2587. 'Because of the matter of Sarah' means through the rational if it had joined itself. This is clear from the representation of 'Sarah when a sister' as rational truth, dealt with in 2508. 'The matter of Sarah' means the whole affair, that is to say, of her being called a sister, and of Abimelech's taking her, but not going near her. What more is meant by these things will be stated in what follows immediately below.