10 These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Commentary on Parashat Lech-Lecha, . In an ahistorical reading, we exchange Abraham the man, his biographic detailsonly some of which have any connection to Godwith Gods Abraham. Terah exclaimed that such a thing was impossible, since idols could not quarrel or fight. Abraham responds that wind pushes clouds. Join today!. F. Gibbs. 58 Dost thou not know, or hast thou not heard, that this evil which thou doest, our ancestors sinned therein in days of old, and the eternal God brought the waters of the flood upon them and destroyed them all, and also destroyed the whole earth on their account? Why is Abraham is cutting up all these animals in Genesis 15? Berean Standard Bible Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles. SeeIggrot Raayahvol. He was looking forward. Hebrews 13:5 - Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Our analysis of the truth problem leads us to this summary statement: Whenever we as readers encounter a description of an event in the Torah, the main concern for us as students of Torah is not the reality of the event as it happened but the event as described in the biblical narrative. As our rabbis taught us, all is in the hands of heaven except for fear of heaven (b. Berachot 33b); even the historical Abraham would have to fit into this rubric. 3 And all these joined forces in the Valley of . For an English version explaining Breuers approach, see: Mordechai Breuer, The Study of Bible and the Primacy of the Fear of Heaven: Compatibility or Contradiction, inModern Scholarship in the Study of Torah(ed. 16 And Abram came to his fathers house and saw twelve gods standing there in their temples, and the anger of Abram was kindled when he saw these images in his fathers house. Furthermore, this objection often remains inchoate and not fully articulated. [12]In this case, it isnt about writing per se, as it makes little difference whether it is reported by radio, TV, or newspaper. These were the feelings of Abraham, and he taught his father's house, and all around him, as far as he had the privilege. [8]In fact, seeResponsa Rashba1:116, where Rashba makes this point. (Q) 24What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? 1, pp. "Turn from Thy burning anger and change Thy mind about doing harm to Thy people. ), or adding matres lectionis (). Thus, we can say that there is no reason not to ascribe great literary prowess to God. Abraham at last thought he would teach his father a lesson by making a clean sweep of his gods. And why wilt thou not sense the God of the whole universe, who created thee and in whose power it is to kill and keep alive? It is the Torah of God, turning its face to Torah students in every generation. either making or worshiping idols or "other gods.". Although Hajar is Abraham's second wife she is the first to bear him a son, Ishmael. This grieved Abraham, whilst his father wanted his son to believe and worship as he himself did; but Abraham knew better than to do such a thing. 15 And Terah his father was in those days, still captain of the host of king Nimrod, and he still followed strange gods. As I came to understand the Word of Wisdom, I wanted my parents to live that law. Abraham's father in fact agrees with Abraham regarding idol worship unlike the Qur'anic version! These were the feelings of Abraham, and he taught his fathers house, and all around him, as far as he had the privilege. When Terah returned, he asked Abraham what happened to all the idols. There have been responses that take a more conservative approach; see, for instance, Adam Zertal,A Nation is Born: The Altar on Mount Ebal and the Beginning of Israel(Israel: Yedioth Aharonot, 2000), 292 [Hebrew]; Yitzhak Meitlis,Excavating the Bible: New Archaeological Evidence for the Historical Reliability of Scripture(Bartleby, 2012). However, see Rambams comments inThe Guide of the Perplexed(3:50) as well as chapter 5 of my book. Nimrod is a descendant of Noah and is considered to be a "mighty one on the earth. The Torah tells the story in a certain way, and other traditions tell it in different ways. 31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?" He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it." 32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. 38 And he found Abram his son still sitting in the house; and he said to him, What is this work thou hast done to my gods? When the Torah describes various events that appear to be rooted in a concrete time and place, its account is more a retelling than a reconstruction. The priests of those days offered sacrifices to their gods, and, like the priests of these days, they were generally opposed to new revelation from God. (U) Far be it from you! [21] Did the elephant really need the ant in order to make dust-clouds in the desert? Discourse by President John Taylor, Duties of the SaintsThe Atonement, etc. Philip Munoa notes that 'the Testament of Abraham studi- ously avoids physical description of God when describing Abraham's heavenly ascent and tours of heaven explicitly identifying God with The later life of Abraham is told in the book of Genesis Chapters 1125. 22 And Terah bowed down to his gods, and he then went away from them, and Abram, his son, went away with him. According to this second phrasing, the events described in the Torah are part of Gods narrative; whether this narrative has a basis in historical fact doesnt matter. The image of Abraham smashing idols in his fathers store and blaming it on the god is likely to bring a smile to the lips of any person who is familiar with the story from his or her childhood. [24]See, for example, Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman,The Bible Unearthed: Archaeologys New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of its Sacred Texts(Touchstone, 2002). And you shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and you shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. The plot point of Abrahams fattempted murder for his beliefs is found in four source texts. The Torah describes various events from its own unique perspective. An event with significant import to the wider population that is never reported will end up being known by only a handful of people who witnessed it.[12]. 635-637 [Hebrew]). 