But Abram said that the largest of the idols had killed all the others in a fight over an offering brought to them. 37 And when Terah saw this his anger was greatly kindled, and he hastened and went from the room to Abram. Instead, the text of the Torah should be understood on its own terms; the Torah itself is the matter being studied. Commentary on Parashat Lech-Lecha, . 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. However, see the words of Maimonides about Adam, Eve and the serpent inGuide of the Perplexed(2:30). Abraham burns the idols unlike the Qur'anic account where we find Abraham smashing all but the largest idol. And yet, even as a boy, I knew I was missing something. 53 And the king said to Abram, What is this that thou hast done to thy father and to his gods? However, in this case, God was testing the obedience and faith of Abraham. 11, p. 68. 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? 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? They meant the world to me and taught me crucial lessons. 31 And in the evening of that day in that house Abram was clothed with the spirit of God. Would you like updates when content is posted? 26 And Abram saw on the day when he was sitting amongst them, that they had no voice, no hearing, no motion, and not one of them could stretch forth his hand to eat. Deuteronomy 9:21 And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount. "[5] There is no description of a biblical interaction between Nimrod and Abraham. Abraham and the Idol Shop is a midrash that appears in Genesis Rabbah chapter 38. Are they not wood and stone, and have I not myself made them, and canst thou speak such lies, saying that the large god that was with them smote them? 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 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? Although the Bible says Terah "worshiped other gods" And Abram hastened and went from the chamber to his fathers outer court, and he found his father sitting in the court, and all his servants with him, and Abram came and sat before him. I simply believe it. See also Ravads commentad loc. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities. which benefit does a community experience when its members have a high level of health literacy? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[c] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Child sacrifice was one reason for the Babylonian captivity (verse 36). 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. Abraham mocked them, and said, Surely, the savory meat that I prepared doth not please you, or perhaps it is too little for you! De Du). Furthermore, this objection often remains inchoate and not fully articulated. 34 And when he had done breaking the images, he placed the hatchet in the hand of the great god which was there before them, and he went out; and Terah his father came home, for he had heard at the door the sound of the striking of the hatchet; so Terah came into the house to know what this was about. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. 1, 14:53, p. 163. 40 And the large one saw their works that they did before him, and his anger was violently kindled against them, and he went and took the hatchet that was in the house and came to them and broke them all, and behold the hatchet is yet in his hand as thou seest. Nevertheless, see his comment further on in the piece, The words ofaggada, which can have such good and blessed effects are literally the words of the living God. This statement seems to be very much in accord with what I called the highest level of faith, the belief in the ahistoricity of the narrative. 17Then the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham(B) what I am about to do? Abraham responds that wind pushes clouds. 2 Kings 23:14 And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men. Idolatry, in this sense, means abandoning the way of God for another aim. If this is a story, he said, it is a very human story. ! [Terah] took him and brought him before Nimrod (. Bruce Feiler (Abraham) says that probably less than one per cent of the stories told about Abraham appear in the Bible, with an explosion of detail beginning to appear in Jewish tradition from the third century BCE onwards. Deepen your knowledge of Scripture for less than $5/mo. In order for such values to find a permanent place in the spiritual life of individuals, they must be narrated. Therefore, by necessity we would need to distill from his historical persona what parts of his life were his own choice, (i.e. 52 And the king sent three men of his servants, and they went and brought Abram before the king. How can virtual classrooms help students become more independent and self-motivated learners? It is, furthermore, impossible to deny another benefit of the ahistorical model of understanding the Torahs narratives. Christian Standard Bible Nations Descended from Noah. Abraham's father, Terah. Abraham is the first patriarch and is seen as the father of the four Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Bah Faith. what is the supplement of an angle measuring 54 degrees? In verse 7 God said the covenant He established with Abraham was to be everlasting and that He alone was to be God to Abraham and his offspring. At this point, Terah took Abraham to Nimrod. 