Parashat Vayera.

And the Lord appeared unto him. to visit the sick man. R. Hama the son of Hanina said: it was the third day after his circumcision and the Holy One, blessed be He, came and enquired after the state of his health (Bava Metzia 86b)

By the terebinths of mamré. It was he (Mamre) who advised him (Abraham) regarding the circumcision and therefore He revealed himself to him in his (Mamre’s) territory (Genesis Rabbah 42:8).

. literally, יֹשֵׁב WAS SITTING, The word is written ישב (without the ו) and therefore may be translated “he sat”: He wished to rise, but the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, Sit and I will stand. You shall form an example to your descendants, that I, in time to come, will stand in the assembly of the judges while they will sit, as it is said, (Psalms 82:1) “G-d standeth in the assembly of the judges” (Genesis Rabbah 48:7)

At the tent-door. that he might see whether anyone passed by, and invite him into the house

In the heat of the day. The Holy One, blessed be He, brought the sun out of its sheath that he might not be troubled by travellers, and when He perceived that he was grieved that no travellers came He brought to him angels in the form of men (Bava Metzia 86b).

And behold three men. one to announce to Sarah the birth of a son, one to overthrow Sodom, and one to cure Abraham, for one angel does not carry out two commissions (Genesis Rabbah 50:2). You may know that this is so because throughout this section it (Scripture) mentions them in the plural, “and they ate” (Genesis 18:8), “and they said unto him” (Genesis 18:9), whilst in the case of the announcement it states, (Genesis 18:10) “And he said, I will certainly return unto thee”, and with regard to the overthrow of Sodom it says (Genesis 19:22) “For “I” cannot do anything” and (Genesis 19:21) “that “I” will not overthrow [the city]”. Raphael who healed Abraham went thence to rescue Lot; that explains what is stated (Genesis 19:17) “And it came to pass when they had brought them forth, that he said, Escape for thy life”, for you learn from this that only one of these acted as Deliverer

Stood by. or OVER HIM, before him; only this is a more fitting expression to use of angels

And he saw. What does the repetition of this word וירא imply? The first time it has its ordinary meaning (“he looked”), the second that of understanding: he saw that they were standing in one spot, and so understood that they had no desire to cause him any trouble. Although they knew that he would go to meet them they nevertheless remained where they were out of respect to him and to show him that they wished to spare him trouble; he, therefore, took the initiative and ran towards them. In the Treatise Bava Metzia 86b we have the following: It is written, “they were standing by him” and it is also written “He ran towards them”, how can these apparently contradictory statements be reconciled? But the explanation is, that at first they stood by him and when they perceived that he was loosening and re-binding his bandages, they retired from him; he therefore immediately ran towards them.

And he said, my Lord, if now. etc., He addressed himself to the Chief of them; calling them all “lords”, (אדני may mean “my lords”), whilst to their Chief he said “Do not I pray thee pass away”, for he knew that if he would not pass by, his companions would certainly remain with him. In this explanation the word אדני has a “profane” sense (does not refer to G-d, being merely a term of address, “Sirs”) . Another explanation is that the word is “holy” (referring to G-d): he asked G-d to wait for him whilst he ran and invited the travellers. For although this is written after the words “and he ran to meet them”, yet the conversation took place beforehand. It, indeed, is the way of the Scriptures to speak in this manner as I have explained in my comment on “My spirit shall not strive” (Genesis 6:3) which is written after the passage. “And Noah begot” (Genesis 5:32) whereas it is impossible to say otherwise than that the decree of a respite of 120 years made in reference to this verse “My spirit shall not strive etc.” was twenty years before the birth of Noah’s sons.) Both these explanations of אדני are to be found in Genesis Rabbah 48:10 (see also Shevuot 35b).

Let be fetched, i pray thee. This implies bringing by a messenger: therefore did the Holy One, blessed be He, recompense his (Abraham’s) children by a messenger when they required water, as it is said, (Numbers 20:11) “And Moses lifted up his hand and smote the rock etc.” (Bava Metzia 86b)

And wash your feet. He thought they were Arabians who worship the dust of their feet, and he was particular not to have the object of idolatrous worship brought into his house (Bava Metzia 86b). Lot, however, who was not particular about this, mentioned “lodging” (i.e. entering the house) before “washing” the feet, as it is said (Genesis 19:2) “[And he said to the angels] tarry here all night and wash your feet.”

Under the tree. beneath the terebinth (Genesis Rabbah 48:11).

And sustain your hearts. In the Torah, the Prophets and the Hagiographa we find that bread is the sustenance of the heart. In the Torah. “[And I will fetch a morsel of bread] and sustain your heart.” In the Prophets: “Stay thy heart with a morsel of bread” (Judges 19:5). In the Hagiographa: “And bread that sustaineth man’s heart” (Psalms 104:15). R. Hama said: Here is not written לבבכם but לבכם thus teaching that the evil inclination has no power over angels (Genesis Rabbah 48:11)

. means after that, you may go away.

Forasmuch as ye have passed. For (כי) I ask you this thing because that (על כן) you have honoured me by calling at my place. כי] על כן] has the same meaning as על אשר “because that”. So, too, is the meaning wherever כי על כן occurs in Scripture, e. g., (Genesis 19:9) “For (כי) I ask you this because that (על כן) they have come under the shadow of my roof”; (Genesis 33:10)

. “For (כי) you ought to do this because that (על כן) I have seen thy face”; (Genesis 38:26) “for (כי) she has done right because that (על כן) I gave her not”; (Numbers 10:31) “for (כי) thou ought to accompany us because that (על כן) thou knowest how we are to encamp”.

Meal, fine flour. The fine flour (סלת) for the cakes, the meal (קמח) for the dough used by cooks to place over the pot to absorb the scum (Bava Metzia 86b).

A calf, tender and good. There were three calves so that he might give them to eat three tongues together with mustard condiment (Bava Metzia 86b).

To the young man. This was Ishmael whom he bade to do this in order to train him to the performance of religious duties (in this case the duty of hospitality) (Genesis Rabbah 48:13).

וַיִּקַּח חֶמְאָה.... וְלֶחֶם לֹא הֵבִיא, לְפִי שֶׁפֵּרְסָה שָׂרָה נִדָּה שֶחָזַר לָהּ אוֹרַח כַּנָּשִׁים אוֹתוֹ הַיּוֹם, וְנִטְמֵאת הָעִסָּה (בראשית רבה מח,יד; בבא מציעא פ"ז ע"א).

. is the fatty part of milk which is skimmed off its surface.

. literally, AND THE CALF WHICH HE HAD MADE, i.e. prepared. Whatever was ready first he brought and placed before them.

And they did eat. They appeared to be eating: from this we may learn that a man should not act differently from the prevalent custom (Bava Metzia 86b).

