So Nimrod declares they worship clouds. Hence the verse in Genesis 11:28, And Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.[6], The Midrash is not the only mention of this storythe Quran discusses the story in great detail as well. From whence sprang the suggestion to interpret the Torah against the way it has been read? Bible verses about False Idols. SeeIggrot Raayahvol. [7], There are several different ways in which this Midrash has been discussed. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. Idolatry, in this sense, means abandoning the way of God for another aim. [9] Kugel's interpretation continues in the tradition of looking at this midrash as part of the analysis of monotheism. 2Ch iiCh ii ch 2 chr 2chr). [3]See the long discussion inResponsa Rashba(1:414), where Rashba uses strong language to criticize various sages who suggested a philosophical-allegorical understanding for a number of biblical characters, including Abraham. Moreover, the traditional approach to Torah, which accompanies the study of the written text, greatly emphasizes the function of studying the past for contemporary times. All rights reserved. Abraham told him that a woman came in to make an offering to the idols. 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. 49 And Abram hastened and sprang from before his father, and took the hatchet from his fathers largest idol, with which Abram broke it and ran away. [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. Launched Shavuot 5773 / 2013 | Copyright Project TABS, All Rights Reserved, script type="text/javascript"> 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. In contrast to the midrash, the Bible itself never credits Abraham with monotheistic beliefs. 11, p. 68. 9Then Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. Continue Learning about Religious Studies. Even religious feeling, if it is possible to speak of this as a thing, is poised to gain from the intimate connection that is formed between humanity and God, when one understands the Torah as God telling a story just as a parent tells a story to his or her child. 43 And Abram answered his father and said to him, And how canst thou then serve these idols in whom there is no power to do any thing? 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. The Idol Of Complacency. [21]An ant and an elephant are running through the desert. The image of Abraham smashing idols in his fathers store and blaming it on the god is likely to bring a smile to the lips of any person who is familiar with the story from his or her childhood. Therefore I will prepare fresh savory meat to-morrow, better and more plentiful than this, that I may see what cometh therefrom. But the gods remained mute and without motion before the second offering of excellent savory meat as before the first offering, and the spirit of God came over Abraham, and he cried out, and said: Woe unto my father and his wicked generation, whose hearts are all inclined to vanity, who serve these idols of wood and stone, which cannot eat, nor smell, nor hear, nor speak, which have mouths without speech, eyes without sight, ears without hearing, hands without feeling, and legs without motion!, Abraham then took a hatchet in his hand, and broke all his fathers gods, and when he had done breaking them he placed the hatchet in the hand of the biggest god among them all, and he went out. [16] Only from the time of its inclusion in the Sinai covenant could a given law become the Archimedean point for the spiritual makeup of a person. Abraham's father in fact agrees with Abraham regarding idol worship unlike the Qur'anic version! 39 And Abram answered Terah his father and he said, Not so my lord, for I brought savory meat before them, and when I came nigh to them with the meat that they might eat, they all at once stretched forth their hands to eat before the great one had put forth his hand to eat. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. Establishing the pillars of faith upon the bedrock of the historicity of past events requires an honest person to evaluate, without bias, the question of the historical reality of the Torahs claims. And Abram answered the king in the words that he spoke to his father, and he said, The large god that was with them in the house did to them what thou hast heard. [b](P) 23Then Abraham approached him and said: Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Save 15% on BibleGateway+ with code SPRINGSTUDY15. 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. 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. 21Every work which he began in the service of the house of God in the Law and in the commandment, seeking his God, he did with all his heart and (X)prospered. 