Lech-Lecha, Lekh-Lekha, or Lech-L'cha ( ''leḵ-ləḵā''—

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

for "go!" or "leave!", literally "go for you"—the fifth and sixth words in the parashah) is the third

weekly Torah portion The weekly Torah portion refers to a lectionary custom in Judaism in which a portion of the Torah (or Pentateuch) is read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' (), is popularly abbre ...

(, ''

parashah The term ''parashah'', ''parasha'' or ''parashat'' ( ''Pārāšâ'', "portion", Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian , Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardi , plural: ''parashot'' or ''parashiyot'', also called ''parsha'') formally means a section of a biblical book ...

'') in the annual

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

cycle of

Torah reading Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting the ap ...

. It constitutes

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

12:1–17:27. The parashah tells the stories of God's calling of Abram (who would become

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

), Abram's passing off his wife Sarai as his sister, Abram's dividing the land with his nephew Lot, the war between the four kings and the five, the covenant between the pieces, Sarai's tensions with her maid

Hagar According to the Book of Genesis, Hagar is an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as ''Sarai''), whom Sarah gave to her own husband Abram (later renamed Abraham) as a wife to bear him a child. Abraham's firstborn son, through Haga ...

and Hagar's son

Ishmael In the Bible, biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs. Within Isla ...

, and the covenant of circumcision (''

brit milah The ''brit milah'' (, , ; "Covenant (religion), covenant of circumcision") or ''bris'' (, ) is Religion and circumcision, the ceremony of circumcision in Judaism and Samaritanism, during which the foreskin is surgically removed. According to t ...

''). The parashah is made up of 6,336 Hebrew letters, 1,686 Hebrew words, 126 verses, and 208 lines in a Torah Scroll (''

Sefer Torah file:SeferTorah.jpg, A Sephardic Torah scroll rolled to the first paragraph of the Shema file:Köln-Tora-und-Innenansicht-Synagoge-Glockengasse-040.JPG, An Ashkenazi Torah scroll rolled to the Decalogue file:Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue, Inte ...

'').

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s read it on the third

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

after

Simchat Torah Simchat Torah (; Ashkenazi: ), also spelled Simhat Torah, is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the Hebrew Bible ...

, in October or November.

Readings

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , '' aliyot''. In the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' paragraph A paragraph () is a self-contained unit of discourse in writing dealing with a particular point or idea. Though not required by the orthographic conventions of any language with a writing system, paragraphs are a conventional means of organizing ...

s, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter ('' peh'')). Parashah Lech-Lecha has several further subdivisions, called "closed portion" (, ''setumah'') divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (''

samekh Samekh or samech is the fifteenth Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician ''sāmek'' 𐤎, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew ''sāmeḵ'' , Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic ''samek'' 𐡎, and Syriac alphabet, Syr ...

'')) within the open portion divisions. The first open portion divides the first reading. The second open portion covers the balance of the first and all of the second and third readings. The third open portion spans the remaining readings. Closed portion divisions further divide the fifth and sixth readings. Abraham Journeying into the Land of Canaan

Abraham Journeying into the Land of Canaan

First reading—Genesis 12:1–13

In the first reading, God told Abram to leave his native land and his father's house for a land that God would show him, promising to make of him a great nation,

bless In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will. Etymology and Germanic paganism The modern English language term ''bless'' likely d ...

him, make his name great, bless those who blessed him, and

curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...

those who cursed him. Following God's command, at age 75, Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and the wealth and persons that they had acquired in

Haran Haran or Aran ( ''Hārān'') is a man in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. He was a son of Terah, brother of Abraham, and father of son Lot and daughters Milcah and Iscah. He died in Ur of the Chaldees. Through Lot, Haran was the ance ...

, and traveled to the terebinth of Moreh, at

Shechem Shechem ( ; , ; ), also spelled Sichem ( ; ) and other variants, was an ancient city in the southern Levant. Mentioned as a Canaanite city in the Amarna Letters, it later appears in the Hebrew Bible as the first capital of the Kingdom of Israe ...

Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...

. God appeared to Abram to tell him that God would assign the land to his heirs, and Abram built an

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

to God. Abram then moved to the hill country east of

Bethel Bethel (, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; ; ) was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Bet ...

and built an altar to God there and invoked God by name. Then Abram journeyed toward the Negeb. The first open portion ends here. In the continuation of the reading,

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

struck the land, so Abram went down to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, asking Sarai to say that she was his sister so that the Egyptians would not kill him. The first reading ends here.

Second reading—Genesis 12:14–13:4

In the second reading, when Abram and Sarai entered Egypt,

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

's courtiers praised Sarai's beauty to Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharaoh's palace. Pharaoh took Sarai as his wife. Because of her, Abram acquired

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

, oxen,

donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, and

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

s, but God afflicted Pharaoh and his household with mighty plagues. Pharaoh questioned Abram why he had not told Pharaoh that Sarai was Abram's wife. Pharaoh returned Sarai to Abram and had his men take them away with their possessions. Abram, Sarai, and Lot returned to the altar near Bethel. The second reading ends here. Foster Bible Pictures 0030-1

Third reading—Genesis 13:5–18

In the third reading, Abram and Lot now had so many sheep and cattle that the land could not support them both, and their herdsmen quarreled. Abram proposed to Lot that they separate, inviting Lot to choose which land he would take. Lot saw how well watered the plain of the

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

was, so he chose it for himself, and journeyed eastward, settling near Sodom, a city of wicked sinners, while Abram remained in Canaan. God promised to give all the land that Abram could see to him and his offspring forever, and to make his offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth. Abram moved to the terebinths of

Mamre Mamre (; ), full name "Oaks of Mamre", refers to an ancient religious site originally focused on a single holy tree growing "since time immemorial" at Hebron in Canaan.Niesiolowski-Spano (2016). At its first location, Khirbet Nimra, a pagan tre ...

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

, and built an altar there to God. The third reading and the second open portion end here with the end of chapter 13. Dieric Bouts - The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek

Dieric Bouts - The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek

Fourth reading—Genesis 14:1–20

In the fourth reading, in chapter 14, the

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

n Kings

Amraphel In the Hebrew Bible, Amraphel (; ; ) was a king of Shinar (Hebrew for Sumer) in Book of Genesis Chapter 14, who invaded Canaan along with other kings under the leadership of Chedorlaomer, king of Elam. Chedorlaomer's coalition defeated Sodom a ...

Shinar Shin’ar ( ; ; ) is the name for the southern region of Mesopotamia used by the Hebrew Bible. Etymology Hebrew ''Šinʿār'' is equivalent to the Egyptian ''Sngr'' and Hittite ''Šanḫar(a)'', all referring to southern Mesopotamia. Some Assyr ...

Arioch Arioch () appears in Genesis 14 as the name of the King of Ellassr () who participated in the Battle of Siddim. Led by Chedorlaomer, the four kings Amraphel, Arioch, Chedorlaomer, and Tidal engaged in a punitive expedition against five kings ...

of Ellasar,

Chedorlaomer Chedorlaomer, also spelled Kedorlaomer (; ; ''Khodollogomor''), is a king of Elam mentioned in Genesis 14. Genesis portrays him as allied with three other kings, campaigning against five Canaanite city-states in response to an uprising in the day ...

Elam Elam () was an ancient civilization centered in the far west and southwest of Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam Province as well as a small part of modern-day southern Iraq. The modern name ''Elam'' stems fr ...

, and Tidal of Goiim made war on the Canaanite kings of Sodom, Gomorrah,

Admah According to the Bible, Admah (Heb. אַדְמָה) was one of the five cities of the Vale of Siddim. It was destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah. It is supposed by William F. Albright to be the same as the "Adam" of . The location of Admah i ...

, Zeboiim, and Zoar, who joined forces at the

Battle of Siddim The Battle of the Vale of Siddim, also often called the War of Nine Kings or the Slaughter of Chedorlaomer, is an event in the Hebrew Bible book of that occurs in the days of Abram and Lot. The Vale of Siddim was the battleground for the cities ...

, now the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

. The Canaanite kings had served Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but rebelled in the thirteenth year. In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the Mesopotamian kings with him went on a military campaign and defeated several peoples in and around Canaan: the

Rephaim In the Hebrew Bible, as well as non-Jews, Jewish ancient texts from the region, the Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic term Rephaite or Repha'im (cf. the plural word in ; , ) refers either to a people of greater-than-average height and ...

, the Zuzim, the Emim, the

Horites The Horites ( ''Ḥōrīm''), were a people mentioned in the Torah (, ) inhabiting areas around Mount Seir in Canaan (). Name According to Archibald Sayce (1915), the Horites have been identified with references in Egyptian inscriptions to ''Kh ...

, the

Amalek Amalek (; ) is described in the Hebrew Bible as the enemy of the nation of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau, or anyone who lived in their territories in Canaan, or North African descend ...

ites, and the

Amorite The Amorites () were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking Bronze Age people from the Levant. Initially appearing in Sumerian records c. 2500 BC, they expanded and ruled most of the Levant, Mesopotamia and parts of Egypt from the 21st century BC ...

s. Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar engaged the four Mesopotamian kings in battle in the Valley of Siddim. The Mesopotamians routed the Canaanites, and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled into

bitumen Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...

pits in the valley, while the rest escaped to the hill country. The Mesopotamians seized all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Lot and his possessions, and departed. A fugitive brought the news to Abram, who mustered his 318 retainers, and pursued the invaders north to

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa ** Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivo ...

. Abram and his servants defeated them at night, chased them north of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, and brought back all the people and possessions, including Lot and his possessions. When Abram returned, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh, the Valley of the King. King

Melchizedek In the Hebrew Bible, Melchizedek was the king of Salem and priest of (often translated as 'most high God'). He is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18–20, where he brings out bread and wine and then blesses Abraham, and El Elyon or "the Lord, Go ...

of Salem (

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

), a priest of God Most High, brought out

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

and blessed Abram and God Most High, and he gave him a tenth of everything. The fourth reading ends here. Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 024

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 024

Fifth reading—Genesis 14:21–15:6

In the fifth reading, the king of Sodom offered Abram to keep all the possessions if he would merely return the people, but Abram swore to God Most High not to take so much as a thread or a sandal strap from Sodom, but would take only shares for the men who went with him. A closed portion ends here with the end of chapter 14. As the reading continues in chapter 15, sometime later, the word of God appeared to Abram, saying not to fear, for his reward would be very great, but Abram questioned what God could give him, as he was destined to die childless, and his steward

Eliezer Eliezer () was the name of at least three different individuals in the Hebrew Bible. Eliezer of Damascus Eliezer of Damascus () was, according to Targum Jonathan Bereishit, 14:14, the son of Nimrod. As mentioned in Lech-Lecha#Sixth_reading— ...

of Damascus would be his heir. The word of God replied that Eliezer would not be his heir, Abram's own son would. God took Abram outside and bade him to count the stars, for so numerous would his offspring be, and because Abram put his trust in God, God reckoned it to his merit. The fifth reading ends here.

Sixth reading—Genesis 15:7–17:6

In the sixth reading, God directed Abram to bring three heifers, three goats, three rams, a turtledove, and a bird, to cut the non-birds in two, and to place each half opposite the other. Abram drove away birds of prey that came down upon the carcasses, and as the sun was about to set, he fell into a deep sleep. God told Abram that his offspring would be strangers in a land not theirs, and be enslaved 400 years, but God would execute judgment on the nation they were to serve, and in the end they would go free with great wealth and return in the fourth generation, after the iniquity of the Amorites was complete. And there appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch, which passed between the pieces. And God made a covenant with Abram to assign to his offspring the land from the river of Egypt to the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

: the land of the

Kenite According to the Hebrew Bible, the Kenites/Qenites ( or ; ) were a tribe in the ancient Levant. They settled in the towns and cities in the northeastern Negev in an area known as the "Negev of the Kenites" near Arad, and played an important ro ...

s, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people who formed one of the first major civilizations of the Bronze Age in West Asia. Possibly originating from beyond the Black Sea, they settled in mo ...

, the

Perizzites The Perizzites () are a group of people mentioned many times in the Hebrew Bible as having lived in the land of Canaan before the arrival of the Israelites. The name may be related to a Hebrew term meaning "rural person."For the etymology, see Hi ...

, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the

Jebusite The Jebusites (; ) were, according to the Book of Joshua and Books of Samuel from the Hebrew Bible, a Canaanite tribe that inhabited Jerusalem, called Jebus () before the conquest initiated by Joshua (, ) and completed by David (). According to s ...

s. A closed portion ends here with the end of chapter 15. Adriaen van der Werff Sarah presenting Hagar to Abraham

Tissot Hagar and the Angel in the Desert

As the reading continues in chapter 16, having borne no children after 10 years in Canaan, Sarai bade Abram to consort with her Egyptian

maidservant A handmaiden (nowadays less commonly handmaid or maidservant) is a personal maid or female servant. The term is also used metaphorically for something whose primary role is to serve or assist. Depending on culture or historical period, a handma ...

, so that Sarai might have a son through her, and Abram did as Sarai requested. When Hagar saw that she had conceived, Sarai was lowered in her esteem, and Sarai complained to Abram. Abram told Sarai that her maid was in her hands, and Sarai treated her harshly, so Hagar ran away. An

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

of God found Hagar by a spring of water in the wilderness, and asked her where she came from and where she was going, and she replied that she was running away from her mistress. The angel told her to go back to her mistress and submit to her harsh treatment, for God would make Hagar's offspring too numerous to count; she would bear a son whom she should name Ishmael, for God had paid heed to her suffering.

would be a wild donkey of a man, with his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him, but he would dwell alongside his kinsmen. Hagar called God " El-roi," meaning that she had gone on seeing after God saw her, and the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. And when Abram was 86 years old, Hagar bore him a son, and Abram gave him the name Ishmael. A closed portion ends here with the end of chapter 16. As the reading continues in chapter 17, when Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to Abram as

El Shaddai El Shaddai (; ) or just Shaddai is one of the names of God in Judaism. ''El Shaddai'' is conventionally translated into English as ''God Almighty'', as ''Deus Omnipotens'' in Latin, and in . '' El'' means "God" in the Ugaritic and the Canaanite ...

and asked him to walk in God's ways and be blameless, for God would establish a covenant with him and make him exceedingly numerous. Abram threw himself on his face, and God changed his name from Abram to Abraham, promising to make him the father of a multitude of nations and kings. The sixth reading ends here.

Seventh reading—Genesis 17:7–27

In the seventh reading, God promised to maintain the covenant with Abraham and his offspring as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, and assigned all the land of Canaan to him and his offspring as an everlasting holding. God further told Abraham that he and his offspring throughout the ages were to keep God's covenant and every male (including every slave) was to be

circumcised Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...

in the flesh of his foreskin at the age of eight days as a sign of the covenant with God. If any male failed to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that person was to be cut off from his kin for having broken God's covenant. And God renamed Sarai as Sarah, and told Abraham that God would bless her and give Abraham a son by her so that she would give rise to nations and rulers. Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed at the thought that a child could be born to a man of a hundred and a woman of ninety, and Abraham asked God to bless Ishmael. But God told him that Sarah would bear Abraham a son, and Abraham was to name him

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

, and God would maintain the everlasting covenant with him and his offspring. In response to Abraham's prayer, God blessed Ishmael as well and promised to make him exceedingly numerous, the father of twelve chieftains and a great nation. But God would maintain the covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah would bear at the same season the next year. And when God finished speaking, God disappeared. That very day, Abraham circumcised himself, Ishmael, and every male in his household, as God had directed. The

maftir Maftir () is the last person called up to the Torah on Shabbat and holiday mornings: this person also reads (or at least recites the blessings over) the ''haftarah'' portion from a related section of the Nevi'im (prophetic books). Informally, t ...

() reading that concludes the parashahSee, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis'', page 85. reports that when Abraham circumcised himself and his household, Abraham was 99 and Ishmael was 13. The seventh reading, the third open portion, chapter 17, and the parashah end here.

Readings according to the triennial cycle

Jews who read the Torah according to the

triennial cycle The Triennial cycle of Torah reading may refer to either * The historical practice in ancient Israel by which the entire Torah was read in serial fashion over a three-year period, or * The practice adopted by many Reform, Conservative, Reconstruct ...

of Torah reading read the parashah according to the following schedule:

In ancient parallels

The parashah has parallels in these ancient sources:

Genesis chapter 14

Dennis Pardee suggested that the Rephaim cited in Genesis 14:5 and 15:20 and

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...

2:11, 20; 3:11, 13 may be related to a name in a 14th-century BCE

Ugarit Ugarit (; , ''ủgrt'' /ʾUgarītu/) was an ancient port city in northern Syria about 10 kilometers north of modern Latakia. At its height it ruled an area roughly equivalent to the modern Latakia Governorate. It was discovered by accident in 19 ...

ic text.

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 022

In inner-biblical interpretation

The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:

Genesis chapter 12

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

24:2 reports that Abram's father

Terah Terah or Terach ( ''Teraḥ'') is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis. He is listed as the son of Nahor and father of the patriarch Abraham. As such, he is a descendant of Shem's son Arpachshad. Terah is mentioned in Genesis 11:26–27, ...

lived beyond the River Euphrates and served other gods. While Genesis 11:31 reports that Terah took Abram, Lot, and Sarai from

Ur of the Chaldees Ur Kasdim (), commonly translated as Ur of the Chaldees, is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the birthplace of Abraham, the Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Israelites and the Ishmaelites. In 1862, Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet, Hen ...

to Haran, and Genesis 12:1 subsequently reports God's call to Abram to leave his country and his father's house,

Nehemiah Nehemiah (; ''Nəḥemyā'', "Yahweh, Yah comforts") is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period as the governor of Yehud Medinata, Persian Judea under Artaxer ...

9:7 reports that God chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees. God's blessing to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 that "all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you," is paralleled by God's blessing to Abraham in Genesis 22:18 that "All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants," and God's blessing to Jacob in Genesis 28:14 that "All the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants," and fulfilled by Balaam's request in Numbers 23:10 to share Israel's fate. God's promises to Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3 are reflected in the recollections of

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

51:2 of God's blessing of fruitfulness, of

Micah Micah (; ) is a given name. Micah is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), and means "He who is like God”. The name is sometimes found with theophoric extensions. Suffix theophory in '' Yah'' and in ''Yahweh'' result ...

7:18–20 of God's promises, and of

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

105:8–11, Psalm 105:42–45, Nehemiah 9:5–8,

1 Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third section of the Jewish Tan ...

16:7–18, and 2 Chronicles 20:7 of God's promise of the land. Terence Fretheim suggested that God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 that "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" stands in the background of Psalm 47:9, where "princes of the people"—and thus other nations—are identified as "The people of the God of Abraham."

Genesis chapter 15

In Genesis 15:5, God promised that Abraham's descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. Similarly, in Genesis 22:17, God promised that Abraham's descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore. In Genesis 26:4, God reminded Isaac that God had promised Abraham that God would make his heirs as numerous as the stars. In Genesis 32:13, Jacob reminded God that God had promised that Jacob's descendants would be as numerous as the sands. In Exodus 32:13, Moses reminded God that God had promised to make the Patriarch's descendants as numerous as the stars. In Deuteronomy 1:10, Moses reported that God had multiplied the Israelites until they were then as numerous as the stars. In Deuteronomy 10:22, Moses reported that God had made the Israelites as numerous as the stars. And Deuteronomy 28:62 foretold that the Israelites would be reduced in number after having been as numerous as the stars. But Psalm 147:4 tells that God "counts the number of the stars," and Isaiah 40:26 reports that God "brings out their host by number" and "calls them all by name." While Leviticus 12:6–8 required a new mother to bring a burnt-offering and a sin-offering, Genesis 15:2 and 1 Samuel 1:5–11 characterize

childlessness Childlessness is the state of not having children. Childlessness may have personal, social or political significance. Childlessness, which may be by choice or circumstance, is distinguished from voluntary childlessness, also called being "childfr ...

as a misfortune; Leviticus 26:9, Deuteronomy 28:11, and Psalm 127:3–5 make clear that having children is a blessing from God, and Leviticus 20:20 and Deuteronomy 28:18 threaten childlessness as a punishment. The description of the

Promised Land In the Abrahamic religions, the "Promised Land" ( ) refers to a swath of territory in the Levant that was bestowed upon Abraham and his descendants by God in Abrahamic religions, God. In the context of the Bible, these descendants are originally ...

in Genesis 15:18–21 is echoed in Deuteronomy 1:7–8.

Genesis chapter 17

In Genesis 17:1, God told Abraham, "Walk in My ways and be blameless."

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

echoed the exhortation to "walk in God's ways" as a recurring theme in Deuteronomy 5:30; 8:6; 10:12; 11:22; 19:9; 26:17; 28:9; and 30:16. The wording of Genesis 17:1, "Walk in My ways and be blameless (, ''tamim'')," in turn echoes that of Genesis 6:9, "Noah was a righteous (, ''tamim'') man; Noah walked with God."

