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. Abram Rescues Lot. And wilt thou and thy people rise up now and do like unto this work, in order to bring down the anger of the Lord God of the universe, and to bring evil upon thee and the whole earth? It is a post-biblical story imagining the early life of Abraham. Such narrative strategies, as I mentioned above, would be subject to factual investigation as well as comparative evidence, taking into account alternative versions. Among the many events described in the book of Genesis, there are a handful that carry with them a mitzvahrequirementthe circumcision of Abraham (Gen. 17) and the injuring of Jacobs sciatic nerve (Gen. 32:25-33), for instance. ORLOV 'The Gods of My Father Terah' 35 Testament of Abraham, also deny the possibility that God has a human- like form. not in the hands of heaven,) in order to say something about the God he discovered and followed. 21. 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. 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. New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Therefore, it is the job of the historian to tell his or her story about history. Start for FREE. 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. Nevertheless, this possibility brings to mind the old joke about the elephant and the ant. Abraham asked him how old he was and the man responded 50 years old. Abraham then said, You are 50 years old and would worship a day old statue! At this point the man left, ashamed. Abraham did destroy his father's idols though. 48-49 [Hebrew]. 4Also he told the people who lived in Jerusalem to give (F)the portion due to the priests and the Levites, so that they might devote themselves to (G)the Law of the Lord. 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. 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. Will you really sweep it away and not spare[c] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Donate. What Does the Bible Say About Destroying Idols? - OpenBible.info But the Lord inspired Abraham to leave there. Finally, Abraham is not punished . Will Gods story be diminished if we do not connect it with the actions of specific people, as great as they may have been? 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. Studying the real life of the giant among men, our founding father, Abraham the man of faith and kindness, would, in theory, give us an opportunity to uncover the God in which he places his trust. 20Hezekiah did this throughout Judah; and (W)he did what was good, right, and true before the Lord his God. Rijksmuseum 1 The Midrashic Abraham Rabbi Chiyya said: Terah was an idol worshiper. How is one to deal with such a tremendous challenge? The way the Sages understand Scripture is quite different. In order for such values to find a permanent place in the spiritual life of individuals, they must be narrated. 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). 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]. Although Hajar is Abraham's second wife she is the first to bear him a son, Ishmael. Terah responded by saying that they are only statues and have no knowledge. 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 every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem . 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? Abraham mocked them, and said, Surely, the savory meat that I prepared doth not please you, or perhaps it is too little for you! Lets imagine that Gods message is cloaked with descriptions of events that modern day historians believe cannot be accepted as factso what? When his father returned, he asked him: Why did you do this to them? [Abraham] replied: Would I hide it from you? So Laban searched through all the tent, but did not find them. [24]See, for example, Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman,The Bible Unearthed: Archaeologys New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of its Sacred Texts(Touchstone, 2002). 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. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children[ a] by her." [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. Abraham is known to have done something similar. Whereupon Abraham responded by saying that you deny their knowledge, yet you worship them! Which is the most important river in Congo? It is this difference, which lies at the heart of the distinction between the two interpretive methods described above. [16]Whether one must take the account of the Sinai revelation as historical or not is dealt with in chapter 4 of my book. The second approach, however, is rather surprising. 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? Abraham grabs a stick and smashes all the idols, except the biggest one, in whose hand he places the stick. When a man would come to buy [an idol], [Abraham] would ask him: How old are you? The man would respond: Fifty. [Abraham] would reply: Whoa to this man, you are fifty years old and yet you bow to one who is only a day old! The man would then feel embarrassed and slink away. Nevertheless, the Sages statement can be seen in conjunction with other statements of theirs, which are close in spirit to the interpretation offered in this essay (for example, the statement in the Haggada of Pesach that in every generation people stand against us to destroy us.) These statements were expanded upon and intensified in Hasidic thought. Save 15% for life! Abraham). [25] Freeing the Torah from its historical crutches not only frees the narrator from having to keep the narrative in line with past events, but it also neutralizes the basis for the attack against the validity of a person maintaining his or her faith. What was Abraham's religion before God called him? "Turn from Thy burning anger and change Thy mind about doing harm to Thy people. Copyright 2019 by Zondervan. 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! 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. 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. window.location.replace(""); Kush was the son of Ham, the lowest and least important of Noah 's three sons. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. 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. 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. Bible. It is, furthermore, impossible to deny another benefit of the ahistorical model of understanding the Torahs narratives. The only similarity that one finds here is Abraham advising his father about the futility of idol worship. 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. [12]In this case, it isnt about writing per se, as it makes little difference whether it is reported by radio, TV, or newspaper. What are they if not dry historical descriptions? My suggestion avoids this problem altogether. 57 I thought thou wouldst teach thy servants the upright way, but thou hast not done this, but hast filled the whole earth with thy sins and the sins of thy people who have followed thy ways. Save 15% on BibleGateway+ with code SPRINGSTUDY15. that we are sacrificed to the Lord for this end, that our former life being destroyed in us, we may be raised up to a new life. 2Ch iiCh ii ch 2 chr 2chr). 48 Now therefore my father refrain from this, and bring not evil upon thy soul and the souls of thy household. 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. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. Abraham's father, Terah. He did his Ph.D.in Jewish thought atBen Gurion University, focusing on the writings of Rav Kook. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. 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. what makes muscle tissue different from other tissues? One of the questions that occupies philosophers of history as a discipline has been, to what extent can a historian really reconstruct the past and to what extent is he or she actually reshaping it? 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. I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah). And yet, even as a boy, I knew I was missing something. Abraham and the Idol Shop is a midrash that appears in Genesis Rabbah chapter 38. Narrower concepts. 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. 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.
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