Lech-Lecha
Encyclopedia
Lech-Lecha, Lekh-Lekha, or Lech-L'cha ( — Hebrew
for "go!" or "leave!" or "go for you" — the fifth and sixth words
in the parshah) is the third weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
cycle of Torah reading
. It constitutes Genesis Jews read it on the third Sabbath
after Simchat Torah
, generally in October or November.
God
told Abram
to leave his native land and his father’s house for a land that God would show him, promising to make of him a great nation, bless
him, make his name great, bless those who blessed him, and curse those who cursed him. Following God’s command, at age 75, Abram took his wife Sarai
, his nephew Lot
, and the wealth and persons that they had acquired in Haran
, and traveled to the terebinth of Moreh
, at Shechem
in Canaan
.
God appeared to Abram to tell him that God would assign the land
to his heirs, and Abram built an altar
to God. Abram then moved to the hill country east of Bethel
and built an altar to God there and invoked God by name. Then Abram journeyed toward the Negeb.
, asking Sarai to say that she was his sister
so that the Egyptians would not kill him. When they entered Egypt, Pharaoh
’s courtiers praised her beauty to Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharaoh’s palace. Pharaoh took Sarai as his wife. Because of her, Abram acquired sheep, oxen, donkeys, slaves, and camels, but God afflicted Pharaoh and his household with mighty plagues. Pharaoh questioned Abram why he had not told Pharaoh that Sarai was Abram’s wife, but had said that she was his sister. Pharaoh returned Sarai to Abram and had his men take them away with all their possessions.
Abram and Lot now had so many sheep and cattle that the land could not support them both, and their herdsmen quarreled. Abram proposed to Lot that they separate
, inviting Lot to choose which land he would take. Lot saw how well watered the plain of the Jordan was, so he chose it for himself, and journeyed eastward, settling near Sodom
, a city of very wicked sinners, while Abram remained in Canaan.
God promised to give all the land that Abram could see to him and his offspring forever, and to make his offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth. Abram moved to the terebinths of Mamre
in Hebron
, and built an altar there to God.
n Kings Amraphel
of Shinar
, Arioch
of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer
of Elam
, and Tidal of Goiim made war on the Canaanite kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah
, Zeboiim, and Zoar, who joined forces at the Valley of Siddim
, now the Dead Sea
. The Canaanite kings had served Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but rebelled in the thirteenth year. In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the Mesopotamian kings with him went on a military campaign and defeated several peoples in and around Canaan: the Rephaim
, the Zuzim, the Emim
, the Horites
, the Amalek
ites, and the Amorite
s. Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar engaged the four Mesopotamian kings in battle in the Valley of Siddim. The Mesopotamians routed the Canaanites, and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled into bitumen pits in the valley, while the rest escaped to the hill country. The Mesopotamians seized all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Lot and his possessions, and departed.
A fugitive brought the news to Abram, who mustered his 318 retainers, and pursued the invaders north to Dan. Abram and his servants defeated them at night, chased them north of Damascus
, and brought back all the people and possessions, including Lot and his possessions.
When Abram returned, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh, the Valley of the King. King Melchizedek
of Salem (Jerusalem), a priest of God Most High
, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram and God Most High, and Abram gave him a tenth
of everything. The king of Sodom offered Abram to keep all the possessions if he would merely return the people, but Abram swore to God Most High not to take so much as a thread or a sandal strap from Sodom, but would take only shares for the men who went with him.
of Damascus would be his heir. The word of God replied that Eliezer would not be his heir, Abram’s own son would. God took Abram outside and bade him to count the stars, for so numerous would his offspring be, and because Abram put his trust in God, God reckoned it to his merit. God directed Abram to bring three heifers, three goats, three rams, a turtledove, and a bird, to cut the non-birds in two, and to place each half opposite the other. Abram drove away birds of prey that came down upon the carcasses, and as the sun was about to set, he fell into a deep sleep. God told Abram that his offspring would be strangers in a land not theirs, and be enslaved 400 years, but God would execute judgment on the nation they were to serve, and in the end they would go free with great wealth and return in the fourth generation, after the iniquity of the Amorites was complete. And there appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch, which passed between the pieces. And God made a covenant with Abram to assign to his offspring the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates
: the land of the Kenite
s, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites
, the Hittites
, the Perizzites
, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusite
s.
Hagar
, so that Sarai might have a son through her, and Abram did as Sarai requested. When Hagar saw that she had conceived, Sarai was lowered in her esteem, and Sarai complained to Abram. Abram told Sarai that her maid was in her hands, and Sarai treated her harshly, so Hagar ran away.
An angel
of God found Hagar by a spring of water in the wilderness, and asked her where she came from and where she was going, and she replied that she was running away from her mistress. The angel told her to go back to her mistress and submit to her harsh treatment, for God would make Hagar’s offspring too numerous to count; she would bear a son whom she should name Ishmael
, for God had paid heed to her suffering. Ishmael would be a wild donkey of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him, but he would dwell alongside his kinsmen. Hagar called God “El-roi
,” meaning that she had gone on seeing after God saw her, and the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. And when Abram was 86 years old, Hagar bore him a son, and Abram gave him the name Ishmael.
in the flesh of his foreskin at the age of eight days as a sign of the covenant with God. If any male failed to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that person was to be cut off from his kin for having broken God’s covenant.
And God renamed Sarai as Sarah, and told Abraham that God would bless her and give Abraham a son by her so that she would give rise to nations and rulers. Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed at the thought that a child could be born to a man of a hundred and a woman of ninety, and Abraham asked God to bless Ishmael. But God told him that Sarah would bear Abraham a son, and Abraham was to name him Isaac
, and God would maintain the everlasting covenant with him and his offspring. In response to Abraham’s prayer, God blessed Ishmael as well and promised to make him exceedingly numerous, the father of twelve chieftains and a great nation. But God would maintain the covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah would bear at the same season the next year. And when God finished speaking, God disappeared. That very day, Abraham circumcised himself at the age of 99, Ishmael at the age of 13, and every male in his household, as God had directed.
reports that Abram’s father Terah
lived beyond the River Euphrates and served other gods.
While reports that Terah took Abram, Lot, and Sarai from Ur
of the Chaldees
to Haran, and subsequently reports God’s call to Abram to leave his country and his father’s house, Nehemiah
reports that God chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees.
reported that God appeared to Abram while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and told him to leave his country and his people, and then he left the land of the Chaldeans to settle in Haran. And then after Terah’s death, God sent Abraham to Canaan.
Philo
interpreted Abram’s migration allegorically as the story of a soul devoted to virtue and searching for the true God. (On the Migration of Abraham 15:68.)
asked why God chose Abram. Rabbi Hiyya
said that Abram's father Terah manufactured idols
and once went away and left Abram to mind the store. A woman came with a plateful of flour and asked Abram to offer it to the idols. Abram took a stick, broke the idols, and put the stick in the largest idol’s hand. When Terah returned, he demanded that Abram explain what he had done. Abram told Terah that the idols fought among themselves and the largest broke the others with the stick. “Why do you make sport of me?” Terah cried, “Do they have any knowledge?” Abram replied, “Listen to what you are saying!” (Genesis Rabba
h 38:13.)
The Mishnah
taught that Abraham suffered ten trials — starting at — and withstood them all. (Mishnah Avot 5:3.) The Babylonian Talmud
reported that some deduced from that change of place can cancel a man’s doom, but another argued that it was the merit of the land of Israel that availed Abraham. (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16b.)
Rabbi Aha
said in the name of Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman
(or others say Rabbi Alexandri’s name) in Rabbi Nathan’s name that Abraham knew (and observed) even the laws of the courtyard eruv
. Rabbi Phinehas (and others say Rabbi Helkiah and Rabbi Simon) said in the name of Rabbi Samuel that Abraham knew even the new name that God will one day give to Jerusalem, as Jeremiah
says, “At that time they shall call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of God.’” Rabbi Berekiah
, Rabbi Hiyya, and the Rabbis of Babylonia taught in Rabbi Judah’s name that a day does not pass in which God does not teach a new law in the heavenly Court. For as Job
says, “Hear attentively the noise of His voice, and the meditation that goes out of His mouth.” And meditation refers to nothing but Torah, as says, “You shall meditate therein day and night.” And Abraham knew them all. (Genesis Rabbah 49:2, 64:4.)
Rabbi Berekiah noted that in God had already said, “I will bless you,” and so asked what God added by then saying, “and you be a blessing.” Rabbi Berekiah explained that God was thereby conveying to Abraham that up until that point, God had to bless God’s world, but thereafter, God entrusted the ability to bless to Abraham, and Abraham could thenceforth bless whomever it pleased him to bless. (Genesis Rabbah 39:11.)
Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words, “And in you shall the families of the earth be blessed ” in to teach that God told Abram that God had two good shoots to graft (lihavrich) onto Abram’s family tree: Ruth the Moab
itess (whom Ruth
reports was the ancestor of David
) and Naamah
the Ammon
itess (whom 1 Kings
reports was the mother of Rehoboam
and thus the ancestor or good kings like Hezekiah
). And Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words, “All the families of the earth,” in to teach that even the other families who live on the earth are blessed only for Israel’s sake. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 63a.)
Rav Judah deduced from that to refuse to say grace when given a cup to bless is one of three things that shorten a man’s life. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 55a.) And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi deduced from that every kohen
who pronounces the benediction is himself blessed. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 38b.)
Resh Lakish
deduced from that the Torah regards the man who teaches Torah to his neighbor’s son as though he had fashioned him. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 99b.)
Similarly, Rabbi Leazar in the name of Rabbi Jose ben Zimra
observed that if all the nations assembled to create one insect they could not bring it to life, yet says, “the souls whom they had made in Haran.” Rabbi Leazar in the name of Rabbi Jose ben Zimra interpreted the words “the souls whom they had made” to refer to the proselytes whom Abram and Sarai had converted. The midrash asked why then did not simply say, “whom they had converted,” and instead says, “whom they had made.” The midrash answered that thus teaches that one who brings a nonbeliever near to God is like one who created a life. Noting that does not say, “whom he had made,” but instead says “whom they had made,” Rabbi Hunia taught that Abraham converted the men, and Sarah converted the women. (Genesis Rabbah 39:14.)
The Mishnah equated the terebinth of Moreh to which Abram journeyed in with the terebinths of Moreh to which Moses
directed the Israelites to journey in Deuteronomy to hear the blessings and curses at Mount Gerizim
and Mount Ebal
(Mishnah Sotah 7:5; Babylonian Talmud Sotah 32a), and the Talmud equated both with Shechem. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 33b.)
Rabbi Elazar said that one should always anticipate misfortune with prayer; for it was only by virtue of Abram’s prayer between Beth-el and Ai
reported in that Israel’s troops survived at the Battle of Ai in the days of Joshua
.” (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 44b.)
The Rabbis deduced from that when there is a famine in town, one should emigrate. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Kamma 60b.)
Rav
deduced from that Abram had not even looked at his own wife before that point. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 16a.)
Reading the words, “And it came to pass, that, when Abram came into Egypt,” in a midrash asked why the text at that point mentioned Abraham but not Sarai. The midrash taught that Abram had put Sarai in a box and locked her in. The midrash told that when Abram came to the Egyptian customs house, the customs officer demanded that Abram pay the custom duty on the box and its contents, and Abram agreed to pay. The customs officer proposed that Abram must have been carrying garments in the box, and Abram agreed to pay the duty for garments. The customs officer then proposed that Abram must have been carrying silks in the box, and Abram agreed to pay the duty for silks. The customs officer then proposed that Abram must have been carrying precious stones in the box, and Abram agreed to pay the duty for precious stones. But then the customs officer insisted that Abram open the box so that the customs officers could see what it contained. As soon as Abram opened the box, Sarai’s beauty illuminated the land of Egypt. (Genesis Rabbah 40:5.)