2And Hezekiah appointed (B)the divisions of the priests and the Levites by their divisions, each according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, (C)for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to serve and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord. Completely erase the names of their gods! When his father returned, he asked him: Why did you do this to them? [Abraham] replied: Would I hide it from you? Anyone who accepts the seven mitzvot (of the Noahides) and is careful not to violate them should be considered one of the righteous gentiles and has a share in the World to Come. The consequence was, his father and the idolatrous priests of that day sought to take his life. Recounting the Census: A Military Force of 5,500 (not 603,550) Men, Reconstructionism Reconciles Rationalism and Revelation, Rabbi Chiyya said: Terah was an idol worshiper. 61 And when Abram had ceased speaking before the king and princes, Abram lifted up his eyes to the heavens, and he said, The Lord seeth all the wicked, and he will judge them. [20]For more discussion on this question, see the position of R. Mordechai Breuer as he expressed it first inDeot12 (Winter 5720): pp. Will you really sweep it away and not spare[c] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? He tried to bring him to reason, but his father did not believe they had life enough to kill one another. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. A comparison between the various tellings allows us to clarify the core values the come through in each text, and, consequently, to characterize with more clarity the meaning with which the scriptural Author meant to imbue the story (a claim made above as well.) 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of But Abram said that the largest of the idols had killed all the others in a fight over an offering brought to them. 21 And Terah said to his son, Behold these are they which made all thou seest upon earth, and which created me and thee, and all mankind. 23 And when Abram had gone from them he went to his mother and sat before her, and he said to his mother, Behold, my father has shown me those who made heaven and earth, and all the sons of men. Nimrod 's Humble Heritage. Hence the verse in Genesis 11:28, And Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.[6], The Midrash is not the only mention of this storythe Quran discusses the story in great detail as well. returned from his journey, he found his merchan- 54 And the king said to Abram, Had they power to speak and eat and do as thou hast said? Would we really be unable to give ear and listen to Gods story with great focus, attention, and feeling unless we could simultaneously locate it in a specific time and place? It is one that any person who wishes to renew his or her faithperhaps even to limit its horizons for a timeshould take to heart. In this story, he or she creates a new reality that never before existed, or, to be more precise, he or she describes a reality that bears a relationship with events that did occur in the past, but is not an exact replica of those events. One time a woman came carrying a dish of fine flour. The Bible tells us the Lord said to him: Get thee up from thy fathers house, from the land wherein thou wast born, and go up to a land I will show unto thee, and which I will afterwards give unto thee for an inheritance. And we are told that he went up, not knowing whither he went. 4, It is said Abrahams father was an idolater, and that he had a number of gods in his house. See:The Complete Works of Achad Ha-Am(Tel Aviv, 1947), p. 342 [Hebrew]. I cannot deny that the intuition of religious people, whether they be simple believers or great scholars, prefers to see the Torahs narratives as based in factual history. Shouldnt we expect from God a more coherent story, one that is free of the subtle and even blatant contradictions that can be found within it? Another participant argued that he still couldnt see, despite my explanation, why the Torah chose to speak to us in historical language. What are they if not dry historical descriptions? A divinely originated narrative has no need for real historical events in order to grow sinews and flesh and become something substantial. This comes from the idea that Abraham did not need proof of God before being cast into the fire, which is why God saved him. 31Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, (A)broke the memorial stones in pieces, cut down the [a]Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until [b]they had destroyed them all. One day I jumped on the streetcar and went to an LDS bookstore to find a book about the Church. Therefore, it is the job of the historian to tell his or her story about history. [25]This imagery comes from Rav Kook. (Joshua 24:2), there is no Biblical record of him actually making Donate. [18] Is it less significant than a partial biography of a given individual, who lived 3500 years ago in some insignificant part of the world? Abraham is the first patriarch and is seen as the father of the four Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Bah Faith. Ibn Munzir said that pictures and statues made of wood or metal, etc. 33 And when Abram saw all these things his anger was kindled against his father, and he hastened and took a hatchet in his hand, and came unto the chamber of the gods, and he broke all his fathers gods. If this is a story, he said, it is a very human story. Hosea 2:17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. Can those idols in which thou trustest deliver thee? Understanding the Torah this way can strengthen the deep vitality buried in its every story, every verse, every word even every letter. Scripture strongly advises against the following of idols other than God. TheTorah.com is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.We rely on the support of readers like you. [14]M.Pesachim10:5. 15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." 2 But Abram said, "O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue[ a] childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of [3] Haran died in Ur of the Chaldees, in the presence of his father, Terah.[4]. Muhammad describes Abraham's anguished attempts to reason with His father and persuade him to accept a new divine Message this way: "O my Father! The only similarity that one finds here is Abraham advising his father about the futility of idol worship. Abrahams father had instructed him in the doctrines of these idols, and had sought to induce him to have faith in them and in their power, authority, and dominion, telling him what great personages they were. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." 13Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers [g]under the authority of Conaniah and his brother Shimei by the appointment of King Hezekiah, and (O)Azariah was the chief officer of the house of God. Start for FREE. Once he went on a trip and he placed Abraham in charge of the store in his place. [25] Freeing the Torah from its historical crutches not only frees the narrator from having to keep the narrative in line with past events, but it also neutralizes the basis for the attack against the validity of a person maintaining his or her faith. Such a perspective does not diminish the connection between humanity and God; it strengthens it.[23]. 18 And Abram went from them, and his anger burned within him. Child sacrifice was one reason for the Babylonian captivity (verse 36). When his father saw that his son Abraham had broken his gods he was very angry with him. It is this difference, which lies at the heart of the distinction between the two interpretive methods described above. I cannot thank them enough for the happy homelife they created for me and my siblings. 20 And Abram said to his father, My lord, shew them to me I pray thee; and Terah brought Abram into the chamber of the inner court, and Abram saw, and behold the whole room was full of gods of wood and stone, twelve great images and others less than they without number. Abraham grabs a stick and smashes all the idols, except the biggest one, in whose hand he places the stick. why would the ancient Greeks have Worshipped Demeter. If he had possessed the spirit which his son had, he would have said there is no power with these gods; but he did not, and Abraham had to flee from his fathers house, confiding in the Lord, who gave many promises to him and concerning his posterity. According to Genesis Rabbah 38.13, iyya b. Abba, a third-generation Amora, told following story: Terah was an idol manufacturer who once went away and left Abraham in charge of the store. Nevertheless, such an opportunity would be limited. See also Ravads commentad loc. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession. Is it somehow illegitimate that the scriptural Author would retell a version of a popular story and include it within the broader narrative, and, with tremendous creativity, recast the story anew according to Gods own principles. not in the hands of heaven,) in order to say something about the God he discovered and followed. The Midrash has also been discussed in the contexts of complete, unquestioned faith. father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Abram answered the king, saying, And if there be no power in them why dost thou serve them and cause the sons of men to err through thy follies? The interpretive strategy of the received text is paramount takes an entirely different approach, which attempts to encounter the word of God without any mediation. Please support us. My thanks to Hillel ben-Sasson for sharpening this point. Something went wrong while submitting the form. The ant says to the elephant, Just look at the dust-clouds were making!. Even religious feeling, if it is possible to speak of this as a thing, is poised to gain from the intimate connection that is formed between humanity and God, when one understands the Torah as God telling a story just as a parent tells a story to his or her child. Deepen your knowledge of Scripture for less than $5/mo. If the stories about the ancestors of the nation had not been included in the Torah at Sinai, it seems likely that they would be without any religious implications. script>. The first and simplest is, What the Torah says about the event is what is important. The second is shorter but sharper, What the Torah says is what is important.. Enter code SPRINGSTUDY15 and have answers to your Bible questions at your fingertips. Abraham is cast into the fire and is saved by God. Will Gods story be diminished if we do not connect it with the actions of specific people, as great as they may have been? [17]There are those who point out that it is precisely if one assumes that Torah relates historical events that comparison with similar accounts in the Ancient Near East make sense. Even for such a person, something still lingers from the dissonance required in reframing the story as ahistorical. Its meaning is not dependent on external evidence; its narrative descriptions should not be characterized as reconstructions or preservation of past events. I discuss this halacha in greater detail in the book. Ep 200 | Luke 12-17; John 11, Come Follow Me 2023 (May 1-7), Ep 199 | John 7-10, Come Follow Me 2023 (April 24-30), Ep 198 | Matthew 18; Luke 10, Come Follow Me 2023 (April 17-23), Ep 197 | Matthew 15-17; Mark 7-9, Come Follow Me 2023 (April 10-16), Ep 196 | Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5-6, Come Follow Me 2023 (March 27-April 2). This one, enraged against them on account of their behavior, took the hatchet and broke them all, and, behold, the hatchet is yet in his hands, as thou mayest see., Then Terah turned in wrath upon Abraham, and he said: Thou speakest lies unto me! It is, furthermore, impossible to deny another benefit of the ahistorical model of understanding the Torahs narratives. So Nimrod declares they worship wind. As such, writing is secondary to the event itself. [19]InThe Guide of the Perplexed(3:31), Rambam sharply criticizes people who believe that it would be best not to ascribe positive human characteristics to God. 11Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare (M)rooms in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. "[5] There is no description of a biblical interaction between Nimrod and Abraham. Thou speakest lies to me. Enter your email to subscribe and receive notifications of new content. 42 Is there in these gods spirit, soul or power to do all thou hast told me? Instead, the text of the Torah should be understood on its own terms; the Torah itself is the matter being studied. 12They faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the consecrated things; and Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge (N)of them, and his brother Shimei was second. The first statement, the simpler one, would probably be acceptable to anyone. 45 And forget the Lord God who made heaven and earth, and who created you in the earth, and thereby bring a great evil upon your souls in this matter by serving stone and wood?
