Commentaire sur La Genèse 20:2

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.