In early nonrabbinic interpretation

The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources:

Genesis chapter 12

The second century BCE

Book of Jubilees The Book of Jubilees is an ancient Jewish apocryphal text of 50 chapters (1,341 verses), considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, as well as by Haymanot Judaism, a denomination observed by members of Ethiopian Jewish ...

reported that Abraham endured ten trials and was found faithful and patient in spirit. Jubilees listed eight of the trials: (1) leaving his country, (2) the famine, (3) the wealth of kings, (4) his wife taken from him, (5) circumcision, (6) Hagar and Ishmael driven away, (7) the binding of Isaac, and (8) buying the land to bury Sarah.

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; ; ; ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian J ...

interpreted Abram's migration allegorically as the story of a soul devoted to virtue and searching for God. The

Apocalypse of Abraham The ''Apocalypse of Abraham'' is an apocalyptic Jewish pseudepigrapha (a text whose claimed authorship is uncertain) based on biblical Abraham narratives. It was probably composed in the first or second century, between 70–150 AD. It has survi ...

told that Abraham argued to his father Terah that fire is more worthy of honor than idols, because its flames mock perishable things. Even more worthy of honor was water, because it conquers the fire and satisfies the earth. He called the earth more worthy of honor, because it overpowers the nature of the water. He called the sun more worthy of honor, because its rays illumine the whole world. But even the sun Abraham did not call god, because at night and by clouds it is obscured. Nor did Abraham call the moon or the stars god, because they also in their season obscure their light. Abraham argued to his father that they should worship the God who made everything, including the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the earth. And while Abraham thus spoke to his father in the court of his house, the voice of God came down from heaven in a fiery cloudburst, crying to Abraham to leave his father's house so that he would not also die in his father's sins.

In classical rabbinic interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

nic sources from the era of the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

and the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

Genesis chapter 12

The Mishnah taught that Abraham suffered ten trials and withstood them all, demonstrating how great Abraham's love was for God.Mishnah Avot 5:3
see also the discussion of Jubilees 17:16–18; 19:2–9 in "In early nonrabbinic interpretation" above. The

Avot of Rabbi Natan Avot of Rabbi Natan, also known as Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (ARN) (), the first and longest of the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era (c.700–900 CE). It is a commentary on an early form of the ...

taught that two trials were when God asked him to leave Haran, two were with his two sons, two were with his two wives, one was in the wars of the Kings, one was at the covenant between the pieces, one was in Ur of the Chaldees (where, according to a tradition, he was thrown into a furnace and came out unharmed), and one was the covenant of circumcision. The

Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer (, 'Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer'; abbreviated , 'PRE') is an aggadic-midrashic work of Torah exegesis and retellings of biblical stories. Traditionally, the work is attributed to the tanna Eliezer ben Hurcanus and his scho ...

counted as the ten trials: (1) when Abram was a child and all the magnates of the kingdom and the magicians sought to kill him (see below), (2) when he was put into prison for ten years and cast into the furnace of fire, (3) his migration from his father's house and from the land of his birth, (4) the famine, (5) when Sarah his wife was taken to be Pharaoh's wife, (6) when the kings came to kill him, (7) when (in the words of Genesis 17:1) "the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision," (8) when Abram was 99 years old and God asked him to circumcise himself, (9) when Sarah asked Abraham (in the words of Genesis 21:10) to "Cast out this bondwoman and her son," and (10) the binding of Isaac. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that the first trial was when Abram was born, and all the magnates of the kingdom and the magicians sought to kill him. Abram's family hid Abram in a cave for 13 years, during which he never saw the sun or moon. After 13 years, Abram came out speaking the holy language, Hebrew, and he despised idols and trusted in God, saying (in the words of Psalm 84:12): "Blessed is the man who trusts in You." In the second trial, Abram was put in prison for ten years—three years in Kuthi and seven years in Budri. After 10 years, they brought him out and cast him into the furnace of fire, and God delivered him from the furnace, as Genesis 15:7 says, "And He said to him, 'I am the Lord who brought you out of the furnace of the Chaldees." Similarly, Nehemiah 9:7 reports, "You are the Lord the God, who did choose Abram, and brought him forth out of the furnace of the Chaldees." The third trial was Abram's migration from his father's house and from the land of his birth. God brought him to Haran, and there his father Terah and Athrai his mother died. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that migration is harder for a human than for any other creature. And Genesis 12:1 tells of his migration when it says, "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Get out.'"

Rabbi Hiyya Hiyya, or Hiyya the Great, (ca. 180–230 CE; ) was one of the Chazal or Rabbinical Jewish sages in the Land of Israel during the transitional generation between the Tannaic and Amoraic eras. Active in Tiberias, Hiyya was the primary compile ...

said that Abram's father Terah manufactured idols (as Joshua 24:2 implies), and once Terah went away and left Abram to mind the store. A man came and asked to buy an idol. Abram asked the man how old he was. The man replied that he was 50 years old. Abram exclaimed that it was a shame that a man of 50 would worship a day-old object. The man became embarrassed and left. On another occasion, a woman came with a plate of flour and asked Abram to offer it to the idols. Abram took a stick, broke the idols, and put the stick in the largest idol's hand. When Terah returned, he demanded that Abram explain what he had done. Abram told Terah that the idols fought among themselves to be fed first, and the largest broke the others with the stick. Terah asked Abram why he mocked him, for the idols had no consciousness. Abram replied by asking Terah to listen to what he had just said. Thereupon Terah seized Abram and delivered him to

Nimrod Nimrod is a Hebrew Bible, biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush (Bible), Cush and therefore the great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Sh ...

, king of

. Nimrod proposed that they worship the fire. Abram replied that they should rather worship water, which extinguishes fire. Nimrod agreed to worship water. Abram replied that they should rather worship clouds, which bear the water. Nimrod agreed to worship the clouds. Abram replied that they should rather worship the winds, which disperse the clouds. Nimrod agreed to worship the wind. Abram replied that they should rather worship human beings, who withstand the wind. Nimrod then accused Abram of just bandying words and decreed that they would worship nothing but fire. Nimrod cast Abram into the fire, challenging Abram's God to save him from it. Haran was standing there undecided. Haran thought to himself that if Abram survived, then Haran would say that he was of Abram's faith, but if Nimrod was victorious, then Haran would say that he was on Nimrod's side. When Abram descended into the fiery furnace, God saved him. Nimrod then asked Haran whose belief he shared, and Haran replied that he shared Abram's faith. Thereupon Nimrod cast Haran into the fire, and he died in his father's presence, as Genesis 11:28 reports, "And Haran died in the presence of his father Terah."

Rabbi Aha Rabbi Aha (, read as ''Rabbi Achah'') was a rabbi of the Land of Israel, of the fourth century (fourth generation of amoraim). Biography He resided at Lod, but later settled in Tiberias where Huna II, Judah ben Pazi, and himself eventually cons ...

said in the name of Rabbi

Samuel ben Nahman Samuel ben Nahman (), or Samuel arNahmani (), was a rabbi and amora mentioned throughout the Talmud and Midrashic literature who lived in the Land of Israel from the beginning of the 3rd century CE until the start of the 4th century CE. Biograp ...

(or others say Rabbi Alexandri's name) in Rabbi Nathan's name that Abraham knew and observed even the laws of the courtyard

eruv An ''eruv'' (; , , also transliterated as ''eiruv'' or ''erub'', plural: ''eruvin'' or ''eruvim'') is a ritual ''halakhic'' enclosure made for the purpose of allowing activities which are normally Activities prohibited on Shabbat, prohibited ...

. Rabbi Phinehas (and others say Rabbi Helkiah and Rabbi Simon) said in the name of Rabbi Samuel that Abraham knew even the new name that God will one day give to Jerusalem, as

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

3:17 says, "At that time they shall call Jerusalem 'The Throne of God.'"

Rabbi Berekiah R. Berekiah (or R. Berekhyah; , read as ''Rabbi Berekhyah'') was an '' Amora'' of the Land of Israel, of the fourth generation of the Amora era. He is known for his work on the Aggadah Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-leg ...

, Rabbi Hiyya, and the Rabbis of Babylonia taught in Rabbi Judah's name that a day does not pass in which God does not teach a new law in the heavenly Court. For as

Job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

37:2 says, "Hear attentively the noise of His voice, and the meditation that goes out of His mouth." And meditation refers to nothing but Torah, as Joshua 1:8 says, "You shall meditate therein day and night." And Abraham knew them all. Rabbi Isaac compared Abram's thinking to that of a man who was travelling from place to place when he saw a building in flames. He wondered whether it was possible that the building could lack a person to look after it. At that moment, the owner of the building appeared and said that he owned the building. Similarly, Abram questioned whether it was conceivable that the world could exist without a Guide to look after it. At that moment, God told Abram that God is the Guide, the Sovereign of the Universe. At that moment, in the words of Genesis 12:1, "The Lord said to Abraham: 'Get out of your country.'" A

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

taught that when God spoke to Abram in Genesis 12:1, it was the first time that God had spoken to a person since

Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...

. Thus, the midrash said that

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ...

7:19, "Wisdom makes a wise man stronger than ten rulers," refers to Abraham, whom wisdom made stronger than the ten generations from Noah to Abraham. For out of all of them, God spoke to Abraham alone. The

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...

reported that some deduced from Genesis 12:1–2 that change of place can cancel a person's doom, but another argued that it was the merit of the land of Israel that availed Abraham. Reading God's command to Abram in Genesis 12:1 to get out of his country along with

Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...

1:3, "Your ointments have a goodly fragrance," Rabbi Berekiah taught that before God called Abram, Abram resembled a vial of

myrrh Myrrh (; from an unidentified ancient Semitic language, see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the '' Commiphora'' genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. Myrrh resin has been used ...

closed with a tight-fitting lid and lying in a corner, so that its fragrance did not spread. As soon as the vial was taken up, however, its fragrance disseminated. Similarly, God commanded Abraham to travel from place to place, so that his name would become great in the world.

Rabbi Eliezer Eliezer ben Hurcanus (or Hyrcanus) () was one of the most prominent Judean ''tannaitic'' Sages of 1st- and 2nd-century Judaism, a disciple of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai,Avot of Rabbi Natan 14:5 and a colleague of Gamaliel II (whose sister, I ...

taught that the five Hebrew letters of the Torah that alone among Hebrew letters have two separate shapes (depending whether they are in the middle or the end of a word)— (Kh, M, N, P, Z)—all relate to the mystery of redemption. With the letter ''

kaph Kaph (also spelled kaf) is the eleventh letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician ''kāp'' 𐤊, Hebrew ''kāp̄'' , Aramaic ''kāp'' 𐡊, Syriac ''kāp̄'' ܟ, and Arabic ''kāf'' (in abjadi order). It is also related to the Anc ...

'' (), God redeemed Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees, as in Genesis 12:1, God says, "Get you (, ''lekh lekha'') out of your country, and from your kindred . . . to the land that I will show you." With the letter ''

mem Mem (also spelled Meem, Meme, or Mim) is the thirteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Hebrew ''mēm'' , Aramaic ''mem'' 𐡌, Syriac ''mīm'' ܡ, Arabic ''mīm'' , and Phoenician ''mēm'' 𐤌. Its sound value is . It is also relate ...

'' (), Isaac was redeemed from the land of the

Philistines Philistines (; LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philistines origi ...

, as in Genesis 26:16, the Philistine king

Abimelech Abimelech (also spelled Abimelek or Avimelech; ) was the generic name given to all Philistine kings in the Hebrew Bible from the time of Abraham through King David. In the Book of Judges, Abimelech, son of Gideon, of the Tribe of Manasseh, is ...

told Isaac, "Go from us: for you are much mightier (, ''mimenu m'od'') than we." With the letter ''

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

'' (),

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

was redeemed from the hand of Esau, as in Genesis 32:12, Jacob prayed, "Deliver me, I pray (, ''hazileini na''), from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau." With the letter '' pe'' (), God redeemed Israel from Egypt, as in

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

3:16–17, God told Moses, "I have surely visited you, (, ''pakod pakadeti'') and (seen) that which is done to you in Egypt, and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt." With the letter ''

tsade Tsade (also spelled , , , , tzadi, sadhe, tzaddik) is the eighteenth Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician ''ṣādē'' 𐤑, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew ''ṣādī'' , Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic ''� ...

'' (), God will redeem Israel from the oppression of the kingdoms, and God will say to Israel, I have caused a branch to spring forth for you, as Zechariah 6:12 says, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch (, ''zemach''); and he shall grow up (, ''yizmach'') out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord." These letters were delivered to Abraham. Abraham delivered them to Isaac, Isaac delivered them to Jacob, Jacob delivered the mystery of Redemption to Joseph, and Joseph delivered the secret of Redemption to his brothers, as in Genesis 50:24, Joseph told his brothers, "God will surely visit (, ''pakod yifkod'') you." Jacob's son Asher delivered the mystery of the Redemption to his daughter

Serah Serach bat Asher was, in the Tanakh, a daughter of Asher, the son of Jacob. She is one of the seventy members of the patriarch's family who emigrated from Canaan to Egypt, and her name occurs in connection with the census taken by Moses in the w ...

. When Moses and

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

came to the elders of Israel and performed signs in their sight, the elders told Serah. She told them that there is no reality in signs. The elders told her that Moses said, "God will surely visit (, ''pakod yifkod'') you" (as in Genesis 50:24). Serah told the elders that Moses was the one who would redeem Israel from Egypt, for she heard (in the words of Exodus 3:16), "I have surely visited (, ''pakod pakadeti'') you." The people immediately believed in God and Moses, as Exodus 4:31 says, "And the people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel." Rabbi Berekiah noted that in Genesis 12:2, God had already said, "I will bless you," and so asked what God added by then saying, "and you be a blessing." Rabbi Berekiah explained that God was thereby conveying to Abraham that up until that point, God had to bless God's world, but thereafter, God entrusted the ability to bless to Abraham, and Abraham could thenceforth bless whomever he wanted to bless.

Rabbi Nehemiah Rabbi Nehemiah was a rabbi who lived circa 150 AD (fourth generation of tannaim). He was one of the great students of Rabbi Akiva, and one of the rabbis who received semicha from R' Judah ben Baba The Talmud equated R' Nechemiah with Rabbi Ne ...

said that the power of blessing granted to Abraham in Genesis 12:2 was what Abraham gave to Isaac in Genesis 25:5. But Rabbi Judah and the Rabbis disagreed.

Shimon ben Lakish Shimon ben Lakish (; ''Shim‘on bar Lakish'' or ''bar Lakisha''), better known by his nickname Reish Lakish (c. 200 — c. 275), was an amora who lived in the Roman province of Judaea in the third century. He was said to be born in Bosra, eas ...

(Resh Lakish) taught that God's blessing of Abraham in Genesis 12:2, "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing," is fulfilled in the ''

Amidah The ''Amidah'' (, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' during each of the three services prayed on week ...

'' prayer. "And I will make of you a great nation" is fulfilled in the opening of the first blessing of the ''Amidah'' prayer when Jews say, "God of Abraham." "And I will bless you" is fulfilled when Jews say, "God of Isaac," as it is a blessing for a father when the name of his son is eternalized. "And I will make your name great" is fulfilled when they say, "God of Jacob." One might have thought that Jews should conclude the first blessing of the ''Amidah'' prayer with the names of all the Patriarchs, so Genesis 12:2 says, "And you will be a blessing," which implies that since Genesis 12:2 concludes with Abraham, Jews conclude the blessing with Abraham, and not with all of the Patriarchs, and this is why the first blessing of the ''Amidah'' prayer ends, "Shield of Abraham." Rav Nahman bar Isaac deduced from God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, "And I will bless them that bless you," that since the

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

bless Abraham's descendants with the

Priestly Blessing The Priestly Blessing or priestly benediction (; translit. ''birkat kohanim''), also known in rabbinic literature as raising of the hands (Hebrew ''nesiat kapayim''), rising to the platform (Hebrew ''aliyah ledukhan''), ''dukhenen'' (Yiddish fro ...

of Numbers 6:23–27, God therefore blesses the priests. Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words, "And in you shall the families of the earth be blessed (, ''venivrechu'')" in Genesis 12:3 to teach that God told Abram that God had two good shoots to graft (''lihavrich'') onto Abram's family tree: Ruth the

Moab Moab () was an ancient Levant, Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by ...

ite (whom

Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ark ...

4:13–22 reports was the ancestor of

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

) and Naamah the

Ammon Ammon (; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; '; ) was an ancient Semitic languages, Semitic-speaking kingdom occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Wadi Mujib, Arnon and Jabbok, in present-d ...

ite (whom

1 Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of ancient Israel also including ...

14:21 reports was the mother of

Rehoboam Rehoboam (; , , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the Kingdom of Judah after the split of the united Kingdom of Israel. He was a son of and the successor to Solomon and a grandson of David. In the account of I Ki ...

and thus the ancestor of good kings like

Hezekiah Hezekiah (; ), or Ezekias (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the thirteenth king of Kingdom of Judah, Judah according to the Hebrew Bible.Stephen L Harris, Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "G ...

). And Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words, "All the families of the earth," in Genesis 12:3 to teach that even the other families who live on the earth are blessed only for Israel's sake. Figures 013 Abram and Lot Depart Out of Haran

Figures 013 Abram and Lot Depart Out of Haran

Rav Judah deduced from Genesis 12:3 that to refuse to say grace when given a cup to bless will shorten a person's life. And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi deduced from Genesis 12:3 that every

kohen Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...

who pronounces the benediction is himself blessed. Resh Lakish deduced from Genesis 12:5 that the Torah regards people who teach Torah to their neighbor's children as though they had fashioned them. Similarly, Rabbi Leazar in the name of Rabbi Jose ben Zimra observed that if all the nations assembled to create one insect, they could not bring it to life, yet Genesis 12:5 says, "the souls whom they had made in Haran." Rabbi Leazar in the name of Rabbi Jose ben Zimra interpreted the words "the souls whom they had made" to refer to the proselytes whom Abram and Sarai had converted. The midrash asked why then Genesis 12:5 did not simply say, "whom they had converted," and instead says, "whom they had made." The midrash answered that Genesis 12:5 thus teaches that one who brings a nonbeliever near to God is like one who created a life. Noting that Genesis 12:5 does not say, "whom he had made," but instead says "whom they had made," Rabbi Hunia taught that Abraham converted the men, and Sarah converted the women. Abram Called To Be a Blessing

Rabbi Haggai said in Rabbi Isaac's name that all of the Matriarchs were

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

s. The Tanna debe Eliyyahu taught that the world is destined to exist for 6,000 years. The first 2,000 years were to be void, the next 2,000 years were the period of the Torah, and the last 2,000 years are the period of the

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

. And the Gemara taught that the 2,000 years of the Torah began when, as Genesis 12:5 reports, Abraham and Sarah had gotten souls in Haran, when by tradition Abraham was 52 years old. The Mishnah equated the terebinth of Moreh to which Abram journeyed in Genesis 12:6 with the terebinths of Moreh to which

directed the

Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

to journey in Deuteronomy 11:30 to hear the blessings and curses at

Mount Gerizim Mount Gerizim ( ; ; ; , or ) is one of two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the State of Palestine, Palestinian city of Nablus and the biblical city of Shechem. It forms the southern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the nor ...

and

Mount Ebal Mount Ebal (; ) is one of the two mountains near the city of Nablus in the West Bank (Bible, biblical ''Shechem''), and forms the northern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the southern side being formed by Mount Gerizim. The mount ...

, and the Gemara equated both with Shechem. Rabbi Elazar said that one should always anticipate misfortune with prayer; for it was only by virtue of Abram's prayer between Bethel and Ai reported in Genesis 12:8 that Israel's troops survived at the Battle of Ai in

's days. The Rabbis deduced from Genesis 12:10 that when there is a famine in one's land, one should emigrate. Rabbi Phinehas said in Rabbi Hoshaya's name that God told Abraham to go forth and set a path for his children, for everything written in connection with Abraham is written in connection with his children: Similarly, Rabbi Joshua of Sikhnin taught that God gave Abraham a sign: Everything that happened to him would also happen to his children:

Rav ''Rav'' (or ''Rab'', Modern Hebrew: ) is the Hebrew generic term for a person who teaches Torah or is a Jewish spiritual guide or a rabbi. For example, Pirkei Avot (in the Talmud) states (1:6) that: The term ''rav'' is also Hebrew for ''rabbi ...

deduced from Genesis 12:11 that Abram had not even looked at his own wife before that point. Reading the words, "And it came to pass, that, when Abram came into Egypt," in Genesis 12:14, a midrash asked why the text at that point mentioned Abraham but not Sarai. The midrash taught that Abram had put Sarai in a box and locked her in. The midrash told that when Abram came to the Egyptian customs house, the customs officer demanded that Abram pay the custom duty on the box and its contents, and Abram agreed to pay. The customs officer proposed that Abram must have been carrying garments in the box, and Abram agreed to pay the duty for garments. The customs officer then proposed that Abram must have been carrying silks in the box, and Abram agreed to pay the duty for silks. The customs officer then proposed that Abram must have been carrying precious stones in the box, and Abram agreed to pay the duty for precious stones. But then the customs officer insisted that Abram open the box so that the customs officers could see what it contained. As soon as Abram opened the box, Sarai's beauty illuminated the land of Egypt. Rabbi Azariah and

Rabbi Jonathan Rabbi Jonathan () was a '' tanna'' of the 2nd century and schoolfellow of R. Josiah, apart from whom he is rarely quoted. Jonathan is generally so cited within further designation; but there is ample reason for identifying him with the less frequ ...

in Rabbi Isaac's name taught that Eve's image was transmitted to the reigning beauties of each generation (setting the standard of beauty). 1 Kings 1:4 says of David's comforter

Abishag In the Hebrew Bible, Abishag (; ''Avishag'') was a beautiful young woman of Shunem chosen to be a helper and servant to King David in his old age. Among Abishag's duties was to lie next to David and pass along her body heat and vigor because " ...