Rabbi Azariah and Rabbi Jonathan
in Rabbi Isaac's name taught that Eve's
image was transmitted to the reigning beauties of each generation (setting the standard of beauty). says of David’s comforter Abishag
, “And the damsel was very fair” — , yafah ad me'od — which the midrash interpreted to mean that she attained to Eve's beauty (as , ad me'od, implies , Adam, and thus Eve). And says, “the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair” — , me'od — which the midrash interpreted to mean that Sarai was even more beautiful than Eve. Reading the words, “And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh,” in Rabbi Johanan
told that they tried to outbid each other for the right to enter Pharaoh's palace with Sarai. One prince said that he would give a hundred dinar
s for the right to enter the palace with Sarai, whereupon another bid two hundred dinars. (Genesis Rabbah 40:5.)
Rabbi Helbo deduced from that a man must always observe the honor due to his wife, because blessings rest on a man’s home only on account of her. (Babylonian Talmud Baba Metzia 59a.)
Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani said in the name of Rabbi Johanan that leprosy resulted from seven things: slander, bloodshed, vain oath, incest, arrogance, robbery, and envy. The Gemara
cited God’s striking Pharaoh with plagues in to show that incest had led to leprosy. (Babylonian Talmud Arachin 16a.)
says of Pharaoh
, “his princes are at Zoan.” And in all of Israel, there was no more rocky ground than that at Hebron, which is why the Patriarchs buried their dead there, as reported in But rocky Hebron was still seven times as fertile as lush Zoan, as the Baraita interpreted the words “and Hebron was built seven years before Zoan
in Egypt
” in Numbers
to mean that Hebron was seven times as fertile as Zoan. The Baraita rejected the plain meaning of “built,” reasoning that Ham would not build a house for his younger son Canaan
(in whose land was Hebron) before he built one for his elder son Mizraim
(in whose land was Zoan, and lists (presumably in order of birth) “the sons of Ham: Cush
, and Mizraim, and Put
, and Canaan.” (Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 112a.)
Rabbi Issi taught that there was no city in the plain better than Sodom, for Lot had searched through all the cities of the plain and found none like Sodom. Thus the people of Sodom were the best of all, yet as reports, “the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners.” They were “wicked” to each other, “sinners” in adultery, “against the Lord” in idolatry, and “exceedingly” engaged in bloodshed. (Genesis Rabbah 41:7.)
The Mishnah deduced from that the men of Sodom would have no place in the world to come. (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:3; Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 107b, 109a.)
taught that wherever the Bible employs the term “and it was” or “and it came to pass” , as it does in it indicates misfortune, as one can read wa-yehi as wai, hi, “woe, sorrow.” Thus the words, “And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel,” in are followed by the words, “they made war,” in And the Gemara also cited the instances of followed by followed by followed by the rest of followed by 1 Samuel
followed by followed by close after followed by followed by the rest of and Esther
followed by Haman
. But the Gemara also cited as counterexamples the words, “And there was evening and there was morning one day,” in as well as and So Rav Ashi replied that wa-yehi sometimes presages misfortune, and sometimes it does not, but the expression “and it came to pass in the days of” always presages misfortune. And for that proposition, the Gemara cited and (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 10b.)
Rav and Samuel
equated the Amraphel of with the Nimrod
whom describes as “a mighty warrior on the earth,” but the two differed over which was his real name. One held that his name was actually Nimrod
, and calls him Amraphel because he ordered Abram to be cast into a burning furnace (and thus the name Amraphel reflects the words for “he said” (amar) and “he cast” (hipil)). But the other held that his name was actually Amraphel, and calls him Nimrod because he led the world in rebellion against God (and thus the name Nimrod reflects the word for “he led in rebellion” (himrid)). (Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 53a.)
Rabbi Berekiah and Rabbi Helbo taught in the name of Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman that the Valley of Siddim
(mentioned in in connection with the battle between the four kings and the five kings
) was called the Valley of Shaveh (which means "as one") because there all the peoples of the world agreed as one, felled cedars, erected a large dais for Abraham, set him on top, and praised him, saying (in the words of "Hear us, my lord: You are a prince of God among us." They told Abraham that he was king over them and a god to them. But Abraham replied that the world did not lack its King, and the world did not lack its God. (Genesis Rabbah 42:5.)
A midrash taught that there was not a mighty man in the world more difficult to overcome than Og
, as says, “only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim.” The midrash told that Og had been the only survivor of the strong men whom Amraphel and his colleagues had slain, as may be inferred from which reports that Amraphel “smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim,” and one may read to indicate that Og lived near Ashteroth. The midrash taught that Og was the refuse among the Rephaim, like a hard olive that escapes being mashed in the olive press. The midrash inferred this from which reports that “there came one who had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew,” and the midrash indentified the man who had escaped as Og, as describes him as a remnant, saying, “only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim.” The midrash taught that Og intended that Abram should go out and be killed. God rewarded Og for delivering the message by allowing him to live all the years from Abraham to Moses
, but God collected Og’s debt to God for his evil intention toward Abraham by causing Og to fall by the hand of Abraham’s descendants. On coming to make war with Og, Moses was afraid, thinking that he was only 120 years old, while Og was more than 500 years old, and if Og had not possessed some merit, he would not have lived all those years. So God told Moses (in the words of ), “fear him not; for I have delivered him into your land,” implying that Moses should slay Og with his own hand. (Numbers Rabbah
19:32.)
Rabbi Abbahu
said in Rabbi Eleazar’s name that “his trained men” in meant Torah scholars, and thus when Abram made them fight to rescue Lot, he brought punishment on himself and his children, who were consequently enslaved in Egyptian for 210 years. But Samuel said that Abram was punished because he questioned whether God would keep God’s promise, when in Abram asked God “how shall I know that I shall inherit it?” And Rabbi Johanan
said that Abram was punished because he prevented people from entering beneath the wings of the Shekhinah
and being saved, when in the king of Sodom said it to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods yourself,” and Abram consented to leave the prisoners with the king of Sodom. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a.)
Rav interpreted the words “And he armed his trained servants, born in his own house” in to mean that Abram equipped them by teaching them the Torah. Samuel read the word vayarek (“he armed”) to mean “bright,” and thus interpreted the words “And he armed his trained servants” in to mean that Abram made them bright with gold, that is, rewarded them for accompanying him. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a.)
Reading the report in that Abram led 318 men, Rabbi Ammi bar Abba said that Abram’s servant Eliezer outweighed them all. The Gemara reported that others (employing gematria
) said that Eliezer alone accompanied Abram to rescue Lot, as the Hebrew letters in Eliezer’s name have a numerical value of 318. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a.)
midrash identified the Melchizedek of with Noah
’s son Shem
. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32b; Genesis Rabbah 56:10; Leviticus Rabbah
25:6; Numbers Rabbah
4:8.) The Rabbis taught that Melchizedek acted as a priest
and handed down Adam’s
robes to Abraham. (Numbers Rabbah 4:8.) Rabbi Zechariah said on Rabbi Ishmael’s authority (or others say, it was taught at the school of Rabbi Ishmael) that God intended to continue the priesthood from Shem’s descendants, as says, “And he (Melchizedek/Shem) was the priest of the most high God.” But then Melchizedek gave precedence in his blessing to Abram over God, and thus God decided to bring forth the priesthood from Abram. As reports, “And he (Melchizedek/Shem) blessed him (Abram), and said: ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God the Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’” Abram replied to Melchizedek/Shem by questioning whether the blessing of a servant should be given precedence over that of the master. And straightaway, God gave the priesthood to Abram, as says, “The Lord (God) said to my Lord (Abram), Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool,” which is followed in by, “The Lord has sworn, and will not repent, ‘You (Abram) are a priest for ever, after the order (dibrati) of Melchizedek,’” meaning, “because of the word (dibbur) of Melchizedek.” Hence says, “And he (Melchizedek/Shem) was the priest of the most high God,” implying that Melchizedek/Shem was a priest, but not his descendants. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32b; Leviticus Rabbah 25:6.)
Rabbi Isaac the Babylonian said that Melchizedek was born circumcised. (Genesis Rabbah 43:6.) A midrash taught that Melchizedek called Jerusalem “Salem.” (Genesis Rabbah 56:10.) The Rabbis said that Melchizedek instructed Abraham in the Torah. (Genesis Rabbah 43:6.) Rabbi Eleazar said that Melchizedek’s school was one of three places where the Holy Spirit manifested itself. (Babylonian Talmud Makkot 23b.)
Rabbi Judah said in Rabbi Nehorai's name that Melchizedek’s blessing yielded prosperity for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
. (Genesis Rabbah 43:8.) Ephraim Miksha'ah the disciple of Rabbi Meir
said in the latter's name that Tamar descended from Melchizedek. (Genesis Rabbah 85:10.)
Rabbi Hana bar Bizna citing Rabbi Simeon Hasida
(or others say Rabbi Berekiah in the name of Rabbi Isaac) identified Melchizedek as one of the four craftsmen of whom Zechariah wrote in Zechariah
(Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 52b; Song of Songs Rabbah
2:33.) The Gemara taught that David
wrote the Book of Psalms
, including in it the work of the elders, including Melchizedek in (Babylonian Talmud Baba Batra 14b–15a.)
remains in being, but when the Temple will no longer be, what will become of them?” God replied: “I have already long ago provided for them in the Torah the order of sacrifices, and whenever they read it, I will deem it as if they had offered them before me, and I will grant them pardon for all their iniquities.” (Babylonian Talmud Taanit 27b, Megillah 31b.)
The Gemara expounded on the words, “And He brought him outside,” in The Gemara taught that Abram had told God that Abram had employed astrology to see his destiny and had seen that he was not fated to have children. God replied that Abram should go “outside” of his astrological thinking, for the stars do not determine Israel’s fate. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a.)
Resh Lakish taught that Providence punishes bodily those who unjustifiably suspect the innocent. In Exodus Moses said that the Israelites “will not believe me,” but God knew that the Israelites would believe. God thus told Moses that the Israelites were believers and descendants of believers, while Moses would ultimately disbelieve. The Gemara explained that reports that “the people believed” and reports that the Israelites’ ancestor Abram “believed in the Lord,” while reports that Moses “did not believe.” Thus, Moses was smitten when in God turned his hand white as snow. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 97a.)
A midrash noted the difference in wording between which says of the Israelites in Goshen
that “they got possessions therein,” and which says of the Israelites in Canaan
, “When you come into the land of Canaan, which I gave you for a possession.” The midrash read to read, “and they were taken in possession by it.” The midrash thus taught that in the case of Goshen, the land seized the Israelites, so that their bond might be exacted and so as to bring about God's declaration to Abraham in that the Egyptians would afflict the Israelites for 400 years. But the midrash read to teach the Israelites that if they were worthy, the Land of Israel would be an eternal possession, but if not, they would be banished from it. (Genesis Rabbah 95.)
The Mishnah pointed to God’s announcement to Abram in that his descendants would return from Egyptian slavery to support the proposition that the merits of the father bring about benefits for future generations. (Mishnah Eduyot 2:9.)
A midrash taught that and call the Euphrates “the Great River” because it encompasses the Land of Israel. The midrash noted that at the creation of the world, the Euphrates was not designated “great.” But it is called “great” because it encompasses the Land of Israel, which calls a “great nation.” As a popular saying said, the king’s servant is a king, and thus Scripture calls the Euphrates great because of its association with the great nation of Israel. (Genesis Rabbah 16:3.)
A midrash deduced from Sarai’s words in “Behold now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing; go into my handmaid; it may be that I shall be built up through her,” that one who is childless is as one who is demolished. The Rabbi of the midrash reasoned that only that which is demolished must be “built up.” (Genesis Rabbah 45:2.)
The Gemara taught that if one sees Ishmael in a dream, then God hears that person’s prayer (perhaps because the name “Ishmael” derives from “the Lord has heard” in or perhaps because “God heard” (yishmah Elohim) Ishmael’s voice in ). (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 56b.)
Rabbi
taught that notwithstanding all the precepts that Abram fulfilled, God did not call him “perfect” until he circumcised himself, for in God told Abram, “Walk before me and be perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and you,” and in God explained that God’s covenant required that every male be circumcised. (Mishnah Nedarim 3:11; Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 31b, 32a.)
