Bible. 11, p. 68. When Terah saw his idols shattered and scattered all over the floor, he accused Abram. 2And Hezekiah appointed (B)the divisions of the priests and the Levites by their divisions, each according to his service, both the priests and the Levites, (C)for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to serve and to give thanks and to praise in the gates of the camp of the Lord. 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. 50:2); 11 they entail the desolation of altars, the breaking of statues, the The worshipping of idols is forbidden under the word . Nimrod 's Humble Heritage. All rights reserved. Donate. [14]M.Pesachim10:5. This, however, is when this person accepts the [mitzvot] and fulfills them because the Holy One commanded this in the Torah and informed us through our teacher Moses, that the descendants of Noah had been so commanded (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings, 8:11). (Q) 24What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Is there a truer story than this? The Idol Of Complacency. So Laban searched through all the tent, but did not find them. See:The Guide of the Perplexed, 1:1. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children[ a] by her." Deuteronomy 9:21 And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount. Christian Standard Bible Commentary on Parashat Lech-Lecha, . Abraham took a stick and shattered all the idols in the store, and then he placed the stick in the hand of the largest idol. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! 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. [21] Did the elephant really need the ant in order to make dust-clouds in the desert? This second approach, in my opinion, works well with what seems to be occurring in the biblical narratives. So Nimrod declares they worship wind. Then all the sons of Israel returned to their cities, each to his possession. Many in Maimonides generation believed that the existence of God was coterminous with Gods physical existence. 21. 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. [1] According to Jewish tradition, Terah was an idolater. Terah was the father of Abram (his name was later changed to On its own, the sentence can be understood as conveying the opposite meaning, as a call for those involved in studying the exodus from Egypt to remove themselves from the present, to transport themselves through time and view the event the way it would have been viewed by Moses and Aaron, Datan and Abiram. Numbers 33:52 Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: Judges 2:2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? 58 Dost thou not know, or hast thou not heard, that this evil which thou doest, our ancestors sinned therein in days of old, and the eternal God brought the waters of the flood upon them and destroyed them all, and also destroyed the whole earth on their account? 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. [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. 20 Bible Verses about Abandoning Idols Deuteronomy 7:25 Verse Concepts The graven images of their gods you are to burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, or you will be snared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. can they hear thy prayers when thou callest upon them? Once he went on a trip and he placed Abraham in charge of the store in his place. 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. Note: This essay was translated and adapted by Rabbi Dr. Zev Farber, with the approval of Rabbi Dr. Kula, from the introduction to his book, Existential or Non-Essential. It is a post-biblical story imagining the early life of Abraham. And yet, even as a boy, I knew I was missing something. The Torah crafts its story line purposefully in such a way as to support the aims of the Narrator, including the Narrators values and moral lessons. script>. The way the Sages understand Scripture is quite different. 29 And Abram took the savory meat from his mother, and brought it before his fathers gods into the chamber; and he came nigh unto them that they might eat, and he placed it before them, and Abram sat before them all day, thinking perhaps they might eat. When his father returned, he asked him: Why did you do this to them? [Abraham] replied: Would I hide it from you? If the religious value of events comes from their being included in the word of God, let us allow God to speak to us in Gods own language, and to tell us the divine story with its entire force. 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? 1, p. 164: Tamar Ross makes great use of this principle, primarily in dealing with the feminist critique of Torah. 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. As our rabbis taught us, all is in the hands of heaven except for fear of heaven (b. Berachot 33b); even the historical Abraham would have to fit into this rubric. Heis a member of the rabbinic organizations Tzohar and Beit Hillel, has written a number of onlineresponsa,and is the author ofExistential or Non-Essential: History and Literature, Religious Language and the Nature of the Deity. not in the hands of heaven,) in order to say something about the God he discovered and followed. The later life of Abraham is told in the book of Genesis Chapters 1125. Of course, great challenges to Abram's faith lay ahead on his life's journey. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 2 Kings 23:14 And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men. 3 And all these joined forces in the Valley of . Presenting the Torah as Gods narrative does not take away from its religious significance. Therefore, we should be careful not to miss even a single hint or implication that may be imbedded in the direct speech of God to us. God stopped him from actually following . Join today!. In this story, he or she creates a new reality that never before existed, or, to be more precise, he or she describes a reality that bears a relationship with events that did occur in the past, but is not an exact replica of those events. 71C11131 Terah turns Abraham over to King Nimrod, who condemns him to be cast into the fire (or fiery furnace) of the Chaldeans; he is miraculously rescued by God. 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. Nevertheless, this possibility brings to mind the old joke about the elephant and the ant. 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. Nimrod becomes angry with Abraham and declares that Abraham shall be cast into the fire, and if Abraham is correct, i.e. Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition. Abraham mocked them, and said, Surely, the savory meat that I prepared doth not please you, or perhaps it is too little for you! My gods cannot fight; they have legs, but they cannot walk; they have arms, but they cannot use them; they have eyes and ears, but they cannot see nor hear. Why, father, said Abraham, is it possible that you worship a god that cannot hear or see, walk or use himself at all? The god of the Christians, according to their own description of him, being a god without body, parts or passions, would be as unlikely to hear them when they called upon him, as were the gods of Terah, Abrahams father, when he called upon them. Dr. Powered by WordPress. Said he, Father, I did not do anything to them, they quarreled among themselves and went to work fighting and knocked one another down, broke one anothers heads and knocked off one anothers arms and legs. Oh, said his father, my sons do not tell me anything of that kind, for they are made of wood and they could not move or stir from their place nor knock one another down; it has been some other agency that has done it. Why, father, said he, would you worship a being that could not stir or move, that had hands and could not handle, that had legs and could not walk, a mouth that could not speak, and a head and it was of no use? 