IN THIS LECTURE: 1. God s Call and Promises 2. Lot s Rescue and Melchizedek 3. The Promises of the Covenant

OUR HEBREW FATHERS

Abraham s Journey

IN THIS LECTURE: 1. God s Call and Promises 2. Lot s Rescue and Melchizedek 3. The Promises of the Covenant

God s Call and Promises

Abraham is one of the Bible s favorite characters. He is considered to be the father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. He plays a central and foundational role in the narrative of each of these religious traditions. While he had his faults as all humans do, he was known to exercise deep faith and abiding trust towards his God at the most critical moments in his complicated life.

The story of the patriarchs of Israel begins with generations of men who knew God: Adam, Seth, Noah and Shem. From Shem comes Terah - Abraham s father. Then we are told of his children: Abram, Nahor and Haran. The youngest, Haran, had a son named Lot Abram s nephew. Yet in Biblical Hebrew Abram and Lot could also be described as brothers (Gen. 14:14). With no explanation why, Terah began making his way to the land of Canaan. But Terah died in Haran (present-day Turkey), where the clan settled. God called Abram from this place.

ו י אמ ר י הו ה א ל א ב ר ם ל ך ל ך מ א ר צ ך ומ מ ול ד ת ך ומ ב ית א ב י ך א ל ה א ר ץ א ש ר א ר א ך Abram and Lot parting ways illustration from Charles Foster Bible, 1897. The Lord said to Abram: Go forth from your native land and from your father s house to the land that I will show you. (Gen. 12:1)

ו א ע ש ך ל ג וי ג ד ול ו א ב ר כ ך ו א ג ד ל ה ש מ ך ו ה י ה ב ר כ ה I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. (Gen. 12:2)

God promised to make Abram into a great nation. The Hebrew phrase ג וי ג ד ול (goy gadol), literally big or great nation, is quite significant. As you may know, Hebrew places adjectives after nouns, not before as in many other languages. So while in English we say big nation, in Hebrew it is ג וי ג ד ול (goy gadol) - nation big. The plural for nation is ג וי ם (goyim), often translated as Gentiles (nations).

ו א ב ר כ ה מ ב ר כ י ך ומ ק ל ל ך א א ר ו נ ב ר כ ו ב ך כ ל מ ש פ ח ת ה א ד מ ה I will bless those who bless you and curse him that curses you; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed [or bless themselves] by you. (Gen. 12:3)

In Hebrew, the verb to bless is ל ב ר ך (levarech). The root ברך is connected to the word knee, and implies rendering service to someone, i.e. bending the knee. Therefore, one possible meaning of this verse may be: I will serve those who serve you! To serve implies doing good to someone, which in turn results in a benefit for the recipient.

God also promises Abraham that everyone who curses א א ר cursed (mekalelcha) will in turn be מ ק ל ל ך him (aor). The strength of this promise, however, is lost in מ ק ל ל ך curse translation. The first word for (mekalelcha) comes from a root that literally means to make light of something heavy. The second word for curse א א ר (aor) actually comes from a completely different root that means something like to utterly destroy. Taking into consideration these insights from Hebrew, nuances of the text might be drawn out as follows: I will serve those who will serve you and the one who makes light of you, I will utterly destroy.

Here begins the life of trust the character quality for which Abraham would be most known. He must leave his home and begin making his way to a place that God will show him at a later time. In response to Abram s trust, God promises three things: to make Abram into a great nation; to bless Abram; and to make Abram s name great. In addition, the nations of the land will be blessed through Abram. Abram Beholds the Promised Land by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 19 th century.

Abram s clan reached Shechem and the oak of Moreh, which literally means teacher. The editor of the text, who lived much later, writes that this took place when the Canaanites were still in the land (Gen. 12:6). Thus Abram settled to the east of Bethel (Beit El, meaning house of God ), just as Adam had settled east of the Garden of Eden. Perhaps there is a connection here among Adam, Eden and Beit El.

Apart from choosing a particular family, God also designated a specific piece of land to Abram and his offspring. This connection between Abram and the land was meant to invoke to the readers the history and failure of Adam in a land we now call the Garden of Eden. The connection between Adam, Noah and Abram is intentional. Just like Noah (Gen. 8:20-21), Abram too set up an altar to the LORD (Gen. 12:7).

Abram s family grew in wealth. Lot also benefited from his association with his uncle and became wealthy in his own right (Gen. 13:5-7). After ongoing quarrelling between their herdsmen over pasture land, Abram proposed a solution (Gen. 13:8-9). They decided to separate and live at a distance from each other. Abram gave Lot first choice of the land and agreed to move in the opposite direction.