And they said unto him. The letters 'א' י' ו of the word אליו have dots over them (thus distinguishing these letters which form the word meaning “where is he”?). R. Simeon the son of Eleazar said: wherever you find in a particular word or phrase that the letters in ordinary writing are more numerous than those dotted, you should give a special interpretation to those in ordinary writing. Here the dotted letters are more than those in ordinary writing and you, therefore, give an explanation of the dotted letters, that of Sarah also, they asked, איו “where is he (Abraham)”? So we may learn that in his inn a man should enquire of the man (the host) as to his wife’s welfare and of the woman (the hostess) about her husband’s. In Treatise Bava Metzia (87a) it is stated: The ministering angels knew, indeed, where our mother Sarah was but they asked this question in order to call attention to her modesty (retiring disposition) and so to endear her all the more to her husband.) R. José the son of Haninah stated that they enquired where she was in order to send her the wine-cup of blessing (the glass of wine held by him who recites the Grace after meals)

Behold, in the tent. She is a modest woman.

. means at this time next year, it was the Passover, and on the next Passover Isaac was born, since we do not read כְּעֵת (at “a” time) but כָּעֵת (at this time).

. The words כעת חיה signify: at this time when there will be life to you, when you will all be healthy and alive.

שׁוֹב אָשׁוּב. לֹא בִשְּׂרוֹ הַמַּלְאָךְ שֶׁיָּשׁוּב אֵלָיו, אֶלָּא בִשְׁלִיחוּתוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם אָמַר לוֹ. כְּמוֹ: "וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ מַלְאַךְ ה' הַרְבָּה אַרְבֶּה" (לעיל טז,י), וְהוּא אֵין בְּיָדוֹ לְהַרְבּוֹת, אֶלָּא בִּשְׁלִיחוּתוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם. אַף כַּאן בִּשְׁלִיחוּתוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם אָמַר לוֹ כֵּן. [אֱלִישָׁע אָמַר לַשּׁוּנַמִית (מל"ב ד,טז): "לַמּוֹעֵד הַזֶּה כָּעֵת חַיָּה אַתְּ חוֹבֶקֶת בֵּן. וַתֹּאמֶר: אַל אֲדֹנִי אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים אַל תְּכַזֵּב בְּשִׁפְחָתֶךָ" – אוֹתָן הַמַּלְאָכִים שֶׁבִּשְּׂרוּ אֶת שָׂרָה אָמְרוּ "לַמּוֹעֵד אָשׁוּב"! אָמַר לָהּ אֱלִישָׁע: אוֹתָם הַמַּלְאָכִים שֶׁהֵם חַיִּים וְקַיָּמִים לְעוֹלָם אָמְרוּ "לַמּוֹעֵד אָשׁוּב" (להלן פסוק יד), אֲבָל אֲנִי בָשָׂר וָדָם שֶׁהַיּוֹם חַי וּמָחָר מֵת. בֵּין חַי וּבֵין מֵת – "לַמּוֹעֵד הַזֶּה..." (בראשית רבה נג,ב)].

And it. (literally, HE) WAS BEHIND HIM, The door was behind the angel.

חָדַל לִהְיוֹת. פָּסַק מִמֶּנָּהּ (בראשית רבה מח,טז).

אוֹרַח כַּנָּשִׁים. אוֹרַח נִדּוּת.

. [SARAH LAUGHED] WITHIN HERSELF (or, REGARDING HER INSIDE), She reflected on her physical condition, saying, “Is it possible that this womb shall bear a child, that these dried-up breasts shall give forth milk” (Midrash Tanchuma, Shoftim 18).

. means glistening flesh (skin), and so it is used in the Mishna (Menachot 86a): it makes the hair fall out and the skin smooth (מעדן).

. means SHALL I REALLY BEAR?

I being old. Scripture (G-d) in relating her words to her husband alters them for the sake of peace, for she had said (v. 12) “my lord is old” (Genesis Rabbah 48:18).

Is too hard?. As the Targum takes it: is anything hidden, far distant and apart (מופלא) from Me that I cannot do as I would wish?

At the appointed time. at the special time that I fixed for you yesterday (i.e. on a previous occasion) when I said, (17:21) “at this set time next year”.

For she was afraid… but thou didst laugh. The first כי is used in the sense of “because”, giving a reason for the former statement, Sarah denied … because she was afraid; the second כי is used in the meaning of “but”, “and He said, ‘It is not as you say that you did not laugh, but thou didst laugh’.” For our Rabbis say (Rosh Hashanah 3a) that the word כי has four meanings: “if”, “perhaps”, “but”, “because”.

[and the men] glanced. Wherever the Hiphil form of שקף occurs in the Scriptures it denotes taking notice for the purpose of bringing evil (Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Tisa 14), except (Deuteronomy 26:15) (a passage dealing with the tithe, including that given to the poor), “Look forth (השקיפה) from thy holy habitation . .. [and bless thy people] for so great is the power (virtue) of giving to the poor that it changes G-d’s anger into mercy.

. means TO ESCORT THEM, for he believed that they were travellers.

Shall i hide?. This is a question.

What i am doing. in Sodom. It is not proper for Me to do this thing without his knowledge. I gave him this land and these five cities therefore are his, as it is said, (10:19) “And the territory of the Canaanites was from Sidon … as thou goest towards Sodom and Gommorah etc.” I called him Abraham, the father of a multitude of nations; should I destroy the children without informing the father who loves me? (Genesis Rabbah 49:2)

Seeing that Abraham shall surely become. The Midrash applies to this the text Proverbs 10:7, “The mention of the righteous shall be for a blessing”: therefore, since He mentions him He blessed him (Genesis Rabbah 49:1). But its real meaning is: “Shall I conceal it from him, seeing that he is so beloved by Me as to become a great nation, and seeing that all nations of the earth shall bless themselves through him?”

For i know him. this is an expression denoting "affection", as (Ruth 2:1) "kinsman (מודע) of her husband," and (Ruth 3:2) “And is not Boaz our kinsman (מודעתנו), and (Exodus 30:17) “I have distinguished (ידעתיך) thee by name”. Still the primary meaning of these terms connected with the root ידע is really that of knowing, for whoever holds a person in affection attaches him to himself, so that he knows him well and is familiar with him. And why do I hold him dear?

He will command. This form of the verb (the imperfect) expresses frequentative action, as (Job 1.5) "This Job used to do" (יַעֲשֶׂה)

In order that [the Lord] may bring. Thus will he ever command his children saying “Keep the way of the Lord in order that the Lord may bring upon Abraham etc.” Since it does not say here “upon the house of Abraham”, but upon Abraham himself, we may infer that he who trains up a righteous son is as though he never dies (Genesis Rabbah 49:4).

And the Lord said. to Abraham, thus doing what he had said, that He would not conceal the matter from him.

Because it is great. Wherever רבה elsewhere occurs in Scripture the accent is on the last syllable, on the ב, because it is to be translated by “great” (adj.) or “becoming great” (participle), but this, here, has the accent on the first syllable, on the ר, because it is to be translated by “has already become great” (perf.), just as I have explained (15:17) “And it came to pass, that, when the sun had gone down (בָּאָה)” and (Ruth 1:15) “Behold, thy sister-in-law has gone back (שָׁבָה)”.

I will go down now. This teaches the judges that they should not give decisions in cases involving capital punishment, except after having carefully looked into the matter, all as I have explained in the section dealing with the dispersion of the nations (11:5). Another explanation of ארדה נא is: I will go down to the very end of their doings (I will fathom the depths of their wickedness).

Whether according to the cry of it. (literally, of her), i.e. the cry of the country (מדינה which is feminine).

