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Lest because you are still held by error, you should take no thought of justice, and having learned that she has become my wife, you might attempt to kill me on account of your desire for her. Do not think, therefore, that I have lied in this way. For she is my sister from my father, but not from my mother; and she became my wife. Therefore, do not condemn me. For if the fear of death brought me into this necessity, and the fear that you might kill me on her account and take her for yourselves, nevertheless what I have said is not in this way a lie. Having said these things, the just man both calmed the king’s anger, and revealed his own virtue, and instilled in them sufficient teaching of piety. The king, therefore, revering the great forbearance of the just man, repays the patriarch with his own generosity. For it says, Abimelech took a thousand didrachmas, and sheep, and calves, and male and female servants, and gave back to him Sarah his wife. Have you seen the resourceful wisdom of God? For he who feared death, and did everything so that he might be able to escape it, not only escaped death, but was also deemed worthy of such great confidence, and suddenly becomes famous. For such are the things from God; he not only frees from sorrows those who strive to nobly endure the approaching temptations, but he also provides such gladness in the sorrows themselves, that we have complete forgetfulness of them, and come to be in a great abundance of good things; such as also happened in the case of this just man. For not only does he honor him with so many gifts, but he also gives him the authority of dwelling in his land. For behold, he says, my land is before you; wherever it pleases you, dwell. For since he learned that his life was granted to him on account of him and his prayers, he hastens to thus attend to the stranger, the wanderer, the one known from nowhere, as a benefactor and guardian. And it happened, when Abraham had reached extreme old age, wanting to separate Isaac from kinship with the Canaanites, so that he might not take a wife from there, having called his most loyal servant, he commands him concerning this, and says: Put your hand on my thigh, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell in 63.663 them, but you shall go to my land, where I was born, and to my tribe, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. Have you seen the command of the patriarch made to the servant? Consider how in ancient times they made it their concern, not seeking an abundance of money, nor much wealth and slaves and so many acres of land, nor the beauty of outward appearance, but they sought the beauty of the soul and nobility of character. But the patriarch, caring for the virtue of the soul, and fleeing the wickedness of the locals, does this; but all people now would never tolerate thinking of such a thing, but even if she is full of ten thousand evils, they seek one thing only, the abundance of money, and all other things are considered secondary by them; not knowing that, when the mind is corrupted, even if unspeakable wealth flows in, one will more quickly return to extreme poverty, and there will be no benefit from the abundance, when there is not a soul capable of managing these things properly. So the servant, having taken the camels, and from all the goods of his master, rose up and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor the brother of Abraham, and he rested the camels outside the city by the well of water; and he said, Lord, the God of my master Abraham, grant me success before me today, and show mercy to my master Abraham; and behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants are coming out to draw water; and it shall be, the maiden to whom I shall say, ‘Lower your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says to me, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels, until they have all finished drinking’; this is the one you have prepared for