, "And the damsel was very fair"—, ''yafah ad me'od''—which the midrash interpreted to mean that she attained to Eve's beauty (as , ''ad me'od'', implies , Adam, and thus Eve). And Genesis 12:14 says, "the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair"—, ''me'od''—which the midrash interpreted to mean that Sarai was even more beautiful than Eve. Reading the words, "And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh," in Genesis 12:15,

Rabbi Johanan Yohanan ('), sometimes transcribed as Johanan, is a Hebrew male given name that can also appear in the longer form of ('), meaning "YHWH is gracious". The name is ancient, recorded as the name of Johanan, high priest of the Second Temple around ...

told that they tried to outbid each other for the right to enter Pharaoh's palace with Sarai. One prince said that he would give a hundred

dinar The dinar () is the name of the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, with a more widespread historical use. The English word "dinar" is the transliteration of the Arabic دينار (''dīnār''), which was bor ...

s for the right to enter the palace with Sarai, whereupon another bid two hundred dinars. Rabbi

Helbo Rabbi Helbo (רבי חלבו) was an amora who flourished about the end of the 3rd century, and who is frequently mentioned in both Talmuds. It seems that Helbo lived at first in Babylonia, where he studied under Rav Huna, the head of the Academy ...

deduced from Genesis 12:16 that a man must always observe the honor due to his wife, because blessings rest on a man's home only on account of her. Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani said in the name of Rabbi Johanan that leprosy resulted from seven things: slander, bloodshed, vain oath, incest, arrogance, robbery, and envy. The Gemara cited God's striking Pharaoh with plagues in Genesis 12:17 to show that incest had led to leprosy. The Mekhilta of Rabbi Simeon taught that before the Exodus, no slave had gone free from Egypt except for Hagar, whom Genesis 12:20 indicates Pharaoh sent out of Egypt with Abraham. LotAndAberham

Genesis chapter 13

baraita ''Baraita'' ( "external" or "outside"; pl. ''bārayāṯā'' or in Hebrew ''baraitot''; also baraitha, beraita; Ashkenazi pronunciation: berayse) designates a tradition in the Oral Torah of Rabbinical Judaism that is not incorporated in the Mi ...

deduced from the words, "like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt," in Genesis 13:10 that among all the nations, there was none more fertile than Egypt. And the baraita taught that there was no more fertile spot in Egypt than Zoan, where kings lived, for Isaiah 30:4 says of

, "his princes are at Zoan." And in all of Israel, there was no more rocky ground than that at Hebron, which is why the

Patriarchs The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in ...

buried their dead there, as reported in Genesis 49:31. But rocky Hebron was still seven times as fertile as lush Zoan, as the baraita interpreted the words "and Hebron was built seven years before

Zoan According to the Hebrew Bible, Zoan ( ''Ṣōʿan'') was a city of Egypt in the eastern Nile delta. Book of Numbers 13:22 says that it was built seven years after Hebron was built. Psalm 78:12,43 identifies the "field of Zoan" as the location wher ...

" in Numbers 13:22 to mean that Hebron was seven times as fertile as Zoan. The baraita rejected the plain meaning of "built," reasoning that

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...

would not build a house for his younger son

(in whose land was Hebron) before he built one for his elder son

Mizraim Mizraim (; cf. ) is the Hebrew and Aramaic name for the land of Egypt and its people. Mizraim - king of Egypt Linguistic analysis '' Mizraim'' is the Hebrew cognate of a common Semitic source word for the land now known as Egypt. It is similar t ...

(in whose land was Zoan), and Genesis 10:6 lists (presumably in order of birth) "the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan." Rabbi Issi taught that there was no city in the plain better than Sodom, for Lot had searched through all the cities of the plain and found none like Sodom. Thus, the people of Sodom were the best of all, yet as Genesis 13:13 reports, "the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners." They were "wicked" to each other, "sinners" in adultery, "against the Lord" in idolatry, and "exceedingly" engaged in bloodshed. The Mishnah deduced from Genesis 13:13 that the men of Sodom would have no place in the world to come. Rabbi Joḥanan in the name of Rabbi Jose cited Genesis 13:17 to support his argument that the delight of the Sabbath is specifically the portion of the descendants of Israel, not those of Abraham or Isaac. Rabbi Joḥanan taught in the name of Rabbi Jose that God gives a boundless portion—a very large reward—to anyone who delights in the Sabbath, for Isaiah 58:13–14 promises: "If you keep your feet from violating the Sabbath, from pursuing your affairs on My holy day, and you call the Sabbath a delight, the Lord's holy day honored, and you honor it by not going your own way, or attending to your own matters or speaking idle words, then you shall delight in the Lord and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the world, and to feast on ''the inheritance of Jacob your father'', as the mouth of God has spoken." The reward for delighting in the Sabbath is thus specifically the portion of Jacob, not that of Abraham, about whom Genesis 13:17 says, "Rise, walk through the land through its length and its width because I have given it to you"—that is, the land of Israel alone. And not that of Isaac, about whom Genesis 26:3 says, "Dwell in this land and I will be with you and I will bless you because I will give all of these lands to you and your offspring"—meaning those lands and no others. Rather, it is the inheritance of Jacob, about whom Genesis 28:14 says, "And your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and all of the families of the land will be blessed through you and your offspring"—implying that there are no boundaries to Jacob's portion. Tempesta Abraham Makes the Enemies Flee Who Hold His Nephew

Tempesta Abraham Makes the Enemies Flee Who Hold His Nephew

Genesis chapter 14

Rabbi Levi, or some say Rabbi Jonathan, said that a tradition handed down from the Men of the

Great Assembly According to Jewish tradition the Great Assembly (, also translated as Great Synagogue or ''Synod'') was an assembly of possibly 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, which existed from the early Second Temple period (around 516 BCE) to the early He ...

taught that wherever the Bible employs the term "and it was" or "and it came to pass" (, ''va-yehi''), as it does in Genesis 14:1, it indicates misfortune, as one can read ''wa-yehi'' as ''wai'', ''hi'', "woe, sorrow." Thus the words, "And it came to pass in those days of Amraphel, Arioch, Kenderlaomer, Tidal, Shemeber, Shinab, Backbrai, and Lama the kings of Shinar, Ellasar, Elam, Goiim, Zeboiim, Admah, Bela, and Lasha" in Genesis 14:1, are followed by the words, "they made war with Bera, Birsta, Nianhazel, and Melchizedek the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Zoar, and Salem" in Genesis 14:2. And the Gemara also cited the instances of Genesis 6:1 followed by Genesis 6:5; Genesis 11:2 followed by Genesis 11:4; Joshua 5:13 followed by the rest of Joshua 5:13; Joshua 6:27 followed by Joshua 7:1;

1 Samuel The Book of Samuel () is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) that constitute a theological ...

1:1 followed by 1 Samuel 1:5; 1 Samuel 8:1 followed by 1 Samuel 8:3; 1 Samuel 18:14 close after 1 Samuel 18:9; 2 Samuel 7:1 followed by 1 Kings 8:19; Ruth 1:1 followed by the rest of Ruth 1:1; and

Esther Esther (; ), originally Hadassah (; ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, which is set in the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and ma ...

1:1 followed by

Haman Haman ( ; also known as Haman the Agagite) is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who according to the Hebrew Bible was an official in the court of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian empire under King Ahasuerus#Book of Esther, Ahasuerus, comm ...

. But the Gemara also cited as counterexamples the words, "And there was evening and there was morning one day," in Genesis 1:5, as well as Genesis 29:10, and 1 Kings 6:1. So

Rav Ashi Rav Ashi () ("Rabbi Ashi") (352–427) was a Babylonian Jewish rabbi, of the sixth generation of amoraim. He reestablished the Academy at Sura and was the first editor of the Babylonian Talmud. The original pronunciation of his name may h ...

replied that ''wa-yehi'' sometimes presages misfortune, and sometimes it does not, but the expression "and it came to pass in the days of" always presages misfortune. And for that proposition, the Gemara cited Genesis 14:1, Isaiah 7:1, Jeremiah 1:3, Ruth 1:1, and Esther 1:1. Tempesta Lot and His Family Recalled Home by Abraham

Tempesta Lot and His Family Recalled Home by Abraham

Rav and

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

equated the Amraphel of Genesis 14:1 with the Nimrod whom Genesis 10:8 describes as "a mighty warrior on the earth," but the two differed over which was his real name. One held that his name was actually Nimrod, and Genesis 14:1 calls him Amraphel because he ordered Abram to be cast into a burning furnace (and thus the name Amraphel reflects the words for "he said" (''amar'') and "he cast" (''hipil'')). But the other held that his name was actually Amraphel, and Genesis 10:8 calls him Nimrod because he led the world in rebellion against God (and thus the name Nimrod reflects the word for "he led in rebellion" (''himrid'')). Rabbi Berekiah and Rabbi Helbo taught in the name of Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman that the Valley of Siddim (mentioned in Genesis 14:3 in connection with the battle between the four kings and the five kings) was called the Valley of Shaveh (which means "as one") because there all the peoples of the world agreed as one, felled cedars, erected a large dais for Abraham, set him on top, and praised him, saying (in the words of Genesis 23:6, "Hear us, my lord: You are a prince of God among us." They told Abraham that he was king over them and a god to them. But Abraham replied that the world did not lack its King, and the world did not lack its God. A midrash taught that there was not a mighty man in the world more difficult to overcome than Og, as Deuteronomy 3:11 says, "only Og king of

Bashan Bashan (; ; or ''Basanitis'') is the ancient, biblical name used for the northernmost region of Transjordan during the Iron Age. It is situated in modern-day Jordan and Syria. Its western part, nowadays known as the Golan Heights, was occupied b ...

remained of the remnant of the Rephaim." The midrash told that Og had been the only survivor of the strong men whom Amraphel and his colleagues had slain, as may be inferred from Genesis 14:5, which reports that Amraphel "smote the Rephaim in

Ashteroth-karnaim Ashteroth Karnaim () was a city east of the Jordan River in Bashan in the northern part of the Transjordan There were originally two neighbouring cities, Ashtaroth, and northeast of it Karnaim, the latter annexing the name of the former after Ash ...

," and one may read Deuteronomy 3:1 to indicate that Og lived near Ashteroth. The midrash taught that Og was the refuse among the Rephaim, like a hard olive that escapes being mashed in the olive press. The midrash inferred this from Genesis 14:13, which reports that "there came one who had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew," and the midrash identified the man who had escaped as Og, as Deuteronomy 3:11 describes him as a remnant, saying, "only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim." The midrash taught that Og intended that Abram should go out and be killed. God rewarded Og for delivering the message by allowing him to live all the years from Abraham to

, but God collected Og's debt to God for his evil intention toward Abraham by causing Og to fall by the hand of Abraham's descendants. On coming to make war with Og, Moses was afraid, thinking that he was only 120 years old, while Og was more than 500 years old, and if Og had not possessed some merit, he would not have lived all those years. So God told Moses (in the words of Numbers 21:34), "fear him not; for I have delivered him into your hand," implying that Moses should slay Og with his own hand. Nuremberg chronicles f 21v 1

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 023

Rabbi

Abbahu Rabbi Abbahu () was a Jew and Talmudist of the Talmudic Academies in Syria Palaestina from about 279 to 320 CE and is counted a member of the third generation of Amoraim. He is sometimes cited as Rabbi Abbahu of Kisrin (Caesarea Maritima). Biog ...

said in Rabbi Eleazar's name that "his trained men" in Genesis 14:14 meant Torah scholars, and thus when Abram made them fight to rescue Lot, he brought punishment on himself and his children, who were consequently enslaved in Egyptian for 210 years. But Samuel said that Abram was punished because he questioned whether God would keep God's promise, when in Genesis 15:8 Abram asked God "how shall I know that I shall inherit it?" And

said that Abram was punished because he prevented people from entering beneath the wings of the

Shekhinah Shekhinah () is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God in a place. This concept is found in Judaism from Talmudic literature. The word "Shekhinah" is found in the Bible onl ...

and being saved, when in Genesis 14:21 the king of Sodom said it to Abram, "Give me the persons, and take the goods yourself," and Abram consented to leave the prisoners with the king of Sodom. Rav interpreted the words "And he armed his trained servants, born in his own house" in Genesis 14:14 to mean that Abram equipped them by teaching them the Torah. Samuel read the word ''vayarek'' ("he armed") to mean "bright," and thus interpreted the words "And he armed his trained servants" in Genesis 14:14 to mean that Abram made them bright with gold, that is, rewarded them for accompanying him.Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32a
Figures 015 Melchisedec King of Salem blesses Abram

Figures 015 Melchisedec King of Salem blesses Abram

Reading the report in Genesis 14:14 that Abram led 318 men, Rabbi Ammi bar Abba said that Abram's servant Eliezer outweighed them all. The Gemara reported that others (employing

gematria In numerology, gematria (; or , plural or ) is the practice of assigning a numerical value to a name, word, or phrase by reading it as a number, or sometimes by using an alphanumeric cipher. The letters of the alphabets involved have standar ...

) said that Eliezer alone accompanied Abram to rescue Lot, as the Hebrew letters in Eliezer's name have a numerical value of 318. Foster Bible Pictures 0028-1

The midrash identified the Melchizedek of Genesis 14:18 with Noah's son

Shem Shem (; ''Šēm''; ) is one of the sons of Noah in the Bible ( Genesis 5–11 and 1 Chronicles 1:4). The children of Shem are Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram, in addition to unnamed daughters. Abraham, the patriarch of Jews, Christ ...

. The Rabbis taught that Melchizedek acted as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and handed down Adam's robes to Abraham. Rabbi Zechariah said on

Rabbi Ishmael Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha Nachmani (Hebrew: רבי ישמעאל בן אלישע), often known as Rabbi Yishmael and sometimes given the title "Ba'al HaBaraita" (Hebrew: בעל הברייתא, “Master of the Outside Teaching”), was a rabbi of ...

's authority (or others say, it was taught at the school of Rabbi Ishmael) that God intended to continue the priesthood from Shem's descendants, as Genesis 14:18 says, "And he (Melchizedek/Shem) was the priest of the most high God." But then Melchizedek gave precedence in his blessing to Abram over God, and thus God decided to bring forth the priesthood from Abram. As Genesis 14:19 reports, "And he (Melchizedek/Shem) blessed him (Abram) and said: 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God the Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.'" Abram replied to Melchizedek/Shem by questioning whether the blessing of a servant should be given precedence over that of the master. And straightaway, God gave the priesthood to Abram, as Psalm 110:1 says, "The Lord (God) said to my Lord (Abram), Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool," which is followed in Psalm 110:4 by, "The Lord has sworn, and will not repent, 'You (Abram) are a priest forever, after the order (''dibrati'') of Melchizedek,'" meaning, "because of the word (''dibbur'') of Melchizedek." Hence Genesis 14:18 says, "And he (Melchizedek/Shem) was the priest of the most high God," implying that Melchizedek/Shem was a priest, but not his descendants. Rabbi Isaac the Babylonian said that Melchizedek was born circumcised.Genesis Rabbah 43:6
A midrash taught that Melchizedek called Jerusalem "Salem." The Rabbis said that Melchizedek instructed Abraham in the Torah. Rabbi Eleazar said that Melchizedek's school was one of three places where the Holy Spirit manifested itself. Rabbi Judah said in Rabbi Nehorai's name that Melchizedek's blessing yielded prosperity for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Ephraim Miksha'ah the disciple of

Rabbi Meir Rabbi Meir () was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishnah. He was one of the Tannaim of the fourth generation (139–163), and a disciple of Rabbi Akiva. He is the second most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah and is mentioned ...

said in the latter's name that Tamar descended from Melchizedek. Rabbi Hana bar Bizna citing Rabbi Simeon Hasida (or others say Rabbi Berekiah in the name of Rabbi Isaac) identified Melchizedek as one of the four craftsmen of whom Zechariah wrote in Zechariah 2:3. The Gemara taught that

wrote the Book of Psalms, including in it the work of the elders, including Melchizedek in Psalm 110.

Genesis chapter 15

According to the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, Genesis 15 reports Abraham's seventh trial. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that God was revealed to all the prophets in a vision, but to Abraham God was revealed in a revelation and a vision. Genesis 18:1 tells of the revelation when it says, “And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre.” And Genesis 15:1 tells of the vision when it says, “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.” According to the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, God told Abraham not to fear, for God would shield Abraham against misfortunes everywhere that he would go, and would give him and his children a good reward, in this world and in the world to come, as Genesis 15:1 says, “Your exceeding great reward.” The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer identified Abraham's servant Eliezer introduced in Genesis 15:2 with the unnamed steward of Abraham's household in Genesis 24:2. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that when Abraham left

, all the magnates of the kingdom gave him gifts, and Nimrod gave Abraham Nimrod's first-born son Eliezer as a perpetual slave. After Eliezer had dealt kindly with Isaac by securing

Rebekah Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban t ...

to be Isaac's wife, he set Eliezer free, and God gave Eliezer his reward in this world by raising him up to become a king—Og, king of Bashan. The Gemara expounded on the words, "And He brought him outside," in Genesis 15:5. The Gemara taught that Abram had told God that Abram had employed astrology to see his destiny and had seen that he was not fated to have children. God replied that Abram should go "outside" of his astrological thinking, for the stars do not determine Israel's fate. The

Pesikta de-Rav Kahana Pesikta de-Rav Kahana () is a collection of aggadic midrash which exists in two editions, those of Salomon Buber (Lyck, 1868) and Bernard Mandelbaum (1962). It is cited by Nathan ben Jehiel and Rashi. The name The Jewish Babylonian Aramaic t ...

taught that Sarah was one of seven barren women about whom Psalm 113:9 says (speaking of God), "He ... makes the barren woman to dwell in her house as a joyful mother of children." The Pesikta de-Rav Kahana also listed Rebekah,

Rachel Rachel () was a Bible, Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph (Genesis), Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban (Bible), Laban. Her older siste ...

Leah Leah () appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son Reuben. She has thr ...

Manoah Manoah ( ''Mānoaḥ'') is a figure from the Book of Judges 13:1-23 and 14:2-4 of the Hebrew Bible. His name means "rest". He is the father of the judge Samson. Family According to the Bible, Manoah was of the tribe of Dan and lived in the cit ...

's wife, Hannah, and

Zion Zion (; ) is a placename in the Tanakh, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole. The name is found in 2 Samuel (), one of the books of the Tanakh dated to approximately the mid-6th century BCE. It o ...

