The Rabbis taught that God appears to non-Jews only in dreams, as God appeared to Abimelech "in a dream of the night" in , God appeared to Laban the "in a dream of the night" in , and God appeared to Balaam "at night" in . The Rabbis taught that God thus appeared more openly to the prophets of Israel than to those of other nations. The Rabbis compared God's action to those of a king who has both a wife and a concubine; to his wife he goes openly, but to his concubine he goes stealthily. And a Midrash taught that God's appearance to Abimelech in and God's appearance to Laban in were the two instances where the Pure and Holy One allowed God's self to be associated with impure (idolatrous) people, on behalf of righteous ones.