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μήποτε διὰ τὸ ἔτι τῇ πλάνῃ ὑμᾶς κατέχεσθαι, οὐδεμίαν τοῦ δικαίου πρόνοιαν ποιῆσθε, καὶ μαθόντες αὐτὴν γυναῖκά μου γεγενῆσθαι, διὰ τὴν περὶ ταύτην ἐπιθυμίαν ἐμὲ ἀνελεῖν ἐπιχειρήσητε. Μὴ οὖν νομίσητέ με καὶ οὕτως ἐψεῦσθαι. Καὶ γὰρ ἀδελφή μού ἐστιν ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐκ μητρός· ἐγενήθη δέ μοι εἰς γυναῖκα. Μὴ τοίνυν καταγνῶτέ μου. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ὁ φόβος τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ἀνάγκην με ταύτην κατέστησε, καὶ τὸ δεδοικέναι μήποτε διὰ ταύτην ἐμὲ μὲν ἀποκτείνητε, ταύτην δὲ περιποιήσησθε, ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐδὲ οὕτως ἐστὶ ψεῦδος τὸ παρ' ἐμοῦ εἰρημένον. Ταῦτα εἰπὼν ὁ δίκαιος, καὶ τὸν θυμὸν τοῦ βασιλέως κατεμάλαξε, καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν ἀρετὴν ἐξεκάλυψε, καὶ ἀρκοῦσαν αὐτοῖς διδασκαλίαν θεοσεβείας ἐνέθηκεν. Αἰδεσθεὶς τοίνυν ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ δικαίου τὴν πολλὴν ἐπιείκειαν, τῇ οἰκείᾳ φιλοτιμίᾳ ἀμείβεται τὸν πατριάρχην. Ἔλαβε γὰρ, φησὶν, Ἀβιμέλεκ χίλια δίδραχμα, καὶ πρόβατα, καὶ μόσχους, καὶ παῖδας καὶ παιδίσκας, καὶ ἀπέδωκεν αὐτῷ Σάῤῥαν τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ. Εἶδες τὴν εὐμήχανον τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίαν; Ὁ γὰρ περὶ τοῦ θανάτου δεδοικὼς, καὶ πάντα ποιῶν ὥστε δυνηθῆναι τοῦτον διαφυγεῖν, οὐ μόνον τὸν θάνατον διέφυγεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοσαύτης ἠξίωται παῤῥησίας, καὶ περιφανὴς ἀθρόον γίνεται. Τοιαῦτα γὰρ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ· οὐ μόνον τῶν λυπηρῶν ἐλευθεροῖ τοὺς γενναίως ἀντέχειν πρὸς τοὺς ἐπιόντας πειρασμοὺς σπουδάζοντας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοσαύτην ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς λυπηροῖς παρέχει τὴν εὐφροσύνην, ὡς καὶ λήθην αὐτῶν ἡμᾶς ἔχειν παντελῆ, καὶ ἐν πολλῇ γίνεσθαι τῇ τῶν ἀγαθῶν περιουσίᾳ· οἷον καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ δικαίου τούτου γέγονεν. Οὐ μόνον γὰρ τοῖς τοσούτοις δώροις αὑτὸν τιμᾷ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἐξουσίαν αὐτῷ δίδωσι τῆς ἐν τῇ γῇ αὐτοῦ κατοικήσεως. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἡ γῆ μου ἐναντίον σού ἐστιν, οὗ ἐάν σοι ἀρέσκῃ, κατοίκει. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἔμαθεν ὅτι δι' ἐκεῖνον καὶ τὰς ἐκείνου προσευχὰς ἡ ζωὴ αὐτῷ κεχάρισται, ὡς εὐεργέτην λοιπὸν καὶ κηδεμόνα τὸν ξένον, τὸν ἀλήτην, τὸν οὐδαμόθεν γνώριμον, οὕτω θεραπεύειν ἐπείγεται. Καὶ ἐγένετο, ἡνίκα πρὸς ἔσχατον γῆρας ἤλασεν Ἀβραὰμ, βουλόμενος τὸν Ἰσαὰκ τῆς τῶν Χαναναίων συγγενείας ἀπαλλάξαι, ἵνα μὴ ἐκεῖθεν ἀγάγηται γυναῖκα, καλέσας τῶν οἰκετῶν τὸν εὐνούστερον, ἐντέλλεται αὐτῷ περὶ τούτου, καί φησι· Θὲς τὴν χεῖρά σου ἐπὶ τὸν μηρόν μου, καὶ ἐξορκιῶ σε Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῆς γῆς, ἵνα μὴ λάβῃς γυναῖκα τῷ υἱῷ μου Ἰσαὰκ ἀπὸ τῶν θυγατέρων Χαναναίων, μεθ' ὧν ἐγὼ κατοικῶ ἐν 63.663 αὐτοῖς, ἀλλ' εἰς τὴν γῆν μου, οὗ ἐγεννήθην, πορεύσῃ καὶ εἰς τὴν φυλήν μου, καὶ λήψῃ γυναῖκα τῷ υἱῷ μου ἐκεῖθεν. Εἶδες τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ πατριάρχου τὴν πρὸς τὸν οἰκέτην γενομένην; Ἐννόησον ὅπως τὸ παλαιὸν ἐποιοῦντο σπουδὴν, οὐ χρημάτων ζητοῦντες περιουσίαν, οὐ πολὺν πλοῦτον καὶ ἀνδράποδα καὶ πλέθρα γῆς τόσα καὶ τόσα, οὐ τοῦ ἔξωθεν κάλλους τὴν εὐμορφίαν, ἀλλὰ τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ κάλλος ἐπεζήτουν καὶ τρόπων εὐγένειαν. Ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν πατριάρχης τῆς κατὰ ψυχὴν ἀρετῆς ἐπιμελούμενος, καὶ φεύγων τῶν ἐγχωρίων τὴν πονηρίαν, τοῦτο ποιεῖ· οἱ δὲ νῦν ἅπαντες οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἀνάσχοιντο τοιοῦτόν τι ἐννοῆσαι, ἀλλὰ κἂν μυρίων ᾖ κακῶν ἀνάμεστος, ἒν μόνον ἐπιζητοῦσι, τῶν χρημάτων τὴν περιουσίαν, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα δεύτερα αὐτοῖς νενόμισται· οὐκ εἰδότες, ὅτι γνώμης διεφθαρμένης οὔσης, κἂν ἄφατος ἐπιῤῥέῃ πλοῦτος, θᾶττόν τις εἰς ἐσχάτην πενίαν ἐπανήξει, καὶ οὐδὲν ὄφελος ἔσται τῆς περιουσίας, οὐκ οὔσης τῆς οἰκονομεῖν ταῦτα δυναμένης δεόντως ψυχῆς. Λαβὼν τοίνυν ὁ παῖς τὰς καμήλους, καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ, ἀναστὰς ἐπορεύθη εἰς τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν, εἰς τὴν πόλιν Ναχὼρ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, καὶ ἀνέπαυσε τὰς καμήλους ἔξω τῆς πόλεως παρὰ τὸ φρέαρ τοῦ ὕδατος· καὶ εἶπε, Κύριε ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ κυρίου μου Ἀβραὰμ, εὐόδωσον ἐναντίον μου σήμερον, καὶ ποίησον ἔλεος μετὰ τοῦ κυρίου μου Ἀβραάμ· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἕστηκα ἐπὶ τῆς πηγῆς τοῦ ὕδατος, αἱ δὲ θυγατέρες τῶν οἰκούντων ἐκπορεύονται ἀντλῆσαι ὕδωρ· καὶ ἔσται, ἡ παρθένος, ᾗ ἂν ἐγὼ εἴπω, Ἐπίκλινον τὴν ὑδρίαν σου ἵνα πίω, καὶ εἴπῃ μοι, Πίε, καὶ τὰς καμήλους σου ποτιῶ, ἕως ἂν παύσωνται πᾶσαι πίνουσαι· ταύτην ἡτοίμασας τῷ