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? 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. [2]For a discussion of the phenomenon of filling the gaps see Yonah Frankel,Midrash ve-Aggada, (5753), 41 [Hebrew]. 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. The simple reader of Maimonidesand even the not so simple readerwas likely to feel that the loss of Gods body was almost equal to the loss of God. [6]In my book, I deal with this in chapter 4. Last edited on 18 February 2023, at 01:39, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abraham_and_the_Idol_Shop&oldid=1140022488, This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 01:39. Terah was the father of Abram (his name was later changed to 40 And the large one saw their works that they did before him, and his anger was violently kindled against them, and he went and took the hatchet that was in the house and came to them and broke them all, and behold the hatchet is yet in his hand as thou seest. Abraham responds that water puts out fire. [11]It is virtually impossible to exaggerate the political, sociological and emotional implications of this assertion. Abraham's father in fact agrees with Abraham regarding idol worship unlike the Qur'anic version! Writing, especially in the above examples, allows people who were not witnesses to the events to meet the reality of the event in a mediated encounter. Hebrews 11:10 says of Abram: "He was awaiting the city having real foundations, the builder and maker of which city is God.". And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Start for FREE. Nevertheless, this possibility brings to mind the old joke about the elephant and the ant. Kush was the son of Ham, the lowest and least important of Noah 's three sons. Hebrews 13:5 - Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Ep 200 | Luke 12-17; John 11, Come Follow Me 2023 (May 1-7), Ep 199 | John 7-10, Come Follow Me 2023 (April 24-30), Ep 198 | Matthew 18; Luke 10, Come Follow Me 2023 (April 17-23), Ep 197 | Matthew 15-17; Mark 7-9, Come Follow Me 2023 (April 10-16), Ep 196 | Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5-6, Come Follow Me 2023 (March 27-April 2). This is true even for a person who can digest the nuances of the ahistorical approach to the Torah. 3, There is something humorous in a history that we have in relation to this personage. 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. 18 And Abram went from them, and his anger burned within him. [16]Whether one must take the account of the Sinai revelation as historical or not is dealt with in chapter 4 of my book. [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. 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]. From whence sprang the suggestion to interpret the Torah against the way it has been read? Lord. Donate. 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. Haran is the son of Terah, brother of Abraham, and the father of Lot. Abraham's brother Haran sees what happened and says that he believes in the God of Abraham. Hosea 2:17 For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name. 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. 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]. Is it less true than a simple chronology of events describing the beginning of the world and of humankind? [7], There are several different ways in which this Midrash has been discussed. [27]See Rambam,Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentence, 3:7. Abraham did destroy his father's idols though. 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. Is there a truer story than this? What Does the Bible Say About Abrahams Descendants? - OpenBible.info the literary character. Bible. can they hear thy prayers when thou callest upon them? 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). He is the father of three children including the Patriarch Abraham. Ge 22:12, 18; 26:5; 2Sa 8:15; Ps 17:2; 99:4; Jer 23:5, Ex 23:7; Lev 4:3, 22, 27; Nu 16:22; Dt 27:25; 2Sa 24:17; Ps 11:4-7; 94:21; Eze 18:4; 2Pe 2:9, Jdg 11:27; Job 9:15; Ps 7:11; 94:2; Heb 12:23, Ge 20:4; Dt 32:4; 2Ch 19:7; Ezr 9:15; Ne 9:33; Job 8:3, 20; 34:10; 36:23; Ps 58:11; 75:7; 94:2; 119:137; Isa 3:10-11; Eze 18:25; Da 4:37; 9:14; Mal 2:17; Ro 3:6, NIV, Lucado Encouraging Word Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV, Story of Jesus: Experience the Life of Jesus as One Seamless Story, NIV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, NIV, Beautiful Word Bible Journal, Galatians, Paperback, Comfort Print, NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, Red Letter Edition: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture, NIV, Beautiful Word Bible Journal, Revelation, Paperback, Comfort Print. God stopped him from actually following . Continue Learning about Religious Studies. 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. English Revised Version Nimrod proclaims to Abraham that we should worship fire. President Nelson shared the following story last April: I adored my parents. Although the book focuses on a period of time later than that discussed herethe period of David and Solomonnevertheless, the rhetorical force of the essays that express reservations similar to that expressed aboveessays that come from very different scholarsdemonstrates the tangible reality of the emotional power that stands behind the truth problem. I must admit that I could not personally identify with any of the (admittedly thoughtful) analyses in that collection, and this is probably due to my own alternative way of thinking about this problem, as described in this essay. New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. 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? His father came in and asked what he had been doing, what great sin this was that he had committed, why he was so sacrilegious in his feelings and so wicked as to seek to destroy these gods? 61 And when Abram had ceased speaking before the king and princes, Abram lifted up his eyes to the heavens, and he said, The Lord seeth all the wicked, and he will judge them. Smashing Jewish Idols | My Jewish Learning [27] Putting this view forward before those who believed that God had a body probably caused those believers a crisis of faith. [1] According to Jewish tradition, Terah was an idolater. 