Rav Judah said in Rav’s name that when God told Abram in “Walk before me and be perfect,” Abram was seized with trembling, thinking that perhaps there was some shameful flaw in him that needed correcting. But when God added in “And I will make My covenant between me and you,” God set Abram’s mind at ease. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a.)
Rabbi Hoshaiah
taught that if one perfects oneself, then good fortune will follow, for says, “Walk before me and be perfect,” and shortly thereafter reports Abram’s reward for doing so: “And you shall be a father of many nations.” (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a.)
Rabbi Ammi bar Abba employed gematria to interpret the meaning of Abram’s name change in from Abram to Abraham . According to Rabbi Ammi bar Abba, at first God gave Abram mastery over 243 of his body parts, as the numerical value of the Hebrew letters in Abram is 243. Then God gave Abraham mastery over 248 of his body parts, adding five body parts, as the numerical value of the Hebrew letter hei
that God added to his name is five. The Gemara explained that as a reward for Abraham’s undergoing circumcision, God granted Abraham control over his two eyes, his two ears, and the organ that he circumcised. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32b.)
The Mishnah notes that transgressing the command of circumcision in is one of 36 transgressions that cause the transgressor to be cut off from his people. (Mishnah Keritot 1:1; Babylonian Talmud Keritot 2a.)
The Gemara read the command of to require an uncircumcised adult man to become circumcised, and the Gemara read the command of Leviticus to require the father to circumcise his infant child. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 132b.)
Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina taught that visiting those who have had medical procedures (as Abraham had in ) demonstrates one of God’s attributes that humans should emulate. Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina asked what means in the text, “You shall walk after the Lord your God.” How can a human being walk after God, when says, “[T]he Lord your God is a devouring fire”? Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina explained that the command to walk after God means to walk after the attributes of God. As God clothes the naked — for says, “And the Lord God made for Adam
and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them” — so should we also clothe the naked. God visited the sick — for says, “And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre” (after Abraham was circumcised in ) — so should we also visit the sick. God comforted mourners — for says, “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac
his son” — so should we also comfort mourners. God buried the dead — for says, “And He buried him in the valley” — so should we also bury the dead. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 14a.) Similarly, the Sifre
on taught that to walk in God’s ways means to be (in the words of ) “merciful and gracious.” (Sifre to Deuteronomy 49:1.)
and Sefer ha-Chinuch
, there is one positive commandment
in the parshah:
(Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
, Positive Commandment 215. Cairo
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 1:230–31. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:85–87. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-179-9.)
for the parshah is:
The Passover
Haggadah
, in the concluding nirtzah section of the Seder
, in a reference to recounts how God granted victory to the righteous convert Abram at the middle of the night. (Joseph Tabory. JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, 122. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8276-0858-0. Menachem Davis. The Interlinear Haggadah: The Passover Haggadah, with an Interlinear Translation, Instructions and Comments, 108. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005. ISBN 1-57819-064-9.)
The name “Elyon” or “God Most High,” which Melchizedek used in is used in to refer to God, and is in turn recited after the Lekhah Dodi
liturgical poem of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service
. (Reuven Hammer
. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom
for Shabbat and Festivals, 23. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly
, 2003. ISBN 0-916219-20-8.)
The Amidah
draws on God’s words in “Fear not, Abram, I am a shield to you,” to refer to God as “Shield of Abraham.” (Hammer, at 35a.)
In the hymn Adon Olam
(“Lord of the World”), use of the title “Adon” recalls the merit of Abraham, who first addressed God with the title in (Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for Weekdays with an Interlinear Translation, 14–15. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-686-8.)
The Haggadah, in the magid section of the Seder, quotes to demonstrate that God keeps God’s promises. (Davis, at 41–42; Tabory, at 89.) Thereafter, the Haggadah reports that Israel “went down to Egypt — forced to do so by the word [of God],” and many commentators think that this statement refers to God’s foretelling in that Abram’s descendants would “be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them.” (Tabory, at 90.) And in the concluding nirtzah section, in a reference to God’s promises to Abram in the Covenant Between the Pieces in the Haggadah reports that God “disclosed to the one from the Orient at midnight on Passover.” (Tabory, at 125.)
Following the Kabbalat Shabbat service and prior to the Friday evening (Ma'ariv
) service, Jews traditionally read rabbinic sources on the observance of the Sabbath, including Mishnah Shabbat 18:3. Mishnah Shabbat 18:3, in turn, makes clear the precedence of the law of circumcision in over even the observance of the Sabbath. (Hammer, at 25.)
, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For parshah Lech Lecha, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Saba, the maqam that symbolizes a covenant (berit). It is appropriate because in this parshah, Abraham and his sons undergo circumcisions, a ritual that signifies a covenant between man and God.
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Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
for "go!" or "leave!" or "go for you" — the fifth and sixth words
Incipit
Incipit is a Latin word meaning "it begins". The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is the first few words of its opening line. In music, it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits...
in the parshah) is the third weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading
Torah reading is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to...
. It constitutes Genesis Jews read it on the third Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
after Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah or Simḥath Torah is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle...
, generally in October or November.
The calling of Abram
Names of God in Judaism
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...
told Abram
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
to leave his native land and his father’s house for a land that God would show him, promising to make of him a great nation, bless
Blessing
A blessing, is the infusion of something with holiness, spiritual redemption, divine will, or one's hope or approval.- Etymology and Germanic paganism :...
him, make his name great, bless those who blessed him, and curse those who cursed him. Following God’s command, at age 75, Abram took his wife Sarai
Sarah
Sarah or Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai...
, his nephew Lot
Lot (Bible)
Lot is a man from the Book of Genesis chapters 11-14 and 19, in the Hebrew Bible. Notable episodes in his life include his travels with his uncle Abram ; his flight from the destruction of Sodom, in the course of which Lot's wife looked back and became a pillar of salt; and the seduction by his...
, and the wealth and persons that they had acquired in Haran
Haran
Haran or Aran is a figure in Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. Haran was born in Ur Kaśdim , the son of Terah and thus a descendant of Shem. Haran's brothers were Abram/Abraham and Nahor...
, and traveled to the terebinth of Moreh
Moreh
Moreh is a name of a location, commonly used in the Genesis.-Torah locality:Translators who consider the obscure elon moreh of Genesis 12:6 to be the name of a locality, render it as "the plains of Moreh". Translators who consider the term to be a sacred tree or grove, often render it "terebinth",...
, at Shechem
Shechem
Shechem was a Canaanite city mentioned in the Amarna letters, and is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as an Israelite city of the tribe of Manasseh and the first capital of the Kingdom of Israel...
in Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
.
God appeared to Abram to tell him that God would assign the land
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
to his heirs, and Abram built an altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
to God. Abram then moved to the hill country east of Bethel
Bethel
Bethel was a border city described in the Hebrew Bible as being located between Benjamin and Ephraim...
and built an altar to God there and invoked God by name. Then Abram journeyed toward the Negeb.
Wife as sister
Famine struck the land, so Abram went down to EgyptAncient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, asking Sarai to say that she was his sister
Wife-sister narratives in Genesis
There are three wife-sister narratives in Genesis, part of the Torah, all of which are strikingly similar. At the core of each is the tale of a Biblical Patriarch, who has come to be in the land of a powerful foreign overlord who misidentifies the Patriarch's wife as the Patriarch's sister, and...
so that the Egyptians would not kill him. When they entered Egypt, Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
’s courtiers praised her beauty to Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharaoh’s palace. Pharaoh took Sarai as his wife. Because of her, Abram acquired sheep, oxen, donkeys, slaves, and camels, but God afflicted Pharaoh and his household with mighty plagues. Pharaoh questioned Abram why he had not told Pharaoh that Sarai was Abram’s wife, but had said that she was his sister. Pharaoh returned Sarai to Abram and had his men take them away with all their possessions.
Abram and Lot divide the land
Abram, Sarai, and Lot returned to the altar near Bethel.Abram and Lot now had so many sheep and cattle that the land could not support them both, and their herdsmen quarreled. Abram proposed to Lot that they separate
Abraham and Lot's Conflict
Abraham and Lot's conflict is a story told in the Book of Genesis, in the weekly read Torah portion, Lech-Lecha, that depicts the separation of Abraham and Lot, as a result of a fight among their shepherds...
, inviting Lot to choose which land he would take. Lot saw how well watered the plain of the Jordan was, so he chose it for himself, and journeyed eastward, settling near Sodom
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
, a city of very wicked sinners, while Abram remained in Canaan.
God promised to give all the land that Abram could see to him and his offspring forever, and to make his offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth. Abram moved to the terebinths of Mamre
Mamre
Mamre , full Hebrew name Elonei Mamre , refers to a Canaanite cultic shrine dedicated to the supreme, sky god of the Canaanite pantheon, El. Talmudic sources refer to the site as Beth Ilanim or Botnah. it was one of the three most important "fairs", market place or caravanserai, in Palestine...
in Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
, and built an altar there to God.
War between the four kings and the five
The MesopotamiaMesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
n Kings Amraphel
Amraphel
In the Tanakh or Old Testament, Amraphel was a king of Shinar in Genesis xiv.1 and 9, who invaded the west along with Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and others, and defeated Sodom and the other Cities of the Plain in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim.Beginning with E...
of Shinar
Shinar
Shinar was a geographical locale of uncertain boundaries in Mesopotamia. The name may be a corruption of Shene nahar , Shene or , or Sumer .It has been suggested that Shinar must have been confined to the northern part of Mesopotamia Shinar (Hebrew Šin`ar, Septuagint Σεννααρ Sennaar) was a...
, Arioch
Arioch
Arioch is a Hebrew name that means "fierce lion". It originally appears in the Book of Genesis chapter 14 as the name of the "King of Ellasar", part of the confederation of kings who did battle with the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and with Abraham in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim...
of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer
Chedorlaomer
Chedorlaomer "a handful of sheaves", was a king of Elam according to the Hebrew Bible book of Genesis Chapter 14. He ruled fourteen years, from the East in southwestern Persia, occupying the regions east of the Jordan river, in the days of Abram...
of Elam
Elam
Elam was an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Elam was centered in the far west and the southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province, as well as a small part of southern Iraq...
, and Tidal of Goiim made war on the Canaanite kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah
Admah
Admah was one of the pentapolis of the Vale of Siddim. It was destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah. It is supposed by some to be the same as the "Adam" of Joshua 3:16, the name of which still lingers in Damieh, a ford of the Jordan river....
, Zeboiim, and Zoar, who joined forces at the Valley of Siddim
Vale of Siddim
Vale of Siddim or Valley of Siddim is a Hebrew bible place name mentioned in the book of Genesis Chapter 14....
, now the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
. The Canaanite kings had served Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but rebelled in the thirteenth year. In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the Mesopotamian kings with him went on a military campaign and defeated several peoples in and around Canaan: the Rephaim
Rephaite
Rephaim is a Northwest Semitic term that occurs in the Hebrew Bible as well as other, non-Jewish ancient texts from the region...
, the Zuzim, the Emim
Emim
The Emim was the Moabite name for one of the tribes of Rephaim. They are described in Deuteronomy chapter 2 as having been a powerful people, populous and having a successful kingdom. They were defeated by the Moabites, who occupied their land...
, the Horites
Horites
Horites or Horim were a cave-dwelling people mentioned in the Torah inhabiting areas around Mount Seir. They have been identified with Egyptian references to Khar , which concern a southern region of Canaan...
, the Amalek
Amalek
The Amalekites are a people mentioned a number of times in the Hebrew Bible. They are considered to be descended from an ancestor Amalek....
ites, and the Amorite
Amorite
Amorite refers to an ancient Semitic people who occupied large parts of Mesopotamia from the 21st Century BC...
s. Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar engaged the four Mesopotamian kings in battle in the Valley of Siddim. The Mesopotamians routed the Canaanites, and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled into bitumen pits in the valley, while the rest escaped to the hill country. The Mesopotamians seized all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Lot and his possessions, and departed.
A fugitive brought the news to Abram, who mustered his 318 retainers, and pursued the invaders north to Dan. Abram and his servants defeated them at night, chased them north of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, and brought back all the people and possessions, including Lot and his possessions.
