In Parashat Toldot, we encounter for the third time one of the patriarchs wishing to settle in a new place - where he introduces his wife as his sister, but the king finds out and confronts him. The first and second stories involve Avraham. The second and third stories both take place in Gerar. From this perspective, the middle story is the link that connects all three stories, and it is indeed the most detailed of them.

Why did Avraham use the "sister-wife" subterfuge a second time, even though it did not work in Egypt? Was he in the wrong? Was Avimelekh innocent? What is his true character? And why is the plague on his house mentioned only at the very end? Did Avimelekh's full obedience to God's command  stem from genuine integrity and morality, or from coercion?

 

She is my sister
Avimelekh
Avraham and Avimelekh
Yitzhak - Similarity to Avraham
Yitzhak in Gerar
Courtesy of the Virtual Beit Midrash, Yeshivat Har Etzion