. The Pesikta de-Rav Kahana taught that the words of Psalm 113:9, "He ... makes the barren woman to dwell in her house," apply, to begin with, to Sarah, for Genesis 11:30 reports that "Sarai was barren." And the words of Psalm 113:9, "a joyful mother of children," apply to Sarah, as well, for Genesis 21:7 also reports that "Sarah gave children suck." The

Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael The Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael ( IPA , "a collection of rules of interpretation") is midrash halakha to the Book of Exodus. The Aramaic title ''Mekhilta'' corresponds to the Mishnaic Hebrew term ' "measure," "rule", and is used to denote a compi ...

taught that Abraham inherited both this world and the

World to Come The world to come, age to come, heaven on Earth, and the Kingdom of God are eschatology, eschatological phrases reflecting the belief that the World (theology), current world or Dispensation (period), current age is flawed or cursed and will be r ...

as a reward for his faith, as Genesis 15:6 says, "And he believed in the Lord." Resh Lakish taught that Providence punishes bodily those who unjustifiably suspect the innocent. In Exodus 4:1, Moses said that the Israelites "will not believe me," but God knew that the Israelites would believe. God thus told Moses that the Israelites were believers and descendants of believers, while Moses would ultimately disbelieve. The Gemara explained that Exodus 4:13 reports that "the people believed" and Genesis 15:6 reports that the Israelites' ancestor Abram "believed in the Lord," while Numbers 20:12 reports that Moses "did not believe." Thus, Moses was smitten when in Exodus 4:6 God turned his hand white as snow. Rabbi Jacob bar Aha said in the name of Rav Assi that Abraham asked God whether God would wipe out Abraham's descendants as God had destroyed the generation of the Flood. Rabbi Jacob bar Aha said in the name of Rav Assi that Abraham's question in Genesis 15:8, "O Lord God, how shall I know that I shall inherit it?" was part of a larger dialogue. Abraham asked God if Abraham's descendants should sin before God, would God do to them as God did to the generation of the Flood (in Genesis 6–8) and the generation of the Dispersion (in Genesis in Genesis 11:1–9). God told Abraham that God would not. Abraham then asked God (as reported in Genesis 15:8), "Let me know how I shall inherit it." God answered by instructing Abraham (as reported in Genesis 15:9), "Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old" (which Abraham was to sacrifice to God). Abraham acknowledged to God that this means of atonement through sacrifice would hold good while a sacrificial shrine remained in being, but Abraham pressed God what would become of his descendants when the Temple would no longer exist. God replied that God had already long ago provided for Abraham's descendants in the Torah the order of the sacrifices, and whenever they read it, God would deem it as if they had offered them before God, and God would grant them pardon for all their iniquities. Rabbi Jacob bar Aha said in the name of Rav Assi that this demonstrated that were it not for the ''Ma'amadot'', groups of lay Israelites who participated in worship as representatives of the public, then heaven and earth could not endure. Tissot Abram Guarding His Sacrifice

Reading Genesis 15:8, “And he said: ‘O Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?’” Rabbi Hama bar Hanina taught that Abraham was not complaining, but asked God through what merit Abraham would inherit the land. God replied that Abraham and his descendants would merit the land through the atoning sacrifices that God would institute for Abraham's descendants, as indicated by the next verse, in which God said, “Take Me a heifer of three years old . . . .” Figures 016 A Deep Sleep Fell Upon Abram and a Horror Seized Him

Figures 016 A Deep Sleep Fell Upon Abram and a Horror Seized Him

Reading Genesis 15:9, “And He said to him: ‘Take me a heifer of three years old (, ''meshuleshet''), a she-goat of three years old (, ''meshuleshet''), and a ram of three years old (, ''meshulash''),’” a midrash read , ''meshuleshet'', to mean “three-fold” or “three kinds,” indicating sacrifices for three different purposes. The midrash deduced that God thus showed Abraham three kinds of bullocks, three kinds of goats, and three kinds of rams that Abraham's descendants would need to sacrifice. The three kinds of bullocks were: (1) the bullock that Leviticus 16:3–19 would require the Israelites to sacrifice on the Day of Atonement (''

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

''), (2) the bullock that Leviticus 4:13–21 would require the Israelites to bring on account of unwitting transgression of the law, and (3) the heifer whose neck Deuteronomy 21:1–9 would require the Israelites to break. The three kinds of goats were: (1) the goats that Numbers 28:16–29:39 would require the Israelites to sacrifice on

festivals A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

, (2) the goats that Numbers 28:11–15 would require the Israelites to sacrifice on the New Moon (''

Rosh Chodesh In Judaism, Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh (; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is a minor holiday observed at the beginning of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. Rosh Chodesh is obs ...

''), and (3) the goat that Leviticus 4:27–31 would require an individual to bring. The three kinds of rams were: (1) the guilt-offering of certain obligation that Leviticus 5:25, for example, would require one who committed a trespass to bring, (2) the guilt-offering of doubt to which one would be liable when in doubt whether one had committed a transgression, and (3) the lamb to be brought by an individual. Rabbi

Simeon bar Yohai Shimon bar Yochai ( Zoharic Aramaic: , ''Šimʿon bar Yoḥay'') or Shimon ben Yochai (Mishnaic Hebrew: ), also known by the acronym Rashbi, was a 2nd-century tanna or sage of the period of Roman Judaea and early Syria Palaestina. He was one ...

said that God showed Abraham all the atoning sacrifices except for the tenth of an ephah of fine meal in Leviticus 5:11. The Rabbis said that God showed Abraham the tenth of an ephah as well, for Genesis 15:10 says "all ''these'' (, ''eleh'')," just as Leviticus 2:8 says, "And you shall bring the meal-offering that is made of ''these'' things (, ''me-eleh'')," and the use of "these" in both verses hints that both verses refer to the same thing. And reading Genesis 15:10, "But the bird divided he not," the midrash deduced that God intimated to Abraham that the bird burnt-offering would be divided, but the bird sin-offering (which the dove and young pigeon symbolized) would not be divided. A midrash noted the difference in wording between Genesis 47:27, which says of the Israelites in Goshen that "they got possessions therein," and Leviticus 14:34, which says of the Israelites in Canaan, "When you come into the land of Canaan, which I gave you for a possession." The midrash read Genesis 47:27 to read, "and they were taken in possession by it." The midrash thus taught that in the case of Goshen, the land seized the Israelites, so that their bond might be exacted and to bring about God's declaration to Abraham in Genesis 15:13 that the Egyptians would afflict the Israelites for 400 years. But the midrash read Leviticus 14:34 to teach the Israelites that if they were worthy, the Land of Israel would be an eternal possession, but if not, they would be banished from it. The Mishnah pointed to God's announcement to Abram in Genesis 15:16 that his descendants would return from Egyptian slavery to support the proposition that the merits of the father bring about benefits for future generations. A midrash taught that Genesis 15:18, Deuteronomy 1:7, and Joshua 1:4 call the Euphrates "the Great River" because it encompasses the Land of Israel. The midrash noted that at the creation of the world, the Euphrates was not designated "great." But it is called "great" because it encompasses the Land of Israel, which Deuteronomy 4:7 calls a "great nation." As a popular saying said, the king's servant is a king, and thus Scripture calls the Euphrates great because of its association with the great nation of Israel. Abraham recevant Agar

Genesis chapter 16

Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai deduced from the words, "and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar," in Genesis 16:1 that Hagar was Pharaoh's daughter. Rabbi Simeon taught that when Pharaoh saw what God did on Sarah's behalf, Pharaoh gave his daughter to Sarai, reasoning that it would be better for his daughter to be a handmaid in Sarai's house than a mistress in another house. Rabbi Simeon read the name "Hagar" in to mean "reward" (''agar''), imagining Pharaoh to say, "Here is your reward (''agar'')." A midrash deduced from Sarai's words in Genesis 16:2, "Behold now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing; go into my handmaid; it may be that I shall be built up through her," that one who is childless is as one who is demolished. The Rabbi of the midrash reasoned that only that which is demolished must be "built up." Rabbi Simeon wept that Hagar, the handmaid of Rabbi Simeon's ancestor Abraham's house, was found worthy of meeting an angel on three occasions (including in Genesis 16:7–12), while Rabbi Simeon did not meet an angel even once.Babylonian Talmud Meilah 17b
A midrash found in Genesis 16:8 support for the proverb that if a person tells you that you have a donkey's ears, do not believe it, but if two tell it to you, order a halter. For Abraham called Hagar Sarai's servant the first time in Genesis 16:6, saying, "Behold, your maid is in your hand." And then the angel called Hagar Sarai's servant the second time in Genesis 16:8, saying, "Hagar, Sarai's handmaid." Thus, thereafter in Genesis 16:8, Hagar acknowledged that she was Sarai's servant, saying, "I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai."Genesis Rabbah 45:7
Similarly, Rava asked Rabbah bar Mari where Scripture supports the saying of the Rabbis that if your neighbor (justifiably) calls you a donkey, you should put a saddle on your back (and not quarrel to convince the neighbor otherwise). Rabbah bar Mari replied that the saying found support in Genesis 16:8, where first the angel calls Hagar "Sarai's handmaid," and then Hagar acknowledged that she was Sarai's servant, saying, "I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai." Landscape with Hagar and the Angel

Noting that the words "and an angel of the Lord said to her" occur three times in Genesis 16:9–11, a midrash asked how many angels visited Hagar. Rabbi Hama bar Rabbi Hanina said that five angels visited her, for each time the text mentions "speech," it refers to an angel. The Rabbis said that four angels visited her, as the word "angel" occurs 4 times. Rabbi Hiyya taught that Hagar's encounter with the angels showed how great the difference was between the generations of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs and later generations. Rabbi Hiyya noted that after

Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

13:13 reports that Manoah and his wife, the parents of

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

, saw an angel, Manoah exclaimed to his wife in fear (in Judges 13:22), "We shall surely die, because we have seen God." Yet Hagar, a bondmaid, saw five angels and was not afraid. Rabbi Aha taught that a fingernail of the Patriarchs was more valuable than the abdomen of their descendants. Rabbi Isaac interpreted

Proverbs A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial ...

31:27, "She sees the ways of her household," to apply homiletically to teach that all who lived in Abraham's household were seers, so Hagar was accustomed to seeing angels. Rabbi Simeon wept when he thought that Hagar, the handmaid of Rabbi Simeon's ancestor Sarah, was found worthy of meeting an angel three times (including in Genesis 16:9–11), while Rabbi Simeon did not meet an angel even once. A midrash counted Genesis 16:11, in which the angel told Hagar, "Behold, you are with child ... and you shall call his name Ishmael," among four instances in which Scripture identifies a person's name before birth. Rabbi Isaac also counted the cases of Isaac (in Genesis 17:19),

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

(in 1 Chronicles 22:9), and

Josiah Josiah () or Yoshiyahu was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE). According to the Hebrew Bible, he instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Until the 1990s, the biblical description of Josiah’s ...

(in 1 Kings 13:2). The Gemara taught that if one sees Ishmael in a dream, then God hears that person's prayer (perhaps because the name "Ishmael" derives from "the Lord has heard" in Genesis 16:11, or perhaps because "God heard" (''yishmah Elohim'', ) Ishmael's voice in Genesis 21:17).

Genesis chapter 17

Resh Lakish taught that the words "I am God Almighty (, ''El Shaddai'')" in Genesis 17:1 mean, "I am He Who said to the world: 'Enough! (, ''Dai'').'" Resh Lakish taught that when God created the sea, it went on expanding, until God rebuked it and caused it to dry up, as

Nahum Nahum ( or ; ''Naḥūm'') was a minor prophet whose prophecy is recorded in the ''Tanakh'', also called the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament. His book comes in chronological order between Micah and Habakkuk in the Bible. He wrote about the ...

1:4 says, "He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers." Rabbi Judah contrasted God's words to Abraham, "walk before Me," in Genesis 17:1 with the words, "Noah walked with God," in Genesis 6:9. Rabbi Judah compared it to a king who had two sons, one grown up and the other a child. The king asked the child to walk ''with'' him. But the king asked the adult to walk ''before'' him. Similarly, to Abraham, whose moral strength was great, God said, "Walk before Me." But of Noah, who was feeble, Genesis 6:9 says, "Noah walked with God." Rabbi Nehemiah compared Noah to a king's friend who was plunging about in dark alleys, and when the king saw him sinking in the mud, the king urged his friend to walk with him instead of plunging about. Abraham's case, however, was compared to that of a king who was sinking in dark alleys, and when his friend saw him, the friend shined a light for him through the window. The king then asked his friend to come and shine a light before the king on his way. Thus, God told Abraham that instead of showing a light for God from Mesopotamia, he should come and show one before God in the Land of Israel. Similarly, Genesis 48:15 says, "And he blessed Joseph, and said: The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk . ... " Rabbi Berekiah in Rabbi Johanan's name and Resh Lakish gave two illustrations of this. Rabbi Johanan said: It was as if a shepherd stood and watched his flocks. (Similarly, Abraham and Isaac walked before God and under God's protection.) Resh Lakish said: It was as if a prince walked along while the elders preceded him (as an escort, to make known his coming). (Similarly, Abraham and Isaac walked before God, spreading word of God.) The midrash taught that in Rabbi Johanan's view: We need God's proximity, while in Resh Lakish's view, God needs us to glorify God (by propagating the knowledge of God's greatness). Similarly, a midrash read the words "Noah walked with God" in Genesis 6:9 to mean that God supported Noah, so that Noah should not be overwhelmed by the evil behavior of the generation of the Flood. The midrash compared this to a king whose son went on a mission for his father. The road ahead of him was sunken in mire, and the king supported him so that he would not sink in the mire. However, in the case of Abraham, God said in Genesis 17:1, "walk before Me," and regarding the Patriarchs, Jacob said in Genesis 48:15, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked." For the Patriarchs would try to anticipate the Divine Presence, and would go ahead to do God's will. Figures 017 Abraham Took Ishmael with All the Males Born in His House and Circumcised Them

Figures 017 Abraham Took Ishmael with All the Males Born in His House and Circumcised Them

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

taught that notwithstanding all the precepts that Abram fulfilled, God did not call him "perfect" until he circumcised himself, for in Genesis 17:1–2, God told Abram, "Walk before me and be perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and you," and in Genesis 17:10, God explained that God's covenant required that every male be circumcised. Rav Judah said in Rav's name that when God told Abram in Genesis 17:1, "Walk before me and be perfect," Abram was seized with trembling, thinking that perhaps there was some shameful flaw in him that needed correcting. But when God added in Genesis 17:2, "And I will make My covenant between me and you," God set Abram's mind at ease. Rabbi Hoshaiah taught that if one perfects oneself, then good fortune will follow, for Genesis 17:1 says, "Walk before me and be perfect," and shortly thereafter Genesis 17:4 reports Abram's reward for doing so: "And you shall be a father of many nations." Tissot God Renews His Promises to Abraham

Tissot God Renews His Promises to Abraham

Rabbi Ammi bar Abba employed gematria to interpret the meaning of Abram's name change in Genesis 17:5 from Abram () to Abraham (). According to Rabbi Ammi bar Abba, at first God gave Abram mastery over 243 of his body parts, as the numerical value of the Hebrew letters in Abram is 243. Then God gave Abraham mastery over 248 of his body parts, adding five body parts, as the numerical value of the Hebrew letter '' hei'' () that God added to his name is five. The Gemara explained that as a reward for Abraham's undergoing circumcision, God granted Abraham control over his two eyes, his two ears, and the organ that he circumcised. The Mishnah notes that transgressing the command of circumcision in Genesis 17:14 is one of 36 transgressions that cause the transgressor to be cut off from his people. The Gemara read the command of Genesis 17:14 to require an uncircumcised adult man to become circumcised, and the Gemara read the command of Leviticus 12:3 to require the father to circumcise his infant child.

Rav Zeira Rabbi Zeira (), known before his ''semikhah'' as Rav Zeira () and known in the Jerusalem Talmud as Rabbi Ze'era (), was a Jewish Talmudist of the third generation of ''Amoraim'' who lived in the Land of Israel. Biography He was born in Babyloni ...

counted five kinds of ''

orlah The prohibition on ''orlah'' fruit (lit. "uncircumcised" fruit) is a command found in the Bible not to eat fruit produced by a tree during the first three years after planting. In rabbinical writings, the ''orlah'' prohibition () is counted a ...

'' (things uncircumcised) in the world: (1) uncircumcised ears (as in Jeremiah 6:10), (2) uncircumcised lips (as in Exodus 6:12), (3) uncircumcised hearts (as in Deuteronomy 10:16 and Jeremiah 9:26), (4) uncircumcised flesh (as in Genesis 17:14), and (5) uncircumcised trees (as in Leviticus 19:23). Rav Zeira taught that all the nations are uncircumcised in each of the first four ways, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart, in that their hearts do not allow them to do God's will. And Rav Zeira taught that in the future, God will take away from Israel the uncircumcision of their hearts, and they will not harden their stubborn hearts anymore before their Creator, as Ezekiel 36:26 says, "And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh," and Genesis 17:11 says, "And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin." Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina taught that visiting those who have had medical procedures (as Abraham had in Genesis 17:26) demonstrates one of God's attributes that humans should emulate. Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina asked what Deuteronomy 13:5 means in the text, "You shall walk after the Lord your God." How can a human being walk after God, when Deuteronomy 4:24 says, " e Lord your God is a devouring fire"? Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina explained that the command to walk after God means to walk after the attributes of God. As God clothes the naked—for Genesis 3:21 says, "And the Lord God made for

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them"—so should we also clothe the naked. God visited the sick—for Genesis 18:1 says, "And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre" (after Abraham was circumcised in Genesis 17:26)—so should we also visit the sick. God comforted mourners—for Genesis 25:11 says, "And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son"—so should we also comfort mourners. God buried the dead—for Deuteronomy 34:6 says, "And He buried him in the valley"—so should we also bury the dead. Similarly, the

Sifre Sifre (; ''siphrēy'', ''Sifre, Sifrei'', also, ''Sifre debe Rab'' or ''Sifre Rabbah'') refers to either of two works of '' Midrash halakha'', or classical Jewish legal biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Numbers and Deuteronomy. ...

on Deuteronomy 11:22 taught that to walk in God's ways means to be (in the words of Exodus 34:6) "merciful and gracious."

In medieval Jewish interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Jewish sources:

Genesis chapters 11–22

In their commentaries t
Mishnah Avot 5:3
ref name=Avot5:3/> (see "In classical rabbinic interpretation" above),

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

and

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

differed on what 10 trials Abraham faced:

Genesis chapter 12

Abraham ibn Ezra Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (, often abbreviated as ; ''Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra''; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167)''Jewish Encyclopedia''online; '' Chambers Biographical Dictionar ...

noted a difficulty with the sentence in Genesis 12:6, "And the Canaanites were then in the land." Commenting on this verse, ibn Ezra suggested the possibility that the text made this observation because the Canaanites had at the time that the verse was written only recently taken the land from some other tribe. Ibn Ezra also wrote that if this interpretation was incorrect, "Let the one who understands it remain silent."

James Kugel James L. Kugel (Hebrew: Yaakov Kaduri, יעקב כדורי; born August 22, 1945) is professor emeritus in the Bible department at Bar Ilan University in Israel and the Harry M. Starr Professor Emeritus of Classical and Modern Hebrew Literature at ...

suggested that ibn Ezra saw that the observation that "the Canaanites were then in the land" might have been inconsistent with authorship of the Torah by Moses, who lived at a time when the Canaanites ''were'' in the land. Maimonides-2

Genesis chapter 13

In his letter to an Obadiah the Proselyte, Maimonides relied on Genesis 13:17 to addressed whether a convert could recite declarations like "God of ''our fathers''." Maimonides wrote that converts may say such declarations in the prescribed order and not change them in the least and may bless and pray in the same way as every Jew by birth. Maimonides reasoned that Abraham taught the people, brought many under the wings of the Divine Presence, and ordered members of his household after him to keep God's ways forever. As God said of Abraham in Genesis 18:19, "I have known him to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice." Ever since then, Maimonides taught, whoever adopts

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

is counted among the disciples of Abraham. They are Abraham's household, and Abraham converted them to righteousness. In the same way that Abraham converted his contemporaries, he converts future generations through the testament that he left behind him. Thus Abraham is the father of his posterity who keep his ways and of all proselytes who adopt Judaism. Therefore, Maimonides counseled converts to pray, "God of our fathers," because Abraham is their father. They should pray, "You who have taken for his own our fathers," for God gave the land to Abraham when in Genesis 13:17, God said, "Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give to you." Maimonides concluded that there is no difference between converts and born Jews. Both should say the blessing, "Who has chosen us," "Who has given us," "Who have taken us for Your own," and "Who has separated us"; for God has chosen converts and separated them from the nations and given them the Torah. For the Torah has been given to born Jews and proselytes alike, as Numbers 15:15 says, "One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourns with you, an ordinance forever in your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord." Maimonides counseled converts not to consider their origin as inferior. While born Jews descend from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, converts derive from God, through whose word the world was created. As Isaiah said in Isaiah 44:5: "One shall say, I am the Lord's, and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob."

Genesis chapter 15

Baḥya ibn Paquda said that as God brought humanity into existence, gives us life, and bestows on us bounties, all people are under a universal obligation of service to God and obedience to the rational laws observed by Adam, Enoch, Noah and his descendants. Baḥya taught that if people adhere to these laws for the sake of God's service, then God will bestow on them favors beyond those enjoyed by other people, and give them a great reward in this world and the World to Come, as was the case with Abraham, to whom God said in Genesis 15:1, "Do not fear, Abraham; I am your shield; your reward is exceedingly great." Baḥya read Genesis 15:6, "and he believed God, and it was counted to him as a righteousness," to illustrate how one's trusting that God will reward deeds in this world and the World To Come is an essential part of perfect faith in God and is incumbent on the believer. Zohar

According to the ''

Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...