Whether they have done [according to the cry of it] which is come unto me. If they persist in their rebellious ways, (כלה) an end will I make of them; if, however, they do not persist in their rebellious ways, I shall know what I shall do, punishing them only with suffering, but I will not make an end of them., A similar phrase we find elsewhere, (Exodus 33:5) “There- fore now put off thy ornaments from thee that I may know what to do unto thee”., For this reason there is a separation marked by a פסיק between עשו and כלה, in order to separate in sense one word from the other. Our Teachers explained the word הכצעקתה “the cry of her”, to refer to the cry of a certain girl whom they put to death in an unnatural manner because she had given food to a poor man, as is explained in the chapter Chelek (Sanhedrin 109b).

And [the men] turned from thence. from the place where Abraham had accompanied them.

But Abraham stood yet before the Lord. But surely it was not he (Abraham) who had gone to stand before Him, but it was the Holy One, blessed be He, Who had come to him and had said to him, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great” and it should therefore have written here, “And the Lord stood yet before Abraham”? But it is a variation such as writers make to avoid an apparently irreverent expression (Genesis Rabbah 49:7) (which our Rabbis, of blessed memory, altered, writing it thus).

And Abraham drew near. We find the verb ננש “to come near” used in the sense of coming near to wage war, (2 Samuel 10:13) “So Joab … drew near unto the battle”;, of coming near to persuade by entreaty, (44:18) “And Judah came near to him [and said, Oh, my lord]”, and of coming near to pray, (1 Kings 18:36) “And Elijah the prophet came near [and said, O Lord, G-d of Abraham etc.]” Abraham employed all these methods, to fight, by speaking stern words, and to persuade by entreaty, and to pray (Genesis Rabbah 49:8).

. means wilt Thou also destroy. But according to the Targum of Onkelos which translates it (the word האף) in the sense of anger, the explanation would be as follows: will Your anger urge you to destroy righteous with wicked?

Peradventure there be fifty righteous. ten righteous men for each city for there were five localities concerned. Should You, however, say that the righteous cannot save the wicked, but why should You kill the righteous at all?

Far be it from thee. It is a profanation (חולין) of Yourself. People will say, “That is what He usually busies Himself with: He destroys every one, righteous and wicked alike”, and thus did You indeed do to the generation of the Flood and to that of the dispersal of nations (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 8).

Anything like this thing. neither this nor anything like it (Genesis Rabbah 49:10).

It is unworthy of thee. in the world to come.

Shall not the judge of all the earth [do justice]?. The 'ה of השופט is punctuated with Chataph Patach because the words express a question: “Should not He who is Judge practice true justice”?

If i find in sodom … forgive all the place. all the cities, but because Sodom was the capital city of the district and the most important of all, Scripture subordinates the order cities to it.

. means I am willing to speak, just as (Exodus 2:21) “And Moses was pleased (ויואל) [to dwell with the man]”.

. I Am BUT DUST AND ASHES, I would long ago have been reduced to dust by the kings and to ashes by Nimrod had it not been that Thy mercies stood by me (Genesis Rabbah 49:11).

Wilt thou destroy on account of the five. Will there not still be nine for each city, and You, the All-Righteous One of the Universe, can be counted with them to make up the original number of ten! (Genesis Rabbah 49:9).

Peradventure there shall be forty found there. then let four cities be saved; so, too, let thirty save three of them and twenty save two of them or ten save one of them.

. means I am willing to speak, just as (Exodus 2:21) “And Moses was pleased (ויואל) [to dwell with the man]”.

Peradventure there shall ten be found there. For a smaller number he did not plead because he knew already of two instances where less than ten had failed to save the wicked. He said to himself: In the generation of the Flood there were eight righteous people, viz., Noah, his sons and their wives, and they could not save their generation (Genesis Rabbah 49:13), and for nine in association with G-d he had already pleaded but had found no acceptance.

And the Lord went away. As soon as the counsel for the defence had nothing more to say the Judge took his departure.

And Abraham returned unto his plage. The Judge departed, the Advocate went away, but the Prosecutor continued his accusation, and on that account, ויבואו שני המלאכים סדומה “The two angels came to Sodom” to destroy it (Genesis Rabbah 49:14).

Two. One to destroy Sodom, the other to rescue Lot, it was he who had come to heal Abraham, whilst the third, who had come to make the announcement to Sarah, had departed as soon as he had carried out his mission (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 8).

Angels. But elsewhere (Genesis 18:2) Scripture calls them men! When the Divine Presence was with them, it speaks of them as men. Another explanation is: in connection with Abraham whose power to receive heavenly visitors was great and whom angels visited as regularly as men, it calls them men, but in connection with Lot it calls them angels (Genesis Rabbah 50:2).

At eventide. Did it, however, take the angels such a long time to travel from Hebron to Sodom? But they were angels of mercy and so they tarried, perhaps Abraham would succeed in his advocacy for them (Genesis Rabbah 50:1).

And lot was sitting in the gate of sodom. The word is written without a ו so that it may be read יָשַׁב (he sat), because that day they had appointed him as their judge (Genesis Rabbah 50:3).

And lot saw them. etc., From the practice in Abraham’s house he had learned to look out for strangers (Genesis Rabbah 50:4).

Behold now, my lords. Behold now you are my lords since you have passed by me. Another explanation is: Behold now you should be careful with respect to these wicked people that they should not observe you, and, therefore this is the good advice that I give you, viz.:

נא. take a circuitous route to my house, a round-about way, that people should not notice you entering it. For this reason he said: סורו turn aside (Genesis Rabbah 50:4).

And lodge over night and lave your feet. Is it then customary for people first to tarry all night and then to wash? Furthermore, Abraham began by saying to them, “Wash your feet”!, But this is what Lot thought: If when the men of Sodom come they see that they have already washed their feet, they will make a charge against me saying, “Two or three days have already elapsed since these come to your house and you did not report it to us”, consequently he said: it is better that they should stay here with the dust on their feet so that they would seem to have just arrived. On this account he first said to them, “Lodge over night”, and afterwards “Wash [your feet]” (Genesis Rabbah 50:4).

And they said, nay. But to Abraham they had said, “So do [as thou hast said]”! Hence we may infer that one may readily decline an invitation from an inferior but one should not so readily decline an invitation from a superior (Genesis Rabbah 50:4).

But we will abide in the street. Here כי is used in the sense of but; they said: We will not turn aside into your house but we will abide in the street of the city all night.

And they turned aside unto him. They took a circuitous route towards his house (Genesis Rabbah 50:4).

And he baked unleavened bread. It was Passover (Genesis Rabbah 48:12).

. The following explanation is given in Genesis Rabbah 50:5: Before they lay down, the men of the city were a topic of conversation (literally, were in the mouths of the angels), for they asked Lot about their character and doings, and the latter replied that most of them were wicked. They were still speaking about them, 'ואנשי סדום וגו “when the men of Sodom etc.” However the real sense of the text is: The men of the city, wicked men, compassed the house. Because they were wicked he designates them as “men of Sodom”, just as Scripture said, (Genesis 13:13) “And the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners”.

All the people from every quarter. from one end of the city to the other end, and no-one protested, for there was not even one righteous person amongst them (Genesis Rabbah 50:5).

