The Midrash is also used by James Kugel, the chair of the Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible at Bar Ilan University in Israel, in his book The Bible As It Was, published in 1997 by Harvard University, to look at how stories from the Bible have been changed to how they are taught in the modern day. Abraham's father, Terah, joined the adamant opposition to his son in Harran, which indicates that he had continued to cling to his profession of making and selling idols. which benefit does a community experience when its members have a high level of health literacy? [20]For more discussion on this question, see the position of R. Mordechai Breuer as he expressed it first inDeot12 (Winter 5720): pp. See:The Complete Works of Achad Ha-Am(Tel Aviv, 1947), p. 342 [Hebrew]. 48 Now therefore my father refrain from this, and bring not evil upon thy soul and the souls of thy household. The main purpose of contracts and newspapers, for example, is to translate the real worldwhere a deal was struck or something worth describing occurredinto writing. [29]Continuing on with the example from Rambam with which we began: stating that God lacks any body means that God is not constrained by any physical limitation. Abraham's father, Terah. Nimrod is a descendant of Noah and is considered to be a "mighty one on the earth. [28]Rambam himself understood that this was the way his opponents conceptualized the issue. Following the analysis offered here, the halachic tradition makes the religious value of any historical event that occurred before the revelation at Sinai contingent upon the power given to it by its inclusion in the narrative that came down to the world at Sinai. So Laban searched through all the tent, but did not find them. 38 And he found Abram his son still sitting in the house; and he said to him, What is this work thou hast done to my gods? Join today!. But Abraham, trying to reason with his father, said that probably the gods had got to fighting among themselves and had killed one another. If I were pushed to offer some sort of response to this question anyway, I would say that just as any great author can breathe life into his or her characters and describe them from many angles, so too can the Divine Author, the greatest of authors. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.". See, for example, the Gerrer Rebbe, R. Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (Sefat Emeton Leviticus, Pesach 5631): In every generation there is an exodus from Egypt, but one relevant to that generation. There is much more to say about this, but here is not the place. Hebrews 11:10 says of Abram: "He was awaiting the city having real foundations, the builder and maker of which city is God.". The idols argued about which one should eat the offering first, then the largest idol took the stick and smashed all the other idols. In a world where there are many doubts about the historicity of core events in the Torahs narrative,[24] establishing the palace of Torah upon a higher foundation would seem to be a constructive goal. 45 And forget the Lord God who made heaven and earth, and who created you in the earth, and thereby bring a great evil upon your souls in this matter by serving stone and wood? The later life of Abraham is told in the book of Genesis Chapters 1125. Why is Abraham is cutting up all these animals in Genesis 15? 11Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare (M)rooms in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! For an English version explaining Breuers approach, see: Mordechai Breuer, The Study of Bible and the Primacy of the Fear of Heaven: Compatibility or Contradiction, inModern Scholarship in the Study of Torah(ed. that there is a real God, then that God will save him. The first and simplest is, What the Torah says about the event is what is important. The second is shorter but sharper, What the Torah says is what is important.. Abraham chose to follow God alone, and he demonstrated his commitment by circumcising every male in his household. SeeIggrot Raayahvol. 56 0 foolish, simple, and ignorant king, woe unto thee forever. Thus, we can say that there is no reason not to ascribe great literary prowess to God. what are the 3 odd numbers just before 200 003? Which is the most important river in Congo? 40 And the large one saw their works that they did before him, and his anger was violently kindled against them, and he went and took the hatchet that was in the house and came to them and broke them all, and behold the hatchet is yet in his hand as thou seest. President Nelson shared the following story last April: I adored my parents. father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Bruce Feiler (Abraham) says that probably less than one per cent of the stories told about Abraham appear in the Bible, with an explosion of detail beginning to appear in Jewish tradition from the third century BCE onwards. This is true even for a person who can digest the nuances of the ahistorical approach to the Torah. I discuss this halacha in greater detail in the book. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. Deepen your knowledge of Scripture for less than $5/mo. 1, p. 164: Tamar Ross makes great use of this principle, primarily in dealing with the feminist critique of Torah. Launched Shavuot 5773 / 2013 | Copyright Project TABS, All Rights Reserved, script type="text/javascript"> Idolatry, in this sense, means abandoning the way of God for another aim. 5 From . 