The commentary explains what happened to Abraham when he was a young boy working in his father's idol shop. As I came to understand the Word of Wisdom, I wanted my parents to live that law. When a man would come to buy [an idol], [Abraham] would ask him: How old are you? The man would respond: Fifty. [Abraham] would reply: Whoa to this man, you are fifty years old and yet you bow to one who is only a day old! The man would then feel embarrassed and slink away. This second approach, in my opinion, works well with what seems to be occurring in the biblical narratives. 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. This is true even for a person who can digest the nuances of the ahistorical approach to the Torah. [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. 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. Although I felt able to push the first question into the sidelines, the second question seemed to me more problematic. 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. Perhaps they even needed to be narrated in exactly the way the Torah itself narrates them. 54 And the king said to Abram, Had they power to speak and eat and do as thou hast said? 3, There is something humorous in a history that we have in relation to this personage. Writing, especially in the above examples, allows people who were not witnesses to the events to meet the reality of the event in a mediated encounter. The Torah crafts its story line purposefully in such a way as to support the aims of the Narrator, including the Narrators values and moral lessons. There is also no Biblical record of Abraham When a man would come to buy [an idol], [Abraham] would ask him: "How old are you?" Rav Kook believed that this model should be copied when wrestling with notions that were current in his day, like the theory of evolution. It would always have been possible to claim that one author, Moses for instance, wrote it on his own. Child sacrifice was one reason for the Babylonian captivity (verse 36). Ezekiel 6:6 Verse Concepts The believer, who adapts the divine message to his or her own life, chooses to look upon the events of the past described in the Torah from the divine perspective. [27] Putting this view forward before those who believed that God had a body probably caused those believers a crisis of faith. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. 50 And Terah, seeing all that Abram had done, hastened to go from his house, and he went to the king and he came before Nimrod and stood before him, and he bowed down to the king; and the king said, What dost thou want? How is one to deal with such a tremendous challenge? Contrast this with the literary Abraham, the Abraham who is the fruit of the spirit of God and the divine pen. 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. 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. When his father returned, he asked him: Why did you do this to them? [Abraham] replied: Would I hide it from you? 48-49 [Hebrew]. what are the 3 odd numbers just before 200 003? See: Tamar Ross,Expanding the Palace of Torah: Orthodoxy and Feminism(Waltham: Brandeis, 2004). But Abraham, inspired by the Lord, went on a certain occasion into the temple of these gods and smote them right and left, upsetting and breaking them in pieces. Abram is now 50 years old; he has lived with Noah and Shem for 39 years and a cave for 10. See, for example, the Gerrer Rebbe, R. Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (Sefat Emeton Leviticus, Pesach 5631): In every generation there is an exodus from Egypt, but one relevant to that generation. There is much more to say about this, but here is not the place. Therefore, by necessity we would need to distill from his historical persona what parts of his life were his own choice, (i.e. To me, the key question is whether ones approach to exploring the ahistoricity of the narrative is in order to reduce the vital importance of the Torah and its message or whether it is the opposite, to increase it, as I suggest above. In order to answer this question let us investigate the basis for this phenomenon: what is the point of writing? Nimrod 's Humble Heritage. Terah is a Biblical figure from the book of Genesis. Is there a truer story than this? [2]For a discussion of the phenomenon of filling the gaps see Yonah Frankel,Midrash ve-Aggada, (5753), 41 [Hebrew]. If this is a story, he said, it is a very human story. Following the analysis offered here, the halachic tradition makes the religious value of any historical event that occurred before the revelation at Sinai contingent upon the power given to it by its inclusion in the narrative that came down to the world at Sinai. [17] Is it surprising that Gods narrative is the story of humanity writ large? If not, I will know., 22The men(N) turned away and went toward Sodom,(O) but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. One of the questions that occupies philosophers of history as a discipline has been, to what extent can a historian really reconstruct the past and to what extent is he or she actually reshaping it? 16 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. (X), 27Then Abraham spoke up again: Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,(Y) 28what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular, A Phoenician goddess, also an image of the same, Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular, Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural, Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct, Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct, Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular, Preposition-l | Noun - proper - feminine singular, Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel, He takes order for the repair of the temple, Josiah sends to Huldah to enquire of the Lord, Huldah prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem, but respite thereof in Josiah's time, Josiah, causing it to be read in a solemn assembly, renews the covenant with God, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, OT History: 2 Chronicles 34:7 He broke down the altars and beat (2 Chron. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! Heis a member of the rabbinic organizations Tzohar and Beit Hillel, has written a number of onlineresponsa,and is the author ofExistential or Non-Essential: History and Literature, Religious Language and the Nature of the Deity. 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? Establishing the pillars of faith upon the bedrock of the historicity of past events requires an honest person to evaluate, without bias, the question of the historical reality of the Torahs claims. Therefore, we should be careful not to miss even a single hint or implication that may be imbedded in the direct speech of God to us. Whether our actions motivate us to work for labor and the downtrodden or peace in Israel, we activate a certain "Abraham" within to destroy the idols of prior perspectives and belief systems, and . 3 And all these joined forces in the Valley of . In essence, we exchange a conversation about God for an encounter with God. I expected my father to punish me, but he never said a word. 1. At this point, Terah took Abraham to Nimrod. 18 And Abram went from them, and his anger burned within him. "You shall not delay the offering from your harvest and your vintage. 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.. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. 