וְנֵדְעָה אוֹתָם. בְּמִשְׁכַּב זָכָר, כְּמוֹ (להלן פסוק ח): "אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדְעוּ אִישׁ" (בראשית רבה נ,ה).

. is the same as האלה THESE.

For as much as they have come. For (כי) this kindness please do out of respect to me because that (על כן) they have come בצל קורתי UNDER THE SHADOW OF MY ROOF., In the Targum this is given by בטלל שרותי: the Targum (Aramaic) for קורה (a beam) is שרותא.

And they said, step back. Get you away over there, as much as to say, Take yourself aside and keep away from us. Similarly wherever the word הלאה occurs in Scripture it has the meaning of further away. For example: (Numbers 17:2) “Scatter (הלאה) yonder”; (1 Samuel 20:22) “Behold the arrows are beyond thee (הלאה)” Thus גש הלאה signifies, withdraw yourself further away (old French Retire-toi de nous). It is an expression of contempt, signifying, “we do not take any notice of you!” Of a similar character are: (Isaiah 65:5) “Stand by thyself (אל תגש בי) come not near unto me”, and (Isaiah 49:20) גשה לי “Give place to me that I may dwell” which means “withdraw aside for my sake (לי) that I may dwell where you are now”., They really meant to say to Lot: “You intercede for these strangers; how dare you!” In reply to what he had said to them regarding his daughters they answered: “Get out of the way”, a somewhat gentle expression, whilst with regard to his advocacy for the strangers they retorted, האחד בא לגור THIS MAN CAME TO SOJOURN, You are the only strange man amongst us, for you have come to sojourn here, וישפוט שפוט and you make yourself a Reprover of us!

גֶּשׁ הָלְאָה. לְשׁוֹן נַחַת. וְעַל שֶׁהָיָה מֵלִיץ עַל הָאוֹרְחִים:

הָאֶחָד בָּא לָגוּר. אָדָם נָכְרִי יְחִידִי אַתָּה בֵינֵינוּ, שֶׁבָּאתָ לָגוּר,

וַיִּשְׁפּוֹט שָׁפוֹט. וְנַעֲשֵׂיתָ מוֹכִיחַ אוֹתָנוּ?

The door. This term דלת signifies the wooden frame-work which swings round on hinges to close and open the entrance (cf. Verse 11).

The door. (literally, opening), This means the hollow space (opening) through which people go in and out.

. This is an attack of blindness (cf. Yoma 28b)

From small to great. The small had begun this wrongdoing, as it is said, (Genesis 19:4) “both young and old”, therefore the punishment started with them (Genesis Rabbah 50:8).

Whom hast thou yet here. The evident sense of the verse is: whom else have you in this city besides thy wife and daughters who are at home with you.

Son-in-law, thy sons and thy daughters. If you have a son-in-law, sons or daughters take them out of this place.

Thy sons. means the sons of your married daughters. The Midrashic explanation of עוד YET is: since they have perpetrated so disgraceful an act, can you yet be so bold (more literally, “can you yet open your mouth”) to speak in defence of them?, for the whole night through he had been talking in favor of them. To obtain this explanation you must read: עוד מי לך פֶּה Have you yet a mouth! (instead of פֹּה here) (Genesis Rabbah 50:5).

Sons- in-law. he had two married daughters in the city (Genesis Rabbah 50:9).

Those who were marrying his daughters. those to whom his daughters at home were betrothed (Genesis Rabbah 50:9).

They urged [lot]. as the Targum takes it, “they pressed”, i.e. they hurried him.

Who are here. (literally, who can be found), who are ready at hand in the house to be rescued. There is a Midrashic explanation also, but this is the proper way to explain the text.

. means [LEST] THOU BE MADE AN END OF. The words (Deuteronomy 2:14) עד תום כל הדור “until all the generation were completely ended” are translated by Onkelos: עד דסף כל דרא (the same root סף as in our text).

But he lingered. in order to save his property.

And the men laid hold [upon his hand]. One of these was commissioned to rescue him whilst his fellow was to overthrow Sodom; that is why it is stated (v. 17) “And he said, escape”, and it is not stated “And they said” (Genesis Rabbah 50:11).

Escape for thy life. Let it suffice you to save your lives; do not give a thought to your possessions.

Look not behind thee. You sinned with them but art saved through the merit of Abraham. It is not fitting that you should witness their doom whilst you yourself are escaping (Genesis Rabbah 50:11).

In all the plain. the plain of the Jordan (cf. Genesis 13:11).

Escape to the mountain. Flee to Abraham who is dwelling in the mountain, as it is said, (Genesis 12:8) “And he removed his tent thence unto the mountain”. He was still dwelling there, as it is said, (Genesis 13:3) “[And he went unto] … the place where his tent had been at first”, and although it is stated (Genesis 13:18) “And Abraham moved his tent etc.”, he had many tents and they stretched as far as Hebron.

Escape. it means “slipping away” and similarly wherever this root מלט occurs in the Scriptures; in old French émisser. Examples are: (Isaiah 66:7) “she was delivered of (המליטה) a man child” i. e. the embryo slipped out of the womb; (Psalms 124:7) “[Our soul] is escaped (נמלטה) like a bird”; and (Isaiah 46:2) “They could not deliver (מלט) the burden”, i.e. discharge (make slip out) the burden of excrement in their bowel-passages.

Oh not so, my Lord. Our Rabbis said, that this name (Lord) is holy (i. e. refers to G-d; Shevuot 35b), since it is said regarding him (i.e. regarding the one who was addressed by this name) (v. 19) “[and thou hast magnified thy mercy …] in keeping alive my soul”. Therefore it must refer to Him who has the power to kill or keep alive. Indeed the Targum renders it, “I beg of thee, O Lord)”

Oh not so. do not tell me to escape to the mountain.

. This word is used when a request is being made.

[i cannot escape to the mountain,] lest some evil cleave unto me. Whilst I was with the people of Sodom the Holy One, blessed be He, compared my deeds with the deeds of the people of my city and I seemed to be righteous and deserving to be saved. When, however, I come to the righteous man (i.e. Abraham whom Rashi v. 17 stated to be dwelling in the mountain) I must be regarded as wicked. Thus, too, did the woman of Zarefath say to Elijah, (1 Kings 17:18) “Art thou come to bring my sin in remembrance?” Before you came to me the Holy One, blessed be He, compared my doings with the doings of my people and I was regarded as a righteous woman amongst them, but now that you have come to me, in comparison with your deeds, I am wicked (Genesis Rabbah 50:11).

This city is near. Its settlement as a city is near in point of time, it has been populated quite recently and therefore its measure is not yet filled (Shabbat 10b). And how recent was its settlement? It dated from the generation of the Dispersal of Nations, when mankind was scattered and men began to settle down each in his own place. This took place in the year when Peleg died, and from that time until now was fifty-two years, because Peleg died when Abraham was 48 years old. How is this? Peleg lived after he begat Reu 209 years (11:19): deduct from this number the 32 years that Reu was old when Serug was born (v. 22) and the 30 from the birth of Serug until the birth of Nahor (v. 22) giving 62, and from the birth of Nahor until Terah was born (v. 24) 29, giving 91, and from then until Abraham’s birth 70, giving a total of 161. Add 48 years of Abraham’s life and you have the 209. That was the year of the Dispersion. When Sodom was destroyed Abraham was 99 years old, so that from the Generation of the Dispersal (in the 48th year of Abraham’s life) until this time was 52 years. The colonisation of Zoar took place one year later than that of Sodom and its sister cities. To this fact reference is made in the words אמלטה נא “let me escape נא” i.e. let me escape to the city which is (נ''א (51 in numerical value.

