And Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. And an
angel came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him,
" Thou shalt die because of the woman which thou hast taken,
for she has a husband."

The Toldoth Yitzkhac asks : Why does it say of Pharaoh,
" And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house," and of
Abimelech it says, "And took Sarah," and does not say,
"■Into his house"! The answer is: Pharaoh was a greater
king than Abimelech and took Sarah on account of her great
beauty. He intended to make a great wedding feast before he
married her, and wanted (meanwhile) to make a show of his
great wealth ; therefore he placed her in the house of a great
prince. It states " Pharaoh's house," that is to say the house-
hold of Pharaoh, this means, his royal princes. But Abimelech
was a righteous man, and not so rich as Pharaoh. He took
Sarah because she was honourably connected, as it is said m
the text: "And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, she is my
sister," and therefore, "Abimelech sent and took Sarah," but
he took her not on account of her beauty, for she was now not



GENESIS XX. 2-4.
SO handsome as in the time of Pharaoh, because she was older,
and Abiraelech did not wish to make a great wedding feast,
and therefore he took her at once to be his wife.
4 And Abimekck did not come near her. The angel pre-
vented Abimelecli coming near her. Of Pharaoh there was
no need to state that he " did not come near her" because
she was not yet in his house, for she was in the house of a
prince.