When Abram returned, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh, the Valley of the King. King Melchizedek
Melchizedek
Melchizedek or Malki Tzedek translated as "my king righteous") is a king and priest mentioned during the Abram narrative in the 14th chapter of the Book of Genesis....
of Salem (Jerusalem), a priest of God Most High
Elyon
Elyon is an epithet of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible. is usually rendered as English "God Most High"....
, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram and God Most High, and Abram gave him a tenth
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
of everything. The king of Sodom offered Abram to keep all the possessions if he would merely return the people, but Abram swore to God Most High not to take so much as a thread or a sandal strap from Sodom, but would take only shares for the men who went with him.
The covenant between the pieces
Some time later, the word of God appeared to Abram, saying not to fear, for his reward would be very great, but Abram questioned what God could give him, as he was destined to die childless, and his steward EliezerEliezer
For the mathematician and Tamil activist see C.J. Eliezer; for the AI researcher and writer on rationality see Eliezer Yudkowsky; for the Levite priest of the Hebrew Bible, see Eleazar...
of Damascus would be his heir. The word of God replied that Eliezer would not be his heir, Abram’s own son would. God took Abram outside and bade him to count the stars, for so numerous would his offspring be, and because Abram put his trust in God, God reckoned it to his merit. God directed Abram to bring three heifers, three goats, three rams, a turtledove, and a bird, to cut the non-birds in two, and to place each half opposite the other. Abram drove away birds of prey that came down upon the carcasses, and as the sun was about to set, he fell into a deep sleep. God told Abram that his offspring would be strangers in a land not theirs, and be enslaved 400 years, but God would execute judgment on the nation they were to serve, and in the end they would go free with great wealth and return in the fourth generation, after the iniquity of the Amorites was complete. And there appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch, which passed between the pieces. And God made a covenant with Abram to assign to his offspring the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
: the land of the Kenite
Kenite
Kenites or Cinites , according to the Hebrew Bible, were a nomadic clan in the ancient Levant, sent under Jethro a priest in the land of Midian. They played an important role in the history of ancient Israel. The Kenites were coppersmiths and metalworkers. Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, was a...
s, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites
Kadmonites
Kadmonites: The name of a people inhabiting the land promised to Abraham in . Jewish tradition regards the term as being identical to Bnei Kedem a designation of the relatives of the Hebrews who lived east of them....
, the Hittites
Biblical Hittites
The Hittites and children of Heth are a people or peoples mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. They are listed in Book of Genesis as second of the twelve Canaanite nations, descended from one Heth...
, the Perizzites
Perizzites
Perizzites - villagers; dwellers in the open country, the Girgashite Canaanite nation inhabiting the fertile regions south and south-west of Carmel."They were the graziers, farmers, and peasants of the time."...
, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusite
Jebusite
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Jebusites were a Canaanite tribe who inhabited and built Jerusalem prior to its conquest by King David; the Books of Kings state that Jerusalem was known as Jebus prior to this event...
s.
Hagar and Ishmael
Having borne no children after 10 years in Canaan, Sarai bade Abram to consort with her Egyptian maidservantHandmaiden
A handmaiden is a female attendant, assistant, domestic worker , or slave.-Religion:Norse goddesses had handmaidens, . The biblical Mary referred to herself as "the handmaid of the Lord" in acceptance of becoming pregnant by the Holy Ghost.A man might use a handmaiden as a concubine to bear his...
Hagar
Hagar (Bible)
Hagar , according to the Abrahamic faiths, was the second wife of Abraham, and the mother of his first son, Ishmael. Her story is recorded in the Book of Genesis, mentioned in Hadith, and alluded to in the Qur'an...
, so that Sarai might have a son through her, and Abram did as Sarai requested. When Hagar saw that she had conceived, Sarai was lowered in her esteem, and Sarai complained to Abram. Abram told Sarai that her maid was in her hands, and Sarai treated her harshly, so Hagar ran away.
An angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
of God found Hagar by a spring of water in the wilderness, and asked her where she came from and where she was going, and she replied that she was running away from her mistress. The angel told her to go back to her mistress and submit to her harsh treatment, for God would make Hagar’s offspring too numerous to count; she would bear a son whom she should name Ishmael
Ishmael
Ishmael is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, and was Abraham's first born child according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born of Abraham's marriage to Sarah's handmaiden Hagar...
, for God had paid heed to her suffering. Ishmael would be a wild donkey of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him, but he would dwell alongside his kinsmen. Hagar called God “El-roi
El Roi
El Roi is one of the biblical names of God represented by the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew and Christian Bible:As with El Bethel, El 'Olam, El Shaddai, El Berith, Elohim and numerous other formations in the Bible as translated into English, El Roi is a descriptive epithet for God using the word "El" for...
,” meaning that she had gone on seeing after God saw her, and the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. And when Abram was 86 years old, Hagar bore him a son, and Abram gave him the name Ishmael.
The covenant of circumcision
When Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to Abram as El Shaddai and asked him to walk in God’s ways and be blameless, for God would establish a covenant with him and make him exceedingly numerous. Abram threw himself on his face, and God changed his name from Abram to Abraham, promising to make him the father of a multitude of nations and kings. God promised to maintain the covenant with Abraham and his offspring as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, and assigned all the land of Canaan to him and his offspring as an everlasting holding. God further told Abraham that he and his offspring throughout the ages were to keep God’s covenant and every male (including every slave) was to be circumcisedCircumcision
Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....
in the flesh of his foreskin at the age of eight days as a sign of the covenant with God. If any male failed to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that person was to be cut off from his kin for having broken God’s covenant.
And God renamed Sarai as Sarah, and told Abraham that God would bless her and give Abraham a son by her so that she would give rise to nations and rulers. Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed at the thought that a child could be born to a man of a hundred and a woman of ninety, and Abraham asked God to bless Ishmael. But God told him that Sarah would bear Abraham a son, and Abraham was to name him Isaac
Isaac
Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...
, and God would maintain the everlasting covenant with him and his offspring. In response to Abraham’s prayer, God blessed Ishmael as well and promised to make him exceedingly numerous, the father of twelve chieftains and a great nation. But God would maintain the covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah would bear at the same season the next year. And when God finished speaking, God disappeared. That very day, Abraham circumcised himself at the age of 99, Ishmael at the age of 13, and every male in his household, as God had directed.
Genesis chapter 12
JoshuaBook of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
reports that Abram’s father Terah
Terah
Terah or Térach is a biblical figure in the book of Genesis, son of Nahor, son of Serug and father of the Patriarch Abraham, all descendants of Shem. He is mentioned in the Hebrew bible and the New Testament.-Genesis narrative:...
lived beyond the River Euphrates and served other gods.
While reports that Terah took Abram, Lot, and Sarai from Ur
Ur
Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...
of the Chaldees
Chaldea
Chaldea or Chaldaea , from Greek , Chaldaia; Akkadian ; Hebrew כשדים, Kaśdim; Aramaic: ܟܐܠܕܘ, Kaldo) was a marshy land located in modern-day southern Iraq which came to briefly rule Babylon...
to Haran, and subsequently reports God’s call to Abram to leave his country and his father’s house, Nehemiah
Book of Nehemiah
The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Told largely in the form of a first-person memoir, it concerns the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, a Jew who is a high official at the Persian court, and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws...
reports that God chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees.
Genesis chapter 15
While required a new mother to bring a burnt-offering and a sin-offering, and make clear that having children is a blessing from God; and characterize childlessness as a misfortune; and and threaten childlessness as a punishment.Genesis chapter 12
ActsActs of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
reported that God appeared to Abram while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and told him to leave his country and his people, and then he left the land of the Chaldeans to settle in Haran. And then after Terah’s death, God sent Abraham to Canaan.
Philo
Philo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
interpreted Abram’s migration allegorically as the story of a soul devoted to virtue and searching for the true God. (On the Migration of Abraham 15:68.)
Genesis chapter 12
A midrashMidrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
asked why God chose Abram. Rabbi Hiyya
Hiyya the Great
Rabbi Hiyya or Hiyya the Great was a Jewish sage of the Land of Israel during the transitional generation between the Tannaic and Amoraic Jewish sages eras . He is accounted as one of the notable sages of these times, and was the son of Abba Karsala from Kafri in Babylon....
said that Abram's father Terah manufactured idols
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
and once went away and left Abram to mind the store. A woman came with a plateful of flour and asked Abram to offer it to the idols. Abram took a stick, broke the idols, and put the stick in the largest idol’s hand. When Terah returned, he demanded that Abram explain what he had done. Abram told Terah that the idols fought among themselves and the largest broke the others with the stick. “Why do you make sport of me?” Terah cried, “Do they have any knowledge?” Abram replied, “Listen to what you are saying!” (Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba is a religious text from Judaism's classical period. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical interpretations of the Book of Genesis ....
h 38:13.)
The Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
taught that Abraham suffered ten trials — starting at — and withstood them all. (Mishnah Avot 5:3.) The Babylonian Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
reported that some deduced from that change of place can cancel a man’s doom, but another argued that it was the merit of the land of Israel that availed Abraham. (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16b.)
Rabbi Aha
Rabbi Aha
Rabbi Aha was a Jewish Amora sage of the Land of Israel, of the fourth generation of the Amora era. He resided at Lod, and was a colleague of R. Yehudah b. Pazi. Most of his work on the Halakha and Aggadah is cited in the Jerusalem Talmud and the Midrash, and very few is cited in the Babylon...
said in the name of Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman
Samuel ben Nahman
Samuel ben Nahman or Samuel Nahmani was a rabbi of the Talmud, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel from the beginning of the 3rd century until the beginning of the 4th century. He was a pupil of R. Jonathan ben Eleazar and one of the most famous haggadists of his time...
(or others say Rabbi Alexandri’s name) in Rabbi Nathan’s name that Abraham knew (and observed) even the laws of the courtyard eruv
Eruv
An Eruv is a ritual enclosure around most Orthodox Jewish and Conservative Jewish homes or communities. In such communities, an Eruv is seen to enable the carrying of objects out of doors on the Jewish Sabbath that would otherwise be forbidden by Torah law...
. Rabbi Phinehas (and others say Rabbi Helkiah and Rabbi Simon) said in the name of Rabbi Samuel that Abraham knew even the new name that God will one day give to Jerusalem, as Jeremiah
Book of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
says, “At that time they shall call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of God.’” Rabbi Berekiah
Rabbi Berekiah
R. Berekiah was a Jewish Amora sage of the Land of Israel, of the fourth generation of the Amora era. He is known for his work on the Aggadah, and there are many of his statements there, and many statements he delivered in the authority of other sages....
, Rabbi Hiyya, and the Rabbis of Babylonia taught in Rabbi Judah’s name that a day does not pass in which God does not teach a new law in the heavenly Court. For as Job
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
says, “Hear attentively the noise of His voice, and the meditation that goes out of His mouth.” And meditation refers to nothing but Torah, as says, “You shall meditate therein day and night.” And Abraham knew them all. (Genesis Rabbah 49:2, 64:4.)
Rabbi Berekiah noted that in God had already said, “I will bless you,” and so asked what God added by then saying, “and you be a blessing.” Rabbi Berekiah explained that God was thereby conveying to Abraham that up until that point, God had to bless God’s world, but thereafter, God entrusted the ability to bless to Abraham, and Abraham could thenceforth bless whomever it pleased him to bless. (Genesis Rabbah 39:11.)
Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words, “And in you shall the families of the earth be blessed ” in to teach that God told Abram that God had two good shoots to graft (lihavrich) onto Abram’s family tree: Ruth the Moab
Moab
Moab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over...
itess (whom Ruth
Book of Ruth
The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament. In the Jewish canon the Book of Ruth is included in the third division, or the Writings . In the Christian canon the Book of Ruth is placed between Judges and 1 Samuel...
reports was the ancestor of David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
) and Naamah
Naamah (wife of Solomon)
Naamah was the wife of King Solomon, and mother of his heir, Rehoboam, according to both , and in the Hebrew Bible. She was an Ammonite, and the only one of Solomon's wives to be mentioned, within the Hebrew Bible, as having borne a child....
the Ammon
Ammon
Ammon , also referred to as the Ammonites and children of Ammon, was an ancient nation located east of the Jordan River, Gilead, and the Dead Sea, in present-day Jordan. The chief city of the country was Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon, site of the modern city of Amman, Jordan's capital...
itess (whom 1 Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
reports was the mother of Rehoboam
Rehoboam
Rehoboam was initially king of the United Monarchy of Israel but after the ten northern tribes of Israel rebelled in 932/931 BC to form the independent Kingdom of Israel he was king of the Kingdom of Judah, or southern kingdom. He was a son of Solomon and a grandson of David...
and thus the ancestor or good kings like Hezekiah
Hezekiah
Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz and the 14th king of Judah. Edwin Thiele has concluded that his reign was between c. 715 and 686 BC. He is also one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Hebrew Bible....
). And Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words, “All the families of the earth,” in to teach that even the other families who live on the earth are blessed only for Israel’s sake. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 63a.)
Rav Judah deduced from that to refuse to say grace when given a cup to bless is one of three things that shorten a man’s life. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 55a.) And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi deduced from that every kohen
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
who pronounces the benediction is himself blessed. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 38b.)
Resh Lakish
Resh Lakish
Simeon ben Lakish , better known by his nickname Resh Lakish, was an amora who lived in the Roman province of Syria Palaestina in the third century CE...
deduced from that the Torah regards the man who teaches Torah to his neighbor’s son as though he had fashioned him. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 99b.)
Similarly, Rabbi Leazar in the name of Rabbi Jose ben Zimra
Jose ben Zimra
R. Jose ben Zimra was Jewish Tanna of the sixth generation of the Tannaic era, during the transition period between the Tannaim Jewish sages era and the Jewish Amoraim sages era. He came from a privileged background family and his son married Judah haNasi's daughter...
observed that if all the nations assembled to create one insect they could not bring it to life, yet says, “the souls whom they had made in Haran.” Rabbi Leazar in the name of Rabbi Jose ben Zimra interpreted the words “the souls whom they had made” to refer to the proselytes whom Abram and Sarai had converted. The midrash asked why then did not simply say, “whom they had converted,” and instead says, “whom they had made.” The midrash answered that thus teaches that one who brings a nonbeliever near to God is like one who created a life. Noting that does not say, “whom he had made,” but instead says “whom they had made,” Rabbi Hunia taught that Abraham converted the men, and Sarah converted the women. (Genesis Rabbah 39:14.)
The Mishnah equated the terebinth of Moreh to which Abram journeyed in with the terebinths of Moreh to which Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
directed the Israelites to journey in Deuteronomy to hear the blessings and curses at Mount Gerizim
Mount Gerizim
Mount Gerizim is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the West Bank city of Nablus , and forms the southern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated,...
and Mount Ebal
Mount Ebal
Mount Ebal is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank , and forms the northern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the southern side being formed by Mount Gerizim...
(Mishnah Sotah 7:5; Babylonian Talmud Sotah 32a), and the Talmud equated both with Shechem. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 33b.)
Rabbi Elazar said that one should always anticipate misfortune with prayer; for it was only by virtue of Abram’s prayer between Beth-el and Ai
Ai (Bible)
Ai refers to one or two places in ancient Israel:*A city mentioned along with Heshbon by Jeremiah 49:3, whose location is currently unknown, and which may or may not be the same as:...
reported in that Israel’s troops survived at the Battle of Ai in the days of Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
.” (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 44b.)
The Rabbis deduced from that when there is a famine in town, one should emigrate. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Kamma 60b.)
Rav
Abba Arika
Abba Arika was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the 3rd century who established at Sura the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as text, led to the compilation of the Talmud...
deduced from that Abram had not even looked at his own wife before that point. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 16a.)
Reading the words, “And it came to pass, that, when Abram came into Egypt,” in a midrash asked why the text at that point mentioned Abraham but not Sarai. The midrash taught that Abram had put Sarai in a box and locked her in. The midrash told that when Abram came to the Egyptian customs house, the customs officer demanded that Abram pay the custom duty on the box and its contents, and Abram agreed to pay. The customs officer proposed that Abram must have been carrying garments in the box, and Abram agreed to pay the duty for garments. The customs officer then proposed that Abram must have been carrying silks in the box, and Abram agreed to pay the duty for silks. The customs officer then proposed that Abram must have been carrying precious stones in the box, and Abram agreed to pay the duty for precious stones. But then the customs officer insisted that Abram open the box so that the customs officers could see what it contained. As soon as Abram opened the box, Sarai’s beauty illuminated the land of Egypt. (Genesis Rabbah 40:5.)
Rabbi Azariah and Rabbi Jonathan
Rabbi Jonathan
Rabbi Jonathan was a Palestinian tanna of the 2nd century and schoolfellow of R. Josiah, apart from whom he is rarely quoted. Jonathan is generally so cited without further designation; but there is ample reason for identifying him with the less frequently occurring Jonathan b. Joseph Rabbi...
in Rabbi Isaac's name taught that Eve's
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
image was transmitted to the reigning beauties of each generation (setting the standard of beauty). says of David’s comforter Abishag
Abishag
According to the Old Testament, Abishag was a young woman of Shunem, distinguished for her beauty. She was chosen to be a helper and servant to David in his old age. Among Abishag's duties was to lie next to David and keep him warm; however, David did not have sexual relations with her...
, “And the damsel was very fair” — , yafah ad me'od — which the midrash interpreted to mean that she attained to Eve's beauty (as , ad me'od, implies , Adam, and thus Eve). And says, “the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair” — , me'od — which the midrash interpreted to mean that Sarai was even more beautiful than Eve. Reading the words, “And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh,” in Rabbi Johanan
Yochanan bar Nafcha
Rabbi Yochanan ;...
told that they tried to outbid each other for the right to enter Pharaoh's palace with Sarai. One prince said that he would give a hundred dinar
Dinar
The dinar is the official currency of several countries.The history of the dinar dates to the gold dinar, an early Islamic coin corresponding to the Byzantine denarius auri...
s for the right to enter the palace with Sarai, whereupon another bid two hundred dinars. (Genesis Rabbah 40:5.)
Rabbi Helbo deduced from that a man must always observe the honor due to his wife, because blessings rest on a man’s home only on account of her. (Babylonian Talmud Baba Metzia 59a.)
Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani said in the name of Rabbi Johanan that leprosy resulted from seven things: slander, bloodshed, vain oath, incest, arrogance, robbery, and envy. The Gemara
Gemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
cited God’s striking Pharaoh with plagues in to show that incest had led to leprosy. (Babylonian Talmud Arachin 16a.)
Genesis chapter 13
A Baraita deduced from the words, “like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt,” in that among all the nations, there was none more fertile than Egypt. And the Baraita taught that there was no more fertile spot in Egypt than Zoan, where kings lived, for IsaiahBook of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
says of Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
, “his princes are at Zoan.” And in all of Israel, there was no more rocky ground than that at Hebron, which is why the Patriarchs buried their dead there, as reported in But rocky Hebron was still seven times as fertile as lush Zoan, as the Baraita interpreted the words “and Hebron was built seven years before Zoan
Tanis, Egypt
Tanis , the Greek name of ancient Djanet , is a city in the north-eastern Nile delta of Egypt. It is located on the Tanitic branch of the Nile which has long since silted up.-History:...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
” in Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
to mean that Hebron was seven times as fertile as Zoan. The Baraita rejected the plain meaning of “built,” reasoning that Ham would not build a house for his younger son Canaan
Canaan (Bible)
Canaan, according to the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, was a son of Ham and grandson of Noah.- Descendants of Canaan:According to the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 , Canaan was the ancestor of the Canaanite tribes who occupied the ancient Land of Canaan: all the territory from Sidon to...
(in whose land was Hebron) before he built one for his elder son Mizraim
Mizraim
Mizraim is the Hebrew name for the land of Egypt, with the dual suffix -āyim, perhaps referring to the "two Egypts": Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt....
(in whose land was Zoan, and lists (presumably in order of birth) “the sons of Ham: Cush
Biblical Cush
Cush was the eldest son of Ham, brother of Mizraim , Canaan and the father of Nimrod, and Raamah, mentioned in the "Table of Nations" in the Genesis 10:6 and I Chronicles 1:8...
, and Mizraim, and Put
Phut
Phut or Put is the third son of Ham , in the biblical Table of Nations .Put is associated with Ancient Libya by many early writers...
, and Canaan.” (Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 112a.)
Rabbi Issi taught that there was no city in the plain better than Sodom, for Lot had searched through all the cities of the plain and found none like Sodom. Thus the people of Sodom were the best of all, yet as reports, “the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners.” They were “wicked” to each other, “sinners” in adultery, “against the Lord” in idolatry, and “exceedingly” engaged in bloodshed. (Genesis Rabbah 41:7.)
The Mishnah deduced from that the men of Sodom would have no place in the world to come. (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:3; Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 107b, 109a.)
Genesis chapter 14
Rabbi Levi, or some say Rabbi Jonathan, said that a tradition handed down from the Men of the Great AssemblyGreat Assembly
The Great Assembly or Anshei Knesset HaGedolah , also known as the Great Synagogue, was, according to Jewish tradition, an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, in the period from the end of the Biblical prophets to the time of the development of Rabbinic Judaism, marking a transition from...
taught that wherever the Bible employs the term “and it was” or “and it came to pass” , as it does in it indicates misfortune, as one can read wa-yehi as wai, hi, “woe, sorrow.” Thus the words, “And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel,” in are followed by the words, “they made war,” in And the Gemara also cited the instances of followed by followed by followed by the rest of followed by 1 Samuel
Books of Samuel
The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
followed by followed by close after followed by followed by the rest of and Esther
Book of Esther
The Book of Esther is a book in the Ketuvim , the third section of the Jewish Tanakh and is part of the Christian Old Testament. The Book of Esther or the Megillah is the basis for the Jewish celebration of Purim...
followed by Haman
Haman (Bible)
Haman is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who, according to Old Testament tradition, was a 5th Century BC noble and vizier of the Persian empire under King Ahasuerus, traditionally identified as Artaxerxes II...
. But the Gemara also cited as counterexamples the words, “And there was evening and there was morning one day,” in as well as and So Rav Ashi replied that wa-yehi sometimes presages misfortune, and sometimes it does not, but the expression “and it came to pass in the days of” always presages misfortune. And for that proposition, the Gemara cited and (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 10b.)
Rav and Samuel
Samuel of Nehardea
Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea. He was a teacher of halakha, judge, physician, and astronomer. He was born about 165 at Nehardea, in Babylonia...
equated the Amraphel of with the Nimrod
Nimrod
Nimrod means "Hunter"; was a Biblical Mesopotamian king mentioned in the Table of Nations; an eponym for the city of Nimrud.Nimrod can also refer to any of the following:*Nimród Antal, a director...
whom describes as “a mighty warrior on the earth,” but the two differed over which was his real name. One held that his name was actually Nimrod
Nimrod
Nimrod means "Hunter"; was a Biblical Mesopotamian king mentioned in the Table of Nations; an eponym for the city of Nimrud.Nimrod can also refer to any of the following:*Nimród Antal, a director...
, and calls him Amraphel because he ordered Abram to be cast into a burning furnace (and thus the name Amraphel reflects the words for “he said” (amar) and “he cast” (hipil)). But the other held that his name was actually Amraphel, and calls him Nimrod because he led the world in rebellion against God (and thus the name Nimrod reflects the word for “he led in rebellion” (himrid)). (Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 53a.)
Rabbi Berekiah and Rabbi Helbo taught in the name of Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman that the Valley of Siddim
Vale of Siddim
Vale of Siddim or Valley of Siddim is a Hebrew bible place name mentioned in the book of Genesis Chapter 14....
(mentioned in in connection with the battle between the four kings and the five kings
Battle of the Vale of Siddim
The Battle of Siddim, or Battle of the Vale of Siddim refers to an event in the Hebrew Bible book of that occurred in the days of Abram and Lot...
