Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Genesis 12:18/רמב"ן על בראשית י״ב:י״ח

אוַיִּקְרָא פַּרְעֹה לְאַבְרָם יִתָּכֵן כִּי בְּבוֹא הַנְּגָעִים פִּתְאוֹם עָלָיו וְעַל בֵּיתוֹ בְּעֵת אֲשֶׁר לֻקְּחָה שָׂרָה אֶל בֵּיתוֹ, הִרְהֵר בְּדַעְתּוֹ לֵאמֹר מַה זֹּאת עָשָׂה אֱלֹהִים לָנוּ, וְשָׁאַל אוֹתָהּ וְהִגִּידָה כִּי הִיא אִשְׁתּוֹ, וְלָכֵן קָרָא לְאַבְרָהָם וְהֶאֱשִׁים אוֹתוֹ. אוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ (ב"ר מא ב) שֶׁלָּקָה בְּרָאתָן שֶׁהַמִּשְׁגָּל קָשֶׁה לוֹ, וְחָשַׁשׁ כִּי שֶׁמָּא אִשְׁתּוֹ הִיא, וְאָמַר לוֹ בְּסָפֵק "מַה זֹּאת עָשִׂיתָ לִּי", לְהוֹצִיא מִפִּיו הָאֱמֶת, כִּי אִם הָיְתָה אֲחוֹתוֹ הָיָה אוֹמֵר אָמְנָם אֲחוֹתִי הִיא. וְאָמַר "וְעַתָּה הִנֵּה אִשְׁתְּךָ קַח וָלֵךְ" לִרְאוֹת מָה יְדַבֵּר וּמָה יָשִׁיב עַל תּוֹכַחְתּוֹ, וְאַבְרָהָם שָׁתַק מִמֶּנּוּ וְלֹא הֵשִׁיב אוֹתוֹ דָּבָר מֵרֹב פַּחְדּוֹ. אָז הֵבִין פַּרְעֹה כִּי הִיא אִשְׁתּוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר חָשַׁב וְצִוָּה עָלָיו פַּרְעֹה אֲנָשִׁים לְשַׁלְּחָם:

1AND PHARAOH CALLED ABRAM. It is possible that when the plagues suddenly came upon him and his house at the very time Sarah was taken to his house, he thought to himself, What is this that G-d hath done unto us?⁹⁷ And so he asked her, and she told him that she is Abraham’s wife. For this reason he called Abraham and accused him. Or it may be, as our Rabbis say,⁹⁸ that Pharaoh was smitten with a certain skin disease which is aggravated by intimacy with a woman. Therefore he suspected that perhaps she is Abraham’s wife, and so he said to him with uncertainty, What is this that thou hast done unto me?, in order to draw the truth from him. Were she his sister, he would say, “Indeed, she is my sister.” And Pharaoh further said to him, Now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.⁹⁴ He said this in order to see what he would say, and now he would answer his reproof. But Abraham remained silent and did not answer him a word out of his great fear. Then Pharaoh understood that she is his wife as he had suspected, and then Pharaoh commanded his men to send him away.