1 And Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.
2 There Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister;” so Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream, and said unto him, “Behold, you are but a dead man, because of the woman you have taken; for she is a man’s wife.”
4 Now since Abimelech did not come near her, he said, “Lord, would you really destroy a righteous nation?
5 Didn't he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister?’ and she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother?’ in the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands have I done this.”
6 And God said unto him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did it with a sincere heart, and therefore I have withheld your sin, and I have not allowed you to touch her.
7 Now therefore restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet; and he shall pray for you, and you shall live; and if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die; you, and all that are yours.”
8 And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears; and the men were very afraid.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said unto him, “What have you done to us? What have we done to offend you, that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? What you have done to us ought not to be done.”
10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, “What were you thinking, that you have done this thing?”
11 And Abraham said, “Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.
12 And moreover she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife:
13 and in those days when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is thy kindness which you shall show unto me: at every place we go, say of me, `He is my brother.`’”
14 And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and servants and handmaids, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored to him Sarah, his wife.
15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before thee: dwell where it pleases you.”
16 And unto Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, may it be appropriate compensation for him, such that he has been righted before all men.”
17 And when Abraham prayed to God; God healed Abimelech and his wife, and his handmaids, and they bore children;
18 for the LORD had closed up every womb of the house of Abimelech, on account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.
Selected commentary.
h.ויסע משם אברהם AND ABRAHAM JOURNEYED FROM THENCE—When he observed that the cities had been destroyed and travellers ceased to pass to and fro, he went away from there. Another explanation is: he journeyed from there to get away from Lot who had gained an evil reputation because of his intercourse with his daughters (Genesis Rabbah 52:3-4).
h.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).
h.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.
h.לא קרב אליה HE HAD NOT COME NEAR HER — The Angel prevented him, as it is said (v. 6) “I have not permitted thee to touch her” (cf. Genesis Rabbah 52).
h.הגוי גם צדיק תהרוג WILT THOU SLAY ALSO A RIGHTEOUS NATION? — Even though it be righteous will you slay it? Is such perhaps Your usual way— to destroy nations without cause? That is what you did to the generation of the Flood and to the generation of the Dispersal. I may indeed say that you slew them without proper cause, just as you think to kill me without cause (Genesis Rabbah 52:6).
h.גם הוא ALSO SHE HERSELF — The word “also” presupposes that others also said the same: it serves to include her servants, cameldrivers and assdrivers — all these I asked and they told me, “He is her brother” (Genesis Rabbah 52:6).
h.בתם לבבי IN THE INTEGRITY OF MY HEART — I did not intend to sin.
h.ובנקיון כפי AND IN THE INNOCENCE OF MY HANDS — I am innocent of this sin because I have not touched her.
h.'ידעתי כי בתם לבבך וגו I KNOW THAT IN THE INTEGRITY OF THY HEART etc. — It is true that at first you had no intention of sinning, but you cannot claim innocency of hands (Genesis Rabbah 52:6) — because לא נתתיך I PERMITTED THEE NOT — It was not of your own will that you did not touch her, but it was “I” who withheld you from sinning, and “I” did not permit you the possibility to touch her (Genesis Rabbah 52:7). Similar examples of נתן in sense of permitting are, (31:7) “God permitted him not (לא נתנו)” and (Judges 15:1) “But her father did not permit him (ולא נתנו) to go in”.
h.השב אשת האיש RESTORE THE MAN’S WIFE and do not think that she will be repulsive in his eyes and that he will not take her back or that he will hate you and will not pray for you
h.כי נביא הוא FOR HE IS A PROPHET and he knows that you have not touched her (Genesis Rabbah 52:8); therefore — ויתפלל בעדך HE WILL PRAY FOR THEE.
h.מעשים אשר לא יעשו THINGS THAT OUGHT NOT TO BE DONE — A plague such as does not ordinarily fall upon human beings has come upon us through you, viz, the closing up of all the secretory channels — those of semen, urine, excrement, of the ears and the nose (cf. Bava Kamma 92a).
h.רק אין יראת אלהים SURELY THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD — When a stranger arrives in a city do people ask him about what he would like to eat or to drink, or do they ask him about his wife—“Is this your wife?” or “Is this your sister?” (Bava Kamma 92a) (Surely if they ask at all, it is about his needs; if they ask regarding his relationship to the lady accompanying him, it is evidence that they are not God-fearing people!)