'', Rabbi Abba was once going toward

Lod Lod (, ), also known as Lydda () and Lidd (, or ), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephelah on the east and the coastal plain on the west. The ci ...

when he met Rabbi Zeira, the son of Rav. Quoting Genesis 15:6, "And he believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness," Rabbi Zeira asked whether it means that God counted it to Abraham, or that Abraham counted it to God. Rabbi Zeira reported that he had heard that it means that God counted it to Abraham, but that interpretation did not satisfy him. Rabbi Abba replied that it is indeed not so. Noting that Genesis 15:6 says, "and he reckoned her" (, ''vayahsh'veha'')" and not "and he reckoned to him (, ''vayahshov lo'')," Rabbi Abba taught that this means that Abraham counted it to God. For Genesis 15:5 says, "And he brought him forth abroad," meaning that God told Abraham, in effect, to give up his astrological speculations; that was not the way to acquire knowledge of God's Name. Abram, it was true, would not beget children, but Abra''ham'' would beget children. Genesis 15:5 says, "So (, ''Koh'') shall your seed be." The word , ''Koh'', expresses the tenth sacred Crown of the King by which God's Name may be known; it is the Crown through which judgments are set in motion. Upon hearing God's promise in Genesis 15:5, Abraham became filled with joy, and "Abraham reckoned Her"—that is, the Crown—"for righteousness"; that is, he reckoned Her as if She were Compassion, because She had told him that he would father Isaac. Reading Genesis 15:12, "and a great, dark dread fell over him (Abraham)," Maimonides taught that when prophets prophesied, their limbs trembled, their physical powers became weak, they lost control of their senses, and thus their minds became free to comprehend what they saw. Gunkel

In modern interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these modern sources:

Genesis chapters 12–36

Hermann Gunkel Hermann Gunkel (; 23 May 1862 – 11 March 1932), a German Old Testament scholar, founded form criticism. He also became a leading representative of the history of religions school. His major works cover Genesis and the Psalms, and his major ...

noted that Genesis 1–11 is characterized by remote locations and interest in the whole world, while the material on the patriarchs is located and interested in Canaan and adjacent lands. Gunkel noted that in Genesis 1–11, God walks among the humans, appears in the habit of visiting the humans in the evening, and closes the ark for Noah. God is the leading actor or at least among those chiefly concerned. In the stories of the patriarchs, however, God appears always enveloped in mystery, unrecognized or speaking out of Heaven or in a dream. The real actors are always humans and if God appears, it seems exceptional. Yehuda Radday analyzed the 20,504 Hebrew words in Genesis and divided them according to whether they occur in the narrator's description, in direct human speech, or in direct Divine speech. They found that the Patriarchal narrative in Genesis 12–36 contains less than half the Divine speech but nearly seven times the human speech as the Primeval history in Genesis 1–11. Gunther Plaut cropped

Gunther Plaut Wolf Gunther Plaut, (November 1, 1912 – February 8, 2012) was an American Reform rabbi and writer who was based in Canada. Plaut was the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto for several decades and since 1978 was its senior scholar. ...

noted that the two pieces of Genesis, the primordial history in Genesis 1–11 and the story of Abraham and Sarah and their descendants in Genesis 12–50, are quite distinct from each other, held together only by a brief genealogical bridge in Genesis 11:27–32. Genesis 12–50 makes no mention of Genesis 1–11, not even an allusion, suggesting that the two pieces were originally quite separate and only later joined into one book.W. Gunther Plaut, ''The Torah: A Modern Commentary'', revised edition edited by David E.S. Stern (New York:

Union for Reform Judaism The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms establ ...

, 2006), page 4.

John Van Seters John Van Seters (May 2, 1935 – April 9, 2025) was a Canadian scholar of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the Ancient Near East. He was a University Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina, and James A. Gray Professor of Bi ...

argued that the Abraham cycle was a post-exilic (after the Babylonian captivity) invention of the 5th century c.e. or later. Cassuto

Umberto Cassuto Umberto Cassuto, also known as Moshe David Cassuto (16 September 1883 – 19 December 1951), was an Italian historian, a rabbi, and a scholar of the Hebrew Bible and Ugaritic literature, in the University of Florence, then at the University ...

identified the following

chiastic structure Chiastic structure, or chiastic pattern, is a literary technique in motif (narrative), narrative motifs and other textual passages. An example of chiastic structure would be two ideas, A and B, together with variants A' and B', being presented as ...

in Abraham's 10 trials in Genesis 12–22: :A: "Go from your country ..."; leave his father; blessings and promises (Genesis 12:1–7) ::B: Sarai is in danger from Pharaoh; a sanctuary is founded at Bethel and the name of the Lord is proclaimed (Genesis 12:10–13:4) ::C: Lot goes away (Genesis 13:5–18) :::D: Lot is in jeopardy and is saved (Genesis 14–15) ::::E: Threat to the birth of the first-born; birth of Ishmael; covenant to be fulfilled through second son (Genesis 16–17) ::::E¹: Covenant of circumcision; birth of Isaac foretold (Genesis 17–18:15) :::D¹: Lot is in jeopardy and is saved (Genesis 18:17–19:28) ::C¹: Sarah is in danger from Abimelech (Genesis 20:1–21:7) ::B¹: Hagar and Ishmael go away; a sanctuary is founded at

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

and the name of the Lord is proclaimed (Genesis 21:8–34) :A¹: Go to the land of

Moriah Moriah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , ''Mōrīyya''; Arabic: ﻣﺮﻭﻩ, ''Marwah'') is the name given to a region in the Book of Genesis, where the binding of Isaac by Abraham is said to have taken place. Jews identify the region mentioned in G ...

; bid farewell to his son; blessings and promises (Genesis 22) James Kugel cropped

Kugel reported that over the last 100 years, scholarship has performed something of a zigzag about the

historicity Historicity is the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status. Historicity deno ...

of Abraham. In the late 19th century, scholars were often skeptical of the Biblical account and believed that someone (the

Jahwist The Jahwist, or Yahwist, often abbreviated J, is one of the most widely recognized sources of the Pentateuch (Torah), together with the Deuteronomist, the Priestly source and the Elohist. The existence of the Jahwist text is somewhat controver ...

Elohist According to the documentary hypothesis, the Elohist (or simply E) is one of four source documents underlying the Torah, together with the Jahwist (or Yahwist), the Deuteronomist and the Priestly source. The Elohist is so named because of its ...

) who lived long after the Israelites had settled Canaan made up the Abrahamic stories to justify that settlement, to claim that although Israel's ancestor had arrived from a distant region, God had granted the land to Abraham. Then, early in the 20th century,

archaeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

began turning up evidence that seemed to confirm, or at least coincide with, elements of the Genesis narrative, including evidence of Abraham's hometown, Ur; legal practices, customs, and a way of life that suited the Abrahamic narratives; the names of cities like Haran, Nahur, Terah,

Peleg Peleg (, in pausa , "division"; ) is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two sons of Eber, an ancestor of the Ishmaelites and the Israelites, according to the Generations of Noah in and . In Scriptures Peleg's son was Reu, born w ...

, and

Serug Serug ( – ''Śərūḡ'', "branch"; – ''Seroúkh'') was the son of Reu and the father of Nahor, according to Genesis 11:20–23. He is also the great-grandfather of Abraham, thus the ancestor of the Ishmaelites and the Israelites. In s ...

mentioned in Genesis; the movement of people throughout the area in the late 18th century BCE; and documentation of

adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...

s of mature adults and wives like Eliezer and Sarah. In more recent times, however, this approach has come to be questioned, as scholars found that many of the stories contain elements (like the Philistines) from long after the time of Abraham; significant differences appear between the ancient texts and the Biblical passages they supposedly explained; and the absence of any reference to Abraham in the writings of Israel's 8th- and 7th-century prophets, who otherwise refer to Sodom and Gomorrah, Jacob and Esau, and

the Exodus The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yəṣīʾat Mīṣrayīm'': ) is the Origin myth#Founding myth, founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four of the five books of the Torah, Pentateuch (specif ...

and Israel's desert wanderings, but do not mention Abraham until the 6th century or later. Seters argued that the Bible says that Abraham migrated from

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

to Canaan to reflect the Jews' own "migration" from Babylon after having been

exiled Exile is either an entity who is, or the state of being, away from one's home while being explicitly refused permission to return. Exile, exiled, exiles, The Exile, or The Exiles may also refer to: Exiles * Babylonian captivity, or Babylonia ...

there in the 6th century. Kugel concluded that most scholars now concede that the Abrahamic stories contain some very ancient material arguably going back to the 10th or 11th century BCE, transmitted orally, and then transformed into the present, prose formulations at a time that remains the subject of debate. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin at Adath Israel

Genesis chapter 12

Moshe Weinfeld Moshe Weinfeld (also ''Weinfield'', ; August 27, 1925 - April 29, 2009), was a professor of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1994, he won the Israel Prize for Bible. Biography Moshe Weinfeld was born in Nowy Sącz, Poland In 196 ...

noted that after the string of curses in Genesis 3–11, human history reached a turning point with Abraham in Genesis 12, as God emphatically promised blessings instead of curses. Reading God's words to Abraham, the first Jew, in Genesis 12:2, “And you shall be a blessing,”

Joseph Telushkin Joseph Telushkin (born 1948) is an American rabbi and writer. He has authored more than 15 books, including volumes about Jewish ethics, Jewish literacy, as well as the book ''Rebbe'', a ''New York Times'' bestseller released in June 2014. Biogr ...

argued that if we undertake to incorporate Jewish teachings on ethics into our behavior, we too will become a blessing in our lives and the lives of those with whom we have contact. Reading Genesis 12:2, Ephraim Speiser argued that it is significant that God promised to make of Abraham a great "nation" (, ''goy''), not "people" (, ''am''), for a "nation" (, ''goy'') requires a territorial base, since the concept is a political one, while a "people" (, ''am'') does not. Spinoza

Baruch Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...

noted the similarity between God's blessing of Abraham in Genesis 12:3 and

Balak Balak son of Zippor ( ''Bālāq'') was a king of Moab described in the Book of Numbers in the Hebrew Bible, where his dealings with the prophet and sorcerer Balaam are recounted. Balak tried to engage Balaam the son of Beor for the purpose of c ...

's description of

Balaam Balaam (;; ; ), son of Beor, was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a non-Israelite prophet and diviner who lived in Pethor, a place identified with the ancient city of Pitru, thought to have been located between the region of Iraq and norther ...

in Numbers 22:6, "he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed," and deduced that Balaam also possessed the prophetic gift that God had given Abraham. Spinoza concluded that other nations, like the Jews, thus had their prophets who prophesied to them. And Spinoza concluded that Jews, apart from their social organization and government, possessed no gift of God above other peoples, and that there was no difference between Jews and non-Jews. Spinoza deduced that the person who wrote Genesis 12:6, "the Canaanite was then in the land," must have written at a time when the Canaanites had been driven out and no longer possessed the land, and thus after the death of Moses. Spinoza noted that

alluded to the difficulty by noting that if, as Genesis 10:19 indicates, Canaan first settled the land, then the Canaanites still possessed those territories during the time of Moses. Spinoza concluded that Moses did not write the Torah, but someone who lived long after him, and that the book that Moses wrote was something different from any now extant. Gary Rendsburg noted that although Abraham built altars at Shechem in Genesis 12:6–7 and between Bethel and Ai in Genesis 12:8, only in Genesis 22 does the text report Abraham actually making a sacrifice—the ram that he found caught in the thicket that he sacrificed in lieu of Isaac. Rendsburg argued that the message would have been clear to Israelites living in

's time that even though altars stood throughout the countryside, and some may even have been as old as Abraham, the only place where Abraham actually sacrificed was the mount of the Lord—Jerusalem—and that was why only the Jerusalem Temple was approved for sacrifices to God. Rendsburg concluded that royal scribes living in Jerusalem during the reigns of David and Solomon in the tenth century BCE were responsible for Genesis; their ultimate goal was to justify the monarchy in general, and the kingship of David and Solomon in particular; and Genesis thus appears as a piece of political propaganda. Reading the three instances of the wife-sister motif in (a) Genesis 12:10–20; (b) Genesis 20:1–18; and (c) Genesis 26:6–11, Speiser argued that in a work by a single author, these three cases would present serious contradictions: Abraham would have learned nothing from his narrow escape in Egypt, and so tried the same ruse in Gerar; and Abimelech would have been so little sobered by his perilous experience with Abraham and Sarah that he fell into the identical trap with Isaac and Rebekah. Speiser concluded (on independent grounds) that the Jahwist was responsible for incidents (a) and (c), while the Elohist was responsible for incident (b). If the Elohist had been merely an annotator of the Jahwist, however, the Elohist would still have seen the contradictions for Abimelech, a man of whom the Elohist clearly approved. Speiser concluded that the Jahwist and the Elohist therefore must have worked independently.

Genesis chapter 13

Gunkel deduced that the sentence, "And the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelt then in the land," in Genesis 13:7 must have been written at a time when Canaanites and Perizzites had long since died, and thus at a time much after that of the

Genesis chapter 14

Gunkel identified Genesis 14 as the only chapter of Genesis to contain accounts of great political events, rather than the history of a family. Plaut reported that scholars generally agree that the term "Hebrew" (, ''Ivri''), as in Genesis 14:13, came from the name of a group called '' Habiru'' or ''Apiru'', people who had lost their status in the community from which they came, and who were not necessarily related except by common fate. Plaut wrote that the ''Habiru'' were a class of people who lived in the

Fertile Crescent The Fertile Crescent () is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, together with northern Kuwait, south-eastern Turkey, and western Iran. Some authors also include ...

during the 19th to 14th centuries B.C.E. who may originally have come from

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, became prominent in

, and later spread to Egypt. The ''Habiru'' followed distinct occupations, particularly

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

and

administrators Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

. Although at first they were

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

s or seminomads, they later settled, but were usually considered foreigners and maintaining their group identity. The term ''Habiru'' referred not so much to an ethnic or

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

group as to a social or political group. Plaut reported that the words ''Habiru'' and “Hebrew” (, ''Ivri'') appear to share a common linguistic root. Plaut concluded that Israelites in Egypt likely occupied positions like, or because of familial ties were identified with, the ''Habiru''. When non-Israelites repeatedly applied the term to the Israelites, the Israelites themselves began to use the name ''Habiru'', which they pronounced ''Ivri''. Plaut considered it possible that for some time the term ''Ivri'' was used only when the Israelites spoke of themselves to outsiders and when outsiders referred to them. Thus Genesis 14:13 calls Abram ''Ivri'' vis-a-vis an outsider, and

Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...

says, "I am an ''Ivri'',” when asked his identity by non-Israelite

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

s in

1:9, but otherwise Israelites referred to themselves by their tribes (for example, Judah or Ephraim) or by their common ancestor, Israel. Spinoza noted that Genesis 14:14 reports that Abraham "pursued as far as Dan," using a name that Joshua 19:47 indicates was not given to the city until after the death of Moses. Spinoza cited this as evidence that Moses did not write the Torah, but someone who lived long after him. Spinoza read Genesis 14:18–20 to relate that Melchizedek was king of Jerusalem and priest of the Most High God, that in the exercise of his priestly functions (like those Numbers 6:23 describes) he blessed Abraham, and that Abraham gave to this priest of God a

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

of all his spoils. Spinoza deduced from this that before God founded the Israelite nation, God constituted kings and priests in Jerusalem, and ordained for them rites and laws. Spinoza deduced that while Abraham sojourned in the city, he lived scrupulously according to these laws, for Abraham had received no special rites from God; and yet Genesis 26:5 reports that he observed the worship, precepts, statutes, and laws of God, which Spinoza interpreted to mean the worship, statutes, precepts, and laws of king Melchizedek. In Genesis 14:18–20, which reports that Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of El-Elyon (often translated “God Most High”), greeted Abraham with bread and wine and then blessed Abraham, Rendsburg saw the author of Genesis demonstrating the significance of Jerusalem. Rendsburg reported that virtually all scholars agree that Salem is short for Jerusalem. Abraham responded by giving Melchizedek a tenth of all he had—a priestly tithe. Then in Genesis 14:22, Abraham identified El-Elyon with YHVH. Rendsburg argued that a royal scribe in David's court included these verses to justify the continuation of the Jerusalemite priest

Zadok Zadok (), also spelled Ṣadok, Ṣadoc, Zadoq, Tzadok or Tsadoq (; lit. 'righteous, justified'), was a Kohen (priest), biblically recorded to be a descendant of Eleazar the son of Aaron. He was the High Priest of Israel during the reigns of Dav ...

as priest in Jerusalem after David took the city as his capital. The scribe, Rendsburg posited, was showing that David merely followed the precedent that the glorious ancestor Abraham set by tithing to a Canaanite priest in Jerusalem. Scholars have noticed that the account of David's life refers to two high priests—

Abiathar Abiathar ( ''ʾEḇyāṯār'', "father (of) abundance"/"abundant father"), in the Hebrew Bible, is a son of Ahimelech or Ahijah, Kohen Gadol, High Priest at Nob, Israel, Nob, the fourth in descent from Eli (Bible), Eli and the last of Eli's Ho ...

and Zadok. Abiathar appears early in the narratives, for example in 1 Samuel 22:20, even before David is king, but Zadok appears suddenly and only after David conquered Jerusalem. Rendsburg suggested that Zadok was probably the Canaanite high priest of Jerusalem, whom David permitted to continue to serve in that capacity. In that case, Zadok would also have been king of the city-state of Jerusalem. (Phoenician evidence shows that among the Canaanites, a single individual occupied both roles.) Rendsburg believed that Zadok should be identified with

Araunah Araunah (Hebrew: ''ʾǍrawnā'') was a Jebusite mentioned in the Second Book of Samuel, who owned the threshing floor on Mount Moriah which David purchased and used as the site for assembling an altar to God. The First Book of Chronicles, ...

, who sold David the threshing floor to build an altar in 2 Samuel 24:18–25. Rendsburg reported that the word ''Araunah'' was not a personal name but a title meaning “the Lord” (originally in Hurrian but in other Near Eastern languages as well); for example, 2 Samuel 24:22 calls him "Araunah the king." More generally, Rendsburg concluded that royal scribes living in Jerusalem during the reigns of David and Solomon in the tenth century BCE were responsible for Genesis; their ultimate goal was to justify the monarchy in general, and the kingship of David and Solomon in particular; and Genesis thus appears as a piece of political propaganda. Carl Sagan Planetary Society

Genesis chapter 15

In Genesis 15:5, God promised that Abraham's descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. In Genesis 22:17, God promised that Abraham's descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore.

Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, including e ...

reported that there are more stars in the universe than sands on all the beaches on the Earth. Plaut noted that while some might read the report of Genesis 15:13 that the time of Israel's servitude would be 400 years to conflict with the report of Exodus 12:40 that the descent into Egypt would last 430 years, the two accounts were left standing side by side, because ancient readers might have considered both traditions to have come down to them and therefore requiring treatment with reverence. Moses Mendelson P7160073

Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or 'J ...

read the report of Genesis 15:6 that "Abraham trusted in the Eternal" along with the report of Exodus 14:31 that "the Israelites saw and trusted in the Eternal and in Moses, his servant" to demonstrate that the word often translated as "faith" actually means, in most cases, "trust," "confidence," and "firm reliance." Thus Mendelssohn concluded that Scripture does not command faith, but accepts no other commands than those that come by way of conviction. Its propositions are presented to the understanding, submitted for consideration, without being forced upon our belief. Belief and doubt, assent and opposition, in Mendelssohn's view, are not determined by desire, wishes, longings, fear, or hope, but by knowledge of truth and untruth. Hence, Mendelssohn concluded, ancient Judaism has no articles of faith. Reading Genesis 15:8, Spinoza wrote that when Abraham heard God's promise, he demanded a sign, not because he did not believe in God, but because he wished to be sure that it was God Whom he heard. Spinoza concluded that prophecy itself did not afford certainty, and the prophets were assured of God's revelation not by the fact of revelation itself, but by some sign. Spinoza saw prophecy as a form of imagination, which did not, on its own, involve any certainty of truth, but required some extrinsic reason to assure its recipients of its objective reality. Rendsburg argued that the empire of David and Solomon provided the setting for the statement in Genesis 15:18 that God gave to Abraham and his descendants “this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.” Rendsburg reasoned that this passage makes sense only in the period of David and Solomon, as before David and Solomon, it would have been unimaginable for an author to use these boundaries to define the Land of Israel, and after David and Solomon, Israel once more became a small state and those boundaries were an impossibility. Rendsburg cited this as further support for his conclusion that royal scribes living in Jerusalem during the reigns of David and Solomon in the tenth century BCE were responsible for Genesis.Gary A. Rendsburg, "Reading David in Genesis: How we know the Torah was written in the tenth century B.C.E." ''Bible Review'', volume 17, number 1 (February 2001): pages 20, 23, 26.

Genesis chapter 16

Reading the angel's blessing of Hagar in Genesis 16:10–11, Lewis B. Smedes taught that just because God chose Abraham and Sarah did not mean that they were the only ones whom God chose.

