Comentário sobre Gênesis 20:16

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.