17Then the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham(B) what I am about to do? [17]There are those who point out that it is precisely if one assumes that Torah relates historical events that comparison with similar accounts in the Ancient Near East make sense. It is this perspective in particular, and the interpretation of the event expressed in it, that is of interest, religiously speaking, for within this retelling of the event lies its religious value. [25]This imagery comes from Rav Kook. In order for such values to find a permanent place in the spiritual life of individuals, they must be narrated. Thus, whenever a question arises about something written, our goal would be to try and get as close as we can to reproducing the event as it occurred, to analyze the event itself, if possible, in order to learn what really happened. We would not shy away from reading alternative descriptions of the event, even contradictory ones, and compare these versions to the one we have in our hands. [16]Whether one must take the account of the Sinai revelation as historical or not is dealt with in chapter 4 of my book. If he had possessed the spirit which his son had, he would have said there is no power with these gods; but he did not, and Abraham had to flee from his fathers house, confiding in the Lord, who gave many promises to him and concerning his posterity. So, one day when I was very young, I went to our basement and smashed on the concrete floor every bottle of liquor! If the stories about the ancestors of the nation had not been included in the Torah at Sinai, it seems likely that they would be without any religious implications. 24 Now, therefore, hasten and fetch a kid from the flock, and make of it savory meat, that I may bring it to my fathers gods as an offering for them to eat; perhaps I may thereby become acceptable to them. For another angle on the problem of ahistorical interpretation, made in modern times, see words of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe (Iggerot Kodesh7:996): [9]We will leave, for now, the difficult questions engendered by the issue of the slippery slope and return to them indirectly when we deal with the other basis for challenging the ahistorical interpretation, namely the problem of truth. Additionally, the slippery slope problem is discussed more fully in chapter 4 of my book, which deals with the historicity of a different biblical story, namely the revelation at Mount Sinai. And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. The Doctrine and Covenants & Church History, 2021 Spring: Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel, The Book of Abraham | LDS Scripture Teachings, Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives. either making or worshiping idols or "other gods.". 55 Dost thou imagine that they can deliver thee or do anything small or great, that thou shouldst serve them? [22]This distinction is similar to that of Achad Ha-Am between historical truth (the way a group relates to events from its past, what we now call cultural memory or mnemohistory) and archaeological truth (what actually happened in the past.) "Turn from Thy burning anger and change Thy mind about doing harm to Thy people. Later, a woman walked into the store and wanted to make an offering to the idols. Exodus 23:13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. Ge 22:12, 18; 26:5; 2Sa 8:15; Ps 17:2; 99:4; Jer 23:5, Ex 23:7; Lev 4:3, 22, 27; Nu 16:22; Dt 27:25; 2Sa 24:17; Ps 11:4-7; 94:21; Eze 18:4; 2Pe 2:9, Jdg 11:27; Job 9:15; Ps 7:11; 94:2; Heb 12:23, Ge 20:4; Dt 32:4; 2Ch 19:7; Ezr 9:15; Ne 9:33; Job 8:3, 20; 34:10; 36:23; Ps 58:11; 75:7; 94:2; 119:137; Isa 3:10-11; Eze 18:25; Da 4:37; 9:14; Mal 2:17; Ro 3:6, NIV, Lucado Encouraging Word Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV, Story of Jesus: Experience the Life of Jesus as One Seamless Story, NIV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, NIV, Beautiful Word Bible Journal, Galatians, Paperback, Comfort Print, NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Red Letter Edition: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture, NIV, Beautiful Word Bible Journal, Revelation, Paperback, Comfort Print. Because of the signs in the heavens that were associated with his birth Nimrod tried to kill him at that time. Completely erase the names of their gods! What if only thirty can be found there?, He answered, I will not do it if I find thirty there., 31Abraham said, Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?, He said, For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it., 32Then he said, May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. [1] Many commentaries throughout the generations have taken up this question; see, for example, Ramban on Genesis 11:28 and Maharal of Prague inNetzah Yisrael, ch. 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of The opposite is the case. It is about humanitys religion and its faith, its moral struggles, its successes and failures, its hopes and aspirations for greatness, its dream of breaking into the world of the infinite and clinging to God. Haran is the son of Terah, brother of Abraham, and the father of Lot. 47 Bible Verses about Destroying Idols Deuteronomy 12:2-3ESV / 14 helpful votes HelpfulNot Helpful You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. Designed using Unos Premium. NASB, Zondervan NASB Study Bible, Red Letter Edition, NASB, Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, 2nd Edition, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New American Standard Bible, NASB, Super Giant Print Reference Bible, Red Letter Edition, 1995 Text, Comfort Print, NASB, Thinline Bible, Large Print, Red Letter Edition, 2020 Text, Comfort Print, NASB, Thinline Bible, Red Letter Edition, 1995 Text, Comfort Print, NASB, Thinline Bible, Red Letter Edition, 2020 Text, Comfort Print. The missing years of Abraham's early childhood are explained through a series of Midrashim. The Torah tells the story in a certain way, and other traditions tell it in different ways. 50 And Terah, seeing all that Abram had done, hastened to go from his house, and he went to the king and he came before Nimrod and stood before him, and he bowed down to the king; and the king said, What dost thou want? Is it somehow illegitimate that the scriptural Author would retell a version of a popular story and include it within the broader narrative, and, with