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. 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. ), or adding matres lectionis (). These were the feelings of Abraham, and he taught his fathers house, and all around him, as far as he had the privilege. NASB 1995 Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel's saddle, and she sat on them. Thou speakest lies to me. 59 Now therefore put away this evil deed which thou doest, and serve the God of the universe, as thy soul is in his hands, and then it will be well with thee. 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. There have been responses that take a more conservative approach; see, for instance, Adam Zertal,A Nation is Born: The Altar on Mount Ebal and the Beginning of Israel(Israel: Yedioth Aharonot, 2000), 292 [Hebrew]; Yitzhak Meitlis,Excavating the Bible: New Archaeological Evidence for the Historical Reliability of Scripture(Bartleby, 2012). ORLOV 'The Gods of My Father Terah' 35 Testament of Abraham, also deny the possibility that God has a human- like form. [28]Rambam himself understood that this was the way his opponents conceptualized the issue. 47 And how can you continue to do this and serve gods of wood and stone, who cannot hear, or speak, or deliver you from oppression, thereby bringing down the anger of the God of the universe upon you? President Nelson shared the following story last April: I adored my parents. 52 And the king sent three men of his servants, and they went and brought Abram before the king. I discuss this halacha in greater detail in the book. 3, There is something humorous in a history that we have in relation to this personage. Is it less true than a simple chronology of events describing the beginning of the world and of humankind? 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. Deepen your knowledge of Scripture for less than $5/mo. This Midrash can be interpreted as an example of persecution against those of monotheistic beliefs during a time when polytheism dominated.[8]. [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. Rijksmuseum 1 The Midrashic Abraham Rabbi Chiyya said: Terah was an idol worshiper. The power of a story cannot be found purely in the ideological explication of the divine message contained within, even if the message once understood, requires a person to live up to it in his or her life. When he or she reads the accounts of our father Abraham in the Torah and wishes to understand their significance, what he or she wants is not to find out more about the (possible) historical character behind the story but to encounter the protagonist of the narrative, i.e. The Midrash has also been discussed in the contexts of complete, unquestioned faith. 2 Kings 18:4 He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. 635-637 [Hebrew]). [13] The sacred written Torah is the teaching of God and it is forbidden to learn it indifferently. 16 And Abram came to his fathers house and saw twelve gods standing there in their temples, and the anger of Abram was kindled when he saw these images in his fathers house. And Abram answered the king, saying, And if there be no power in them why dost thou serve them and cause the sons of men to err through thy follies? "Turn from Thy burning anger and change Thy mind about doing harm to Thy people. However, see the words of Maimonides about Adam, Eve and the serpent inGuide of the Perplexed(2:30). (U) Far be it from you! 55 Dost thou imagine that they can deliver thee or do anything small or great, that thou shouldst serve them? Will Gods story be diminished if we do not connect it with the actions of specific people, as great as they may have been? 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. 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. I cannot thank them enough for the happy homelife they created for me and my siblings. 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.". As I came to understand the Word of Wisdom, I wanted my parents to live that law. Abram is now 50 years old; he has lived with Noah and Shem for 39 years and a cave for 10. Narrower concepts. 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. 20Hezekiah did this throughout Judah; and (W)he did what was good, right, and true before the Lord his God. This is something best accomplished by narrative, not by list of laws or principles. 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? Abraham emerging unscathed must have been a compelling and humbling sight. In an ahistorical reading, we exchange Abraham the man, his biographic detailsonly some of which have any connection to Godwith Gods Abraham. It is thou that didst place the hatchet in the hand of the big god, and thou sayest he smote them all. Abraham answered his father, and said: How, then, canst thou serve these idols in whom there is no power to do anything? Now, believing it is safe, Abram leaves Noah's home and returns to his father Terah. that there is a real God, then that God will save him. [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] understood that there was a God in heaven, a living and true God, and that no man should worship any other God but Him. Lets imagine that Gods message is cloaked with descriptions of events that modern day historians believe cannot be accepted as factso what? Whether our actions motivate us to work for labor and the downtrodden or peace in Israel, we activate a certain "Abraham" within to destroy the idols of prior perspectives and belief systems, and . Therefore, by necessity we would need to distill from his historical persona what parts of his life were his own choice, (i.e. Discourse by President John Taylor, Duties of the SaintsThe Atonement, etc. are also to be treated as idols." 53 And the king said to Abram, What is this that thou hast done to thy father and to his gods? Whereupon Abraham responded by saying that you deny their knowledge, yet you worship them! However, in this case, God was testing the obedience and faith of Abraham. [29] How should this believer relate to the fact that the very type of faith that he or she sees as inferior is exactly the one which sits best with the majority of the faithful? So Abraham took a stick, smashed the idols and placed the stick in the hand of the largest idol. Designed using Unos Premium. Regarding this, seePinkasei Ha-Raayahvol. Abraham did destroy his father's idols though. The consequence was, his father and the idolatrous priests of that day sought to take his life. 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. Bible verses about False Idols. Abraham told him that a woman came in to make an offering to the idols. 37 And when Terah saw this his anger was greatly kindled, and he hastened and went from the room to Abram. But the Lord inspired Abraham to leave there. Ezekiel 6:6 Verse Concepts [7]Doubtless, this claim reveals an important educational principle whose significance is beyond reproach. (Joshua 24:2), there is no Biblical record of him actually making 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. 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. Oops! [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. All rights reserved worldwide. As such, writing is secondary to the event itself. [16]Whether one must take the account of the Sinai revelation as historical or not is dealt with in chapter 4 of my book.
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