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. Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 10 - English Standard Version I am not surprised, therefore, at the literary prowessvery much like human literary prowessdemonstrated in Torah by its author. [21] Did the elephant really need the ant in order to make dust-clouds in the desert? ! [Terah] took him and brought him before Nimrod (. It would always have been possible to claim that one author, Moses for instance, wrote it on his own. These events are seennot without causeas being singular and special. "[5] There is no description of a biblical interaction between Nimrod and Abraham. 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. [3] Haran died in Ur of the Chaldees, in the presence of his father, Terah.[4]. what happens when you drink cold water when you are hot? A man walked in and wished to buy an idol. 2 And Sarai said to Abram, "Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. are also to be treated as idols." 36 And Terah entered the room and found all the idols fallen down and broken, and the hatchet in the hand of the largest, which was not broken, and the savory meat which Abram his son had made was still before them. 11, p. 68. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities. 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. Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition. See,Iggrot Raayahvol. Psalms 135:15 - 127:17 - The idols of the . 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. The idols argued about which one should eat the offering first, then the largest idol took the stick and smashed all the other idols. Will Gods story be diminished if we do not connect it with the actions of specific people, as great as they may have been? Nimrod came from a line which was cursed by Noah: "Cursed be Canaan, a slave of slaves shall he be unto his brothers." By birth, Nimrod had no right to be a king or ruler. 37 And when Terah saw this his anger was greatly kindled, and he hastened and went from the room to Abram. 42 Is there in these gods spirit, soul or power to do all thou hast told me? Its meaning is not dependent on external evidence; its narrative descriptions should not be characterized as reconstructions or preservation of past events. 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? 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? She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. A similar point was made by R. Abraham Kook inEder ha-Yakkar, (Jerusalem, 5726), p. 42. 25 And his mother did so, and she fetched a kid, and made savory meat thereof, and brought it to Abram, and Abram took the savory meat from his mother and brought it before his fathers gods, and he drew nigh to them that they might eat; and Terah his father, did not know of it. When Terah. These events occurred at some point in the past, and the Holy Author (God) describes them from the unique perspective of the divine. This Abraham is entirely in the hands of heaven (in a different and positive sense). 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. 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. 2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. Abram Rescues Lot. The Miraculous Quran - The Story Of Abraham And Idols In The Qur'an And Finto: Iconclass: Abraham destroys his father's idols Bible verses related to Idols from the King James Version (KJV) by Relevance. Once he went on a trip and he placed Abraham in charge of the store in his place. Kula was formerly the Rosh haYeshiva of Yeshivat HaKibbutz HaDati in Ein Tzurim. The opposite is the case. what is the supplement of an angle measuring 54 degrees? However, in this case, God was testing the obedience and faith of Abraham. (For instance, not to say that God uses rational and beneficent thinking. Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. 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. Muhammad describes Abraham's anguished attempts to reason with His father and persuade him to accept a new divine Message this way: "O my Father! The Life of Our Forefather Abraham - Chabad.org This comes from the idea that Abraham did not need proof of God before being cast into the fire, which is why God saved him. that there is a real God, then that God will save him. ),Shitat ha-Beinot shel ha-Rav Mordechai Breuer: Qovetz Maamarim u-Teguvot(Alon Shevut: Tevunot, 2005). Such a perspective does not diminish the connection between humanity and God; it strengthens it.[23]. [23]My view here stands in stark contrast with that of Rav Kook, who criticizes the ahistorical approach to biblical narratives. One time a woman came carrying a dish of fine flour. NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. (Q) 24What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Abraham is to be killed for his righteousness, and is saved by God Inasmuch as Abrahams fight against idolatry is a common theme in the Bible, so is the prophet of God, in the face of adversity, being persecuted for his beliefs. Thou speakest lies to me. 21. 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. A different approach (cutting edge and more realistic) assumes that reconstruction of the past, with a point-by-point accurate portrayal, is impossible. 13Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers [g]under the authority of Conaniah and his brother Shimei by the appointment of King Hezekiah, and (O)Azariah was the chief officer of the house of God. 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? Why did Abraham destroy the idols? - Answers [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. Understanding the Torah this way can strengthen the deep vitality buried in its every story, every verse, every word even every letter. Christian Standard Bible They meant the world to me and taught me crucial lessons. [17] Is it surprising that Gods narrative is the story of humanity writ large? 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. On the other hand, Haran needed to see that Abraham would be saved by God before believing, and because of this, Haran was not saved from the fire by God. (AA) What if only ten can be found there?, He answered, For the sake of ten,(AB) I will not destroy it., 33When the Lord had finished speaking(AC) with Abraham, he left,(AD) and Abraham returned home.