ציטירנדיקער פּירוש אויף בראשית 20:1

Nachmanides, in commenting on this whole paragraph, involving Yitzchak and Avimelech, writes: “this entire paragraph is full of allusions and foreshadows what would happen to the Jewish people when they would go into exile to the land of the Babylonians. Whereas the exile of Avraham into Egypt had been due to a famine, foreshadowing that his descendants would also descend there on account of a famine, this exile of Avraham to Gerar was voluntary (Genesis 20,1) “Avraham journeyed from there to the land of the South and settled between Kadesh and Shur and he sojourned in Gerar.”
The descent of Yitzchak to Gerar, as opposed to that of his father, was involuntary and occurred at the specific command of G’d. (verse 2) It therefore can serve as a preview of an exile to a land one’s fathers had come from. Just as Avraham had come from Babylonia before migrating to the land of Canaan, so when his or Yitzchak’s descendants would march into exile it was fitting that the place they would be exiled to would be the land they had originally come from.

AND ABRAHAM CAME. Rashi comments: “From Beer-sheba.” Now this does not mean to imply that Abraham remained in Beer-sheba — as is indicated in the verse, And Abraham abode at Beer-sheba,⁷Above, 22:19. for how then would Sarah have been in Hebron? Rather, the intent is to state that Abraham had gone to Beer-sheba for the day for some purpose, and while there he heard of the death of Sarah and came from there to Hebron to mourn and weep for her. However, the expression of our Rabbis is,⁸Bereshith Rabbah 58:5. “And Abraham came — from Mount Moriah.” This is in accord with the Midrash which the Rabbi [Rashi] previously cited⁹In his commentary to Verse 2. which states that hearing of the Binding [in which her son had been made ready for sacrifice and had indeed almost been sacrificed] her soul flew from her and she died.
It would appear that the Divine command concerning the Binding was delivered to Abraham in Beer-sheba for there he dwelt and he returned thereto after the Binding, for so it is written at the outset: And Abraham planted a tamarisk-tree in Beer-sheba and called there on the name of the Eternal, the Everlasting G-d.¹⁰Above, 21:33. It further states, And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.¹¹Ibid., Verse 34. This refers to his dwelling in Beer-sheba, which is in the land of the Philistines, and it is there that he was commanded concerning the Binding. It is for this reason that he expended three days on the journey to Mount Moriah,¹²Ibid., 22:4. for the land of the Philistines is distant from Jerusalem. On the other hand, Hebron is in the mountains of Judah, as Scripture testifies,¹³Joshua 20:7; 21:11. and is therefore near to Jerusalem. Thus, when coming from the Binding, he returned to Beer-sheba, as it is said, So Abraham returned to his lads and they rose and went together to Beer-sheba.¹⁴Above, 22:19. This teaches us that he tarried there and dwelled in Beer-sheba for a period of years. Now if this was the case, Sarah did not die during that period immediately following the Binding for it would not be that Abraham lived in Beer-sheba while Sarah dwelt in Hebron. And so it also appears since Isaac was born in Beer-sheba for it is previously written, And Abraham journeyed from there towards the land of the south and abode between Kadesh and Shur and sojourned in Gerar,¹⁵Ibid., 20:1. and Abimelech said to him, Behold, my land is before thee; abide where it is good in thine eyes.¹⁶Ibid., Verse 15. There in that land Abraham settled in the city of Beer-sheba, for so it is written, And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his host spoke unto Abraham, saying.¹⁷Ibid., 21:22. Though it is not written there that they came to him from Gerar, [as it is written in the case of Isaac],¹⁸Further, 26:26. from which you might infer that Abraham lived in Gerar, this is not the case. Scripture clearly states that it was in Beer-sheba that they made the covenant.¹⁹Above, 21:32. Similarly, you will see that when Hagar was sent away from the house of Abraham on the day that Isaac was weaned,²⁰Ibid., Verse 8. she walked in the desert of Beer-sheba,²¹Ibid., Verse 14. for it was there that they lived. However, after many days, he [Abraham] journeyed from the land of the Philistines and came to Hebron, and there the righteous woman Sarah passed away.
However, according to the Midrash [which states that Sarah died at the time of the Binding], we must say that Abraham and Sarah lived in Hebron at the time of the Binding, and there Abraham was commanded concerning it. The verse which states that On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes,¹²Ibid., 22:4. poses this difficulty: Since Hebron is near Mount Moriah, which is in Jerusalem, why did he not arrive at the mountain until the third day? The answer is as follows: The mountain which G-d had desired for His abode²²Psalms 68:17. A reference to the fact that in the future the Temple of Jerusalem was to be built on that mountain. See Ramban, above, 22:2. was not revealed to him until the third day. Thus for two days he wandered in the environs of Jerusalem, and it was not yet the Divine Will to indicate the mountain to him. After the Binding, Abraham did not return to his place in Hebron. Rather, he went first to Beer-sheba, the place of his tamarisk-tree, to give thanks for the miracle that befell him. It was there that he heard of the death of Sarah, and he came to Hebron. The two apparently divergent opinions — namely, that Abraham came from Mount Moriah and that he came from Beer-sheba — are thus one [since, as explained, on his way from Mount Moriah he went to the tamarisk-tree which was in Beer-sheba, there to give thanks for the miracle]. Accordingly, the verse which states, And Abraham abode at Beer-sheba,⁷Above, 22:19. is intended to indicate that upon his return from the Binding he went to Beer-sheba, and from there he went to bury Sarah. After the internment he immediately returned to Beer-sheba and settled there for years. Scripture, however, concludes the subject of Beer-sheba all at once, and following that it tells of the burial, [which explains the lack of chronology in the verse, And Abraham dwelt in Beer-sheba]. It was there in Beer-sheba that Isaac married Rebekah, as it says, For he dwelt in the land of the South,²³Further, 24:62. the locus of Beer-sheba. It is thus the opinion of all the commentators that Abraham was in another place, and it was from there that he came to the burial.
In my opinion, Sarah had a tent for herself and her attendants. And so it is written elsewhere into Jacob’s tent, and into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two maid servants.²⁴Ibid., 31:33. Sarah thus died in her tent, and Abraham came into her tent with a group of his friends to bewail her. [This is a simple explanation of the expression, and Abraham came.] It may be that the word vayavo (and he came) indicates that Abraham was bestirred to make this eulogy, and he began to make it, for all who bestir themselves to begin doing a certain task are spoken of in Hebrew as “coming to it.” This usage is quite common in the language of Sages, as we learn in Tractate Tamid:²⁵Tamid, IV, 3. “He came to the neck and left with it two ribs on either side…. He came to the left flank…. He came to the rump.” And also (you have) their expression,²⁶Bechoroth 20a. “I have not come to this principle.” In Scripture, likewise, you find, he came for his hire,²⁷Exodus 22:14. meaning that he came for the purpose of this work and did it for his hire. However, it does not appear to me feasible that Abraham came from another city to Hebron. If that were the case, Scripture would have mentioned that place and would have expressly written: “and Abraham heard, and he came from such and such a place.”