) was called the Valley of Shaveh (which means "as one") because there all the peoples of the world agreed as one, felled cedars, erected a large dais for Abraham, set him on top, and praised him, saying (in the words of "Hear us, my lord: You are a prince of God among us." They told Abraham that he was king over them and a god to them. But Abraham replied that the world did not lack its King, and the world did not lack its God. (Genesis Rabbah 42:5.)
A midrash taught that there was not a mighty man in the world more difficult to overcome than Og
Og
Og, according to the bible, was an Amorite king of Bashan who, along with his army, was slain by Moses and his men at the battle of Edrei...
, as says, “only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim.” The midrash told that Og had been the only survivor of the strong men whom Amraphel and his colleagues had slain, as may be inferred from which reports that Amraphel “smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim,” and one may read to indicate that Og lived near Ashteroth. The midrash taught that Og was the refuse among the Rephaim, like a hard olive that escapes being mashed in the olive press. The midrash inferred this from which reports that “there came one who had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew,” and the midrash indentified the man who had escaped as Og, as describes him as a remnant, saying, “only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim.” The midrash taught that Og intended that Abram should go out and be killed. God rewarded Og for delivering the message by allowing him to live all the years from Abraham to Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
, but God collected Og’s debt to God for his evil intention toward Abraham by causing Og to fall by the hand of Abraham’s descendants. On coming to make war with Og, Moses was afraid, thinking that he was only 120 years old, while Og was more than 500 years old, and if Og had not possessed some merit, he would not have lived all those years. So God told Moses (in the words of ), “fear him not; for I have delivered him into your land,” implying that Moses should slay Og with his own hand. (Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers ....
19:32.)
Rabbi Abbahu
Abbahu
Abbahu was a Jewish Talmudist, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel, of the 3rd amoraic generation , sometimes cited as R. Abbahu of Caesarea . His rabbinic education was acquired mainly at Tiberias, in the academy presided over by R. Johanan, with whom his relations were almost...
said in Rabbi Eleazar’s name that “his trained men” in meant Torah scholars, and thus when Abram made them fight to rescue Lot, he brought punishment on himself and his children, who were consequently enslaved in Egyptian for 210 years. But Samuel said that Abram was punished because he questioned whether God would keep God’s promise, when in Abram asked God “how shall I know that I shall inherit it?” And Rabbi Johanan
Yochanan bar Nafcha
Rabbi Yochanan ;...
said that Abram was punished because he prevented people from entering beneath the wings of the Shekhinah
Shekhinah
Shekinah is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling divine presence of God, especially in the Temple in Jerusalem.-Etymology:Shekinah is derived...
and being saved, when in the king of Sodom said it to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods yourself,” and Abram consented to leave the prisoners with the king of Sodom. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a.)
Rav interpreted the words “And he armed his trained servants, born in his own house” in to mean that Abram equipped them by teaching them the Torah. Samuel read the word vayarek (“he armed”) to mean “bright,” and thus interpreted the words “And he armed his trained servants” in to mean that Abram made them bright with gold, that is, rewarded them for accompanying him. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a.)
Reading the report in that Abram led 318 men, Rabbi Ammi bar Abba said that Abram’s servant Eliezer outweighed them all. The Gemara reported that others (employing gematria
Gematria
Gematria or gimatria is a system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase, in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation to each other, or bear some relation to the number itself as it may apply to a person's age, the calendar year, or the like...
) said that Eliezer alone accompanied Abram to rescue Lot, as the Hebrew letters in Eliezer’s name have a numerical value of 318. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a.)
midrash identified the Melchizedek of with Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
’s son Shem
Shem
Shem was one of the sons of Noah in the Hebrew Bible as well as in Islamic literature. He is most popularly regarded as the eldest son, though some traditions regard him as the second son. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity in each...
. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32b; Genesis Rabbah 56:10; Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus . It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel in his Aruk as well as by Rashi in his commentaries on , and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon and Nissim knew and made use of it...
25:6; Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers ....
4:8.) The Rabbis taught that Melchizedek acted as a priest
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
and handed down Adam’s
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
robes to Abraham. (Numbers Rabbah 4:8.) Rabbi Zechariah said on Rabbi Ishmael’s authority (or others say, it was taught at the school of Rabbi Ishmael) that God intended to continue the priesthood from Shem’s descendants, as says, “And he (Melchizedek/Shem) was the priest of the most high God.” But then Melchizedek gave precedence in his blessing to Abram over God, and thus God decided to bring forth the priesthood from Abram. As reports, “And he (Melchizedek/Shem) blessed him (Abram), and said: ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God the Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’” Abram replied to Melchizedek/Shem by questioning whether the blessing of a servant should be given precedence over that of the master. And straightaway, God gave the priesthood to Abram, as says, “The Lord (God) said to my Lord (Abram), Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool,” which is followed in by, “The Lord has sworn, and will not repent, ‘You (Abram) are a priest for ever, after the order (dibrati) of Melchizedek,’” meaning, “because of the word (dibbur) of Melchizedek.” Hence says, “And he (Melchizedek/Shem) was the priest of the most high God,” implying that Melchizedek/Shem was a priest, but not his descendants. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32b; Leviticus Rabbah 25:6.)
Rabbi Isaac the Babylonian said that Melchizedek was born circumcised. (Genesis Rabbah 43:6.) A midrash taught that Melchizedek called Jerusalem “Salem.” (Genesis Rabbah 56:10.) The Rabbis said that Melchizedek instructed Abraham in the Torah. (Genesis Rabbah 43:6.) Rabbi Eleazar said that Melchizedek’s school was one of three places where the Holy Spirit manifested itself. (Babylonian Talmud Makkot 23b.)
Rabbi Judah said in Rabbi Nehorai's name that Melchizedek’s blessing yielded prosperity for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
. (Genesis Rabbah 43:8.) Ephraim Miksha'ah the disciple of Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir or Rabbi Meir Baal Hanes was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishna. He was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the fourth generation . According to legend , his father was a descendant of the Roman Emperor Nero who had converted to Judaism. His wife Bruriah is...
said in the latter's name that Tamar descended from Melchizedek. (Genesis Rabbah 85:10.)
Rabbi Hana bar Bizna citing Rabbi Simeon Hasida
Simeon the Just
Simeon the Just was a Jewish High Priest during the time of the Second Temple...
(or others say Rabbi Berekiah in the name of Rabbi Isaac) identified Melchizedek as one of the four craftsmen of whom Zechariah wrote in Zechariah
Book of Zechariah
The Book of Zechariah is the penultimate book of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew and Christian Bible, attributed to the prophet Zechariah.-Historical context:...
(Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 52b; Song of Songs Rabbah
Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah
Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah is a Haggadic midrash on Canticles, quoted by Rashi under the title "Midrash Shir ha-Shirim" . It is called also "Agadat Ḥazita", from its initial word "Ḥazita" , or "Midrash Ḥazita" Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah (Hebrew: שיר השירים רבה) is a Haggadic midrash on Canticles, quoted by...
2:33.) The Gemara taught that David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
wrote the Book of Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
, including in it the work of the elders, including Melchizedek in (Babylonian Talmud Baba Batra 14b–15a.)
Genesis chapter 15
The Gemara expanded on Abram’s conversation with God in , quoting Abram to ask: “Master of the Universe, should Israel sin before You, will You do to them as You have done to the generation of the Flood and to the generation of the Dispersion?” God replied: “No.” Abram then said to God: “Master of the Universe, ‘Let me know whereby I shall inherit it.’” God answered: “Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old.” Abram then continued: “Master of the Universe! This holds good while the TempleTemple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
remains in being, but when the Temple will no longer be, what will become of them?” God replied: “I have already long ago provided for them in the Torah the order of sacrifices, and whenever they read it, I will deem it as if they had offered them before me, and I will grant them pardon for all their iniquities.” (Babylonian Talmud Taanit 27b, Megillah 31b.)
The Gemara expounded on the words, “And He brought him outside,” in The Gemara taught that Abram had told God that Abram had employed astrology to see his destiny and had seen that he was not fated to have children. God replied that Abram should go “outside” of his astrological thinking, for the stars do not determine Israel’s fate. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a.)
Resh Lakish taught that Providence punishes bodily those who unjustifiably suspect the innocent. In Exodus Moses said that the Israelites “will not believe me,” but God knew that the Israelites would believe. God thus told Moses that the Israelites were believers and descendants of believers, while Moses would ultimately disbelieve. The Gemara explained that reports that “the people believed” and reports that the Israelites’ ancestor Abram “believed in the Lord,” while reports that Moses “did not believe.” Thus, Moses was smitten when in God turned his hand white as snow. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 97a.)
Land of Goshen
The Land of Goshen is named in the bible as the place in Egypt given to the Hebrews by the pharaoh of Joseph, and the land from which they later left Egypt at the time of the Exodus...
that “they got possessions therein,” and which says of the Israelites in Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
, “When you come into the land of Canaan, which I gave you for a possession.” The midrash read to read, “and they were taken in possession by it.” The midrash thus taught that in the case of Goshen, the land seized the Israelites, so that their bond might be exacted and so as to bring about God's declaration to Abraham in that the Egyptians would afflict the Israelites for 400 years. But the midrash read to teach the Israelites that if they were worthy, the Land of Israel would be an eternal possession, but if not, they would be banished from it. (Genesis Rabbah 95.)
The Mishnah pointed to God’s announcement to Abram in that his descendants would return from Egyptian slavery to support the proposition that the merits of the father bring about benefits for future generations. (Mishnah Eduyot 2:9.)
A midrash taught that and call the Euphrates “the Great River” because it encompasses the Land of Israel. The midrash noted that at the creation of the world, the Euphrates was not designated “great.” But it is called “great” because it encompasses the Land of Israel, which calls a “great nation.” As a popular saying said, the king’s servant is a king, and thus Scripture calls the Euphrates great because of its association with the great nation of Israel. (Genesis Rabbah 16:3.)
Genesis chapter 16
Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai deduced from the words, “and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar,” in that Hagar was Pharaoh’s daughter. Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai taught that when Pharaoh saw what God did on Sarah’s behalf, Pharaoh gave his daughter to Sarai, reasoning that it would be better for his daughter to be a handmaid in Sarai’s house than a mistress in another house. Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai read the name “Hagar” in to mean “reward” (agar), imagining Pharaoh to say, “Here is your reward (agar).” (Genesis Rabbah 45:1.)A midrash deduced from Sarai’s words in “Behold now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing; go into my handmaid; it may be that I shall be built up through her,” that one who is childless is as one who is demolished. The Rabbi of the midrash reasoned that only that which is demolished must be “built up.” (Genesis Rabbah 45:2.)
The Gemara taught that if one sees Ishmael in a dream, then God hears that person’s prayer (perhaps because the name “Ishmael” derives from “the Lord has heard” in or perhaps because “God heard” (yishmah Elohim) Ishmael’s voice in ). (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 56b.)
Genesis chapter 17
Rabbi Judah contrasted the words “Noah walked with God” in with God’s words to Abraham, “walk before Me,” in Rabbi Judah compared it to a king who had two sons, one grown up and the other a child. The king asked the child to walk with him. But the king asked the adult to walk before him. Similarly, to Abraham, whose moral strength was great, God said, “Walk before Me.” But of Noah, whose strength was feeble, says, “Noah walked with God.” (Genesis Rabbah 30:10.)Rabbi
Judah haNasi
Judah the Prince, or Judah I, also known as Rebbi or Rabbeinu HaKadosh , was a 2nd-century CE rabbi and chief redactor and editor of the Mishnah. He was a key leader of the Jewish community during the Roman occupation of Judea . He was of the Davidic line, the royal line of King David, hence the...
taught that notwithstanding all the precepts that Abram fulfilled, God did not call him “perfect” until he circumcised himself, for in God told Abram, “Walk before me and be perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and you,” and in God explained that God’s covenant required that every male be circumcised. (Mishnah Nedarim 3:11; Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 31b, 32a.)
Rav Judah said in Rav’s name that when God told Abram in “Walk before me and be perfect,” Abram was seized with trembling, thinking that perhaps there was some shameful flaw in him that needed correcting. But when God added in “And I will make My covenant between me and you,” God set Abram’s mind at ease. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a.)