Is it not small?. Are not its sins but few, so that you can let it alone.

So that my soul may live?. This is the Midrashic explanation (Shabbat 10b). The real meaning of the verse is: It is a small city with few inhabitants; you therefore need not be particular about leaving it alone, so that my soul may live in it.

Concerning this thing also. Not only will you be saved, but I will also save the whole city for Your sake.

. means I OVERTHROW, just as (48:5) “until I come (בואי) , and (16:13) “after I have seen (רואי)” and (Jeremiah 31:19) “whenever I speak (דברי) of him)”.

For i cannot do [any thing]. This admission of their powerlessness was the angels’ punishment for having said, (v. 13) “For we will destroy the city”, attributing the act to themselves; therefore they could not go away from there (i. e., the incident could not close) until they were compelled to admit that the thing was not in their power) (Genesis Rabbah 50:9).

For i cannot do any thing. The pronoun is singular number. This proves that one was to overthrow the city and the other to deliver, for two angels are not sent on the same mission.

Therefore the name of the city was called zoar. with reference to Lot’s words (v. 20) “And it is (מצער) a little one”.

And the Lord caused to rain. Wherever it is said 'וה “And the Lord”, it means He and His Celestial Court (Genesis Rabbah 51:2).

He caused it to rain on sodom. When the morning broke), as it is said, (v. 15) “And when the morning dawned”, i. e. the time when the moon is in the sky together with the sun. As some of them worshipped the sun and others the moon, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “If I punish them by day, the moon-worshippers may say, “If it had taken place at night when the moon rules we would not have been destroyed.” And if I punish them by night the sun-worshippers may say, “If it had taken place at day time when the sun rules we would not have been destroyed.” For this reason it is written, “And when the morning dawned”, He punished them at that time when both moon and sun are ruling (Genesis Rabbah 50:12).

He rained brimstone and fire. At first it was rain (מטר) to see whether they would repent and this was then turned into brimstone and fire (Midrash Tanchuma, Beshalach 15).

From the Lord. This is the Scriptural way of speaking (the Lord rained … from the Lord); e. g., (4:23) “Ye wives of Lamech” and he did not say “my wives”. Thus, too, did David say, (1 Kings 1:33) “Take with you the servants of your lord” and he did not say, “my servants” and so, too, did Ahasuerus say, (Ester 8:8) “in the king’s name” and did not say, “in my name”. So, also, here: “From the Lord” and He did not say, “from Him” (Genesis Rabbah 51:2).

From heaven. The text (Job 36:31) refers to this: “For by them (the heavens; see the preceding verses) He judges the peoples etc.” When G-d is about to punish mankind He brings upon them fire from heaven, just as He did to Sodom (cf. 5:32 of the same chapter); and when he caused the Manna to fall it was also from heaven (cf. the second half of 5:31) as it is said, (Exodus 16:4) “Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you” (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 10).

And he overthrew. [THOSE CITIES] etc., The four cities were situated on one rock and He turned them upside down, as it is said, (Job 28:9) “He putteth forth His hand upon the flinty rock [and overturneth the mountains by the roots]” (Genesis Rabbah 51:4).

And his wife looked back from behind him. behind Lot.

And she became a pillar of salt. By salt had she sinned and by salt was she punished. He (Lot) said to her once: “Give a little salt to these strangers” and she answered him, “Do you mean to introduce this bad custom, also, into our city?” (Genesis Rabbah 50:4).

. signifies a column of smoke. old French torche; English torch.

A furnace. an excavation in which they burn stone to lime. This is the meaning of כבשן wherever it occurs in the Torah.

G-d remembered Abraham. What bearing has G-d’s remembering Abraham upon the rescue of Lot? He remembered that Lot knew that Sarah was Abraham’s wife and that when he heard that Abraham said in Egypt regarding Sarah, “She is my sister”, he did not betray him because he had sympathy with him. For this reason G-d had mercy upon him (Lot) (Genesis Rabbah 51:6).

For he feared to dwell in zoar. because it was near to Sodom.

Our father is old. And if not now, when? He may die or may cease to beget children.

And there is not a man in the earth. They thought that the whole world had been destroyed as in the time of the generation of the Flood. (Genesis Rabbah 51:8).

And they made their father drink. [WINE] etc., Wine was at hand for them in the cave out of a set purpose that they might bring forth two nations (Midrash Tanchuma, Beshalach 12).

And she lay with her father. In the case of the younger daughter it is written (Genesis 19:35) “and she lay with him”, and it does not state “she lay with her father”. But because the younger did not originate this unchaste conduct but her sister taught it to her, Scripture glosses over her sin and does not explicitly make mention of her shame; but since the elder originated this unchaste conduct Scripture exposes her fully (Numbers Rabbah 20:23).

Nor when she arose. This word where it occurs with reference to the elder sister (Genesis 19:33) has dots above it (as though it is not written at all), implying that when she arose, he (Lot) was aware of it, and yet he did not take care on the second night to abstain from wine. (Horayot 10b.) R. Levi said, Whoever is inflamed by sexual desire will, in the end, be made to eat his own flesh (Genesis Rabbah 51:9).

וַתַּהֲרֶיןָ.... אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵין הָאִשָּׁה מִתְעַבֶּרֶת מִבִּיאָה רִאשׁוֹנָה, אֵלּוּ שָׁלְטוּ בְעַצְמָן וְהוּצִיאוּ עֶרְוָתָן לַחוּץ, וְנִתְעַבְּרוּ מִבִּיאָה רִאשׁוֹנָה (בראשית רבה נא,ט).

Moab. This daughter who was immodest openly proclaimed that the son was born of her father (מֵאָב) but the younger named her child in a euphemistic fashion and was rewarded for this at the time of Moses, as it is said regarding the children of Ammon, (Deuteronomy 2:19) “Do not contend with them”, in any manner at all, whereas in reference to Moab it (Scripture) only forbade waging war against them but permitted them (the Israelites) to vex them (Genesis Rabbah 51:11).

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).

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).

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 G-d being taken, and in reference to (אל) her father-in-law”, where the word אל, in both cases, has the same meaning as על.

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).

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).

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).

In the integrity of my heart. I did not intend to sin.

And in the innocency of my hands. I am innocent of this sin because I have not touched her.

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) “G-d permitted him not (לא נתנו)” and (Judges 15:1) “But her father did not permit him (ולא נתנו) to go in”.

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

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.

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).

Surely there is no fear of G-d. 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 G-d-fearing people!)

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).

But not the daughter of my mother. For Haran (her father was born of a different mother than Abraham (Bava Kamma 92a).

And it came to pass when G-d 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].

וָאוֹמַר לָהּ זֶה חַסְדֵּךְ.

When G-d (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 G-d went (הלכו plural) to redeem”; (Deuteronomy 5:23) “the living (חיים adjective, plural) G-d”; (Joshua 24:19) “a Holy (קדושים adjective, plural) G-d”. 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 21:29) “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.