Abram had confidence in his God, whom he does not see; but Lot trusted only in what he saw with his eyes. Abram remained in Canaan, while Lot settled near Sodom. According to the text, the prosperity of Sodom was equal to the level of its wickedness. Nevertheless, that was the place in which Lot chose to settle with his family (Gen. 13:12-13).

The Lord reaffirmed the promises he gave to Abram: ו יהוה א מ ר א ל א ב ר ם א ח ר י ה פ ר ד ל וט מ ע מ ו ש א נ א ע ינ י ך ור א ה מ ן ה מ ק ום א ש ר א ת ה ש ם צ פ נ ה ו נ ג ב ה ו ק ד מ ה ו י מ ה And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had parted from him: Raise your eyes and look out from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. (Gen. 13:14)

כ י א ת כ ל ה א ר ץ א ש ר א ת ה ר א ה ל ך א ת נ נ ה ול ז ר ע ך, ע ד ע ול ם ו ש מ ת י א ת ז ר ע ך כ ע פ ר ה א ר ץ א ש ר א ם י וכ ל א יש ל מ נ ות א ת ע פ ר ה א ר ץ ג ם ז ר ע ך י מ נ ה For I give all the land that you see to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring too can be counted. (Gen. 13:15-16)

The Hebrew words for the four directions where Abram was asked to direct his gaze are: north צ פ נ ה (tsafonah), south ק ד מ ה east (negbah), נ ג ב ה י מ ה west (kedmah) and (yamah). In English, these words are technical navigational terms, but Hebrew is an extremely physical language and the origin of these words is tied to the environment. In Hebrew, the ending ה- (hey) on words signifying a location indicates directional movement, like English to the

נ ג ב ה The Hebrew term (negbah), translated as to the south, literally means to the Negev the name of a wilderness in the south of י מ ה Canaan/Israel. The phrase (yamah), translated as to the west simply means to the ק ד מ ה Similarly, sea. (kedmah), translated as to the east, evokes an image of being close to the Garden of Eden that God planted (Gen. 2:8), as well as the direction of the rising of the sun (and what has occurred earlier in time).

The Hebrew phrase translated as to the north צ פ נ ה (tsafonah) is connected to Mt. Tsaphon in Syria (see Isa. 14:13), which lay to the north of Abram when God told him to look in all directions. Today most people orient themselves towards the North Pole, as reflected in maps and compasses. The ancient Israelites, however, oriented themselves towards the east. Then, physical landmarks carried significant meaning, and in this case we see how language itself reflects that meaning.

Lot s Rescue and Melchizedek

The story of the capture of Lot, who headed a separate clan, is told in considerable detail in Genesis 14:1-12. When a rebellion of local vassal rulers (tributaries) called kings in Hebrew against a regional imperial power broke out, Lot and his family were captured, together with everyone else who stood in the way of the victorious camp.

Abram responded decisively, even at great personal risk to himself and his entire household. He set out on a daring rescue mission. His young men were fully trained solders. He knew, given the dangers of living in the Ancient Near East, that sooner or later their training would pay off.

So he summoned over three hundred of his men, born in his household, along with the men of his military allies Aner, Eshkol and Mamre (Gen. 14:13-14). They set out towards the very north of what would one day become Israel the future territory of the tribe of Dan. Abram was continuing to explore the entire land he was given as inheritance.

Abram was victorious and he recovered all the resources the enemy had captured. ו י ש ב א ת כ ל ה ר כ ש ו ג ם א ת ל וט א ח יו ור כ ש ו ה ש יב ו ג ם א ת ה נ ש ים ו א ת ה ע ם He brought back all the possessions, and he also brought back his kinsman Lot and his possessions, and the women and the rest of the people. (Gen. 14:16)

Abram put Lot s captors to flight and drove them out of the land (Gen. 14:15), which God had promised would belong to him and his descendants. Thus there is a direct benefit from being connected to Abram (as Lot was) even while not part of his immediate family clan. Lot s children would one day become a part of the nations living around Israel. Abram may not have been perfect in his walk with God, but he showed remarkable trust. He proved to be a reliable friend, a loyal kinsman, and a committed worshiper of the LORD at almost every critical point in his life.

