Vayeira 20:18 · unit 2

Parashas Vayeira · Passuk 20:18

The Complete Passuk

כִּֽי־עָצֹ֤ר עָצַר֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה בְּעַ֥ד כׇּל־רֶ֖חֶם לְבֵ֣ית אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ עַל־דְּבַ֥ר שָׂרָ֖ה אֵ֥שֶׁת אַבְרָהָֽם׃

For Hashem had completely closed up every womb of the house of Avimelech because of Sarah, Avraham’s wife.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Bava Kamma 92a.

TT lemma: בעד כל רחם.

Sefaria — Bava Kamma 92a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
בְּעַד כָּל רֶחֶם. אָמְרֵי דְּבֵי רַבִּי יַנַּאי, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁאֲפִלּוּ תַּרְנְגֹלֶת שֶׁל בֵּית אֲבִימֶלֶךְ לֹא הִטִּילָה בֵּיצָתָהּ.

English: “Every womb.” The school of Rabbi Yannai said: This teaches that even a hen of Avimelech’s household did not lay its egg.

On the daf / in context: The phrase is extended hyperbolically to show that the decree of closure affected every form of birth in the household, down to the animals.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The universal language is pressed to its extreme to illustrate the completeness of the decree.

What Is Learned

The closing was total: even the hens of Avimelech’s house ceased to lay eggs until Sarah was restored.