English of Core Text: From here [we learn] that Avraham did not even gaze upon his own [wife], as it is said “See now, I know that you are a woman of beautiful appearance” — which implies that originally he did not know this of her.
On the daf / in context: The derasha reads “now I know” as evidence of prior restraint. The Gemara uses it in a discussion of the yetzer and the patriarchs’ self-control.
Type of Learning
Custom
What Is Learned
Chazal portray Avraham as exercising extreme modesty even toward his own wife until circumstance forced the recognition.