h.אחותי בת אבי היא SHE IS MY SISTER, THE DAUGHTER OF MY FATHER — And the daughter of the same father is permitted to be married to a descendant of Noah, for the paternal relationship is not taken into consideration in the case of the marriages between idolators (i.e. the “Sons of Noah”). He answered them in this way in order to bear out his former statement that she was his sister. If, however, you ask, “But was she not his brother’s daughter? (see chapter 11:29, and so she was granddaughter of Terah, Abraham’s father), then I reply, one’s children’s children are considered as one’s own children. Thus, too, did he say to Lot, (13:8) “For we are brethren” (although the relationship was that of uncle and nephew, as here it was that of uncle and niece).
h.אך לא בת אמי BUT NOT THE DAUGHTER OF MY MOTHER — For Haran (her father was born of a different mother than Abraham (Bava Kamma 92a).
h.'ויהי כאשר התעו אותי וגו AND IT CAME TO PASS WHEN GOD CAUSED ME TO WANDER etc. — Onkelos translates it in his own way, but it can be explained in another manner that is also appropriate: When the Holy One, blessed be He, brought me forth from my father’s house to be a nomad, wandering from place to place, I knew that I would traverse places where there are wicked people ואמר לה זה חסדך AND so I SAID UNTO HER THIS IS THY LOVINGKINDNESS [WHICH THOU SHALT SHOW UNTO ME].
h.כאשר התעו WHEN GOD CAUSED ME TO WANDER — The verb is in the plural. Do not be surprised at this for in many passages words denoting Godship or denoting Authority are grammatically treated as plural, e. g., (2 Samuel 7:23) “Whom God went (הלכו plural) to redeem”; (Deuteronomy 5:23) “the living (חיים adjective, plural) God”; (Joshua 24:19) “a Holy (קדושים adjective, plural) God”. So, too, the idea of Authority is expressed by the plural form, as (39:20) “And the master of (אדני construct plural) Joseph took him” and as (Deuteronomy 10:17) “Lord of (אדני) lords (האדנים)”, and (42:30) “the lord of (אדני) the land”; as well as (Exodus 22:14) “if its owner (בעליו) be with it”, and (Exodus 21:19) “and warning has been given to its master (בעליו)”. If you ask why does it here use the term התעו, I reply, anyone who is exiled from his home and has no settled abode may be styled תועה a wanderer (or “one moving about aimlessly”), as (21:14) “And she, Hagar, went and strayed about (ותתע) in the wilderness”; (Psalms 119:176) “I have gone astray (תעיתי) like a lost sheep”, and (Job 38:41) “they wander (יתעו) through lack of food”, i.e. they go out and wander about to seek their food.
h.אמרי לי means say regarding me (the ל of לי signifies על); similar are: (26:7) “And the men of the place asked לאשתו” where לאשתו is the same as על אשתו regarding his wife; (Exodus 14:3) “And Pharaoh will say לבני ישראל” where לבני is the same as על בני ישראל; (Judges 9:54) “That men say not (לי) regarding me, a woman slew him”.
h.ויתן לאברהם AND GAVE THEM UNTO ABRAHAM, so that he might he mollified and pray for him.
h.הנה ארצי לפניך BEHOLD MY LAND IS BEFORE THEE — But Pharaoh had said to him (12:19) “Behold thy wife, take her and go”, because he feared for Sarah’s safety since the Egyptians were addicted to lewd practices (see Rashi on this passage).
h.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
h.לך כסות עינים לכל אשר אתך SHALL BE UNTO THEE A COVERING OF THY EYES TO ALL WHO ARE WITH THEE — these will put a covering over the eyes of all who are with thee so that they shall not hold you in light esteem. But had I sent you back empty-handed, they might have said, “After he abused her he sent her back”; now, however, that I have had to lavish money and to mollify you they will understand that I have sent you back against my own will forced to do so by a miracle.
h.ואת כל AND WITH ALL — means and with all people in the world.
h.ונכחת AND THOU MAYEST FACE EVERY ONE — You will have an opening of the mouth (an opportunity) to defend yourself (להתוכח) and to point to these evident facts. This expression יכח in the Hiphil means everywhere making a thing plain; in old French éprouver; English to prove. Onkelos translated in a different manner, and the words of the text fit in with the Targum in the following way: Behold this shall be to you as a veil of honour on account of my eyes which have gazed upon (literally, ruled over) you and upon all who are with you; and that is why he translates it by: “because that I saw you and your people that are with you”. There are Midrashic explanations, but I have given the more exact meaning of the text.
h.וילדו AND THEY BROUGHT FORTH — Explain it as the Targum takes it: “and they were relieved” — their channels were opened (cf. 5:9) and they brought forth their secretions — and this is לידה “bringing forth”, as far as they are concerned.
h.בעד כל רחם GOD HAD CLOSED UP EVERY רחם — means had closed up every opening (of the body)
h.'על דבר שרה וגו BECAUSE OF (literally, by the word of) SARAH — at Sarah’s bidding (Genesis Rabbah 52:13).