tremendous creativity, recast the story anew according to Gods own principles. Lord. 10Azariah, the chief priest (K)of the house of Zadok, said to [f]him, (L)Since the contributions started coming into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat with plenty left over, for the Lord has blessed His people, and this great quantity is left over.. In the book of Abraham, translated in our day and generation, we are informed that Abraham was bound, and those priests sought to take his life, but the Lord delivered him from them. The ant says to the elephant, Just look at the dust-clouds were making!. Can they hear thy prayers when thou callest upon them?, After having spoken these and similar words, admonishing his father to mend his ways and refrain from worshipping idols, he leapt up before Terah, took the hatchet from the big idol, broke it therewith, and ran away. Bible. Anyone who accepts the seven mitzvot (of the Noahides) and is careful not to violate them should be considered one of the righteous gentiles and has a share in the World to Come. Child sacrifice was one reason for the Babylonian captivity (verse 36). are also to be treated as idols." Access 50+ premium resources. Terah responded by saying that they are only statues and have no knowledge. This Midrash can be interpreted as an example of persecution against those of monotheistic beliefs during a time when polytheism dominated.[8]. Rav Kook believed that this model should be copied when wrestling with notions that were current in his day, like the theory of evolution. Such narrative strategies, as I mentioned above, would be subject to factual investigation as well as comparative evidence, taking into account alternative versions. 10 These are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 61 And when Abram had ceased speaking before the king and princes, Abram lifted up his eyes to the heavens, and he said, The Lord seeth all the wicked, and he will judge them. Hosea 2:17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. 37 And when Terah saw this his anger was greatly kindled, and he hastened and went from the room to Abram. This point can be expressed in two different ways. Copyright 2019 by Zondervan. It is the Torah of God, turning its face to Torah students in every generation. Haran is thrown into the fire, and is not saved by God. Donate. Each one of them said, I will eat first until the largest of them picked up the staff and shattered the others. [Terah] responded: Why are you trying to fool me? Once he went on a trip and he placed Abraham in charge of the store in his place. When President Nelson shared the story of his breaking the bottles of alcohol his father owned, I kept thinking about another prophet who also broke things. Last edited on 18 February 2023, at 01:39, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abraham_and_the_Idol_Shop&oldid=1140022488, This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 01:39. The second approach, however, is rather surprising. Abraham told him that a woman came in to make an offering to the idols. The consequence was, his father and the idolatrous priests of that day sought to take his life. [7], There are several different ways in which this Midrash has been discussed. 7In the third month they began to [e]make the heaps, and they finished them by the seventh month. his father put him in charge of caring for the idols, and Abraham tried to discourage people from bringing them offerings. 31Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, (A)broke the memorial stones in pieces, cut down the [a]Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until [b]they had destroyed them all. 31 And in the evening of that day in that house Abram was clothed with the spirit of God. Oops! [3] Haran died in Ur of the Chaldees, in the presence of his father, Terah.[4]. Child sacrifice. (Q) 24What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular, A Phoenician goddess, also an image of the same, Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular, Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine plural, Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct, Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct, Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc, Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular, Preposition-l | Noun - proper - feminine singular, Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel, He takes order for the repair of the temple, Josiah sends to Huldah to enquire of the Lord, Huldah prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem, but respite thereof in Josiah's time, Josiah, causing it to be read in a solemn assembly, renews the covenant with God, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, OT History: 2 Chronicles 34:7 He broke down the altars and beat (2 Chron. 30 And Abram viewed them, and behold they had neither voice nor hearing, nor did one of them stretch forth his hand to the meat to eat. Save 15% on BibleGateway+ with code SPRINGSTUDY15. He has two wives, Sarah and Hajar and is well into his old age and childless. However, see the words of Maimonides about Adam, Eve and the serpent inGuide of the Perplexed(2:30). Douay-Rheims Bible And when he had destroyed the altars, and the groves, and had broken the idols in pieces, and had demolished all profane temples throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. [20] Moreover, even if the Torah had been written from one perspective only, in one clear and flowing style, that would not have proven that it came from God. The consequence was, his father and the idolatrous priests of that day sought to take his life. Berean Standard Bible Rather, you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, and chop down their Asherah poles. And Abram hastened and went from the chamber to his fathers outer court, and he found his father sitting in the court, and all his servants with him, and Abram came and sat before him. 17 And Abram said, As the Lord liveth these images shall not remain in my fathers house; so shall the Lord who created me do unto me if in three days time I do not break them all. "You shall not delay the offering from your harvest and your vintage. 