Hebrew Bible Study
Hebrew Bible Study

Chasidut for Genesis 26:29

אִם־תַּעֲשֵׂ֨ה עִמָּ֜נוּ רָעָ֗ה כַּאֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א נְגַֽעֲנ֔וּךָ וְכַאֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשִׂ֤ינוּ עִמְּךָ֙ רַק־ט֔וֹב וַנְּשַׁלֵּֽחֲךָ֖ בְּשָׁל֑וֹם אַתָּ֥ה עַתָּ֖ה בְּר֥וּךְ יְהוָֽה׃

that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace; thou art now the blessed of the LORD.’

Kedushat Levi

Genesis 26,29. “if you were to do with us something ‎evil, considering that we have not harmed you, etc.;” we ‎assume that the reader is familiar with the commentary of Baal ‎haturim according to which Avimelech had indeed planned to ‎harm Yitzchok, but that G’d converted this to Yitzchok’s benefit, ‎something G’d does all the time when evil persons try to harm ‎‎tzaddikim. According to Baal haturim, the words “as ‎we have not harmed you,” are to be understood as an admission ‎by Avimelech that he had indeed intended to harm Yitzchok, but ‎that he had been prevented from doing so by Yitzchok’s G’d. ‎Avimelech now pleaded with Yitzchok to respond to their deeds ‎and not to their evil intentions. He implied that if Yitzchok were ‎planning to do him and his country harm, this too would ‎backfire.
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