After Abram showed himself to be a loyal kinsman (a quality still highly valued in the Middle East), two rulers welcomed him. First, the ruler (king) of Sodom and then the ruler of Salem, also described as a priest of God Most High (Gen 14:18). This second king was Melchizedek, and he offered Abram two very significant welcoming gifts bread and wine, which according to Jewish tradition represent joy and sustenance. Melchizedek blessing Abraham Charles Foster Bible, 1897.

ו י ב ר כ ה ו ו י אמ ר ב ר ו ך א ב ר ם ל א ל ע ל י ון ק נ ה ש מ י ם ו א ר ץ And he blessed him, saying: Blessed be Abram of God Most High, creator of heaven and earth. (Gen. 14:19) וב ר ו ך א ל ע ל י ון א ש ר מ ג ן צ ר י ך ב י ד ך ו י ת ן ל ו מ ע ש ר מ כ ל And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your foes into your hand. And [Abram] gave him a tenth of everything. (Gen. 14:20)

Abraham, Melchizedek and King of Sodom by Thomas Christian Wink, ca. 1770, German National Museum. Melchizedek is an enigmatic figure in Torah and in Jewish tradition. His interaction with Abram intrigues us, but the text allows for ambiguity, as is common in Biblical Hebrew. Notice that in verse 20 it is not exactly clear if Abram gave Melchizedek the tenth of everything or the other way around. In Hebrew, it states ו י ת ן ל ו him and he gave (vayiten lo).

According to the grammatical structure the first pronoun he could possibly refer to Melchizedek, not to Abram. While this is possible, it is unlikely. Indeed Abram was blessed by Melchizedek, the king of Salem (probably Jerusalem; cf. Psa. 76:3), but in another way. Melchizedek actually blessed Abram to God Most High. In the ancient world, the master-servant relationship was so tightly bound to identity that to bless Abram s God and Abram would be almost the very same thing.

In the book of Genesis, it is not exceptional for a foreigner (not of Abram s family) to revere the One God. Yet that seems to become less common in the rest of the Hebrew Bible. The story of Abram's interaction with the priest-king of Salem may have served to establish the antiquity of Israel's holiest site and, in turn, the priestly and royal dynasties associated with it. However, Jerusalem is not mentioned by that name in the Torah.

Abram refuses the king of Sodom s offer to evenly divide all the spoils of the military campaign (Gen. 14:21). Abram does not desire any of it. He has a greater purpose than to provide an exceptional lifestyle for his clan. The ruler of Sodom clearly equates Abram s LORD with God Most High (יהוה) (the name Abram used), who was already known by this name to the Canaanites.

This text displays Abram's true faith in God, as well as his faithfulness to his neighbor. Abram may have acted wisely and bravely, but the ultimate hero of this campaign was the LORD God Most High, creator of heaven and earth (Gen. 14:22).

The Promises of the Covenant

The LORD spoke to Abram, assuring him that he had nothing to fear. א ח ר ה ד ב ר ים ה א ל ה ה י ה ד ב ר יהוה א ל א ב ר ם ב מ ח ז ה ל אמ ר א ל ת יר א א ב ר ם א נ כ י מ ג ן ל ך ש כ ר ך ה ר ב ה מ א ד Sometime later, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision. He said: Fear not, Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great. (Gen. 15:1) The Hebrew literally reads: I [am a] shield to you; your pay [is] very much.

Abram responded to God by verbalizing his ultimate pain and challenging the real value of the promised blessing in the face of his ultimate limitation childlessness. Abram then added that he has accepted his lot in life and is willing to leave all that he now owns, not to his child, but to his steward-servant, Eliezer of Damascus. In response, God assures him that this will not be so and decides to illustrate his promise.

ו י וצ א א ת ו ה ח וצ ה ו י אמ ר ה ב ט נ א ה ש מ י מ ה וס פ ר ה כ וכ ב ים א ם ת וכ ל ל ס פ ר א ת ם ו י אמ ר ל ו כ ה י ה י ה ז ר ע ך He took him outside and said: Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them. And he added: So shall your offspring be. (Gen. 15:5) The Biblical Hebrew word na, not translated here, emphasizes the verb, indicating the importance the speaker attaches to the given action. Here, God finds it important for Abram to look up at the stars.

ו ה א מ ן ב יהוה ו י ח ש ב ה ל ו צ ד ק ה And because he put his trust in the LORD, he reckoned it to his merit. (Gen. 15:6) צ ד ק ה In Biblical Hebrew, the word (tsedakah) can be translated as justice, righteousness, vindication, equity. In Modern Hebrew, tsedakah has come to mean charitable giving which makes sense because this a trait and a behavior. In Hebrew a person who is fare, just, and righteous is called a צ ד יק (tsadik).