29 And Abram took the savory meat from his mother, and brought it before his fathers gods into the chamber; and he came nigh unto them that they might eat, and he placed it before them, and Abram sat before them all day, thinking perhaps they might eat. It is the Torah of God, turning its face to Torah students in every generation. The question the rabbis are trying to answer with the Midrash is why and how did Haran die in the presence of his father. Can these idols in which thou trustest deliver thee? It is this difference, which lies at the heart of the distinction between the two interpretive methods described above. These events occurred at some point in the past, and the Holy Author (God) describes them from the unique perspective of the divine. idols of any kind. It would always have been possible to claim that one author, Moses for instance, wrote it on his own. Discourse by President John Taylor, Duties of the SaintsThe Atonement, etc. Thou speakest lies to me. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." 49 And Abram hastened and sprang from before his father, and took the hatchet from his fathers largest idol, with which Abram broke it and ran away. 13 And in the fiftieth year of the life of Abram son of Terah, Abram came forth from the house of Noah, and went to his fathers house. (AA) What if only ten can be found there?, He answered, For the sake of ten,(AB) I will not destroy it., 33When the Lord had finished speaking(AC) with Abraham, he left,(AD) and Abraham returned home.(AE). went away on a journey, and he left Abraham in charge of the store. [8]In fact, seeResponsa Rashba1:116, where Rashba makes this point. Psalm 16:4 Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. [14]M.Pesachim10:5. Understanding the Torah this way can strengthen the deep vitality buried in its every story, every verse, every word even every letter. (C) 18Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation,(D) and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children[ a] by her." Nevertheless, this possibility brings to mind the old joke about the elephant and the ant. 32 And he called out and said, Wo unto my father and this wicked generation, whose hearts are all inclined to vanity, who serve these idols of wood and stone which can neither eat, smell, hear nor speak, who have mouths without speech, eyes without sight, ears without hearing, hands without feeling, and legs which cannot move; like them are those that made them and that trust in them. Rambams approach here applies to our case as well. In many ways, the challenge faced by such a person is similar to the one faced by Rambam when he tried and demonstrate to the world that God has no body. [15]With regard to the sciatic nerve, the Mishna states (m.Chullin7:6): The rule applies to clean animals but not to unclean ones. Now, believing it is safe, Abram leaves Noah's home and returns to his father Terah. What if only thirty can be found there?, He answered, I will not do it if I find thirty there., 31Abraham 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., 32Then he said, May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. 21Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in the Law and in the commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and (X)prospered. either making or worshiping idols or "other gods.". 44 And now surely it is not good for thee nor for the sons of men that are connected with thee, to do these things; are you so silly, so foolish or so short of understanding that you will serve wood and stone, and do after this manner? Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession. why dost thou worship . Continue Learning about Religious Studies. 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. To attempt an answer, I suggest that dry mechanical lists of rules, such as do not murder and do not steal, couldnt accomplish the transmission of lofty values to humankind. Rabbi Yehudah said: It applies even to unclean animals. Rabbi Yehudah said to them: But wasnt the sciatic nerve forbidden to the sons of Jacob, and they were permitted to eat unclean animals! They said to him: The law was stated at Sinai but was included in its proper place. For a summary of the issues surrounding pre-Sinaitic rules, see the entry in theEncylopedia Talmudit, One may not learn [rules] from the time before the giving of the Torah, (vol. 5As soon as the [c]order spread, the sons of Israel abundantly provided the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly (H)the tithe of everything. Rav Kook, in his analysis of this approach, found that Rambam made use of it as he wrestled with Aristotles notion of an eternal universe. When I ask myself the question, What is more important: that Abraham lived in Ur 3500 years ago, or that he should live for 3500 years in the hearts of the people of Israel, I choose the second option. Abram Rescues Lot. ), or adding matres lectionis (). In a world where there are many doubts about the historicity of core events in the Torahs narrative,[24] establishing the palace of Torah upon a higher foundation would seem to be a constructive goal. Abraham went thence to his mother, and he spoke to her, saying: Behold, my father has shown those unto me who made heaven and earth and all the sons of men. Join today!. [2]For a discussion of the phenomenon of filling the gaps see Yonah Frankel,Midrash ve-Aggada, (5753), 41 [Hebrew]. Some critics of the Bible point to the story of Abraham, who laid his son Isaac on an altar and prepared to sacrifice him as directed by God (Genesis 22:1-14). (Q) 24What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? The believer who adopts this narrative wishes to engage it directly. 