. 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”.

And gave them unto Abraham. so that he might he mollified and pray for him.

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).

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

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.

And with all. means and with all people in the world.

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.

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.

G-d had closed up every רחם. means had closed up every opening (of the body)

Because of. (literally, by the word of) SARAH, at Sarah’s bidding (Genesis Rabbah 52:13).

And the Lord visited Sarah. It (Scripture) places this section after the preceding one to teach you that whoever prays for mercy on behalf of another when he himself also is in need of that very thing for which he prays on the other’s behalf, will himself first receive a favorable response from G-d, for it is said (at end of last chapter), “And Abraham prayed for Abimelech and his wife and they brought forth” and immediately afterwards it states here, “And the Lord remembered Sarah”, i. e. he had already remembered her before he healed Abimelech (Bava Kamma 92a).

He remembered Sarah as he said. He remembered her by granting her pregnancy.

[he did to Sarah] as he had spoken. by granting her the birth of a son (Pesikta). Where are the expressions “saying ״ and “speaking” used respectively in regard to these? “Saying” is mentioned in the verse (17:19) “And G-d said (ויאמר): “nay, but Sarah, thy wife” etc.;, “Speaking“ is mentioned in (15:1) “And the word (דבר “speaking”) of the Lord came to Abraham”, and this was when He made the Covenant between the Pieces where it was stated, “This man (Eliezer) shall not be thine heir, [but one who shall be born from thee shall be thine heir],” and He brought forth this heir from Sarah.

And the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. means, spoken to Abraham.

[בֵּן לִזְקֻנָיו. שֶׁהָיָה זִיו אִקּוּנִין שֶׁלּוֹ דּוֹמֶה לוֹ (בראשית רבה נג,ו).]

. Render it as Onkelos translates: “At the appointed time which He had spoken:, the time He had said and appointed. When He had said to him (18:4) “At the set time I will return unto thee”, He scratched a mark in the wall and said to him (Genesis 53:6), “When the sunrays touch this mark next year she will bear a son” (Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 59:1).

[לַמּוֹעֵד אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר. רַבִּי יוּדָן וְרַבִּי חָמָא, רַבִּי יוּדָן אוֹמֵר: מְלַמֵּד שֶׁנּוֹלַד לְתִשְׁעָה חֳדָשִׁים, שֶׁלֹּא יֹאמְרוּ: מִבֵּיתוֹ שֶׁל אֲבִימֶלֶךְ הוּא. וְרַבִּי חָמָא אוֹמֵר: לְשִׁבְעָה חֳדָשִׁים.]

. means will rejoice on my account. The Midrashic statement is (Genesis Rabbah 53:8): Many barren women were remembered together with her, many sick were healed in that day, many prayers were answered with hers and there was great rejoicing in the world.

. The word מי is used as an exclamation of praise alluding to the distinguished position of the Being spoken of. The sense therefore is: See, Who it is, and to what extent He keeps his promise! The Holy One, blessed be He, promises and performs!

Said. Scripture employs here an unusual expression and does not use דבר, said, because its numerical value (i. e. of מלל) is one hundred, signifying as much as: Who was it who spoke in reference to the end of one hundred years of Abraham’s life (Genesis Rabbah 53:9).

That Sarah will have suckled children. What is the force of the word “children”, in the plural? On the feast-day princesses brought their children with them and she (Sarah) gave them suck, for these women said, “Sarah has not given birth to a son; she has brought into her house a foundling from the street” (Bava Metzia 87a).

And he was weaned. at the expiration of twenty- four months (Gittin 75b).

A great feast. it is so designated because the great men of that generation were present at it (Genesis Rabbah 53:10), Shem, Eber and Abimelech (Tanchuma Yashan, Vayishlach 23).

Making sport. This means worshipping idols, as it is said in reference of the Golden Calf, (Exodus 32:6) “And they rose up to make merry (לצחק).” Another explanation is that it refers to immoral conduct, just as you say in reference to Potiphar’s wife, (Genesis 39:17) “To mock (לצחק) at me.” Another explanation is that it refers to murder, as (2 Samuel 2:14) “Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and make sport (וישחקו) before us” (where they fought with and killed one another) From Sarah’s reply, “for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son״, you may infer that he (Ishmael) was quarrelling with Isaac about the inheritance, saying, “I am the first-born and will, therefore, take a double portion”. They went into the field and he (Ishmael) took his bow and shot arrows at him (Isaac), just as you say (Proverbs 26:18-19) “As a madman who casteth firebrands, [arrows and death] and says: I am only מצחק mocking” (Genesis Rabbah 53:11).

[עִם בְּנִי.... מִתְּשׁוּבַת שָׂרָה "כִּי לֹא יִירַשׁ בֶּן הָאָמָה הַזֹּאת עִם בְּנִי", אַתָּה לָמֵד שֶׁהָיָה מֵרִיב עִם יִצְחָק עַל הַיְרֻשָּׁה וְאוֹמֵר: אֲנִי בְּכוֹר וְנוֹטֵל פִּי שְׁנַיִם. וְיוֹצְאִים לַשָּׂדֶה, וְנוֹטֵל קַשְׁתּוֹ וְיוֹרֶה בוֹ חִצִּים, כְּמָה דְאַתְּ אָמַרְתְּ (משלי כו,יח-יט): "כְּמִתְלַהְלֵהַּ הַיּוֹרֶה זִקִּים... וְאָמַר הֲלֹא מְשַׂחֵק אָנִי" (בראשית רבה נג,יא).]

With my son, with Isaac. For since this is my son, even though he were not as good as Isaac really is, or if he were as good a man as Isaac really is, even though he were not my son, this one (Ishmael) is not deserving of inheriting with him: how much less is he deserving of inheriting with my son, with Isaac, with one who possesses both these qualities (of being my son and of being the good man Isaac) (Genesis Rabbah 53:11).

On account of his son. because he heard that he had taken to degenerate ways (Exodus Rabbah 1:1). The real meaning, however, is because she (Sarah) had told him to send him away.

Hearken unto her voice. we may infer that Abraham was inferior to Sarah in respect of prophecy (Exodus Rabbah 1:1).

Bread and a bottle of water. but not silver and gold, because he hated him for taking to degenerate ways (Exodus Rabbah 1:1).

And the child. the child, too, he placed on her shoulder, for Sarah had cast an evil eye upon him, so that a fever seized him and he could not walk (Genesis Rabbah 53:13).

And she went and wandered. she reverted to the idol worship of her father’s house (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 30).

And the water was spent. because it is the nature of sick people to drink much (Genesis Rabbah 53:13).

. means some distance away.

As it were a bowshot. about two bowshots (since the first word is really plural) (Genesis Rabbah 53:13). The word signifies shooting an arrow, we find it so used in the Mishna (Sanhedrin 46a). If you say that it should have been written כמטחי קשת (since the root is טחה) then I say that it is quite regular for a ו to be inserted in these forms as (Song 2:14) “in the clefts (בחגוי) of the rock”, where בחגוי is of the same derivation as חגא in (Isaiah 19:17) “And the land of Judah shall become a breach (לחגא) to Egypt” and of the same derivation as יחוגו in (Psalms 107:27) “They reeled (וחוגו) to and fro and staggered like a drunken man”. Similar, also, is (Psalms 65:6) “The ends of (קצוי) the earth” which is of the same derivation as ,קצה, end.

