Remarkably, in response to Avimelech the king of Gerar’s protest over being punished for taking Sarah, Hashem confirms the king’s insistence that he had acted innocently, believing that Avraham and Sarah, as they had claimed, were brother and sister.

“I, too, knew,” Hashem tells Avimelech in a dream, “that it was in the innocence of your heart that you did this” (Beraishis, 20:6).

Which raises the question of why the king and his entourage were punished. The postscript to the narrative states that “For Hashem had shut every womb of Abimelech’s household, because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.”

Hashem prevented Avimelech from touching Sarah. So what grounds were there for punishment?

The answer may lie in what Avraham told Avimelech in explanation for having misled him: “Because I said ‘There is no fear of G-d in this place’ ” (ibid, 11).

Avraham had sensed a spirit of licentiousness in Gerar. And a leader of a country has the ability, and responsibility, to influence the mores of his society.

If the society evidences lack of “fear of G-d,” its leadership is implicated.

© 2026 Rabbi Avi Shafran