53 And the king said to Abram, What is this that thou hast done to thy father and to his gods? Abraham's father in fact agrees with Abraham regarding idol worship unlike the Qur'anic version! What are they if not dry historical descriptions? The story has been used as a way to discuss monotheism and faith in general. The fervent attempt to capture some meaning in each and every word of the Torah, without making recourse to any external factors as a control, is a clear expression of this perspective. [4]There is a third as well, which I deal with in my book, in a later chapter. To me, it seems likely that the par between those who criticize the ahistorical paradigm and those who embrace it can be traced to the par between the correspondence theory of truth and the coherence theory of truth, but a full analysis along these lines would take us too far afield. 20Hezekiah did this throughout Judah; and (W)he did what was good, right, and true before the Lord his God. Idols Are Destroyed 31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, 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. Designed using Unos Premium. (For instance, not to say that God uses rational and beneficent thinking. and have I not myself made them? Thou speakest lies to me. Nevertheless, this possibility brings to mind the old joke about the elephant and the ant. 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. My gods cannot fight; they have legs, but they cannot walk; they have arms, but they cannot use them; they have eyes and ears, but they cannot see nor hear. Why, father, said Abraham, is it possible that you worship a god that cannot hear or see, walk or use himself at all? The god of the Christians, according to their own description of him, being a god without body, parts or passions, would be as unlikely to hear them when they called upon him, as were the gods of Terah, Abrahams father, when he called upon them. 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. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. 17 And Abram said, As the Lord liveth these images shall not remain in my fathers house; so shall the Lord who created me do unto me if in three days time I do not break them all. Thus, such a God can be greater than any image of a god based upon said Gods great size and dimensions as envisioned by those who assume that God is physical. [2] Terah also made and sold idols, as the Midrash Genesis Rabbah 38 explains. The question the rabbis are trying to answer with the Midrash is why and how did Haran die in the presence of his father. Donate. what happens when you drink cold water when you are hot? 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. Narrower concepts. Why did God choose to limit the divine creative impulse to the (apparently) inadequate framework of narrative? Is it less true than a simple chronology of events describing the beginning of the world and of humankind? His analysis deals with how in modern times, Abraham came to be seen as the only monotheist. Deepen your knowledge of Scripture for less than $5/mo. 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. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession. Abraham did destroy his father's idols though. 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! His Test Abraham leaves the home of his childhood and youth. // Javascript URL redirection My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help. 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.. One approach (the older and more nave one) claims that the job of a historian is to make a copy of the past and place it, as-is, before present day students of history. Abraham chose to follow God alone, and he demonstrated his commitment by circumcising every male in his household. President Nelson shared the following story last April: I adored my parents. 60 And if thy wicked heart will not hearken to my words to cause thee to forsake thy evil ways, and to serve the eternal God, then wilt thou die in shame in the latter days, thou, thy people and all who are connected with thee, hearing thy words or walking in thy evil ways. [7]Doubtless, this claim reveals an important educational principle whose significance is beyond reproach. 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. Abraham's brother Haran sees what happened and says that he believes in the God of Abraham. [b](P) 23Then Abraham approached him and said: Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? "Turn from Thy burning anger and change Thy mind about doing harm to Thy people. And yet, even as a boy, I knew I was missing something. NASB 1995 Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel's saddle, and she sat on them. can they hear thy prayers when thou callest upon them? 37 And when Terah saw this his anger was greatly kindled, and he hastened and went from the room to Abram. Something went wrong while submitting the form. TheTorah.com is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.We rely on the support of readers like you. 1, pp. His father came in and asked what he had been doing, what great sin this was that he had committed, why he was so sacrilegious in his feelings and so wicked as to seek to destroy these gods? 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. 47 And how can you continue to do this and serve gods of wood and stone, who cannot hear, or speak, or deliver you from oppression, thereby bringing down the anger of the God of the universe upon you? Does the story become less powerful, less complete, less true? Idolatry, in this sense, means abandoning the way of God for another aim. Even for such a person, something still lingers from the dissonance required in reframing the story as ahistorical. 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? Bible. Delivered at Provo, Sunday Afternoon, August 28th, 1881, Reported by Geo. [18]It must be admitted that the long genealogical lists, which specify the origins of the entire human species (see, for instance, Gen. 4:18-5:32), stand in some tension with the above-offered claim. The Midrash has also been discussed in the contexts of complete, unquestioned faith. 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. 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. 15[i]Under his authority were (P)Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in (Q)the cities of the priests, to distribute their portions faithfully to their brothers by divisions, whether great or small, 16without regard to their genealogical enrollment, to the males from [j](R)thirty years old and upwardeveryone who entered the house of the Lord (S)for his daily obligationsfor their work in their duties according to their divisions; 17as well as the priests who were enrolled genealogically according to their fathers households, and the Levites (T)from twenty years old and upward, by their duties and their divisions. De Du). [26] Therefore, even if a believers intellectual powers allow him or her to consider the possibility that an ahistorical Torah could be more sophisticated and spiritual than a historical one, nevertheless, he or she cannot ignore the outer voiceor even the inner voicethat makes it difficult to be satisfied with scholarly justifications. However, see Rambams comments inThe Guide of the Perplexed(3:50) as well as chapter 5 of my book. Although Hajar is Abraham's second wife she is the first to bear him a son, Ishmael. One time a woman came carrying a dish of fine flour. [29] How should this believer relate to the fact that the very type of faith that he or she sees as inferior is exactly the one which sits best with the majority of the faithful? 2Ch iiCh ii ch 2 chr 2chr). Rijksmuseum 1 The Midrashic Abraham Rabbi Chiyya said: Terah was an idol worshiper. Abraham grabs a stick and smashes all the idols, except the biggest one, in whose hand he places the stick. script>. 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. Psalms 135:15 - 127:17 - The idols of the . 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.
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