14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. The ant says to the elephant, Just look at the dust-clouds were making!. There is also a third option, of course, that the Abraham who lived in Ur continued to live in the hearts of Israel. The way the Sages understand Scripture is quite different. Of course, great challenges to Abram's faith lay ahead on his life's journey. See also the words of Maharal of Prague about Abraham and Sarah in hisGlosses on Aggadot(part 3, p. 83), but compare these with his comments inGevurot Hashem(ch. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. Nevertheless, the Sages statement can be seen in conjunction with other statements of theirs, which are close in spirit to the interpretation offered in this essay (for example, the statement in the Haggada of Pesach that in every generation people stand against us to destroy us.) These statements were expanded upon and intensified in Hasidic thought. New Living Translation Break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars. Child sacrifice. The story has been used as a way to discuss monotheism and faith in general. that we are sacrificed to the Lord for this end, that our former life being destroyed in us, we may be raised up to a new life. The interpretive strategy of the accepted rendition is paramount emphasizes the importance of our mediated encounter with the text, the reading that I was taught by my teacher, and he his teacher, going all the way back to the law given to Moses at Sinai. In short, the tradition is of utmost value. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. It is thou that didst place the hatchet in his hands, and then sayest he smote them all. So Laban searched through all the tent, but did not find them. New American Standard Bible Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel's saddlebag, and she sat on them. father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Sons were born to them after the flood. Which is the most important river in Congo? When Abrahams father learned what had happened, he of course was greatly exercised; he inquired of Abraham who had done it. Nevertheless, such an opportunity would be limited. Oops! She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. Considering this, insofar as observance is concerned, is it important to defend the belief that all of the stories narrated in the book of Genesis actually happened? 3, There is something humorous in a history that we have in relation to this personage. The only similarity that one finds here is Abraham advising his father about the futility of idol worship. [a] 19For I have chosen him(E), so that he will direct his children(F) and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord(G) by doing what is right and just,(H) so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.(I), 20Then the Lord said, The outcry against Sodom(J) and Gomorrah is so great(K) and their sin so grievous(L) 21that I will go down(M) and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. 20Hezekiah did this throughout Judah; and (W)he did what was good, right, and true before the Lord his God. 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). that there is a real God, then that God will save him. Save 15% for life on BibleGateway+ with code SPRINGSTUDY15. 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 16When the men(A) got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way. Can those idols in which thou trustest deliver thee? On its own, the sentence can be understood as conveying the opposite meaning, as a call for those involved in studying the exodus from Egypt to remove themselves from the present, to transport themselves through time and view the event the way it would have been viewed by Moses and Aaron, Datan and Abiram. Abraham at last thought he would teach his father a lesson by making a clean sweep of his gods. A young Abraham destroys his father Terah's idols, by Jacob Ernst Marcus, 1819. 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. New American Standard Bible (NASB). Start your free trial today! [16] Only from the time of its inclusion in the Sinai covenant could a given law become the Archimedean point for the spiritual makeup of a person. When President Nelson shared the story of his breaking the bottles of alcohol his father owned, I kept thinking about another prophet who also broke things. Ibn Munzir said that pictures and statues made of wood or metal, etc. English Revised Version Even for such a person, something still lingers from the dissonance required in reframing the story as ahistorical. The main purpose of contracts and newspapers, for example, is to translate the real worldwhere a deal was struck or something worth describing occurredinto writing. Please support us. 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. What does the Bible say about idolatry? New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. These were the feelings of Abraham, and he taught his father's house, and all around him, as far as he had the privilege. In an ahistorical reading, we exchange Abraham the man, his biographic detailsonly some of which have any connection to Godwith Gods Abraham. I cannot thank them enough for the happy homelife they created for me and my siblings. [1] According to Jewish tradition, Terah was an idolater. NASB, Zondervan NASB Study Bible, Red Letter Edition, NASB, Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, 2nd Edition, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New American Standard Bible, NASB, Super Giant Print Reference Bible, Red Letter Edition, 1995 Text, Comfort Print, NASB, Thinline