Endangering Sarai in Egypt/2

Endangering Sarai in Egypt

Exegetical Approaches

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Unaware of Danger

Avram did not recognize that going down to Egypt was going to endanger Sarai until it was too late.

Sources:Bavli Bava Batra16aAbout the Bavli, TanchumaLekh Lekha 5About the Tanchuma, RambamCommentary on the Mishnah Avot 5:17About R. Moshe Maimonides, RadakBereshit 12:11-17About R. David Kimchi, AbarbanelBereshit 12:10Bereshit 12:16About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel¹

Descent to Egypt – These commentators do not view Avram;'s leaving the land promised to him by Hashem as problematic since the severe conditions brought by the famine left him no choice.²  Both Radak and Abarbanel further stress that Avram only planned to move temporarily and was thus not rejecting Hashem's chosen land.

"הִנֵּה נָא יָדַעְתִּי..." – Most of these commentators assert that the word "נָא" here means "now".³ Avram had either truly never taken notice of Sarai's beauty beforehand⁴  or only appreciated it now, when contrasting Sarai with the Egyptians.⁵ It was thus, only on entry into Egypt, that Avram recognized that there was a danger.  Radak and Abarbanel maintain that had he known sooner, he would never have gone down.

"וְחָיְתָה נַפְשִׁי" – Radak explains that Avram thought that Sarai would be in worse danger if he were dead rather than alive.  Though the Egyptians might take her either way, Avraham's presence would shame them into minimizing their base actions, whereas his death would leave Sarai at the mercy of their whims.

Lying and leading Egypt to sin

Why a sister specifically?

"לְמַעַן יִיטַב לִי בַעֲבוּרֵךְ" - asking for riches? Radak explains that this clause is parallel to and defined by the immediately following one, "וְחָיְתָה נַפְשִׁי בִּגְלָלֵךְ".  It is inconceivable that Avram would desire to get rich off the shame of his wife.⁶  Moreover, he had no need of riches, being independently wealthy.  The only reason he even accepted the later gifts was due to fear of displeasing Paroh.⁷

Why punish Paroh?

Why does Avram repeat the actions in Gerar?

Preservation of Life Most Important

It was legitimate to put Sarai in potential danger if in so doing Avram's life was to be saved.

Sources:Iggeret Pirkoi b. BavoiGinze Shechter Part I, p. 19-20About Iggeret Pirkoi b. Bavoi (Ginze Shechter Part I, AbarbanelBereshit 12:10About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel⁸

Hoping to Protect Sarai

Avram had a plan which he hoped would protect both him and Sarai and had never intended to save himself at her expense.

Sources:Bereshit Rabbah40:5About Bereshit Rabbah, TanchumaLekh Lekha 5About the Tanchuma, RashiBereshit 12:10-14About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, Ba'alei HaTosafot, RanBereshit 12:11About R. Nissim Gerondi, AbarbanelBereshit 12:10Bereshit 12:16About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel, SefornoBereshit 12:13-16About R. Ovadyah Seforno, Ma'asei Hashem, ShadalBereshit 12:11-13About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto, R. S"R HirschBereshit 12:10-14About R. Samson Raphael Hirsch, MalbimBereshit 12:10-16About R. Meir Leibush Weiser, Hoil Moshe

Avram Sinned

Avram's actions in descending to Egypt and endangering Sari were problematic and Avram was punished for them.

¹ Abarbanel combines this approach with the others below.

² In explaining the necessity, Tanchuma and Abarbanel point to the harshness of the famine while Radak notes the many members of his household and the numerous cattle that Avraham had to provide for.  Abarbanel asserts that  that the verse emphasizes that Avram left only "כִּי כָבֵד הָרָעָב בָּאָרֶץ";  had the situation been less severe, Avram would not have gone down. After all, God's commandments were given to live by, not to die for.  To support this positive evaluation of Avraham's decision to leave the land, Abarbanel points to the discussion in  Bava Kama which sees Avram's actions as worthy of emulation.

³ Radak agrees that the word means "now" but suggests that in this case it is simply being used as a figure of speech (similar to its usage in Bereshit 19:2 and 18).  Thus, one should not conclude from this statement that Avram had never before recognized that his wife was beautiful.  For more about the usage of the word "נָא" in Tanakh see the lexical entry נָא.

⁴ Bava Batra, Tanchuma and Rambam understand the verse in this way, suggesting that due to Avram's great modesty he had never looked carefully at his wife.  Tanchuma suggests that he only did so now because he happened to see her reflection in a river, "shining like the sun".

⁵ See Radak and Abarbanel. Abarbanel asserts that until now Avram had not thought that there was anything extraordinary about Sarai's beauty since there were other women who were comparable to her in Canaan.  Only upon arrival in Egypt, when he found himself surrounded by "dark-skinned and ugly" people, did he realize that she might be deemed beautiful by the locals.

⁶ As evidence, he points to the story of Sedom, where Avram had legitimate rights to gifts and nonetheless refused them.

⁷ According to Abarbanel, even in the end Avram does not accept gifts from Paroh.  He asserts that the referent of the words, "וּלְאַבְרָם הֵיטִיב בַּעֲבוּרָהּ" is actually Hashem (mentioned in the next verse) and that the verb in the clause is a past perfect. The verses are saying that Hashem had previously given Avram wealth, due to Sarai's righteousness, and here too, He plagues Paroh on her behalf.

⁸ He combines this approach with others.