Torah says that Abram trusted in God. Often the word believed is used, but this belief is not mental, but rather an act of faith and reliance on God s character. Faith and belief in Hebrew are not theoretical or cognitive. They are tied to action and behavior. ו י ח ש ב ה The Hebrew word (vayach sheveah) can be translated as and reckoned or accounted. God deemed Abram a righteous (just) man not holy or perfect, but rather in a right relationship with God.

Abram asked God a very simple question: How can I know this will indeed be so? The land was promised not only to him, but to his seed. What about his offspring? God then told him to do something that people in the Ancient Near East were very familiar with to prepare everything for making a formal covenant an agreement between Abram and God himself.

The idea of this type of covenant was simple. An animal was to be cut in half and left on the ground literally cut, split apart. In Hebrew, the word for covenant is (berit). In Hebrew making ב ר ית a covenant is literally cutting it As both parties pass between the pieces of flesh, they would make an oath to each other that would bind them together. The symbolism here is unavoidable. If one of the parties were to violate his vow, he would be torn or split apart like the animal that had been laid on the ground.

Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a smoking pot and fiery torch appeared, passing between the two sides of the torn-apart animals (Gen. 15:18-19). The implication of this imagery is quite clear. This seems to be a sign of God himself passing between the pieces! Some view this covenant as unilateral (by God s intention), since Abram did not take part in this part of the ceremony.

Later, when Abram was ninety-nine years old, God appeared to him as El Shaddai. He called on him to live up to the covenant they had made. Abraham s Journey by József Molnár, ca. 1850. ו י ה י א ב ר ם ב ן ת ש ע ים ש נ ה ו ת ש ע ש נ ים ו י ר א יהוה א ל א ב ר ם ו י אמ ר א ל יו א נ י א ל ש ד י ה ת ה ל ך ל פ נ י ו ה י ה ת מ ים When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him: I am El Shaddai. Walk in my ways and be blameless. (Gen. 17:1)

The name א ל ש ד י (El Shaddai), usually translated as God Almighty, is of uncertain origin. It is possible that the root for Shadai is the same as ש ד (shad) breast. This would make one literal translation of the phrase: God is my breast(s). If we understand the female breast as a symbol of sustenance, provision and life, as well as fertility, then we can see how El Shaddai could also be understood as God my provider.

ו א ת נ ה ב ר ית י ב ינ י וב ינ ך ו א ר ב ה א ות ך ב מ א ד מ א ד ו י פ ל א ב ר ם ע ל פ נ יו ו י ד ב ר א ת ו א לה ים ל אמ ר א נ י ה נ ה ב ר ית י א ת ך ו ה י ית ל א ב ה מ ון ג וי ם I will establish my covenant between me and you, and I will make you exceedingly numerous. Abram threw himself on his face; and God spoke to him further: As for me, this is my covenant with you; you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. (Gen. 17:2-4)

ו ל א י ק ר א ע וד א ת ש מ ך א ב ר ם ו ה י ה ש מ ך א ב ר ה ם כ י א ב ה מ ון ג וי ם נ ת ת י ך ו ה פ ר ת י א ת ך ב מ א ד מ א ד ונ ת ת י ך ל ג וי ם ומ ל כ ים מ מ ך י צ א ו And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I give you [as] the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fertile, and make nations of you; and kings shall come forth from you. (Gen. 17:5-6)

א ב ר ם Abram The name (Avram) is composed of two words, av and ram, and means something like father is exalted. א ב ר ה ם Abraham (Avraham), on the other hand, derives from the ה מ ון (av) and א ב words (hamon), as explained by כ י א ב ה מ ון the phrase goyim) (ki av hamon ג וי ם because [I give you as] a father of a multitude of nations (Gen. 17:5).

The change is very minor: only one letter - letter,.( heh )ה But this inserted into the middle of the word ר ם (ram), essentially turns exalted into multitude or many. The emphasis is no longer on the individual distinction of one leader, but rather on the collective greatness of the entire multitude of his descendants.

God continues to address Abraham. In Genesis 17:9-14 we are told that, as with Noah, there will be a covenantal sign present in all Abraham s children. This is the sign of circumcision. When Abraham is circumcised, his future is marked as belonging to the Lord. Abraham s children would no longer belong to him, but to the God who brought him into a covenant relationship with himself.