Abraham and Abimelech

Sources

At that time Abimelech and Phicol, chief of his troops, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything that you do. Therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my kith and kin, but will deal with me and with the land in which you have sojourned as loyally as I have dealt with you.”

Genesis 21:22-23

Then Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What wrong have I done that you should bring so great a guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done to me things that ought not to be done. What, then,” Abimelech demanded of Abraham, “was your purpose in doing this thing?” “I thought,” said Abraham, “surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. And besides, she is in truth my sister, my father’s daughter though not my mother’s; and she became my wife…

Genesis 20:9-15

Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.

for יהוה had closed fast every womb of the household of Abimelech because of Sarah, the wife of Abraham.

Having mentioned the verses concerning the incident of Abraham and Abimelech, the Gemara explains other related verses. “For the Lord had obstructed [atzor atzar] all the wombs of the house of Abimelech” (Genesis 20:18). Rabbi Elazar says: Why are these two obstructions [atzor atzar] both stated? One is stated with regard to a man, that semen will not be discharged, and two are stated with regard to a woman, that semen will not be discharged from her, and that she will not give birth.…

Bava Kamma 92a:11-14

ויהי בעת ההיא, at the time Yitzchok was born, or at the time he was weaned. At any rate, Avraham was still in the land of the Philistines. This is why the Torah now reports Avimelech saying that he was interested in receiving assurances from Avraham. Had Avraham already left the land of the Philistines prior to this, the Torah would have had to report that Avimelech traveled to Avraham in order to suggest the treaty he wanted to conclude. When he had seen that a son had been born to Avraham, in his old age, and they saw that Sarah was the one who had given birth to him…

Radak on Genesis 21:22:1

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, 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.

Ramban on Genesis 20:2:1

וגם אמנה אחותי היא, "Moreover, she is in fact my sister." Here Abraham accuses Avimelech by exonerating himself also from the accusation of having lied. He implied that he never said that Sarah was not his wife! He had not deliberately misled G'd-fearing people. He had said that Sarah was his sister which did not preclude her from also being his wife. It was up to the Philistines to ascertain that she was not his wife if they were really G'd-fearing people. Perhaps Avimelech gave Abraham generous gifts because he accepted Abraham's rebuke…

Or HaChaim on Genesis 20:12:1

וגם אמנה, also you, the king himself, have sinned in taking the woman because I said she is my sister for you should have asked me if she was also my wife. The fact is that she is both my sister and my wife.

Sforno on Genesis 20:12:1

אלוקים עמך, seeing that G’d clearly is on your side I am afraid of you. I am not afraid of your personal strength, but of that of your G’d. This is why I ask you to swear to me. [so that you cannot appeal to G’d’s assistance in any grievance you would have against me. Ed.]

Sforno on Genesis 21:22:1

Do to me. When you inherit the land do not drive us out, but treat us with amity, just as we treated you.

Haamek Davar on Genesis 21:23:4

AND YET SHE IS MY SISTER, THE DAUGHTER OF MY FATHER. I know not the sense of this apology. Even if it were true that she was his sister and his wife, nevertheless when they wanted to take her as a wife and he told them, She is my sister, in order to lead them astray, he already committed a sin towards them by bringing upon them a great sin, and it no longer mattered at all whether the thing was true or false!
Perhaps it was because Abimelech said, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? meaning “What sin or wickedness have you seen in me that caused you to do…

Ramban on Genesis 20:12:1

What did you see. What caused you to fear me? — The Philistines of those days were civilized and honorable.

Haamek Davar on Genesis 20:10:2

To the Yevusi. The fortress of Tzion was called Yevus. [Its inhabitants] were from the descendants of Avimelech. They had two idols, one [depicting] a blind person and one [depicting] a lame person. They were made to represent Yitzhok and Yakov. [Placed] in their mouths was the oath Avrohom swore to Avimelech, This is why they were not displaced [from Tzion]. When Yerushalayim was conquored The tribe of Yehuda did not conquor the fortress [of Tzion], as the verse states, (Yehoshua, 15, 63)…

Rashi on II Samuel 5:6:1

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…

Radak on Genesis 20:2:1

NOW THEREFORE SWEAR UNTO ME HERE BY G-D ‘IM’ (IF) YOU WILL BE FALSE TO ME. The word im always expresses doubt — do not think of it in any other way — and it appears in most places in connection with an oath: If you will be false to me; And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli ‘im’ (if) the iniquity of Eli’s house shall be expiated; Once I have sworn by My holiness ‘im’ (if) I will be false unto David; ‘im’ (if) they should enter into My rest; And he was wroth, and swore, saying, ‘im’ (if) one of these men will see…

Ramban on Genesis 21:23:1

וישכם, he did not wait until the hour that kings normally rise from their beds seeing that his heart was trembling on account of the dream he had just experienced, in which G’d told him that he was in need of forgiveness and the prayer by the prophet even though he would restore Avraham’s wife to him. ויראו האנשים מאר, all his servants who had agreed with their king appropriating this woman, and who had praised her beauty in his ears. ויקרא, he wanted to hear Avraham’s arguments and to appease him so that he would forgive him and pray on his behalf…

Radak on Genesis 20:8:1-9:3

כי חפרתי את הבאר THAT I HAVE DIGGED THIS WELL —Abimelech’s herdsmen quarrelled about it, saying, “We have dug it”. They arranged amongst themselves that the well should belong to him who would show himself at the well together with his sheep and at whose approach the waters would rise, and they rose at the approach of Abraham and his sheep (Genesis Rabbah 54:5).

Rashi on Genesis 21:30:3

Avimelech’s servants. His ministers and officials. Had taken by force. Avraham was concerned not about the injustice done to him but about the lack of fear of Heaven on the part of Avimelech’s men and presumably Avimelech himself. How could he propose swearing in Hashem’s Name if he had no fear of Him?

Haamek Davar on Genesis 21:25:1

אם תשקור לי ולניני ולנכדי , “that you will not deal falsely with me nor with my son nor with my grandson.” Avimelech demanded two separate covenants. 1) That Avraham would not drive his children out of the land. 2) Avraham’s descendants should not destroy the fruit and produce belonging to the Philistines. This is why he added: ועם הארץ אשר גרת בה “and the land wherein you have dwelled.” Avraham acceded to both requests and said: “I swear an oath.” You should note that this was the first oath that is recorded in the Torah…

Rabbeinu Bahya, Bereshit 21:23:1

Relatedראו גם

Abraham and Sarah

Abimelech and Sarah

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