Bible, Large Print, Red Letter Edition, 2020 Text, Comfort Print, NASB, Thinline Bible, Red Letter Edition, 1995 Text, Comfort Print, NASB, Thinline Bible, Red Letter Edition, 2020 Text, Comfort Print. This is true even for a person who can digest the nuances of the ahistorical approach to the Torah. [23]My view here stands in stark contrast with that of Rav Kook, who criticizes the ahistorical approach to biblical narratives. And wilt thou and thy people rise up now and do like unto this work, in order to bring down the anger of the Lord God of the universe, and to bring evil upon thee and the whole earth? Is there a truer story than this? 10Azariah, the chief priest (K)of the house of Zadok, said to [f]him, (L)Since the contributions started coming into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat with plenty left over, for the Lord has blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.. // Javascript URL redirection Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural, Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural, Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural, Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural | Paragogic nun, Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural, A Phoenician goddess, also an image of the same, Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine plural | Paragogic nun, Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct, gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative, Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural, Holy things must be eaten in the holy place, and holy things must be eaten in the holy place, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, OT Law: Deuteronomy 12:3 And you shall break down their altars (Deut. 36 And Terah entered the room and found all the idols fallen down and broken, and the hatchet in the hand of the largest, which was not broken, and the savory meat which Abram his son had made was still before them. 19 And Abram asked his father, saying, Father, tell me where is God who created heaven and earth, and all the sons of men upon earth, and who created thee and me. [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? what are the 3 odd numbers just before 200 003? The Bible says we should put living in a righteous manner above all other pursuits of the flesh and mind. Studying the real life of the giant among men, our founding father, Abraham the man of faith and kindness, would, in theory, give us an opportunity to uncover the God in which he places his trust. This is something best accomplished by narrative, not by list of laws or principles. Such a perspective does not diminish the connection between humanity and God; it strengthens it.[23]. Can they hear thy prayers when thou callest upon them?, After having spoken these and similar words, admonishing his father to mend his ways and refrain from worshipping idols, he leapt up before Terah, took the hatchet from the big idol, broke it therewith, and ran away. his father put him in charge of caring for the idols, and Abraham tried to discourage people from bringing them offerings. I am not surprised, therefore, at the literary prowessvery much like human literary prowessdemonstrated in Torah by its author. [10]In my opinion, which is based on multiple encounters with a number of different groups, this critique can be found at the heart of many peoples objections to ahistorical reading of the Torah, and feeds their intuitive rejection of this paradigm. Now, therefore, hasten and fetch a kid from the flock, and make of it savory meat, that I may bring it to my fathers gods, perhaps I may thereby become acceptable to them. His mother did according to his request, but when Abraham brought the offering to the gods, he saw that they had no voice, no hearing, no motion, and not one of them stretched forth his hand to eat. 2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. I discuss this halacha in greater detail in the book. Is it less true than a simple chronology of events describing the beginning of the world and of humankind? Completely erase the names of their gods! And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. "You shall not delay the offering from your harvest and your vintage. 9Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. 7In the third month they began to [e]make the heaps, and they finished them by the seventh month. Finally, Abraham is not punished . 43 And Abram answered his father and said to him, And how canst thou then serve these idols in whom there is no power to do any thing? Writing, not just in these examples, is a reality substitute of great value. Abraham responds that water puts out fire. 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. So he got a club, or some other weapon, and knocked off the heads of some, the arms and legs of others, and made a general wreck among the idols, but left the biggest untouched. Save 15% for life! 18The genealogical enrollment included [k]all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, for the whole assembly, for they consecrated themselves [l]faithfully in holiness. 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. Abraham asked him how old he was and the man responded 50 years old. Abraham then said, You are 50 years old and would worship a day old statue! At this point the man left, ashamed. What are they if not dry historical descriptions? Instead, the full power of the divine message comes once the message finds its place within a persons heart.

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