Rabbi Hoshaiah
Hoshaiah
Hoshaiah or Oshaya was a Palestinian amora of the 3rd and 4th amoraic generations. It is supposed that his colleague Hanina was his brother...
taught that if one perfects oneself, then good fortune will follow, for says, “Walk before me and be perfect,” and shortly thereafter reports Abram’s reward for doing so: “And you shall be a father of many nations.” (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a.)
Rabbi Ammi bar Abba employed gematria to interpret the meaning of Abram’s name change in from Abram to Abraham . According to Rabbi Ammi bar Abba, at first God gave Abram mastery over 243 of his body parts, as the numerical value of the Hebrew letters in Abram is 243. Then God gave Abraham mastery over 248 of his body parts, adding five body parts, as the numerical value of the Hebrew letter hei
He (letter)
He is the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician , Aramaic, Hebrew , Syriac and Arabic . Its sound value is a voiceless glottal fricative ....
that God added to his name is five. The Gemara explained that as a reward for Abraham’s undergoing circumcision, God granted Abraham control over his two eyes, his two ears, and the organ that he circumcised. (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32b.)
The Mishnah notes that transgressing the command of circumcision in is one of 36 transgressions that cause the transgressor to be cut off from his people. (Mishnah Keritot 1:1; Babylonian Talmud Keritot 2a.)
The Gemara read the command of to require an uncircumcised adult man to become circumcised, and the Gemara read the command of Leviticus to require the father to circumcise his infant child. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 132b.)
Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina taught that visiting those who have had medical procedures (as Abraham had in ) demonstrates one of God’s attributes that humans should emulate. Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina asked what means in the text, “You shall walk after the Lord your God.” How can a human being walk after God, when says, “[T]he Lord your God is a devouring fire”? Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina explained that the command to walk after God means to walk after the attributes of God. As God clothes the naked — for says, “And the Lord God made for Adam
Adam
Adam is a figure in the Book of Genesis. According to the creation myth of Abrahamic religions, he is the first human. In the Genesis creation narratives, he was created by Yahweh-Elohim , and the first woman, Eve was formed from his rib...
and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them” — so should we also clothe the naked. God visited the sick — for says, “And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre” (after Abraham was circumcised in ) — so should we also visit the sick. God comforted mourners — for says, “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac
Isaac
Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...
his son” — so should we also comfort mourners. God buried the dead — for says, “And He buried him in the valley” — so should we also bury the dead. (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 14a.) Similarly, the Sifre
Sifre
Sifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...
on taught that to walk in God’s ways means to be (in the words of ) “merciful and gracious.” (Sifre to Deuteronomy 49:1.)
Commandments
According to MaimonidesMaimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
and Sefer ha-Chinuch
Sefer ha-Chinuch
The Sefer ha-Chinuch , often simply "the Chinuch" is a work which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was published anonymously in 13th century Spain...
, there is one positive commandment
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
in the parshah:
- The precept of circumcision
(Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
Mishneh Torah
The Mishneh Torah subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka is a code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides , one of history's foremost rabbis...
, Positive Commandment 215. Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 1:230–31. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:85–87. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-179-9.)
Haftarah
The haftarahHaftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
for the parshah is:
- for AshkenaziAshkenazi JewsAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
and Sephardi JewsSephardi JewsSephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
: - - for Karaite JewsKaraite JudaismKaraite Judaism or Karaism is a Jewish movement characterized by the recognition of the Tanakh alone as its supreme legal authority in Halakhah, as well as in theology...
:
In the liturgy
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
Haggadah
Haggadah of Pesach
The Haggadah is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. Reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the Scriptural commandment to each Jew to "tell your son" of the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the Book of Exodus in the Torah...
, in the concluding nirtzah section of the Seder
Passover Seder
The Passover Seder is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted on the evenings of the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, and on the 15th by traditionally observant Jews living outside Israel. This corresponds to late March or April in...
, in a reference to recounts how God granted victory to the righteous convert Abram at the middle of the night. (Joseph Tabory. JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, 122. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8276-0858-0. Menachem Davis. The Interlinear Haggadah: The Passover Haggadah, with an Interlinear Translation, Instructions and Comments, 108. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005. ISBN 1-57819-064-9.)
The name “Elyon” or “God Most High,” which Melchizedek used in is used in to refer to God, and is in turn recited after the Lekhah Dodi
Lekhah Dodi
Lekhah Dodi is a Hebrew-language Jewish liturgical song recited Friday at dusk, usually at sundown, in synagogue to welcome Shabbat prior to the Maariv...
liturgical poem of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service
Jewish services
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
. (Reuven Hammer
Reuven Hammer
Reuven Hammer is a Conservative Jewish rabbi, scholar of Jewish liturgy, author and lecturer. He is a founder of the Masorti movement in Israel and a past president of the International Rabbinical Assembly. He served many years as head of the Masorti Beth Din in Israel...
. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom
Siddur Sim Shalom
Siddur Sim Shalom may refer to any siddur in a family of siddurim, Jewish prayerbooks, and related commentaries on these siddurim, published by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism....
for Shabbat and Festivals, 23. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly
Rabbinical Assembly
The Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, and oversees the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and...
, 2003. ISBN 0-916219-20-8.)
Amidah
The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...
draws on God’s words in “Fear not, Abram, I am a shield to you,” to refer to God as “Shield of Abraham.” (Hammer, at 35a.)
In the hymn Adon Olam
Adon Olam
Adon Olam is a strictly metrical hymn in the Jewish liturgy. It has been a regular part of the daily and Sabbath liturgy since the 15th century...
(“Lord of the World”), use of the title “Adon” recalls the merit of Abraham, who first addressed God with the title in (Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for Weekdays with an Interlinear Translation, 14–15. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-686-8.)
The Haggadah, in the magid section of the Seder, quotes to demonstrate that God keeps God’s promises. (Davis, at 41–42; Tabory, at 89.) Thereafter, the Haggadah reports that Israel “went down to Egypt — forced to do so by the word [of God],” and many commentators think that this statement refers to God’s foretelling in that Abram’s descendants would “be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them.” (Tabory, at 90.) And in the concluding nirtzah section, in a reference to God’s promises to Abram in the Covenant Between the Pieces in the Haggadah reports that God “disclosed to the one from the Orient at midnight on Passover.” (Tabory, at 125.)
Following the Kabbalat Shabbat service and prior to the Friday evening (Ma'ariv
Jewish services
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
) service, Jews traditionally read rabbinic sources on the observance of the Sabbath, including Mishnah Shabbat 18:3. Mishnah Shabbat 18:3, in turn, makes clear the precedence of the law of circumcision in over even the observance of the Sabbath. (Hammer, at 25.)
The Weekly Maqam
In the Weekly MaqamThe Weekly Maqam
In Mizrahi and Sephardic Middle Eastern Jewish prayer services, each Shabbat the congregation conducts services using a different maqam. A maqam , which in Arabic literally means 'place', is a standard melody type and set of related tunes. The melodies used in a given maqam aims effectively to...
, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For parshah Lech Lecha, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Saba, the maqam that symbolizes a covenant (berit). It is appropriate because in this parshah, Abraham and his sons undergo circumcisions, a ritual that signifies a covenant between man and God.
Ancient
- Vassal treaties of EsarhaddonEsarhaddonEsarhaddon , was a king of Assyria who reigned 681 – 669 BC. He was the youngest son of Sennacherib and the Aramean queen Naqi'a , Sennacherib's second wife....
. Babylonia, 681–669 BCE. - "To go/pass through" in Hans G. Guterbock & Harry A. Hoffner (eds.), The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, vol. P, 36-37. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1997.
Biblical
(numerous as stars); (circumcision). (numerous as stars).Early nonrabbinic
- The Genesis Apocryphon. Dead Sea scrollDead Sea scrollsThe Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
1Q20. Land of Israel, 1st century BCE. Reprinted in Géza VermesGeza VermesGéza Vermes or Vermès is a British scholar of Jewish Hungarian origin and writer on religious history, particularly Jewish and Christian. He is a noted authority on the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient works in Aramaic, and on the life and religion of Jesus...
. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, 448, 453–59. New York: Penguin Press, 1997. ISBN 0-7139-9131-3. (wife-sister, battle of the kings). - The Heavenly Prince Melchizedek. Dead Sea scrollDead Sea scrollsThe Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
11Q13. Land of Israel, 1st century BCE. Reprinted in Géza Vermes. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, 500–02. New York: Penguin Press, 1997. ISBN 0-7139-9131-3.
- PhiloPhiloPhilo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
. Allegorical Interpretation 2: 15:59; Allegorical Interpretation 3: 8:24; 13:39; 25:79; 26:82–27:83; 28:85; 70:197; 78:217; 81:228; 87:244; On the Cherubim 1:2; That the Worse Is Wont To Attack the Better 44:159; On the Giants 14:63; On the Unchangableness of God 1:4; On Drunkenness 7:24; 27:105; On the Confusion of Tongues 8:26; On the Migration of Abraham 1:1; 3:13; 9:43; 16:86; 19:107; 20:109; 27:148; 30:164; 39:216; Who Is the Heir of Divine Things? 1:2; 7:34; 12:58; 13:66; 14:69; 15:76; 16:81; 17:86; 18:90; 21:102; 25:125; 26:129; 43:207; 48:230; 49:237; 51:249; 54:267; 55:272; 56:275, 277; 60:300; 61:307, 312; 62:313; On Mating with the Preliminary Studies 1:1; 13:63; 14:71; 17:92; 18:99; 25:139; 27:153; On Flight and Finding 1:1–6; 22:119; 35:196; On the Change of Names 1:1; 3:15, 18, 22; 4:27; 5:39, 42; 6:51–52; 23:130, 136; 27:148; 33:175, 177; 37:201; 44:253; 45:263–46:264; 47:267; 48:270; On Dreams, That They Are God-Sent 1:9:47, 41:240; 2:39:255 On Abraham 17:77; 46:273; The Decalogue 10:37–38; On the Virtues 39:215–16; Every Good Man Is Free 5:29; Questions and Answers on Genesis 2: 80; 3: 1–62. AlexandriaAlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt, early 1st century CE. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by Charles Duke YongeCharles Duke YongeCharles Duke Yonge was an English historian, classicist, and cricketer. He wrote numerous works of modern history, and translated several classical works.-Life:...
, 44, 52, 54, 59, 73, 75–76, 78, 80, 129, 157–58, 209, 216, 236, 253–54, 257, 261, 263, 267, 269, 274, 276, 278, 281–84, 286, 293, 295–97, 299–300, 302–04, 309–10, 312, 316–17, 321, 331, 339, 341–46, 352–53, 356, 358, 363–64, 369, 386, 406, 418, 434, 521, 662, 684, 839, 841–63. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1993. ISBN 0-943575-93-1.
- JosephusJosephusTitus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
. The Wars of the JewsThe Wars of the JewsThe Jewish War , in full Flavius Josephus's Books of the History of the Jewish War against the Romans , also referred to in English as The Wars of the Jews and The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem, is a book written by the 1st century Jewish historian Josephus.It is a description of Jewish...
, 5:9:4; 7:10:1. Circa 75 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William WhistonWilliam WhistonWilliam Whiston was an English theologian, historian, and mathematician. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism...
, 716. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8. - Qur’an 2:258; 4:163; 6:74–84; 19:41–50. Arabia, 7th century.
Classical rabbinic
- MishnahMishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
: Nedarim 3:11; Sotah 7:5; Sanhedrin 10:3; Eduyot 2:9; Avot 5:3; Keritot 1:1. Land of Israel, circa 200 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob NeusnerJacob NeusnerJacob Neusner is an American academic scholar of Judaism who lives in Rhinebeck, New York.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Neusner was educated at Harvard University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America , the University of Oxford, and Columbia University.Neusner is often celebrated...
