Vayeira 20:11 · EXTRA

Supplementary classical material; Torah Temimah lists no citation under this passuk.

The Complete Passuk

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אַבְרָהָ֔ם כִּ֣י אָמַ֗רְתִּי רַ֚ק אֵין־יִרְאַ֣ת אֱלֹהִ֔ים בַּמָּק֖וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וַהֲרָג֖וּנִי עַל־דְּבַ֥ר אִשְׁתִּֽי׃

Avraham said, “Because I said, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me on account of my wife.’”

Source Citation

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text

רַק אֵין יִרְאַת אֱלֹהִים. אַכְסְנַאי שֶׁבָּא לָעִיר, עַל עִסְקֵי אֲכִילָה וּשְׁתִיָּה שׁוֹאֲלִין אוֹתוֹ אוֹ עַל עִסְקֵי אִשְׁתּוֹ שׁוֹאֲלִין אוֹתוֹ? אִשְׁתְּךָ הִיא אוֹ אֲחוֹתְךָ הִיא?

English: “Surely there is no fear of God.” When a stranger comes to a city, do they ask him about matters of food and drink, or about matters of his wife — “Is she your wife or your sister?”

On the daf / in context: Avraham diagnoses the moral climate by the questions people ask a traveler: priority given to a woman’s status over basic hospitality signals absence of yir’as Elokim.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Rashi / Bavli) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The content of ordinary questions becomes diagnostic of a society’s fear of Heaven.

What Is Learned

A place that interrogates a guest about his wife before offering food reveals a deficit of fear of God; such an environment justifies protective measures.