(AE). 19Also for the sons of Aaron, the priests, who were in (U)the pasture lands of their cities, or in each and every city, (V)there were men who were designated by name to distribute portions to every male among the priests and to everyone genealogically enrolled among the Levites. 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? 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. Lets imagine that Gods message is cloaked with descriptions of events that modern day historians believe cannot be accepted as factso what? He was looking forward. 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. Is there spirit, soul, or power in these gods to do all thou hast told me? 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. In response to the first question, I admitted that I am not trying at all to prove that the biblical author was God. Sons were born to them after the flood. 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. [19] The various literary layers identified by biblical scholars in the text do not contradict its status as divine. [2] Terah also made and sold idols, as the Midrash Genesis Rabbah 38 explains. And Nimrod and all his princes and servants were that day sitting before him, and Terah sat also before them. If this is a story, he said, it is a very human story. 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. [15]With regard to the sciatic nerve, the Mishna states (m.Chullin7:6): The rule applies to clean animals but not to unclean ones. Genesis 18:16-33 NIV - Abraham Pleads for Sodom - When the men - Bible 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). 38 And he found Abram his son still sitting in the house; and he said to him, What is this work thou hast done to my gods? The main purpose of contracts and newspapers, for example, is to translate the real worldwhere a deal was struck or something worth describing occurredinto writing. [12]In this case, it isnt about writing per se, as it makes little difference whether it is reported by radio, TV, or newspaper. The Midrash has also been discussed in the contexts of complete, unquestioned faith. The ant says to the elephant, Just look at the dust-clouds were making!. A woman enters to offer food to the idols. 15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great." 2 But Abram said, "O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue[ a] childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of 52 And the king sent three men of his servants, and they went and brought Abram before the king. I simply believe it. And you shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and you shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Can those idols in which thou trustest deliver thee? can they deliver thee from the hands of thy enemies, or will they fight thy battles for thee against thy enemies, that thou shouldst serve wood and stone which can neither speak nor hear? 50:2); 11 they entail the desolation of altars, the breaking of statues, the The worshipping of idols is forbidden under the word . 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. 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. 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. Instead, the full power of the divine message comes once the message finds its place within a persons heart. [8]In fact, seeResponsa Rashba1:116, where Rashba makes this point. 45 And forget the Lord God who made heaven and earth, and who created you in the earth, and thereby bring a great evil upon your souls in this matter by serving stone and wood? 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.". 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. Douay-Rheims Bible And when he had destroyed the altars, and the groves, and had broken the idols in pieces, and had demolished all profane temples throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. 13 And in the fiftieth year of the life of Abram son of Terah, Abram came forth from the house of Noah, and went to his fathers house. 635-637 [Hebrew]). his father put him in charge of caring for the idols, and Abraham tried to discourage people from bringing them offerings. The Gods Are Broken! - University of Nebraska-Lincoln abraham destroyed idols bible verse - T. he Entrepreneurs Guild Nations Descended from Noah. 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. [25]This imagery comes from Rav Kook. [5]A lot has been written about the principle of the slippery slope. See, for example, the essay by Yuval Cherlow, Halacha and the Slippery Slope,Akdamut23 (5769): 33-48 [Hebrew]. It is precisely the struggle of thinkers like Rambam and Rav Kook that can be most helpful in answering such questions. Although I felt able to push the first question into the sidelines, the second question seemed to me more problematic. Dr. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children[ a] by her." The commentary explains what happened to Abraham when he was a young boy working in his father's idol shop. Abraham, Smasher of Idols, and the Question of the Torah's Historicity 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. Abraham had three wives: Sarah, Hagar, and Keturah (by date when 3 And all these joined forces in the Valley of . Destruction of Idols | Daiyah Wiki | Fandom The question the rabbis are trying to answer with the Midrash is why and how did Haran die in the presence of his father. All rights reserved worldwide. 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. Perhaps they even needed to be narrated in exactly the way the Torah itself narrates them. Designed using Unos Premium. When his father saw that his son Abraham had broken his gods he was very angry with him. 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. 1, 14:53, p. 163. The Story of Abraham in the Bible and the Quran | About Islam It is the Torah of God, turning its face to Torah students in every generation. It is this difference, which lies at the heart of the distinction between the two interpretive methods described above. I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah). Abraham told him that a woman came in to make an offering to the idols.

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