Genesis chapter 17

Reading Genesis 17:6, in which God tells Abraham that “kings will issue from you,” and Genesis 17:16, in which God promises that “kings of nations” will issue from Sarah, Rendsburg noted that the text thus takes pains to make Abraham and Sarah the progenitors of a royal line. Rendsburg argued that the only time that an author would considered this necessary would be in the time of David and Solomon, as before then, there were no kings (except for the transitional Saul), and after then, kingship was a ''fait accompli''. Arguing that the only time that an author would need to justify kingship was when it was the new creation of Israelite political theorists, Rendsburg cited these verses as further evidence that royal scribes living in Jerusalem during the reigns of David and Solomon in the tenth century BCE were responsible for Genesis.

Commandments

According to

and

Sefer ha-Chinuch ''Sefer ha-Chinuch'' (, "Book of Education") is a rabbinic text which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was written in 13th-century Spain by an anonymous "Levite of Barcelona". Content The work's enumeration of th ...

, there is one positive

commandment Commandment may refer to: * The Ten Commandments * One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism * The Great Commandment * The New Commandment * Commandment (album), ''Commandment'' (album), a 2007 album by Six Feet Under * Commandments (film), ''Commandments' ...

in the parashah: *The precept of circumcision. Shlomo Ganzfried

The ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' cites the words of Genesis 15:1, "Fear not, Abram" (, ''al-tirah Avram''), as an example of a verse where a missing letter , '' yud'', would cause one to have to take out another Torah scroll to read, as it would be a serious error in the scroll. And the ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' interprets God's words to Abraham in Genesis 17:5, "the father of a multitude of nations have I made you," to mean that previously, Abram was father only to Aram, but from that point onward, he would be a father to all nations. Thus, the ''Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' cites Genesis 17:5 to support the proposition that a convert may be included in a group of three or more (''mezuman'') for the purposes of the blessing after meals (, ''

Birkat Hamazon Birkat Hamazon ( "The Blessing of the Food"), known in English as the Grace After Meals ( "to bless", Yinglish: Bentsching), is a set of Hebrew language, Hebrew blessings that Halakha, Jewish law prescribes following a meal that includes at le ...

'') and may say the blessing and the words of the blessing, "for giving our ancestors as a heritage."

In the liturgy

Some Jews refer to the ten trials of Abraham in Genesis 12–25 as they stud
chapter 5
of ''

Pirkei Avot Pirkei Avot (; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth'', also ''Abhoth''), which translates into English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from Rabbinic Jewis ...

'' on a Sabbath between Passover and Rosh Hashanah. Jews refer to God's selection of Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3, God's covenant with Abraham to give his descendants the Land in Genesis 12:7, 15:18–21, and 17:7–8, and God's changing of Abram's name to Abraham in Genesis 17:4–5 as they recite Nehemiah 9:6–11 as part of the ''

Pesukei D'Zimrah ''Pesukei dezimra'' (; Rabbinic Hebrew: ''pasuqẽ hazzǝmiroṯ'' "Verses of songs"), or ''zemirot'' as they are called by the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, are a group of prayers that may be recited during Shacharit (the morning set of prayers i ...

'' prayers during the daily morning (''

Shacharit ''Shacharit'' ( ''šaḥăriṯ''), or ''Shacharis'' in Ashkenazi Hebrew, is the morning '' tefillah'' (prayer) of Judaism, one of the three daily prayers. Different traditions identify different primary components of ''Shacharit''. E ...

'') prayer service. The

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

Haggadah The Haggadah (, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a foundational Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table fulfills the mitzvah incumbent on every Jew to reco ...

, in the concluding ''nirtzah'' section of the

Seder The Passover Seder is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar (i.e., at the start of the 15th; a Hebrew day begins at su ...

, in a reference to Genesis 14:15, recounts how God granted victory to the righteous convert Abram at the middle of the night. The name "Elyon" or "God Most High," which Melchizedek used in Genesis 14:19, is used in Psalm 92:2 to refer to God, and Psalm 92 is in turn recited after the ''

Lekhah Dodi Lekha Dodi () is a Hebrew-language Jewish liturgical song recited Friday at dusk, usually at sundown, in synagogue to welcome the Sabbath prior to the evening services. It is part of Kabbalat Shabbat. The refrain of ''Lekha Dodi'' means "Let ...

'' liturgical poem of the ''Kabbalat Shabbat'' prayer service. Kaufmann Haggadah p 014

The ''Amidah'' prayer draws on God's words in Genesis 15:1, "Fear not, Abram, I am a shield to you," to refer to God as "Shield of Abraham." In the hymn ''

Adon Olam Adon Olam (; "Eternal Lord" or "Sovereign of the Universe") is a hymn in the Jewish liturgy. It has been a regular part of the daily and Shabbat ( Sabbath) liturgy since the 15th century.Nulman, Macy, ''Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer'' (1993, NJ ...

'' ("Lord of the World"), use of the title "Adon" recalls the merit of Abraham, who first addressed God with the title in Genesis 15:2. The Haggadah, in the ''magid'' section of the Seder, quotes Genesis 15:13–14 to demonstrate that God keeps God's promises. Thereafter, the Haggadah reports that Israel "went down to Egypt—forced to do so by the word

f God F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounc ...

" and many commentators think that this statement refers to God's foretelling in Genesis 15:13 that Abram's descendants would "be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them." And in the concluding ''nirtzah'' section, in a reference to God's promises to Abram in the Covenant Between the Pieces in Genesis 15:13–21, the Haggadah reports that God "disclosed to the one from the Orient at midnight on Passover." Following the Kabbalat Shabbat service and prior to the Friday evening (''

Ma'ariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'', or ''Arbit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night. It consists primarily of the evening '' Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two ...

'') service, Jews traditionally read rabbinic sources on the observance of the Sabbath, includin
Mishnah Shabbat 18:3Mishnah Shabbat 18:3
in turn, makes clear the precedence of the law of circumcision in Genesis 17:12 over even the observance of the Sabbath.

The Weekly Maqam

In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardi Jews base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parashah. For Parashah Lech Lecha, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Saba, the maqam that symbolizes a covenant (''berit''), as in this parashah, Abraham and his sons undergo circumcisions, a ritual that signifies a covenant between man and God.See Mark L. Kligman. "The Bible, Prayer, and Maqam: Extra-Musical Associations of Syrian Jews." ''

Ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology is the multidisciplinary study of music in its cultural context. The discipline investigates social, cognitive, biological, comparative, and other dimensions. Ethnomusicologists study music as a reflection of culture and investiga ...

'', volume 45 (number 3) (Autumn 2001): pages 443–479. Mark L. Kligman. ''Maqam and Liturgy: Ritual, Music, and Aesthetics of Syrian Jews in Brooklyn''.

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Wayne State University Press Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) is a university press that is part of Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 186 ...

, 2009.

Haftarah

haftarah The ''haftara'' or (in Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazic pronunciation) ''haftorah'' (alt. ''haftarah, haphtara'', ) "parting," "taking leave" (plural form: ''haftarot'' or ''haftoros''), is a series of selections from the books of ''Nevi'im'' ("Pr ...

is a text selected from the books of

Nevi'im The (; ) is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the () and (). The Nevi'im are divided into two groups. The Former Prophets ( ) consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings ...

("The Prophets") that is read publicly in the synagogue after the reading of the Torah on Sabbath and holiday mornings. The haftarah usually has a thematic link to the Torah reading that precedes it. The specific text read following Parashah Lech-Lecha varies according to different traditions within Judaism. Examples are: *for

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

and

Sephardi Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

: Isaiah 40:27–41:16 *for

Karaite Jews Karaite Judaism or Karaism is a non-Rabbinical Jewish sect characterized by the recognition of the written Tanakh alone as its supreme authority in ''halakha'' (religious law) and theology. Karaites believe that all of the divine commandme ...

: Joshua 24:3–18

Connection to the parashah

Some commentators, including

, interpret the verses in Isaiah 41:1–4 as referring to the

described in this parshah. Rashi interprets subsequent verses as referring to either the nations' reactions to this battle or the interaction between Abraham and Melchizedek, leading into God's promise to always aid "the seed of Abraham, who loved Me."

Notes

''Allegorical Interpretation'' 2:
15:59

8:24; 13:39; 25:79; 26:82–27:83; 28:85; 70:197; 78:217; 81:228; 87:244

1:2

44:159

14:63

1:4

7:24; 27:105

8:26

1:1; 3:13; 9:43; 16:86; 19:107; 20:109; 27:148; 30:164; 39:216

1:2; 7:34; 12:58; 13:66; 14:69; 15:76; 16:81; 17:86; 18:90; 21:102; 25:125; 26:129; 43:207; 48:230; 49:237; 51:249; 54:267; 55:272; 56:275, 277; 60:300; 61:307, 312; 62:313

1:1; 13:63; 14:71; 17:92; 18:99; 25:139; 27:153

1:1–6; 22:119; 35:196

1:1; 3:15, 18, 22; 4:27; 5:39, 42; 6:51–52; 23:130, 136; 27:148; 33:175, 177; 37:201; 44:253; 45:263–46:264; 47:267; 48:270

1:9:47, 41:240; 2:39:25

17:77; 46:273

10:37–38

39:215–16

5:29

80

1–62.

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, Egypt, early 1st century CE. In, e.g., ''The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by

Charles Duke Yonge Charles Duke Yonge (30 November 1812 – 30 November 1891) was an English historian, classicist and cricketer. He wrote numerous works of modern history, and translated several classical works. His younger brother was George Edward Yonge. Bi ...

, pages 44, 52, 54, 59, 73, 75–76, 78, 80, 129, 157–58, 209, 216, 236, 253–54, 257, 261, 263, 267, 269, 274, 276, 278, 281–84, 286, 293, 295–97, 299–300, 302–04, 309–10, 312, 316–17, 321, 331, 339, 341–46, 352–53, 356, 358, 363–64, 369, 386, 406, 418, 434, 521, 662, 684, 839, 841–63. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993. *

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

. ''

The Wars of the Jews ''The Jewish War'' is a work of Jewish history written by Josephus, a first-century Roman people, Roman-Jews, Jewish historian. It has been described by the biblical historian Steve Mason (biblical scholar), Steve Mason as "perhaps the most in ...

'', 5:9:4; 7:10:1. Circa 75 CE. In, e.g., ''The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by

William Whiston William Whiston (9 December 166722 August 1752) was an English theologian, historian, natural philosopher, and mathematician, a leading figure in the popularisation of the ideas of Isaac Newton. He is now probably best known for helping to inst ...

, 716. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987. *

. Circa 70–150 CE. Translated by R. Rubinkiewicz. In ''The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Volume 1: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments''. Edited by

James H. Charlesworth James Hamilton Charlesworth (born May 30, 1940) is an American academic who served as the George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature until January 17, 2019, and Director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at the Princeton Th ...

, pages 681–705. New York:

Anchor Bible The Anchor Bible Series, which consists of a commentary series, a Bible dictionary, and a reference library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture which was begun in 1956, with the publication of individual volumes in the commentary series. O ...

, 1983. *

Testament of Abraham The Testament of Abraham is a pseudepigraphic text of the Old Testament. Probably composed in the 1st or 2nd century AD, it is of Jewish origin and is usually considered to be part of the apocalyptic literature. It is regarded as scripture by Bet ...

. Circa 1st or 2nd century CE. Translated by

E. P. Sanders Ed Parish Sanders (April 18, 1937 – November 21, 2022) was an American New Testament scholar and Protestant theologian, regarded as the main proponent of the " New Perspective on Paul". He was a major scholar in the scholarship on the histori ...

. In ''The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Volume 1: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments''. Edited by James H. Charlesworth, pages 871–902. New York: Anchor Bible, 1983. *

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

2:258; 4:163; 6:74–84; 19:41–50. Arabia, 7th century.

Classical rabbinic

: Orlah 1:1–3:9
Shabbat 18:3Nedarim 3:11Sotah 7:5Sanhedrin 10:3Eduyot 2:9Avot 5:31:1
Land of Israel, circa 200 CE. In, e.g., ''The Mishnah: A New Translation''. Translated by

Jacob Neusner Jacob Neusner (July 28, 1932 – October 8, 2016) was an American academic scholar of Judaism. He was named as one of the most published authors in history, having written or edited more than 900 books. Neusner's application of form criticism� ...

, pages 158–66, 201–02, 411–12, 458, 604–05, 645–46, 685, 836. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. *

Tosefta The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''. Background Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...

: Berakhot 1:12–13; Orlah 1:1–8; Shabbat 7:24, 15:9; Yevamot 8:5; Nedarim 2:5; Sotah 5:12; Sanhedrin 13:8; Eduyot 1:14. Land of Israel, circa 300 CE. In, e.g., ''The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction''. Translated by Jacob Neusner, pages 7, 158–66, 341–43, 381, 415, 712, 789, 853, 1190, 1250. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002. *

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

: Berakhot 17a–b; Sheviit 43b; Challah 17a; Bikkurim 5b; Shabbat 106b–07a; Taanit 8b; Megillah 15b; Chagigah 2b; Yevamot 36b, 43b; Ketubot 49a; Nedarim 12a–b; Sotah 32b; Kiddushin 11b, 16b, 19b, 23a; Sanhedrin 17b, 68a; Makkot 9a.

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

, Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. In, e.g., ''Talmud Yerushalmi''. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volumes 1, 6b, 11–12, 15, 25–27, 29–30, 32–33, 37, 40, 44–45, 49. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005–2019. And in, e.g., ''The Jerusalem Talmud: A Translation and Commentary''. Edited by Jacob Neusner and translated by Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, B. Barry Levy, and Edward Goldman. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009. *

Genesis Rabbah Genesis Rabbah (, also known as Bereshit Rabbah and abbreviated as GenR) is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is an expository midrash comprising a collection of ...

br>5:86:911:714:1016:317:520:625:330:41038:312–1439:1–47:1048:1–6172049:2451:952:41153:4–571354:1–255:756:25810
64:4; 67:9; 85:10; 95. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by

Harry Freedman Harry Freedman (''Henryk Frydmann''), (April 5, 1922 – September 16, 2005) was a Canadian composer, English hornist, and music educator of Polish birth. He wrote a significant amount of symphonic works, including the scores to films such as '' ...

and Maurice Simon, volume 1, pages 38, 49, 85, 118, 126–27, 136, 164, 207, 234, 238, 303, 310–408, 417–18, 420–23, 449, 453, 457, 463–67, 473, 476–77, 486, 492, 495, 498, 500; volume 2, pages 511–12, 518–19, 522, 525, 534, 540, 545, 555, 561, 572, 574–75, 579, 596, 613, 631, 658, 762, 771, 779, 795–96, 809, 812, 833, 848, 860, 885, 916, 921. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *Babylonian

Berakhot 7b9b13a49a55a56b64aShabbat 89b97a105a108a118b130a132a–b133b135a–b156aEruvin 40b53aPesachim 52a69b87b92aSukkah 31aBeitzah 8bRosh Hashanah 16bTaanit 27bMegillah 16b31bMoed Katan 13a25b27b29aChagigah 12a13aYevamot 5b13b–14a42a64a70b–71a72a100bKetubot 112aNedarim 31b–32bNazir 23a–bSotah 4b17a32a33b38b46bGittin 2aKiddushin 29a39a41bBava Kamma 38b60b88a92b–93aBava Metzia 59aBava Batra 14b15b–16a56a100a127a163aSanhedrin 38b44a–b59b92b95b–96a99a–b107b109a111aMakkot 8b13b23b–24aAvodah Zarah 9a26b–27aHorayot 10bMenachot 42aChullin 49a65a89aArakhin 16a–bKeritot 2aMeilah 17bNiddah 61a

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

, 6th century. In, e.g., ''Talmud Bavli''. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 volumes. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006. *

5:2:1. 6th–7th century. In, e.g., ''Pesiqta deRab Kahana: An Analytical Translation and Explanation.'' Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 1, page 71. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. Rashi woodcut cropped

Medieval

. ''Commentary''
Genesis 12–17

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

, France, late 11th century. In, e.g., Rashi. ''The Torah: With Rashi's Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated''. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, volume 1, pages 115–72. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. *

Judah Halevi Judah haLevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; ; ; c. 1075 – 1141) was a Sephardic Jewish poet, physician and philosopher. Halevi is considered one of the greatest Hebrew poets and is celebrated for his secular and religious poems, many of whic ...

. ''

Kuzari The ''Kuzari'', full title ''Book of Refutation and Proof on Behalf of the Despised Religion'' (; : ''Kitâb al-ḥujja wa'l-dalîl fi naṣr al-dîn al-dhalîl''), also known as the Book of the Khazar (: ''Sefer ha-Kuzari''), is one of the most ...

''
2:14, 16, 34, 44, 80

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

, Spain, 1130–1140. In, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. ''Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel.'' Introduction by Henry Slonimsky, pages 90, 92, 108, 110, 132, 142, 223. New York: Schocken, 1964. *

''Commentary on the Torah''
Mid-12th century. In, e.g., ''Ibn Ezra's Commentary on the Pentateuch: Genesis (Bereshit)''. Translated and annotated by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver, pages 149–88. New York: Menorah Publishing Company, 1988. Maimonides bas-relief in the U

. ''

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' (), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' (), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (''halakha'') authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon/Rambam). The ''Mishneh Torah'' was compiled between 1170 and 1180 CE ( ...

''
''Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah (The Laws that Are the Foundations of the Torah)'', chapter 2, halachah 7
Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah: The Laws

hich Are Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...

the Foundations of the Torah''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, volume 1, pages 166–69, 248–49. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1989. Nahmanides painting

*Maimonides. ''Mishneh Torah''
''Hilchot Avodat Kochavim V'Chukkoteihem (The Laws of the Worship of Stars and their Statutes)'', chapter 1, halachot 2–3
Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Avodat Kochavim V'Chukkoteihem: The Laws of the Worship of Stars and their Statutes''.Translated by Eliyahu Touger, volume 3, pages 16–31. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1990. *

Hezekiah ben Manoah Hezekiah ben Manoah, or Hezekiah bar Manoah, was a French rabbi and Bible commentator of the 13th century. He is generally known by the title of his commentary, Chizkuni (). In memory of his father, who lost his right hand through his steadfastness ...

. ''Hizkuni''. France, circa 1240. In, e.g., Chizkiyahu ben Manoach. ''Chizkuni: Torah Commentary''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 103–30. Jerusalem: Ktav Publishers, 2013. *

Nachmanides Moses ben Nachman ( ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ramban (; ) and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta (; l ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Jerusalem, circa 1270. In, e.g., ''Ramban (Nachmanides): Commentary on the Torah: Genesis.'' Translated by Charles B. Chavel, volume 1, pages 164–225. New York: Shilo Publishing House, 1971. *''Midrash ha-Ne'lam (The Midrash of the Concealed)''.

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, 13th century. In ''Zohar Chadash'', pages 24a–26b.

Salonika Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, 1597. In, e.g., ''The Zohar: Pritzker Edition''. Translation and commentary by Nathan Wolski, volume 10, pages 275–315.

Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University, after which it was named. The CDP's population was 21,150 at the United States Census, ...

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It is currently a member of the Ass ...

, 2016. *

, part 1, pages 76b–96b. Spain, late 13th century. In, e.g., ''The Zohar''. Translated by Harry Sperling, Maurice Simon, and Paul P. Levertoff. 5 volumes. London: Soncino Press, 1934. *

Bahya ben Asher Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (, 1255–1340) was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism, best known as a commentator on the Hebrew Bible. He is one of two scholars now referred to as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda. Biograp ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Spain, early 14th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbeinu Bachya: Torah Commentary by Rabbi Bachya ben Asher''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 216–75. Jerusalem: Lambda Publishers, 2003. *

Isaac ben Moses Arama Isaac ben Moses Arama ( 1420 – 1494) was a Spanish rabbi and author. He was at first principal of a rabbinical academy at Zamora (probably his birthplace); then he received a call as rabbi and preacher from the community at Tarragona, and later ...

. ''Akedat Yizhak (The Binding of Isaac)''. Late 15th century. In, e.g., Yitzchak Arama. ''Akeydat Yitzchak: Commentary of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama on the Torah''. Translated and condensed by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 92–125. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2001.

Modern

Isaac Abravanel Isaac ben Judah Abarbanel (;‎ 1437–1508), commonly referred to as Abarbanel (; also spelled Abravanel, Avravanel or Abrabanel), was a Portuguese Jewish statesman, philosopher, Bible commentator, and financier. Name Some debate exists ove ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Italy, between 1492 and 1509. In, e.g., ''Abarbanel: Selected Commentaries on the Torah: Volume 1: Bereishis/Genesis''. Translated and annotated by Israel Lazar, pages 82–103. Brooklyn: CreateSpace, 2015. *

Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno (Obadja Sforno, Hebrew: עובדיה ספורנו) was an Italian rabbi, Biblical commentator, philosopher and physician. A member of the Sforno family, he was born in Cesena about 1475 and died in Bologna in 1549. Bi ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''.

