English of Core Text: Shmuel said: Why was Avraham our father punished that his children were enslaved in Egypt for two hundred ten years? Because he pressed the attributes of the Holy One, saying “by what shall I know.”
On the daf / in context: Asking for a confirmatory sign is treated as excess; the parallel R. Yochanan reason (souls returned to Sodom) appears elsewhere.
Type of Learning
Custom
What Is Learned
Even a request for assurance can be counted as overstepping and leave a historical mark.