She sat at a distance. (this is the second time that it is so said), now that he came nearer to death she moved further away from him.

The voice of the lad. From this we may infer that the prayer of a sick person is more effective than the prayer offered by others for him and that it is more readily accepted (Genesis Rabbah 53:14).

Where he is. According to the actions he is now doing shall he be judged and not according to what he may do in future. Because the ministering angels laid information against him, saying, “Master of the Universe, for him whose descendants will at one time kill your children with thirst will You provide a well?” He asked them, “What is he now, righteous or wicked?” They replied to him, “Righteous.” He said to them, “According to his present deeds will I judge him.” This is the meaning of what is written: “[For G-d hath heard the voice of the lad ] באשר הוא שם in that condition in which he now is” (Genesis Rabbah 53:14). Where did he (Ishmael) kill Israel with thirst? When Nebuchadnezzar carried them into exile, as it is said, (Isaiah 21:13, 14) “The burden upon Arabia … O ye caravans of Dedanites, unto him that is thirsty bring ye water! etc.” When they were bringing them near the Arabians the Israelites said to their captors, “We beg of you bring us to the children of our uncle, Ishmael, who will certainly show pity to us”, as it is said, “O ye caravans of the Dedanites (דדנים)”; read not דדנים but דודים, kinsmen., These indeed came to them bringing them salted meat and fish and water-skins inflated with air. The Israelites believed that these were full of water and when they placed them in their mouths, after having opened them, the air entered their bodies and they died (Eichah Rabbah 2:4).

An archer. One who shoots arrows by a bow.

. (This is the explanation of רבה קַשָּׁת he is so designated after his occupation, that of a bow-man, just as חַמָּר denotes one who is an ass driver, גַּמָּל a camel driver, צַיָּד a huntsman; consequently the ש has a Dagesh (which distinguishes all these forms)., He used to live in the wilderness and rob travelers. It is to this the statement refers, (15:12) ידו בכל “his hand shall be against everyone, etc.”

From the land of Egypt. from the place where she was brought up, as it is said (16:1) “And she (Sarah) had an Egyptian handmaid [whose name was Hagar]”. That is what the popular proverb says: “Throw a stick into the air and it will fall back to (literally, stand on) its element” (Genesis Rabbah 53:15).

G-d is with thee. They said this because they saw that he had left the locality of Sodom safely, that he had fought against the kings and that they had fallen into his hand, and that his wife had been remembered in his old age (Genesis Rabbah 54:2).

Nor with my son nor with my son’s son. thus far extends a man’s pity for his descendants (Genesis Rabbah 54:2).

According to the kindness that i have done unto thee thou shalt do unto me. viz., that I said to you. (Genesis 20:15) “Behold my land is before thee”.

And [Abraham] reproved. it means he argued with him about it.

. (supply the word זאת), IN ORDER THAT this (where this, a feminine form in a neuter sense, as is usual in Hebrew, refers to the incident just recorded).

May be unto me as a witness. The word עדה means witness in reference to a previous feminine form (in this case to זאת, this, which word Rashi supplied), just as (31:52) “And the pillar is a witness” (עדה the feminine form to correspond with the feminine noun מצבה, whereas the preceding words are עד הגל הזה “this heap is a witness” where עד is masc to agree with Gal.

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).

[and Abraham planted an] אשל. Rab and Samuel differ as to what this was. One said it was an orchard from which to supply fruit for the guests at their meal. The other said it was an inn for lodging in which were all kinds of fruit (Sotah 10a). And we can speak of planting an inn for we find the expression planting used of tents, as it is said, (Daniel 11:45) “And he shall plant the tents of his palace”.

And he called there. etc., Through this Eshel the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, was called “G-d of the entire Universe”. For after they had eaten and drunk he said to them, “Bless Him of whose possessions you have eaten! Do you think that you have eaten of what is mine? You have eaten of that which belongs to Him Who spake and the Universe came into existence” (Sotah 10a).

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).

After these things. [or, WORDS], Some of our Rabbis say (Sanhedrin 89b) that it means after the words of Satan who denounced Abraham saying, “Of all the banquets which Abraham prepared not a single bullock nor a single ram did he bring as a sacrifice to You ’. G-d replied to him, “Does he do anything at all except for his son’s sake? Yet if I were to bid him, “Sacrifice him to Me”, he would not refuse”. Others say that it means “after the words of Ishmael” who boasted to Isaac that he had been circumcised when he was thirteen years old without resisting. Isaac replied to him, “You think to intimidate me by mentioning the loss of one part of the body! If the Holy One, blessed be He, were to tell me, “Sacrifice yourself to Me” I would not refuse” (Sanhedrin 89b).

Here am i. Such is the answer of the pious: it is an expression of meekness and readiness (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22).

Take now. The word נא is used as a request: G-d said to him, “I beg of you, stand firm for me in this trial, so that people may not say that the previous trials were no real tests” (Sanhedrin 89b).

Thy son. Abraham said to G-d, “I have two sons”. “He answered him, “Thine only son”. Abraham said, “This one is the only son of his mother and the other is the only son of his mother”. G-d then said, “the one whom thou lovest”. Abraham replied, “I love both of them”. Whereupon G-d said “even Isaac”. Why did He not disclose this to him at the very first? So as not to confuse him suddenly lest his mind become distracted and bewildered and in his confused state he would involuntarily consent, when there would have been no merit in his sacrifice, and so that he might more highly value G-d’s command and that G-d might reward him for the increasing sacrifice demanded by obedience to each and every expression used here (Genesis Rabbah 55:7).

The land of moriah. This is Jerusalem, and so we find in Chronicles (2 Chronicles 3:1) “To build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah”. Our Rabbis have explained that it is called Moriah, Instruction, because from it (i.e. from the Temple built on that mountain) instruction הוראה came forth to Israel (Genesis Rabbah 55:7). Onkelos translates it by “the land of the Divine Service”. He takes it as having reference to the offering of incense brought in the Temple on Moriah in which there were myrrh (מור) nard and other spices.

And offer him. (literally, bring him up), He did not say, “Slay him”, because the Holy One, blessed be He, did not desire that he should slay him, but he told him to bring him up to the mountain to prepare him as a burnt offering. So when he had taken him up, G-d said to him, “Bring him down” (Genesis Rabbah 56:8).

One of the mountains. The Holy One, blessed be He, first makes the righteous expectant and only afterwards discloses fully to them his intention, and all this in order to augment their reward. Similarly we have (Genesis 12:1) “[Go to] the land which I will show thee”, and similarly in the case of Jonah 3:2 “Make unto it the proclamation which I shall bid thee” (Genesis Rabbah 55:7).

And he rose early. He was alert to fulfil the command (Pesachim 4a)

And he saddled [his ass]. He himself: he did not order one of his servants to do so, for love disregards the rule imposed on one by his exalted position in life. (“Love” here means Love of G-d as displayed in obedience to His command.) (Genesis Rabbah 55:8)

His two lads. Ishmael and Eliezer. For a man of high standing should not travel without two men as attendants (Leviticus Rabbah 26:7) so that if one needs to ease himself and goes aside for this purpose the other will still remain with him (Midrash Tanchuma, Balak 8)

And he cleaved [the wood]. Its rendering in the Targum וצלח has the same meaning as the verb in (2 Samuel 19:18) And they rushed into the Jordan”, which signifies cleaving the waters; old French fendre; English to split.