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, 1567. In, e.g., ''Sforno: Commentary on the Torah''. Translation and explanatory notes by Raphael Pelcovitz, pages 62–85. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. Menasseh ben Israel

Moshe Alshich Moshe Alshich , also spelled Alshech, (1508–1593), known as the ''Alshich Hakadosh (the Holy)'', was a prominent rabbi, preacher, and biblical commentator in the latter part of the sixteenth century. Life The Alshich was born in 1508 in the ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''.

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

, circa 1593. In, e.g., Moshe Alshich. ''Midrash of Rabbi Moshe Alshich on the Torah''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 91–115. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2000. *

Menasseh ben Israel Manoel Dias Soeiro (; 1604 – 20 November 1657), better known by his Hebrew language, Hebrew name Menasseh or Menashe ben Israel (), was a Jewish scholar, rabbi, Kabbalah, kabbalist, writer, diplomat, printer (publisher), printer, publishe ...

. ''El Conciliador (The Conciliator)''. Amsterdam, 1632. In ''The Conciliator of R. Manasseh Ben Israel: A Reconcilement of the Apparent Contradictions in Holy Scripture: To Which Are Added Explanatory Notes, and Biographical Notices of the Quoted Authorities''. Translated by Elias Hiam Lindo, pages 48–64. London, 1842. Reprinted by, e.g., Nabu Press, 2010. *Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Commentaries on the Torah''. Cracow, Poland, mid 17th century. Compiled as ''Chanukat HaTorah''. Edited by Chanoch Henoch Erzohn. Piotrkow, Poland, 1900. In Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Chanukas HaTorah: Mystical Insights of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel on Chumash''. Translated by Avraham Peretz Friedman, pages 48–52.

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Southfield borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Downtown Detroit, Detroit. As of the 2020 Uni ...

Targum Press Menucha Publishers is an Orthodox Jewish English-language publishing company based in Brooklyn, New York. Originally founded as a distributor for Targum Press, in 2011 after Targum's shutdown. Menucha established itself as an independent publis ...

Feldheim Publishers Feldheim Publishers (or Feldheim) is an American Orthodox Jewish publisher of Torah books and literature. Its extensive catalog of titles includes books on Jewish law, Torah, Talmud, Jewish lifestyle, Shabbat and Jewish holidays, Jewish history, ...

, 2004. *

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher, best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan (Hobbes book), Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered t ...

. ''

Leviathan Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...

'', 2:26; 3:33, 34, 35, 36. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, pages 332, 417, 436, 443–44, 459–60. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. *

. '' Theologico-Political Treatise'', chapters 2, 3, 8.

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, 1670. In, e.g., Baruch Spinoza. ''Theological-Political Treatise''. Translated by Samuel Shirley, pages 22, 39–41, 106–08, 232.

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Hackett Publishing Company Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. is an academic publishing house located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was originally founded and located near Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since beginning operations in 1972, Hackett has concen ...

, 2nd edition, 2001. *

Moshe Chaim Luzzatto Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (; also ''Moses Chaim'', ''Moise Vita'', ''Moses Hayyim'' or ''Luzzato''; 1707 – 16 May 1746), also known by the Hebrew acronym RaMCHaL (or RaMHaL; ), was an Italian Jewish rabbi, kabbalist, and philosopher. Biograph ...

. ''

Mesillat Yesharim ''Mesillat Yesharim'' or ''Mesillas Yeshorim'' (, lit. "Path of the Upright") is an ethical ('' musar'') text composed by the influential Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707–1746). It is different from Luzzato's other writings, which are more phi ...

''
chapter 4
Amsterdam, 1740. In ''Mesillat Yesharim: The Path of the Just'', page 53. Jerusalem: Feldheim, 1966. *

Chaim ibn Attar Chaim ibn Attar or Ḥayyim ben Moshe ibn Attar (, ; – 7 July 1743) also known as the Or ha-Ḥayyim after his popular commentary on the Torah, was a Talmudist and Kabbalist. He is arguably considered to be one of the most prominent Rabbis o ...

. ''Ohr ha-Chaim''. Venice, 1742. In Chayim ben Attar. ''Or Hachayim: Commentary on the Torah''. Translated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 118–56. Brooklyn: Lambda Publishers, 1999. Shadal

. ''

'', § 2. Berlin, 1783. In ''Jerusalem: Or on Religious Power and Judaism''. Translated by Allan Arkush; introduction and commentary by

Alexander Altmann Alexander Altmann (April 16, 1906 – June 6, 1987) was an Orthodox Jewish scholar and rabbi born in Kassa, Austria-Hungary (present-day Košice, Slovakia). He emigrated to England in 1938 and later settled in the United States, working productiv ...

, page 100. Hanover, New Hampshire: Brandeis University Press, 1983. *

Samuel David Luzzatto Samuel David Luzzatto (, ; 22 August 1800 – 30 September 1865), also known by the Hebrew acronym Shadal (), was an Italian-Austrian Jewish scholar, poet, and a member of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement. Early life Luzzatto was born ...

(Shadal). ''Commentary on the Torah.''

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, 1871. In, e.g., Samuel David Luzzatto. ''Torah Commentary''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 137–75. New York: Lambda Publishers, 2012. *W. Henry Green
"The Pentateuchal Question. II. Gen. 12:6–37:1."
''

Hebraica Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

'', volume 6 (number 2) (January 1890): pages 109–38. *W.W. Martin
"Genesis XIV. 20; XV. 1."
''The Old and New Testament Student'', volume 11 (number 1 (July 1890): pages 45–47.
"Melchizedek."
''The Old and New Testament Student'', volume 14 (number 2) (February 1892): page 121. *Edwin Cone Bissell
"Is Genesis 21:9–21 a Duplicate of Genesis 16:5–14?"
''The Biblical World'', volume 2 (number 6) (December 1893): pages 407–11. *

"The Two Accounts of Hagar (Genesis xvi. and xxi., 8–21.)."
''

The Monist ''The Monist: An International Quarterly Journal of General Philosophical Inquiry'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of philosophy. It was established in October 1890 by American publisher Edward C. Hegeler. History Init ...

'', volume 10 (number 3) (April 1900): pages 321–42. *Charles Edo Anderson
"Who Was Melchizedek?—A Suggested Emendation of Gen. 14:18."
'' The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures'', volume 19 (number 3) (April 1903): pages 176–77. Abraham Isaac Kook 1924

* Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter. ''Sefat Emet''.

Góra Kalwaria Góra Kalwaria (; "Calvary Mountain", , ''Ger'') is a town on the Vistula River in the Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is situated approximately southeast of Warsaw and has a population of around 12,109 (as of 2019). The town has ...

(Ger),

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, before 1906. Excerpted in ''The Language of Truth: The Torah Commentary of Sefat Emet''. Translated and interpreted by

Arthur Green Arthur Green (, born March 21, 1941) is an American scholar of Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidic theologian. He was a founding dean of the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College in Boston. He describes himself as an American Jew ...

, pages 19–25.

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Jewish Publication Society The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English. Founded in Philadelphia in 1888, by Reform Rabbi Joseph Krauskop ...

, 1998. Reprinted 2012. *

Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as HaRav Kook, and also known by the Hebrew-language acronym Hara'ayah (), was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbina ...

. ''The Moral Principles''. Early 20th century. In ''Abraham Isaac Kook: the Lights of Penitence, the Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems''. Translated by

Ben Zion Bokser Ben-Zion Bokser (July 4, 1907 – January 30, 1984) was a major Conservative rabbi in the United States. Biography Bokser was born in Liuboml, Poland (now Ukraine). He immigrated to the United States at the age of 13 in 1920. He attended City ...

, page 182. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press 1978.

Hermann Cohen Hermann Cohen (; ; 4 July 1842 – 4 April 1918) was a German philosopher, one of the founders of the Marburg school of neo-Kantianism, and he is often held to be "probably the most important Jewish philosopher of the nineteenth century". Bio ...

. ''Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism''. Translated with an introduction by Simon Kaplan; introductory essays by

Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was an American scholar of political philosophy. He spent much of his career as a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, where he taught several generations of students an ...

, page 301. New York: Ungar, 1972. Reprinted

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

: Scholars Press, 1995. Originally published as ''Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums''.

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

: Gustav Fock, 1919. *

Benno Jacob Benno Jacob (7 September 1862 – 24 January 1945) was a liberal rabbi and Bible scholar. Biography Jacob studied in the Rabbinical Seminary and University of his native Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). He served as a rabbi between the years 1 ...

. ''The First Book of the Bible: Genesis''. Translated by Ernest Jacob and

Walter Jacob Walter Jacob (March 13, 1930 – October 20, 2024) was an American Reform rabbi. He was rabbi at the Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh from 1955 to 1997. He served as chairman of organizations such as the Central Conference of American R ...

, pages 85–115. Jersey City, New Jersey: KTAV Publishing House, 1974. Originally published as ''Das erste Buch der Tora, Genesis: Übersetzt und erklärt von Benno Jacob''. Berlin: Schocken Verlag, 1934. *Alexander Alan Steinbach. ''Sabbath Queen: Fifty-four Bible Talks to the Young Based on Each Portion of the Pentateuch'', pages 8–10. New York: Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1936. *Irving Fineman. ''Jacob, An Autobiographical Novel'', pages 11, 17. New York: Random House, 1941. Thomas Mann 1937

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

. ''

Joseph and His Brothers ''Joseph and His Brothers'' (, ) is a four-part novel by Thomas Mann, written over the course of 16 years. Mann retells the familiar stories of Genesis, from Jacob to Joseph (chapters 27–50), setting it in the historical context of the ...

''. Translated by John E. Woods, pages 4–11, 36, 43, 52–54, 59, 78, 89–91, 93, 95–98, 100–02, 125, 141, 148, 153–54, 177, 256–57, 309–10, 339–55, 385, 425, 492, 523, 555, 593–94, 596, 671, 763, 778–79, 781, 788, 806, 859. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Originally published as ''Joseph und seine Brüder''. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943. *

. ''A Commentary on the Book of Genesis: Part Two: From Noah to Abraham''. Jerusalem, 1949. Translated by Israel Abrahams, pages 289–369. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press,

The Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...

, 1964; reprinted 1974. *

Zofia Kossak Zofia Kossak-Szczucka ( (also Kossak-Szatkowska); 10 August 1889 – 9 April 1968) was a Polish writer and World War II resistance fighter. She co-founded two wartime Polish organizations: Front for the Rebirth of Poland and Żegota, set up to ...

. ''The Covenant: A Novel of the Life of Abraham the Prophet''. New York: Roy, 1951. * Jakob J. Petuchowski
"The Controversial Figure of Melchizedek."
''

Hebrew Union College Annual The ''Hebrew Union College Annual'' (HUCA) is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of Jewish studies. It was established in 1924 and is published by the Hebrew Union College. The editors-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also kn ...

'', volume 28 (1957): pages 127–36. *Loren R. Fisher. "Abraham and His Priest-King." ''

Journal of Biblical Literature The ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' (''JBL'') is one of three academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academ ...

'', volume 81 (number 3) (1962): pages 264–70. *Martin Kessler
"The 'Shield' of Abraham?"
''

Vetus Testamentum ''Vetus Testamentum'' is a quarterly academic journal covering various aspects of the Old Testament. It is published by Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers () is a Dutch international academic publisher of books, academic journals, and ...

'', volume 14 (number 4) (October 1964): pages 494–97. (Genesis 15:1). *Walter Orenstein and Hertz Frankel. ''Torah and Tradition: A Bible Textbook for Jewish Youth: Volume I: Bereishis'', pages 25–37. New York: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1964. Ygal Yadin - Lt Gel 1949-1952

Yigael Yadin Yigael Yadin ( ; 20 March 1917 – 28 June 1984) was an Israeli archeologist, soldier and politician. He was the second Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and Deputy Prime Minister from 1977 to 1981. Biography Yigael Sukenik (later Y ...

"A Note on Melchizedek and Qumran."
''

Israel Exploration Journal The ''Israel Exploration Journal'' is a biannual academic journal which has been published by the Israel Exploration Society since 1950. It primarily covers research in archaeology, but also history and geography relating to Israel and the surrou ...

'', volume 15 (number 3) (1965): pages 152–54. *Michael C. Astour. "Political and Cosmic Symbolism in Genesis 14 and Its Babylonian Sources." In ''Biblical Motifs: Origins and Transformations''. Edited by

, pages 65–112. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University, 1966. * John A. Emerton
"Melchizedek and the Gods: Fresh Evidence for the Jewish Background of John X. 34–36."
''

The Journal of Theological Studies ''The Journal of Theological Studies'' is an academic journal established in 1899 and now published by Oxford University Press in April and October each year. It publishes theological research, scholarship, and interpretation, and hitherto unpubli ...

'' (new series), volume 17 (number 2) (October 1966): pages 399–401. *

Gerhard von Rad Gerhard von Rad (21 October 1901 – 31 October 1971) was a German academic, Old Testament scholar, Lutheran theologian, exegete, and professor at the University of Heidelberg. Early life, education, career Gerhard von Rad was born in Nu ...

. “Faith Reckoned as Righteousness.” In ''The Problem of the Hexateuch and Other Essays'', pages 125–30. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966. LCCN 66-11432. * Ronald E. Clements. ''Abraham and David: Genesis 15 and Its Meaning for Israelite Tradition.'' London: SCM Press, 1967. * Joseph A. Fitzmyer
"Further Light on Melchizedek from Qumran Cave 11."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 86 (number 1) (March 1967): pages 25–41. * Harold H. Rowley
"Melchizedek and David."
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 17 (number 4) (October 1967): page 485. *

Delmore Schwartz Delmore Schwartz (December 8, 1913 – July 11, 1966) was an American poet and short story writer. Early life Schwartz was born in 1913 in Brooklyn, New York, where he also grew up. His parents, Harry and Rose, both Romanian Jews, separated when ...

. "Abraham" an
"Sarah."
In ''Selected Poems: Summer Knowledge'', pages 230–32. New York: New Directions, 1967. *

Erich Auerbach Erich Auerbach (; 9 November 1892 – 13 October 1957) was a German philologist and comparative scholar and critic of literature. His best-known work is '' Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature'', a history of representa ...

"Odysseus' Scar."
In '' Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature'', pages 3–23. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968. (comparing accounts of Odysseus and Abraham). Martin Buber portrait

Martin Buber Martin Buber (; , ; ; 8 February 1878 – 13 June 1965) was an Austrian-Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism centered on the distinction between the I and Thou, I–Thou relationship and the I� ...

. ''On the Bible: Eighteen studies'', pages 22–43. New York: Schocken Books, 1968. * Jacob Weingreen. " in Genesis 15:7." In ''Words and Meanings: Essays Presented to

David Winton Thomas David Winton Thomas (26 January 1901 – 18 June 1970) was a British scholar of Hebrew. He was Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Cambridge from 1938 to 1968. He was one of the first pupils of Godfrey Rolles Driver. He also played r ...

''. Edited by Peter R. Ackroyd and

Barnabas Lindars Barnabas Lindars (born Frederick Chevallier Lindars; 11 June 1923 – 21 October 1991) was an English New Testament scholar. Lindars was educated at Altrincham Grammar School and then studied at St John's College, Cambridge. He was ordained as ...

, pages 209–15. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968. *Stanley Gevirtz
"Abram's 318."
''Israel Exploration Journal'', volume 19 (number 2) (1968): pages 110–13. *Merril P. Miller
"The Function of Isa 61:1–2 in 11Q Melchizedek."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 88 (number 4) (December 1969): pages 467–69. *R. David Freedman
"A New Approach to the Nuzi Sistership Contract."
''

Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society The ''Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society'' (JANES) is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal. It was established in 1968 as ''The Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society of Columbia University'', and since 1980 it has been housed a ...

'', volume 2 (number 2) (1970): pages 77–85. * Harold L. Ginsberg
"Abram's 'Damascene' Steward."
''

Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research The ''Bulletin of the American Society of Overseas Research (BASOR)'', formerly the ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'', is one of three academic journals published by the American Society of Overseas Research. It began as t ...

'', volume 200 (December 1970): pages 31–32. (Genesis 15:1–4). *John A. Emerton. "Some False Clues in the Study of Genesis XIV." ''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 21 (number 1) (1971): pages 24–27. *John A. Emerton
"The Riddle of Genesis XIV."
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 21 (number 4) (October 1971): ppages 403–39. *John G. Gammie
"Loci of Melchizedek Tradition of Genesis 14:18–20."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 90 (number 4) (December 1971): pages 385–96. *

Mario Brelich Mario Brelich (1910–1982) was an Italian author born in Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population ...

. ''The Holy Embrace''. Translated by John Shepley. Marlboro, Vermont: Marlboro Press, 1994. Originally published as ''Il Sacro Amplesso''. Milan: Adelphi Edizioni s.p.a., 1972. *Samuel Greengus
"Sisterhood Adoption at Nuzi and the 'Wife-Sister' in Genesis."
''Hebrew Union College Annual'', volume 46 (1975): pages 5–31. *Sean E. McEvenue. "A Comparison of Narrative Styles in the Hagar Stories." '' Semeia'', volume 3 (1975): pages 64–80. *Seän M. Warner
“The Patriarchs and Extra-Biblical Sources.”
''

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament The ''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'' (JSOT) is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of Biblical studies. The editors-in-chief are David Shepherd (Trinity College Dublin) and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer ( Örebro School of Theol ...

'', volume 1, number 2 (June 1976): pages 50–61. * J. Maxwell Miller
“The Patriarchs and Extra-Biblical Sources: a Response.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 1, number 2 (June 1976): pages 62–66. *J. Russell Kirkland. "The Incident at Salem: A Reexamination of Gen 14:18–23." ''Studia Biblica et Theologica'', volume 7 (1977): pages 3–23. *John Tracy Luke
“Abraham and the Iron Age: Reflections on the New Patriarchal Studies.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 2, number 4 (February 1977): pages 35–47. * Peter C. Craigie. ''The Problem of War in the Old Testament'', page 9.

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978. *Isaac M. Kikawada
"The Unity of Genesis 12:1–9."
''Proceedings of the World Congress of Jewish Studies'', volume 1 (division A) (1973): pages 229–35. *

Terrence Malick Terrence Frederick Malick (; born November 30, 1943) is an American filmmaker. Malick began his career as part of the New Hollywood generation of filmmakers and received awards at the Cannes Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and ...

. ''

Days of Heaven ''Days of Heaven'' is a 1978 American romantic period drama film written and directed by Terrence Malick, and starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard and Linda Manz. Set in 1916, it tells the story of Bill and Abby, lovers who trav ...

''. 1978. * Donald J. Wiseman. "They Lived in Tents." In ''Biblical and Near Eastern Studies: Essays in Honor of William Sanford La Sor''. Edited by Gary A. Tuttle, pages 195–200. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978. * Niels-Erik A. Andreasen. "Genesis 14 in its Near Eastern Context." In ''Scripture in Context: Essays on the Comparative Method''. Edited by Carl D. Evans,

William W. Hallo William Wolfgang Hallo (March 9, 1928 – March 27, 2015Biblica Biblica, formerly International Bible Society, was founded in 1809 and is the worldwide copyright holder of the New International Version of the Bible (NIV), licensing commercial rights to Zondervan in the United States and to Hodder & Stoughton ...

'', volume 61 (number 1) (1980): page 69. *George W. Coats. "The Curse in God's Blessing: Genesis 12:1–4a in the Structure and Theology of the Yahwist." In ''Die Botschaft und die Boten: Festschrift fur Hans Walter Wolff zum 70. Geburtstag''. Edited by Jörg Jeremias and L. Perlitt, pages 31–41. Neukirchen–Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1981. * Gerhard F. Hasel. "The Meaning of the Animal Rite in Gen. 15." ''

'', volume 6 (number 19) (1981): pages 61–78. *Paul J. Kobelski. ''Melchizedek and Melchireša'.''

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

: The

Catholic Biblical Association The Catholic Biblical Association of America (CBA) is an American learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible. The suggestion to form a permanent association of biblical scholars was made at the beginning of 1936 at a meeting in ...

of America, 1981. *

Nehama Leibowitz Nechama Leibowitz (; September 3, 1905 – April 12, 1997) was Israel Prize laureate and Israeli Bible scholar and commentator who rekindled interest in Bible study. Biography Nechama Leibowitz was born to an Orthodox Jewish family in Riga two ...

. ''Studies in Bereshit (Genesis)'', pages 109–57. Jerusalem: The

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization (; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the Zionist Organization (ZO; 1897–1960) at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the F ...

, 1981. Reprinted as ''New Studies in the Weekly Parasha''. Lambda Publishers, 2010. David floser

*Moshé Anbar. "Genesis 15: A Conflation of Two Deuteronomic Narratives." ''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 101 (1982): pages 39–55. *

Walter Brueggemann Walter Albert Brueggemann (March 11, 1933 – June 5, 2025) was an American Christian scholar and theologian who is widely considered an influential Old Testament scholar. His work often focused on the Hebrew prophetic tradition and the sociop ...