3He also appointed (D)the kings portion of his property for the burnt offerings, namely, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths and for the new moons and for the appointed festivals, (E)as it is written in the Law of the Lord. Are they not wood and stone, and have I not myself made them, and canst thou speak such lies, saying that the large god that was with them smote them? A similar point was made by R. Abraham Kook inEder ha-Yakkar, (Jerusalem, 5726), p. 42. This is something best accomplished by narrative, not by list of laws or principles. This can be seen clearly in the rich collection of essays, edited by Lee Levin and Amichai Mazer,The Polemic about the Historical Truth of Scripture(Jerusalem, 5761) [Hebrew]. Abrahams father had instructed him in the doctrines of these idols, and had sought to induce him to have faith in them and in their power, authority, and dominion, telling him what great personages they were. 33 And when Abram saw all these things his anger was kindled against his father, and he hastened and took a hatchet in his hand, and came unto the chamber of the gods, and he broke all his fathers gods. 3 The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. The text designates Terah, Abraham's father, as a "manufacturer of idols." One day, while Terah is away from his workshop, he entrusts it to young Abraham. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! 1 Kings 15:13 And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. 12They faithfully brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the consecrated things; and Conaniah the Levite was the officer in charge (N)of them, and his brother Shimei was second. Abraham, Cursed by His Own Father and Banished Again 26 And Abram saw on the day when he was sitting amongst them, that they had no voice, no hearing, no motion, and not one of them could stretch forth his hand to eat. [2] Terah also made and sold idols, as the Midrash Genesis Rabbah 38 explains. 37 And when Terah saw this his anger was greatly kindled, and he hastened and went from the room to Abram. 12-26 [Hebrew] and afterwards in his book.Pirkei Moadot(Jerusalem, 5746), p. 22 [Hebrew]. (C) 18Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation,(D) and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. He did his Ph.D.in Jewish thought atBen Gurion University, focusing on the writings of Rav Kook. He was looking forward. His Test Abraham leaves the home of his childhood and youth. Delivered at Provo, Sunday Afternoon, August 28th, 1881, Reported by Geo. 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. Later, a woman walked into the store and wanted to make an offering to the idols. F. Gibbs. It is thou that didst place the hatchet in his hands, and then sayest he smote them all. 2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. Is it less true than a simple chronology of events describing the beginning of the world and of humankind? [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. 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. The later life of Abraham is told in the book of Genesis Chapters 1125. Shalom Carmy; Orthodox Forum; Northvale: Aaronson, 1996), 159-180. [1] According to Jewish tradition, Terah was an idolater. 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. 11Then Hezekiah commanded them to prepare (M)rooms in the house of the Lord, and they prepared them. As I was leading a discussion in the beit midrash on this subject, one of the participants pushed back against this approach. The giving of the Torah at Sinai turns a story or mitzvah included in it into the barometer for proper religious behavior. 20 And Abram said to his father, My lord, shew them to me I pray thee; and Terah brought Abram into the chamber of the inner court, and Abram saw, and behold the whole room was full of gods of wood and stone, twelve great images and others less than they without number. (For instance, not to say that God uses rational and beneficent thinking. [20]For more discussion on this question, see the position of R. Mordechai Breuer as he expressed it first inDeot12 (Winter 5720): pp. can they hear thy prayers when thou callest upon them? Exodus 20:3 - Thou shalt have no other gods before me. In a world where there are many doubts about the historicity of core events in the Torahs narrative,[24] establishing the palace of Torah upon a higher foundation would seem to be a constructive goal. Abraham responds that wind pushes clouds. Amplified Bible Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went out together to go from Ur of the Chaldeans into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran [about five hundred and fifty miles northwest of Ur], they settled there. Perhaps they even needed to be narrated in exactly the way the Torah itself narrates them. [13]Even if its conclusions will, in the end, be rejectednot always and not necessarilyby practical halacha. Abraham's father, Terah. 71C11132 Haran, Abraham's brother, having witnessed the miracle, decides to undergo the test of fire as well, but is immediately consumed. Abraham is the first patriarch and is seen as the father of the four Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Bah Faith. The business deal or the event is the main matter of significance, describing the event in writing is simply a means of conveying knowledge of that deal or event to others. you shall devote to the Lord the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the Lord.
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