On the third day. Why did G-d delay and not show it to him at once? So that people should not say, “He confused and confounded him suddenly and bewildered his mind. If, however, he had had time for consideration, he would not have obeyed” (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22).

And he saw the place. He saw a cloud lowering over the mountain (Genesis Rabbah 56:1).

Yonder. meaning a short distance: to the place in front of us. The Midrashic explanation (based upon the meaning of כה “thus”) is: I will see where will be (i.e. what will happen to) the promise which G-d made to me, (Genesis 15:5) “Thus (כה) shall thy seed be” (Genesis Rabbah 56:2).

And we will come back. He prophesied that they would both return (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 22).

. means a knife. It is called מאכלת from אכל to eat, because it devours the meat, just as you say, (Deuteronomy 32:42 “And my sword shall devour (תאכל) flesh”, or because it makes animal flesh fit for eating (מאכלת) (by killing the animal; because while the animal is living its flesh is unfit for eating). Another explanation: זאת נקראת This knife is called מאכלת (and the term is never used of an ordinary knife) because Israel still eats of the reward given for it (Genesis Rabbah 56:3).

And they went both of them together. Abraham who was aware that he was going to slay his son walked along with the same willingness and joy as Isaac who had no idea of the matter.

. this means as much as: He will look out for and choose a lamb for Himself, and if there will be no lamb for a burnt offering, then, בני MY SON will be the offering. Although Isaac then understood that he was travelling on to be slain, yet.

לְעוֹלָה בְּנִי. וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהֵבִין יִצְחָק שֶׁהוּא הוֹלֵךְ לְהִשָּׁחֵט,

They went both of them together. with the same ready heart (Genesis Rabbah 56:4).

And he bound. his hands and feet behind him. Hands and feet tied together is what is meant by עקידה “binding”. It is associated in meaning with עקודים in (Genesis 30:35) “[she-goats] that were streaked”, whose ankles were streaked white so that the place where they are bound could be plainly seen.

Abraham, Abraham. The repetition of his name is an expression of affection (Genesis Rabbah 56:7).

Lay not thine hand. [UPON THE LAD] to slay him. Then he (Abraham) said to G-d, “If this be so, I have come here for nothing; let me at least inflict a wound on him and draw some blood from him”. G-d replied, “Neither do thou anything (מאומה) to him”, inflict no blemish (מום) on him (Genesis Rabbah 56:7).

אַל תַּעַשׂ לוֹ מְאוּמָה. אַל תַּעַשׂ בּוֹ מוּם (בראשית רבה נו,ז).

For now i know. R. Aba said: Abraham said to G-d, “I will lay my complaint before you. Yesterday (on an earlier occasion) you told me, (Genesis 21:12) “In Isaac shall seed be called to thee”, and then again you said, (Genesis 21:2) “Take now thy son”. Now you tell me, “Lay not thy hand upon the lad”! The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, in the words of Psalms 89:35, “My covenant will I not profane, nor alter that which is gone out of My lips”. When I told you, “Take thy son”, I was not altering that which went out from My lips, namely, My promise that you would have descendants through Isaac. I did not tell you “Slay him” but bring him up to the mountain. You have brought him up, take him down again” (Genesis Rabbah 56:8).

For now i know. From now I have a reply to give to Satan and to the nations who wonder at the love I bear you: I have an opening of the mouth (i.e. I have an excuse, a reason to give them) now that they see that you are a G-d-fearing man (Genesis Rabbah 56:7).

Behold, a ram. It was predestined for that purpose from the six days of Creation (Avot 5:5; Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 23).

After. the angel had said to him “Lay not thy hand upon the lad” he saw it being caught in the thicket. And that is what we mean when we translate it in the Targum by “And Abraham lifted up his eyes after these (i.e. after these words)”. Other versions of Rashi have: according to the Midrashic explanation, after means after all the words of the angel and the Shechinah, and after all the arguments of Abraham.

In a thicket. a tree.

By its horns. because it was running towards Abraham, but Satan caused it to be caught and entangled among the trees (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 31).

In the stead of his son. Since it is written, “He offered it up for a burnt offering”, surely nothing is missing in the text; what then is the force of “in the stead of his son”? At every sacrificial act he performed on it he prayed saying, “May it be Thy will that this act may be regarded as having been done to my son, as though my son is being slain; as though his blood is being sprinkled; as though his skin were being flayed; as though he is being burnt and is being reduced to ashes” (Genesis Rabbah 56:9).

. Its real meaning is as the Targum renders it: The Lord will choose and select for Himself this place to make His Shechinah reside in it and for sacrifices to be offered there.

As it is said to this day. In the generations to come people will say of it,” On this mountain the Holy One, blessed be He, shows Himself to His people.”

This day. the future days, with the same meaning as עד היום הזה “even until this day” wherever it occurs in the entire Scriptures: that all future generations who read this passage will refer the phrase “even unto this day” to the day in which they live. The Midrashic explanation is: May G-d see this Binding of Isaac every year to forgive Israel and to save them from punishment, so that it may be said “in this day”, in all future generations, “there are seen in the mountain of the Lord” the ashes of Isaac heaped up as it were and serving as a means of atonement (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayera 23).

I will surely bless thee. The double use of the term “bless” is intended to signify a blessing for the father and a blessing for the son (Genesis Rabbah 56:11).

And i will greatly multiply. once for the father, and once for the son (Genesis Rabbah 56:11).

And Abraham dwelt at beer-sheba. This does not mean really dwelling there but merely staying there on his way home, because he was, as a matter of fact, living at Hebron. Twelve years before the Binding of Isaac he had left Beer-Sheba and had gone to Hebron, as it is said, (21:34) “And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days”, i.e. exceeding in number the earlier days when he had resided at Hebron, altogether 26 years, as we have explained above (21:34).

After these things. [IT WAS TOLD ABRAHAM] etc., When he returned from Mount Moriah Abraham was pondering and he said, “If my son had really been slain, he would have died without children! I must marry him to one of the daughters of Aner or Eshcol or Mamre”. The Holy One, blessed be He, therefore had the announcement made to him that Rebecca, the one fit to be his (Isaac’s) consort, had been born. This is what is meant by “after these things or words”, namely, “after the words” that expressed the thoughts aroused by the Binding of Isaac (Genesis Rabbah 57:3).

הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה. הִרְהוּרֵי דְבָרִים שֶׁהָיוּ עַל יְדֵי הָעֲקֵדָה (בראשית רבה נז,ג).

She also. She also had a number of families equal in all respects to those which Abraham was to have, namely, twelve, and just as in the case of Abraham, of the twelve tribes born of Jacob) eight were the children of the principal wives and four those of the hand-maids, so here, also, eight were sons of the principal wife and four were sons of the concubine (Genesis Rabbah 57:3).

And bethuel begat rebecca. The entire genealogical record is given only for the sake of this verse (i. e. to lead up to this verse).