, 412, 458, 605, 645–46, 685, 836. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4. - ToseftaToseftaThe Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
: Berakhot 1:12–13; Shabbat 7:24, 15:9; Yevamot 8:5; Nedarim 2:5; Sotah 5:12; Sanhedrin 13:8; Eduyot 1:14. Land of Israel, circa 300 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2. - Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem TalmudThe Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
: Berakhot 17a–b; Sheviit 43b; Bikkurim 5b. Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 1, 6b, 12. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2005–2008. - Genesis RabbaGenesis RabbaGenesis Rabba is a religious text from Judaism's classical period. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical interpretations of the Book of Genesis ....
h 39:1–47:10. Land of Israel, 5th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
- Babylonian TalmudTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
: Berakhot 7b, 9b, 13a, 49a, 55a, 56b, 64a; Shabbat 89b, 97a, 105a, 108a, 118b, 130a, 132a–b, 133b, 135a–b, 156a; Eruvin 40b, 53a; Pesachim 52a, 69b, 87b, 92a; Sukkah 31a; Beitzah 8b; Rosh Hashanah 16b; Taanit 27b; Megillah 16b, 31b; Moed Katan 13a, 25b, 27b, 29a; Chagigah 12a, 13a; Yevamot 5b, 13b–14a, 42a, 64a, 70b–71a, 72a, 100b; Ketubot 112a; Nedarim 31b–32b; Nazir 23a–b; Sotah 4b, 17a, 32a, 33b, 38b, 46b; Gittin 2a; Kiddushin 29a, 39a, 41b; Bava Kamma 38b, 60b, 88a, 92b–93a; Bava Metzia 59a; Bava Batra 15b–16a, 56a, 100a, 127a, 163a; Sanhedrin 38b, 44a–b, 59b, 92b, 95b–96a, 99a–b, 107b, 109a, 111a; Makkot 8b, 13b, 23b–24a; Avodah Zarah 9a, 26b–27a; Horayot 10b; Menachot 42a; Chullin 49a, 65a, 89a; Arakhin 16a–b; Keritot 2a; Meilah 17b; Niddah 61a. Babylonia, 6th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006. - Pesikta de-Rav KahanaPesikta de-Rav KahanaPesikta de-Rab Kahana is a collection of Aggadic midrash which exists in two editions, those of Solomon Buber and Bernard Mandelbaum . It is cited in the Aruk and by Rashi. It consists of 33 homilies on the lessons forming the Pesikta cycle: the Pentateuchal lessons for special Sabbaths Pesikta...
5:2:1. 6th–7th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Pesiqta deRab Kahana: An Analytical Translation and Explanation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:71. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. ISBN 1-55540-072-8.
Medieval
- RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
. Commentary. Genesis 12–17. TroyesTroyesTroyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, France, late 11th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 1:115–72. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-89906-026-9. - Judah HaleviYehuda HaleviJudah Halevi was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, either in Toledo or Tudela, in 1075 or 1086, and died shortly after arriving in Palestine in 1141...
. KuzariKuzariThe Kitab al Khazari, commonly called the Kuzari, is one of most famous works of the medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, completed around 1140. Its title is an Arabic phrase meaning Book of the Khazars...
. 2:14, 16, 34, 44, 80; 3:7; 4:17. ToledoToledo, SpainToledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 90, 92, 108, 110, 132, 142, 223. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4. - ZoharZoharThe Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
76b–96b. Spain, late 13th century.
Modern
- Thomas HobbesThomas HobbesThomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
. LeviathanLeviathan (book)Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil — commonly called simply Leviathan — is a book written by Thomas Hobbes and published in 1651. Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan...
, 2:26; 3:33, 34, 35, 36. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. MacphersonC. B. MacphersonCrawford Brough Macpherson O.C. M.Sc. D. Sc. was an influential Canadian political scientist who taught political theory at the University of Toronto.-Life:...
, 332, 417, 436, 443–44, 459–60. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950. - Moshe Chaim LuzzattoMoshe Chaim LuzzattoMoshe Chaim Luzzatto , also known by the Hebrew acronym RaMCHaL , was a prominent Italian Jewish rabbi, kabbalist, and philosopher.-Padua:Born in Padua at night, he received classical Jewish and Italian educations, showing a...
. Mesillat YesharimMesillat YesharimThe Mesillat Yesharim is an ethical text composed by the influential Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto . It is quite different from Luzzato's other writings, which are more philosophical....
, ch. 4. Amsterdam, 1740. Reprinted in Mesillat Yesharim: The Path of the Just, 53. Jerusalem: Feldheim, 1966. ISBN 0-87306-114-4. - Moses MendelssohnMoses MendelssohnMoses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
. JerusalemJerusalem (Mendelssohn)Jerusalem or On Religious Power and Judaism is the title of a book written by Moses Mendelssohn, which was first published in 1783 – the same year, when the Prussian officer Christian Wilhelm von Dohm published the second part of his Mémoire Concerning the amelioration of the civil status of the...
, § 2. Berlin, 1783. Reprinted in Jerusalem: Or on Religious Power and Judaism. Translated by Allan Arkush; introduction and commentary by Alexander AltmannAlexander AltmannAlexander Altmann was an Orthodox Jewish scholar and rabbi born in Kassa, Austria-Hungary, today Košice, Slovakia. He emigrated to England in 1938 and later settled in the United States, working productively for a decade and a half as a professor within the Philosophy Department at Brandeis...
, 100. Hanover, N.H.: Brandeis Univ. Press, 1983. ISBN 0-87451-264-6. - Abraham Isaac KookAbraham Isaac KookAbraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar...
. The Moral Principles. Early 20th century. Reprinted in Abraham Isaac Kook: the Lights of Penitence, the Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems. Translated by Ben Zion BokserBen Zion Bokser-Biography:Bokser was born in Lubomi, Poland, and emigrated to the United States at the age of 13 in 1920. He attended City College of New York and Rabbi Isaac Elhanan Theological Seminary, followed by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Columbia University...
, 182. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press 1978. ISBN 0-8091-2159-X.
- Irving Fineman. Jacob, An Autobiograhical Novel, 11, 17. New York: Random House, 1941.
- Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
. Joseph and His BrothersJoseph and His BrothersJoseph and His Brothers is a four-part novel by Thomas Mann, written over the course of 16 years. Mann retells the familiar stories of Genesis, from Jacob to Joseph , setting it in the historical context of the Amarna Period...
. Translated by John E. WoodsJohn E. WoodsJohn E. Woods is a translator who specializes in translating German literature, since about 1978. His work includes much of the fictional prose of Arno Schmidt and the works of contemporary authors such as Ingo Schulze and Christoph Ransmayr...
, 4–11, 36, 43, 52–54, 59, 78, 89–91, 93, 95–98, 100–02, 125, 141, 148, 153–54, 177, 256–57, 309–10, 339–55, 385, 425, 492, 523, 555, 593–94, 596, 671, 763, 778–79, 781, 788, 806, 859. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943. - Zofia KossakZofia Kossak-SzczuckaZofia Kossak-Szczucka was a Polish writer and World War II resistance fighter. She co-founded the wartime Polish organization Żegota, set up to assist Poland's Jews in escaping the Holocaust...
. The Covenant: A Novel of the Life of Abraham the Prophet. New York: Roy, 1951. - Erich AuerbachErich AuerbachErich Auerbach was a philologist and comparative scholar and critic of literature. His best-known work is Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature, a history of representation in Western literature from ancient to modern times.-Biography:Auerbach, who was Jewish, was born in...
. “Odysseus' Scar.” In Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western LiteratureMimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western LiteratureMimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature is a book of literary criticism by Erich Auerbach, and his most well known work. Written while Auerbach was teaching in Istanbul, Turkey, where he fled after being ousted from his professorship in Romance Philology at the University of...
, 3–23. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968. ISBN 0-691-06078-9. (comparing accounts of Odysseus and Abraham). - Martin BuberMartin BuberMartin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship....
. On the Bible: Eighteen studies, 22–43. New York: Schocken Books, 1968. - Mario Brelich. The Holy Embrace. Translated by John Shepley. Marlboro, Vermont: Marlboro Press, 1994. ISBN 1-56897-002-1. Originally published as Il Sacro Amplesso. Milan: Adelphi Edizioni s.p.a., 1972.
- Terrence MalickTerrence MalickTerrence Frederick Malick is a U.S. film director, screenwriter, and producer. In a career spanning almost four decades, Malick has directed five feature films....
. Days of HeavenDays of HeavenDays of Heaven is a 1978 American romantic drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick and starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard and Linda Manz. Set in the early 20th century, it tells the story of two poor lovers, Bill and Abby, as they travel to the Texas Panhandle to harvest...
. 1978.
- Adin SteinsaltzAdin SteinsaltzRabbi Adin Steinsaltz or Adin Even Yisrael is a teacher, philosopher, social critic, and spiritual mentor, who has been hailed by Time magazine as a "once-in-a-millennium scholar". He has devoted his life to making the Talmud accessible to all Jews...
. Biblical Files, 12–29. New York: Basic Books, 1984. ISBN 0-465-00670-1. - Phyllis Trible. “Hagar: The Desolation of Rejection.” In Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives, 9–35. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984. ISBN 0-8006-1537-9.
- Margaret AtwoodMargaret AtwoodMargaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
. The Handmaid's TaleThe Handmaid's TaleThe Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel, a work of science fiction or speculative fiction, written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and first published by McClelland and Stewart in 1985...
. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1986. ISBN 0-395-40425-8. - Marc Gellman. “Finding the Right Man.” In Does God Have a Big Toe? Stories About Stories in the Bible, 47–51. New York: HarperCollins, 1989. ISBN 0-06-022432-0.
- Aaron WildavskyAaron WildavskyAaron Wildavsky was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work in public policy, government budgeting, and risk management....
. Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel, 5–6, 15, 17–29. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1993. ISBN 1-56000-081-3. - Jacob MilgromJacob MilgromJacob Milgrom was a prominent American Jewish Bible scholar and Conservative rabbi, best known for his comprehensive Torah commentaries and work on the Dead Sea Scrolls.-Biography:...
. “Bible Versus Babel: Why did God tell Abraham to leave Mesopotamia, the most advanced civilization of its time, for the backwater region of Canaan?” Bible Review. 11 (2) (Apr. 1995). - Walter Wangerin, Jr.Walter Wangerin, Jr.Walter Wangerin, Jr. is an award-winning American author and educator best known for his religious novels and children's books.-Biography:...
The Book of God, 13–25. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1996. ISBN 0-310-20005-9.
- Orson Scott CardOrson Scott CardOrson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
. Sarah: Women of Genesis. Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 2000. ISBN 1-57008-994-9. - David A. deSilva. “Why Did God Choose Abraham?” Bible ReviewBible ReviewBible Review was a publication that sought to connect the academic study of the Bible to a broad general audience. Covering both the Old and New Testaments, Bible Review presented critical and historical interpretations of biblical texts, and “reader-friendly Biblical scholarship” from 1985 to...
16 (3) (June 2000): 16–21, 42–44. - Tad SzulcTad SzulcTadeusz Witold Szulc was a reporter and writer of non-fiction books.-Life:Szulc was born in Warsaw, the son of Seweryn and Janina Baruch Szulc. He attended school in Switzerland. In 1940 he emigrated from Poland to join his family in Brazil...
. “Abraham: Journey of Faith.” National Geographic. 200 (6) (Dec. 2001): 90–129. - Alan Lew. This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation, 20. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 2003. ISBN 0-316-73908-1.
- Marek HalterMarek HalterMarek Halter is a French-Jewish novelist. He was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1936. During World War II, he and his parents escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto and fled to the Soviet Union, spending the remainder of the war in Ukraine, Moscow and later in Kokand, Uzbekistan...
, Sarah. New York: Crown Publishers, 2004. ISBN 1-4000-5272-6. - Suzanne A. Brody. “Lech L’cha.” In Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems, 64. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. ISBN 1-60047-112-9.
- Esther JungreisEsther JungreisEsther Jungreis is the founder of the international Hineni movement in America. A Holocaust survivor, she has made it her life's mission to bring back Jews to Orthodox Judaism.-Biography:...
. Life Is a Test, 28–29, 49, 68, 130, 134, 214–15, 236. Brooklyn: Shaar Press, 2007. ISBN 1-4226-0609-0.
Texts
Commentaries
- Academy for Jewish Religion, California
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