מדרש על בראשית 20:1

... [What about all] the praise of Joseph, who exceeded in the honor of his father? And yet he did not enter into him all the time, such that were it not that they came to tell him, "Your father is sick," he would not have known! Rather this is to inform you of his righteousness. For he did not want to be alone with his father, lest he say to him, "How did your brothers act with you?" And [then] he would curse them.... Hence he did not go to his father all the time.)

And at that time Abraham journeyed from the grove of Mamre unto the land of the Philistines ‎and he sojourned in Gerar. In the twenty-fifth year of his dwelling in the land of Canaan, that is ‎the hundreth year of his life, Abraham came into the land of the Philistines, to Gerar. And ‎when they came unto the land Abraham said unto Sarah his wife: Whosoever will inquire of ‎thee concerning me, tell them I am thy brother so that I may be spared the wickedness of the ‎inhabitants of the land. And while Abraham was dwelling in the land of the Philistines the ‎servants of Abimelech, king of the Philistines saw Sarah and her great beauty and they made ‎inquiries of Abraham concerning her. And Abraham said: She is my sister. And the king's ‎servants informed their king saying: A man hath come to dwell in our land. And he cometh ‎from the land of Canaan, and he hath a sister which is exceedingly beautiful. And the king ‎hearing the words of his servants in praising Sarah's beauty, sent his servants and Sarah was ‎taken and brought before the king. And Sarah came into the house of Abimelech and the king ‎saw her beauty and she pleased him exceedingly. And approaching Sarah the king said unto ‎her: What is unto thee the man with whom thou comest hither into our land? And Sarah ‎replied: He is my brother and we came from the land of Canaan to make our dwelling ‎wherever we find a suitable place. And the king said to Sarah: Behold our land is before thee, ‎whichever part thereof seemeth best in thine eyes let thy brother dwell therein, and it shall ‎be my pleasure to make him great and exalted over all the earth since he is thy brother. And ‎Abraham was sent for by Abimelech and he came before the king. And the king said unto him: ‎Behold I have commanded that thou be honored throughout my lands and that all be done as ‎it pleaseth thee, for the sake of thy sister Sarah. And Abraham went from the presence of the ‎king and the king's presents soon followed him. And in the evening, at the time when people ‎go to lie down, the king sat upon his throne, and a deep sleep fell over him, and the king slept ‎upon his throne until morning. And he dreamed that an angel of God came unto him with a ‎drawn sword in his hand, and the angel stood before Abimelech and wanted to kill him with his ‎sword. And the king was greatly terrified in his dream, and the king said unto the angel: What ‎sin have I committed against thee that thou comest to kill me with thy sword? And the angel ‎replied, saying: Behold thou must die on account of the woman that thou hast taken into thy ‎house yesterday, for she is a married woman, and she is the wife of Abraham, who came into ‎thy house. And now, therefore, return thou the wife of that man unto her husband, and if ‎thou failest to do it know that thou shalt die, with all belonging to thee. And in the same night ‎a great crying was heard throughout the land of the Philistines, and all the inhabitants of the ‎land saw a tall man with a naked sword in his hands, and he smote the inhabitants of the land, ‎smiting them continually. And the angel of the Lord smote all the Philistines in that night, and ‎there was among them a great consternation that night and the next morning. And every ‎womb was closed against its issue, and the hand of God was upon them on account of Sarah, ‎whom Abimelech had taken.‎

(Gen. 20:1:) THEN ABRAHAM JOURNEYED FROM THERE TO THE LAND OF THE NEGEV. This text is related (to Job 14:18): AND YET A FALLING MOUNTAIN WILL CRUMBLE.⁹²M. Pss. 53:2; cf. Gen. R. 52:1ff. This is Sodom and its companion cities, as stated (in Gen. 19:23f.): THE SUN HAD RISEN UPON THE EARTH…. THEN THE LORD RAINED DOWN < UPON SODOM AND UPON GOMORRAH BRIMSTONE AND FIRE … AND HE DESTROYED THOSE CITIES >. R. Samuel bar Nahmani said: Woe to those wicked people because they cause a place of mercy to become a place of retribution. Wherefore, note how David gives praise⁹³Gk.: kalos. (in Ps. 148:1, 7f.): HALLELUJAH! PRAISE THE LORD FROM THE HEAVENS…. < PRAISE THE LORD … FIRE AND HAIL >…. But there is no fire there < in the heavens >, no hail, and no brimstone. Our colleague R. Ariste (citing Ps. 96:6) said: HONOR AND MAJESTY ARE BEFORE HIM. Where is there a place for retribution? From on earth, as stated (in Ps. 148:7) PRAISE THE LORD FROM THE EARTH, YOU SEA MONSTERS AND ALL OCEAN DEEPS. Ergo: < Retribution is > FROM THE EARTH. < Then > how can it be written (in Gen. 19:24): THEN THE LORD RAINED DOWN … < FROM THE LORD OUT OF THE HEAVENS > ? Simply to teach you < this >: From the beginning when they were created, the Holy One gave a decree concerning them and said to them: In accordance with how you shall see the creatures, so let it be done to them.⁹⁴Cf. Mark 4:24 & //s; Galatians 6:7f. A parable: To what is the matter comparable? To a caldron⁹⁵Gk.: miliarion; Lat.: miliarium. of gold. < Whoever > wanted warm water would find < some > within it. < Whoever > wanted it cold would take < some > out of it. < Whoever > wanted burning coals would take < some > out of it. So < also > the Holy One said to the heavens: Whatever you see, do. For the Sodomites and the children of Esau there would be brimstone and fire; for Israel, dew. Thus it is stated (in Micah 5:6 [7]): THEN THE REMNANT OF JACOB SHALL BE IN THE MIDST OF MANY PEOPLES, LIKE DEW. The Holy One said: What need do I have for these people? He immediately destroyed them, as stated (in Gen. 19:25): AND HE DESTROYED THOSE CITIES…. Ergo, it says (in Job 14:18): AND YET A FALLING MOUNTAIN WILL CRUMBLE, AND THE ROCK IS REMOVED FROM ITS PLACE. Now there is no rock but Abraham, as stated (in Is. 51:1f.): LOOK UNTO THE ROCK FROM WHICH YOU WERE HEWN … < LOOK UNTO ABRAHAM >. < He is the one > who journeyed from his place, as stated (in Gen. 20:1): THEN ABRAHAM JOURNEYED FROM THERE < TO THE LAND OF THE NEGEV >….