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? And Nimrod and all his princes and servants were that day sitting before him, and Terah sat also before them. Thus, such a God can be greater than any image of a god based upon said Gods great size and dimensions as envisioned by those who assume that God is physical. 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. Nimrod becomes angry with Abraham and declares that Abraham shall be cast into the fire, and if Abraham is correct, i.e. See also the words of Maharal of Prague about Abraham and Sarah in hisGlosses on Aggadot(part 3, p. 83), but compare these with his comments inGevurot Hashem(ch. Bible verses related to Idols from the King James Version (KJV) by Relevance. 42 Is there in these gods spirit, soul or power to do all thou hast told me? Some critics of the Bible point to the story of Abraham, who laid his son Isaac on an altar and prepared to sacrifice him as directed by God (Genesis 22:1-14). A similar point was made by R. Abraham Kook inEder ha-Yakkar, (Jerusalem, 5726), p. 42. [a] 19For I have chosen him(E), so that he will direct his children(F) and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord(G) by doing what is right and just,(H) so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.(I), 20Then the Lord said, The outcry against Sodom(J) and Gomorrah is so great(K) and their sin so grievous(L) 21that I will go down(M) and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities. window.location.replace(""); Wisely, Abram was not looking back to the home and comforts he had left behind in Ur. 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. Intuitive attachment to our inherited traditions is common to all people, regardless of education. So he got a club, or some other weapon, and knocked off the heads of some, the arms and legs of others, and made a general wreck among the idols, but left the biggest untouched. 71C11132 Haran, Abraham's brother, having witnessed the miracle, decides to undergo the test of fire as well, but is immediately consumed. 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. 2Ch iiCh ii ch 2 chr 2chr). 13 "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants to whom Thou didst swear by Thyself, and didst say to them, 'I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall The believer, who adapts the divine message to his or her own life, chooses to look upon the events of the past described in the Torah from the divine perspective. 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? 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? Abram Rescues Lot. Nimrod proclaims to Abraham that we should worship fire. ORLOV 'The Gods of My Father Terah' 35 Testament of Abraham, also deny the possibility that God has a human- like form. 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? [26]It would be wrong to simplify the dichotomy by trying to distinguish between the simple person, who would wish to hide from contradictions since answering them would be beyond this persons ability, and the learned person, who, ostensibly, can deal with such tensions. 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. 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? Why is Abraham is cutting up all these animals in Genesis 15? [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. either making or worshiping idols or "other gods.". 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. He has two wives, Sarah and Hajar and is well into his old age and childless. 2 Chronicles 31:1 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. // Javascript URL redirection Will Gods story be diminished if we do not connect it with the actions of specific people, as great as they may have been? Rambam expressed this idea in his unique idiom. 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. The consequence was, his father and the idolatrous priests of that day sought to take his life. 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. 31 Abraham 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." 32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. [28]Rambam himself understood that this was the way his opponents conceptualized the issue. Because of the signs in the heavens that were associated with his birth Nimrod tried to kill him at that time. NASB 1995 Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel's saddle, and she sat on them. This story is taken from The Book of Jasher 11:21-49, Terah, in response to Abrahams question to him about who the God was that had created heaven and earth and the children of men, took him to the hall wherein stood twelve great idols and a large number of little idols, and pointing to them he said, Here are they who have made all thou seest on earth, they who have created also me and thee and all men on the earth, and he bowed down before his gods, and left the hall with his son. 18 And Abram went from them, and his anger burned within him. A man walked in and wished to buy an idol. Idols Are Destroyed 31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, broke the memorial stones in pieces, cut down the [ a]Asherim and pulled down the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until [ b]they had destroyed them all. 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. 28 And it was on the next day that Abram directed his mother concerning the savory meat, and his mother rose and fetched three fine kids from the flock, and she made of them some excellent savory meat, such as her son was fond of, and she gave it to her son Abram; and Terah his father did not know of it. Rambams approach here applies to our case as well. Once he went on a trip and he placed Abraham in charge of the store in his place. [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. It is this difference, which lies at the heart of the distinction between the two interpretive methods described above. 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. The second approach, however, is rather surprising. Although these events have halachic weight in Jewish tradition, this is not because they happened in the past (before the revelation at Sinai) but because they were included in the Torahs narrative at Sinai.[15]. The first statement, the simpler one, would probably be acceptable to anyone. President Nelson shared the following story last April: I adored my parents. 48 Now therefore my father refrain from this, and bring not evil upon thy soul and the souls of thy household. Abraham had three wives: Sarah, Hagar, and Keturah (by date when Abraham mocked them, and said, Surely, the savory meat that I prepared doth not please you, or perhaps it is too little for you! 5. New American Standard Bible Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel's saddlebag, and she sat on them. 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. This one, enraged against them on account of their behavior, took the hatchet and broke them all, and, behold, the hatchet is yet in his hands, as thou mayest see., Then Terah turned in wrath upon Abraham, and he said: Thou speakest lies unto me! [23]My view here stands in stark contrast with that of Rav Kook, who criticizes the ahistorical approach to biblical narratives. can they hear thy prayers when thou callest upon them? 14 In the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2 these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). Why did God choose to limit the divine creative impulse to the (apparently) inadequate framework of narrative? What is a believer to do, when he or she is convinced that a new religious outlook, as innovative and brazen as it may be, not only doesnt diminish the value of faith but even colors it in stronger and more vibrant colors? Terah was the father of Abram (his name was later changed to 14Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the keeper of the eastern gate, was in charge of the [h]voluntary offerings for God, to distribute the contributions for the Lord and the most holy things. Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. 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. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! Genesis 11:26 After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the I simply believe it. But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem . The priests of those days offered sacrifices to their gods, and, like the priests of these days, they were generally opposed to new revelation from God. Shouldnt we expect from God a more coherent story, one that is free of the subtle and even blatant contradictions that can be found within it? Another participant argued that he still couldnt see, despite my explanation, why the Torah chose to speak to us in historical language. Access 50+ premium resources. Even for such a person, something still lingers from the dissonance required in reframing the story as ahistorical. 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. [21] Did the elephant really need the ant in order to make dust-clouds in the desert? 21 And Terah said to his son, Behold these are they which made all thou seest upon earth, and which created me and thee, and all mankind. 37 And when Terah saw this his anger was greatly kindled, and he hastened and went from the room to Abram. Does the story become less powerful, less complete, less true? 56 0 foolish, simple, and ignorant king, woe unto thee forever. 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. In many ways, the challenge faced by such a person is similar to the one faced by Rambam when he tried and demonstrate to the world that God has no body. And why wilt thou not sense the God of the whole universe, who created thee and in whose power it is to kill and keep alive? 18The genealogical enrollment included [k]all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, for the whole assembly, for they consecrated themselves [l]faithfully in holiness. Instead, the text of the Torah should be understood on its own terms; the Torah itself is the matter being studied. 22 And Terah bowed down to his gods, and he then went away from them, and Abram, his son, went away with him. Designed using Unos Premium. English Revised Version 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. Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine plural, Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural, Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural, Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural | Paragogic nun, Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural, A Phoenician goddess, also an image of the same, Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine plural | Paragogic nun, Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct, gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative, Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural, Holy things must be eaten in the holy place, and holy things must be eaten in the holy place, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, OT Law: Deuteronomy 12:3 And you shall break down their altars (Deut. Abraham and the Idol Shop is a midrash that appears in Genesis Rabbah chapter 38. 53 And the king said to Abram, What is this that thou hast done to thy father and to his gods? Contrast this with the literary Abraham, the Abraham who is the fruit of the spirit of God and the divine pen.

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