What is true of Leah and Yaakov is really true of all our Biblical heroes. The predicaments they faced did not come with facile solutions. When Avraham and Yitzchak vulnerably came to foreign nations accompanied by unusually beautiful wives (Bereshit 12:10-15, Bereshit 20:1-2 and Bereshit 26:6-7), there were no easy solutions. When Yosef had to deal with the jealousy of his holy brothers, there were also no easy solutions. The more we think about it, the more we will see that most of the choices faced by our ancestors were quite complex.

ימים רבים MANY DAYS (or, MORE DAYS) — More than those he sojourned in Hebron: in Hebron he had stayed 25 years and here 26. For he was 75 years old when he left Haran (Genesis 12:4), and of that same year it is said (Genesis 13:18) “And he came and dwelt by the terebinths of Mamre [which are in Hebron]” — for we do not find that he had settled down anywhere prior to settling there (at Hebron), since in every place where he went he was only like a traveller who pitches his camp and then goes on journeying, as it is said, (Genesis 13:12:6) “And Abraham passed on”; (Genesis 12:8) “And Abraham removed from thence”; (Genesis 12:10) “And there was a famine in the land and Abraham went down to Egypt”. In Egypt, too, he stayed only three months, for Pharaoh sent him away (Genesis 12:20). Immediately (Genesis 13:3) “He went on his journeys” until (Genesis 13:18) “He came and dwelt by the terebinths of Mamre which are in Hebron”. There he resided until Sodom was overthrown, and immediately afterwards (Genesis 20:1) “Abraham journeyed from thence” on account of the shame he felt at Lot’s doings and came to the land of the Philistines. He was then 99 years old, because it was on the third day of his circumcision that the angels came to him. Consequently you have 25 years from the time he settled in Hebron (the year he left his father’s house) until he came to the land of the Philistines. Now, here it is written that he sojourned in the land of the Philistines ימים רבים more days, which means more than the preceding days in Hebron. Scripture does not intend by these words to leave the number indefinite, but to state it explicitly, for if the “more days” exceeded the former period in Hebron by two years or more, it would have said so plainly, so that you must admit that the excess was only one year — that gives 26 years in the land of the Philistines. He immediately left there and returned to Hebron, and that year was 12 years before the Binding of Isaac. All this is explained in Seder Olam (See Note on Genesis 10:25).

יושב בארץ הנגב FOR HE DWELT IN THE LAND OF THE SOUTH, near to that well, as it is said, (Genesis 20:1) “And Abraham journeyed from thence towards the land of the South and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur”, and the well was there, as is said, (Genesis 16:14) “behold it is between Kadesh and Bered’’.