord had closed fast every womb, etc.” This refers both to large and small orifices. This is why the Torah repeats the verb עצר. The words בעד כל רחם are a reference to the closing of the birth-canal; it included all orifices amongst man and beast. Our sages in Baba Kama 92 state that even the hens in Avimelech’s palace stopped laying eggs. At this point the Torah spelled out the afflictions suffered by both Avimelech and his household, whereas up until now it had not specified the nature of these afflictions. It had also not mentioned Avimelech by name until he was healed in order to preserve as much of the Royal Dignity and as a sign of respect for Sarah. These names were mentioned only when they served the immediate purpose of enhancing the stature of Sarah.

According to Sarah’s words. על דבר cannot mean “because of,” as it does in Devarim 23:5 על דבר אשר לא קדמו אתכם, because [of the following difficulty:] it is written earlier (v. 6), “Also, I prevented you from sinning against Me.” This implies that Hashem deprived Avimelech alone of the ability to have relations. Yet in our verse it is written, “For Hashem had restrained every womb.” Perforce, in our verse על דבר means Adonoy did this “according to Sarah’s words.” And when it said (12:17) וינגע ה' את פרעה... על דבר שרי, on which Rashi commented: “According to her commands,” this explanation was learned from here, based on the phrases’ similarity. (author’s commentary)

'על דבר שרה וגו BECAUSE OF (literally, by the word of) SARAH — at Sarah’s bidding (Genesis Rabbah 52:13).