35 And Terah, having heard the noise of the hatchet in the room of images, ran to the room to the images, and he met Abram going out. Bible verses about False Idols. What if only ten can be found there?" He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it." 9Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. He was looking forward. Abraham). This grieved Abraham, whilst his father wanted his son to believe and worship as he himself did; but Abraham knew better than to do such a thing. But Abram said that the largest of the idols had killed all the others in a fight over an offering brought to them. Lets imagine that Gods message is cloaked with descriptions of events that modern day historians believe cannot be accepted as factso what? Nevertheless, see his comment further on in the piece, The words ofaggada, which can have such good and blessed effects are literally the words of the living God. This statement seems to be very much in accord with what I called the highest level of faith, the belief in the ahistoricity of the narrative. A woman enters to offer food to the idols. 635-637 [Hebrew]). She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. If this is a story, he said, it is a very human story. Presenting the Torah as Gods narrative does not take away from its religious significance. Abram is now 50 years old; he has lived with Noah and Shem for 39 years and a cave for 10. 13Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers [g]under the authority of Conaniah and his brother Shimei by the appointment of King Hezekiah, and (O)Azariah was the chief officer of the house of God. F. Gibbs. [1] According to Jewish tradition, Terah was an idolater. I simply believe it. 34 And when he had done breaking the images, he placed the hatchet in the hand of the great god which was there before them, and he went out; and Terah his father came home, for he had heard at the door the sound of the striking of the hatchet; so Terah came into the house to know what this was about. 12They faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the consecrated things; and Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge (N)of them, and his brother Shimei was second. Thou speakest lies to me. [8]In fact, seeResponsa Rashba1:116, where Rashba makes this point. Terah was the father of Abram (his name was later changed to On the other hand, Haran needed to see that Abraham would be saved by God before believing, and because of this, Haran was not saved from the fire by God. [21]An ant and an elephant are running through the desert. Does the story become less powerful, less complete, less true? (U) Far be it from you! 5As soon as the [c]order spread, the sons of Israel abundantly provided the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly (H)the tithe of everything. 1, pp. Nimrod came from a line which was cursed by Noah: "Cursed be Canaan, a slave of slaves shall he be unto his brothers." By birth, Nimrod had no right to be a king or ruler. 41 And Terahs anger was kindled against his son Abram, when he spoke this; and Terah said to Abram his son in his anger, What is this tale that thou hast told? Kula was formerly the Rosh haYeshiva of Yeshivat HaKibbutz HaDati in Ein Tzurim. And Nimrod and all his princes and servants were that day sitting before him, and Terah sat also before them. 2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. Can those idols in which thou trustest deliver thee? Nevertheless, this possibility brings to mind the old joke about the elephant and the ant. Is it less true than a simple chronology of events describing the beginning of the world and of humankind? Enter code SPRINGSTUDY15 and have answers to your Bible questions at your fingertips. According to this second phrasing, the events described in the Torah are part of Gods narrative; whether this narrative has a basis in historical fact doesnt matter. [26] Therefore, even if a believers intellectual powers allow him or her to consider the possibility that an ahistorical Torah could be more sophisticated and spiritual than a historical one, nevertheless, he or she cannot ignore the outer voiceor even the inner voicethat makes it difficult to be satisfied with scholarly justifications. A man walked in and wished to buy an idol. ), or adding matres lectionis (). Abraham married them according to the Book of Genesis). 2 Chronicles 34:1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. [17] Is it surprising that Gods narrative is the story of humanity writ large? This is the meaning of the phrase, In every generation a person must look upon himself as if he left Egypt.[14], This perspective is reflected in the world of halacha as well. Nations Descended from Noah. Will not the Judge(V) of all the earth do right?(W), 26The Lord said, If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake. Over the years, the interpretive tradition has taken this statement far out of its original meaning, which refers to the way a person is to behave on the night of the 15thof Nissan, and turned it into a key phrase describing Jewish consciousness in general. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. Abraham is to be killed for his righteousness, and is saved by God Inasmuch as Abrahams fight against idolatry is a common theme in the Bible, so is the prophet of God, in the face of adversity, being persecuted for his beliefs. 14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. And yet, even as a boy, I knew I was missing something. This understanding is reminiscent of the approach of Peter Winch, which requires a historian to enter into the past and to view it from within.

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