. ''Genesis: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching'', pages 105–62. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982. * Harold Fisch
“Ruth and the Structure of Covenant History.”
''

'', volume 32, number 4 (October 1982): pages 425–37. (connecting the story of Lot and Abraham in Genesis 13 to the story of

). *

David Flusser David Flusser (Hebrew: דוד פלוסר; born 1917 - died 2000) was an Israeli professor of Early Christianity and Judaism of the Second Temple Period at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Biography David Flusser was born in Vienna on Septem ...

"Kobelski's ''Melchizedek and Melchireša."
''

The Jewish Quarterly Review ''The Jewish Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering Jewish studies. It is published by the University of Pennsylvania Press on behalf of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies (University of ...

'' (new series), volume 73 (number 3) (January 1983): pages 294–96. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz

*Larry R. Helyer. "The Separation of Abram and Lot: Its Significance in the Patriarchal Narratives." ''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 8 (number 26) (1983): pages 77–88. *

Adin Steinsaltz Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (; 11 July 19377 August 2020) was an Israeli Chabad Chasidic rabbi, teacher, philosopher, social critic, author, translator and publisher. His '' Steinsaltz edition of the Talmud'' was originally published in ...

. ''Biblical Files'', pages 12–29. New York: Basic Books, 1984. *

Phyllis Trible Phyllis Trible (born October 25, 1932) is a feminist biblical scholar from Richmond, Virginia, United States. Trible's scholarship focuses on the Hebrew Bible and she is noted for her prominent influence on feminist biblical interpretation. Tribl ...

. "Hagar: The Desolation of Rejection." In ''Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives'', pages 9–35. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984. Margaret Atwood Eden Mills Writers Festival 2006

Margaret Atwood Eden Mills Writers Festival 2006

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

. ''

The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which has ...

''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1986. (handmaiden plot element). *Bo Johnson. "Who Reckoned Righteousness to Whom?" ''

Svensk exegetisk årsbok ''Svensk exegetisk årsbok'' (''Swedish Exegetical Yearbook'') is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal of biblical studies and book reviews in Swedish and English. It was established in 1936 by the Swedish Exegetical Society and is distributed ...

'', volume 51–52 (1986–1987): pages 108–15. * Pinchas H. Peli. ''Torah Today: A Renewed Encounter with Scripture'', pages 11–14. Washington, D.C.: B'nai B'rith Books, 1987. *

Debbie Friedman Deborah Lynn Friedman (February 23, 1951 – January 9, 2011)Horn, JordanaBeloved US Jewish songwriter, Debbie Friedman, dies ''The Jerusalem Post'', January 9, 2011Fox, MargalitDebbie Friedman, Singer of Jewish Music, Dies at 59 ''The New York ...

''L'Chi Lach''
In ''And You Shall Be a Blessing ...'' New York: Sounds Write Productions, 1989. *Marc Gellman. "Finding the Right Man." In ''Does God Have a Big Toe? Stories About Stories in the Bible'', pages 47–51. New York: HarperCollins, 1989. *

Nahum M. Sarna Nahum Mattathias Sarna (Hebrew: נחום סרנא; March 27, 1923 – June 23, 2005) was a modern biblical scholar who is best known for the study of Genesis and Exodus represented in his ''Understanding Genesis'' (1966) and in his contribution ...

. ''The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation'', pages 88–128, 377–87. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989. *''Berit Mila in the Reform Context''. Edited by Lewis M. Barth. Berit Mila Board of Reform Judaism, 1990. * Mark E. Biddle
"The 'Endangered Ancestress' and Blessing for the Nations."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 109 (number 4) (Winter 1990): pages 599–611. * Mark S. Smith. ''The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel'', pages 11, 21, 23, 101. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990. *

Aaron Wildavsky Aaron Wildavsky (May 31, 1930 – September 4, 1993) was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work in public policy, government budgeting, and risk management. Early years A native of Brooklyn in New York, Wildavsky was the ...

. ''Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel'', pages 5–6, 15, 17–29. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1993. *

Joseph B. Soloveitchik Joseph Ber Soloveitchik ( ''Yosef Dov ha-Levi Soloveychik''; February 27, 1903 – April 9, 1993) was a major American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish philosopher. He was a scion of the Lithuanian Jewish Soloveitchik rabbinic ...

. ''Abraham's Journey''. KTAV Publishing House, 2008. (written before 1994). *Judith S. Antonelli. "Sarah: First Jewess." In ''In the Image of God: A Feminist Commentary on the Torah'', pages 27–38.

Northvale, New Jersey Northvale is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,761, an increase of 121 (+2.6%) from the 2010 United S ...

Jason Aronson Jason Aronson was an American publisher of books in the field of psychotherapy. Topics dealt with in these books include child therapy, family therapy, couple therapy, object relations therapy, play therapy, depression, eating disorders, per ...

, 1995. *

Jacob Milgrom Jacob Milgrom (; February 1, 1923 – June 5, 2010) was a prominent American Jewish Bible scholar and Conservative rabbi. Milgrom's major contribution to biblical research was in the field of cult and worship. Although he accepted the documentar ...

. "Bible Versus Babel: Why did God tell Abraham to leave Mesopotamia, the most advanced civilization of its time, for the backwater region of Canaan?" ''Bible Review'', volume 11 (number 2) (April 1995). *Naomi H. Rosenblatt and Joshua Horwitz. ''Wrestling With Angels: What Genesis Teaches Us About Our Spiritual Identity, Sexuality, and Personal Relationships'', pages 93–157. Delacorte Press, 1995. *

Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg (; born March 1944) is a Scottish contemporary Torah scholar and author. Biography She was born in London, England, grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, and moved to Israel in 1969, where she currently resides in Jerusalem. Z ...

. ''The Beginning of Desire: Reflections on Genesis'', pages 72–96. New York: Image Books/Doubleday, 1995. *

Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and Christian mysticism, mystical ...

. ''In the Beginning: A New Interpretation of Genesis'', pages 53–62. New York: Knopf, 1996. *

Ellen Frankel Ellen Frankel (born 1951) was the editor-in-chief of the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) from 1991 until 2009, and its CEO for ten years. She retired in 2009 to pursue her own writing and scholarly projects, as JPS's first editor emerita. Biogra ...

. ''The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman's Commentary on the Torah'', pages 15–21. New York:

G. P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam an ...

, 1996. *

Lawrence A. Hoffman Lawrence A. Hoffman (born 1942) is an American Reform Judaism, Reform rabbi and liturgiologist—particularly known for his studies of Jewish liturgy. He is known for his liberal religious views. Hoffman is Professor of Liturgy at Hebrew Union Co ...

. ''Covenant of Blood: Circumcision and Gender in Rabbinic Judaism''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. * W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Haftarah Commentary'', pages 23–32. New York: UAHC Press, 1996. * Walter Wangerin, Jr. ''The Book of God'', pages 13–25. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1996. *Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden. ''Teaching Torah: A Treasury of Insights and Activities'', pages 19–24.

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

: A.R.E. Publishing, 1997. *Thomas B. Dozeman
"The Wilderness and Salvation History in the Hagar Story."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 117 (number 1) (Spring 1998): pages 23–43. *Susan Freeman. ''Teaching Jewish Virtues: Sacred Sources and Arts Activities'', pages 4–6. Springfield, New Jersey: A.R.E. Publishing, 1999. (Genesis 17:1). Orson Scott Card at BYU Symposium 20080216 closeup

Orson Scott Card at BYU Symposium 20080216 closeup

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...

. ''Sarah: Women of Genesis''. Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 2000. *David A. deSilva. "Why Did God Choose Abraham?" ''

Bible Review ''Biblical Archaeology Review'' is a magazine appearing every three months and sometimes referred to as ''BAR'' that seeks to connect the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience seeking to understand the world of the Bible, the ...

'', volume 16 (number 3) (June 2000): pages 16–21, 42–44. *Joseph A. Fitzmyer
"Melchizedek in the MT, LXX, and the NT."
''Biblica'', volume 81 (number 1) (2000): pages 63–69. *Tamara Goshen-Gottstein. “The Souls that They Made: Physical Infertility and Spiritual Fecundity.” In ''Torah of the Mothers: Contemporary Jewish Women Read Classical Jewish Texts''. Edited by Ora Wiskind Elper and Susan Handelman, pages 123–54. New York and Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2000. (Genesis 16:1–3; 17:15–22). *

Judy Klitsner Judy Klitsner (born 1957) is a contemporary Bible scholar, author and international speaker. She is a senior faculty member of the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, where she has taught Bible and biblical exegesis for more than t ...

. “From the Earth's Hollow Space to the Stars: Two Patriarchs and Their Non-Israelite Mentors.” In ''Torah of the Mothers: Contemporary Jewish Women Read Classical Jewish Texts''. Edited by Ora Wiskind Elper and Susan Handelman, pages 262–88. New York and Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2000. (comparison of Abraham and Melchizedek, Moses and

Jethro Jethro is a male given name meaning "excellence". It is derived from the Hebrew word ''Yithrô''. People named Jethro * Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns (1920–1989), mandolin player in satirical country music duo Homer and Jethro * Jethro Frankli ...

). *John S. Kselman. "Genesis." In ''The HarperCollins Bible Commentary''. Edited by James L. Mays, pages 91–94. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, revised edition, 2000. *Martin McNamara
"Melchizedek: Gen 14,17–20 in the Targums, in Rabbinic and Early Christian Literature."
''Biblica'', volume 81 (number 1) (2000): pages 1–31. *Deborah W. Rooke
"Jesus as Royal Priest: Reflections on the Interpretation of the Melchizedek Tradition in Heb 7."
''Biblica'', volume 81 (number 1) (2000): pages 81–94. Poetry Out Loud MN finals 27

*Michal Shekel. "What's in a Name?" In ''The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions''. Edited by

Elyse Goldstein Elyse Goldstein is a Canadian Reform rabbi. She is the first woman to be elected as president of the interdenominational Toronto Board of Rabbis and president of the Reform Rabbis of Greater Toronto. Early life and education Goldstein was bor ...

, pages 57–62.

Woodstock, Vermont Woodstock is the shire town (county seat) of Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,005. It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock, Taftsville, and West Woodstock. History Cha ...

Jewish Lights Publishing Jewish Lights Publishing is a publishing company. Founded in 1990 by Stuart Matlins in Woodstock, Vermont, the company publishes works for children and adults that come from a Judaic perspective, yet provide wisdom to readers of any spiritual bac ...

, 2000. *

Robert Bly Robert Elwood Bly (December 23, 1926 – November 21, 2021) was an American poet, essayist, activist and leader of the mythopoetic men's movement. His best-known prose book is '' Iron John: A Book About Men'' (1990), which spent 62 weeks on ...

"The Night Abraham Called to the Stars."
In ''The Night Abraham Called to the Stars: Poems'', page 1. New York: HarperCollins/Perennial, 2001. *

Israel Finkelstein Israel Finkelstein (; born March 29, 1949) is an Israelis, Israeli archaeologist, professor emeritus at Tel Aviv University and the head of the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa. Finkelstein is active in the a ...

and

Neil Asher Silberman Neil Asher Silberman (born June 19, 1950 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American archaeologist and historian with a special interest in biblical archaeology. He is the author of several books, including ''The Hidden Scrolls'', ''The Message and ...

. "Searching for the Patriarchs." In ''The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts'', pages 27–47. New York: The Free Press, 2001. *Scott Nikaido
"Hagar and Ishmael as Literary Figures: An Intertextual Study."
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 51 (number 2) (April 2001): pages 219–42. *

Tad Szulc Tadeusz Witold Szulc (July 25, 1926 – May 21, 2001) was an author and foreign correspondent for ''The New York Times'' from 1953 to 1972. Szulc is credited with breaking the story of the Bay of Pigs invasion. Early life Szulc was born in W ...

. "Abraham: Journey of Faith." ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'', volume 200 (number 6) (December 2001): pages 90–129. *Lainie Blum Cogan and Judy Weiss. ''Teaching Haftarah: Background, Insights, and Strategies'', pages 263–74. Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 2002. * Michael Fishbane. ''The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot'', pages 18–23. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002. *

Tikva Frymer-Kensky Tikva Simone Frymer-Kensky (Hebrew: תקווה פריימר-קנסקי; October 21, 1943 – August 31, 2006) was a professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School. She received her MA and PhD from Yale University. She had previously ser ...

. "The Disposable Wife" and "Hagar, My Other, My Self." In ''Reading the Women of the Bible'', pages 93–98, 225–37. New York: Schocken Books, 2002. *Keith N. Grüneberg. ''Abraham, Blessing and the Nations: A Philological and Exegetical Study of Genesis 12:3 in Its Narrative Context''. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2003. *Alan Lew. ''This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation'', page 20. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 2003. *

Robert Alter Robert Bernard Alter (born 1935) is an American professor emeritus of Hebrew language, Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has published two dozen books, including an aw ...

. ''The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary'', pages 62–84. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004. *

David M. Carr David McLain Carr is Professor of Old Testament at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He is a leading scholar of the textual formation of the Hebrew Bible. Carr received his B.A. from Carleton College in 1980, his M.T.S., from the ...

"Book Reviews: ''Abraham, Blessing and the Nations: A Philological and Exegetical Study of Genesis 12:3 in Its Narrative Context'' by Keith N. Grüneberg."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 123 (number 4) (Winter 2004): pages 741–44. * Marek Halter, ''Sarah''. New York: Crown Publishers, 2004. * Jon D. Levenson. "Genesis." In ''The Jewish Study Bible''. Edited by

Adele Berlin Adele Berlin (born May 23, 1943 in Philadelphia) is an American biblical scholar and Hebraist. Before her retirement, she was Robert H. Smith Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Maryland. Berlin is best known for 1994 work ''Poet ...

and Marc Zvi Brettler, pages 30–39. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. *''Professors on the Parashah: Studies on the Weekly Torah Reading'' Edited by Leib Moscovitz, pages 31–35. Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2005. *Jules Francis Gomes. ''The Sanctuary of Bethel and the Configuration of Israelite Identity''. De Gruyter, 2006. *Nachman Levine
“Sarah/Sodom: Birth, Destruction, and Synchronic Transaction.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 31 (number 2) (December 2006): pages 131–46. *W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Torah: A Modern Commentary: Revised Edition''. Revised edition edited by David E.S. Stern, pages 88–120. New York:

, 2006. *Shmuel Goldin. ''Unlocking the Torah Text: Bereishit'', pages 57–76. Jerusalem:

Gefen Publishing House Gefen Publishing House () is an English language publishing firm located in Jerusalem, which also has a department in New York City. History Gefen was founded in 1981 by Murray and Hana Greenfield. Its CEO is Ilan Greenfield, son of the founder ...

, 2007. *James Kugel, James L. Kugel. ''How To Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now'', pages 30, 39, 89–106, 119–32, 146, 159, 301, 356, 421, 435, 649. New York: Free Press, 2007. *David Rosenberg (poet), David Rosenberg. ''Abraham: The First Historical Biography''. New York: Basic Books, 2006. *David Biespiel
''Genesis 12.''
''Poetry (magazine), Poetry'', volume 190 (number 3) (June 2007): page 201. *Suzanne A. Brody. ''Lech L'cha.'' In ''Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems'', page 64. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. *Terence E. Fretheim. ''Abraham: Trials of Family and Faith''. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 2007. *Esther Jungreis. ''Life Is a Test'', pages 28–29, 49, 68, 130, 134, 214–15, 236. Brooklyn: Shaar Press, 2007. *James C. Okoye
“Sarah and Hagar: Genesis 16 and 21.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 32 (number 2) (December 2007): pages 163–75. *Andrei Orlov
"The Heir of Righteousness and the King of Righteousness: The Priestly Noachic Polemics in 2 Enoch and the Epistle to the Hebrews."
''The Journal of Theological Studies'' (new series), volume 58 (number 1) (April 2007): pages 45–65. (Melchizedek). *Mary Mills
"The Story of Abraham and Models of Human Identity."
''New Blackfriars'', volume 89 (number 1021) (May 2008): pages 280–99. *''The Torah: A Women's Commentary''. Edited by Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea Weiss (rabbi), Andrea L. Weiss, pages 59–84. New York: Union for Reform Judaism, URJ Press, 2008. *Caryn Aviv and Karen Erlichman. "Going to and Becoming Ourselves: Transformation and Covenants in Parashat Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1–17:27)." In ''Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible''. Edited by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer; foreword by Judith Plaskow, pages 24–28. New York: New York University Press, 2009. *Gard Granerød
"Melchizedek in Hebrews 7."
''Biblica'', volume 90 (number 2) (2009): pages 188–202. *Reuven Hammer. ''Entering Torah: Prefaces to the Weekly Torah Portion'', pages 17–22. New York: Gefen Publishing House, 2009. Sirjonathansacks

*Jonathan Sacks. ''Covenant & Conversation: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible: Genesis: The Book of Beginnings'', pages 65–93. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2009. *Carolyn J. Sharp. "Pharaoh and Abimelech as Innocents Ensnared." In ''Irony and Meaning in the Hebrew Bible'', pages 51–54. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2009. *John H. Walton. "Genesis." In ''Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary''. Edited by John H. Walton, volume 1, pages 68–90. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009. *Nick Wyatt
“Circumcision and Circumstance: Male Genital Mutilation in Ancient Israel and Ugarit.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 33 (number 4) (June 2009): pages 405–31. *Bernard Gosse
“Abraham and David.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 34 (number 1) (September 2009): pages 25–31. (Genesis 14–15). *Volker Glissmann
“Genesis 14: A Diaspora Novella?”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 34 (number 1) (September 2009): pages 33–45. *Nathaniel Helfgot
"Unlocking the Riddle of Abraham the Iconoclast: A Study in the Intertextuality of 'Peshat' and 'Derash.'"
''Tradition (journal), Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought'', volume 43 (number 3) (fall 2010): pages 9–16. *Ilan Stavans and Mordecai Drache. "The Mission of Abraham 'And I will bless them.'" In ''With All Thine Heart: Love and the Bible'', pages 49–65. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2010. *Alexander Massey
“‘If male, is he circumcised?’ Covenant, Community, Compassion and Conscience.”
(2011; rev. 2019). *Dan Rickett
“Rethinking the Place and Purpose of Genesis 13.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 36 (number 1) (September 2011): pages 31–53. *Calum Carmichael. ''The Book of Numbers: A Critique of Genesis'', pages 11, 19, 27, 55. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012. *William G. Dever. ''The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel: When Archaeology and the Bible Intersect'', page 188. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012. *Jonathan Haidt. ''The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion'', page 210. New York: Pantheon, 2012. (circumcision as tribal symbolic marking). Shmuel Herzfeld at House of Representatives cropped

Shmuel Herzfeld at House of Representatives cropped

*Shmuel Herzfeld. "Avraham: An Evangelical Role Model." In ''Fifty-Four Pick Up: Fifteen-Minute Inspirational Torah Lessons'', pages 12–17. Jerusalem:

, 2012. *Chee-Chiew Lee
“Once Again: The Niphal and the Hithpael of in the Abrahamic Blessing for the Nations.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 36 (number 3) (March 2012): pages 279–96. (Genesis 12:3). * Jon D. Levenson. ''Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam''. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2012. *J. SerVaas Williams. ''Abraham and Sarah''. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2012. *Scott N. Morschauser
"Campaigning on Less Than a Shoe-String: An Ancient Egyptian Parallel to Abram's 'Oath' in Genesis 14.22–23."
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 38 (number 2) (December 2013): pages 127–44. *Steven J. Pahl
“Thematic Connections in Psalm 110 and Genesis 14: An Intertextual Study.”
Thesis, Ambrose University, 2013. *Stephanie Butnick
"Bas Relief Depicts Circumcision in Ancient Egypt: Relic from 2400 BCE believed to be the oldest illustration of the ritual."
''Tablet Magazine''. (June 18, 2014). *Jonathan Sacks. ''Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 13–17. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2015. *"The Hittites: Between Tradition and History." ''Biblical Archaeology Review'', volume 42 (number 2) (March/April 2016): pages 28–40, 68. *Jean-Pierre Isbouts. ''Archaeology of the Bible: The Greatest Discoveries From Genesis to the Roman Era'', pages 34–53.

: National Geographic Society, National Geographic, 2016. *Jonathan Sacks. ''Essays on Ethics: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 15–20. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2016. *Jacob Bacharach. ''The Doorposts of Your House and on Your Gates''. New York: Boni & LiveLiveright, 2017. (novel loosely retelling the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac). *Zvi Grumet. ''Genesis: From Creation to Covenant'', pages 115–94. Jerusalem: Maggid Books, 2017. *Shai Held. ''The Heart of Torah, Volume 1: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion: Genesis and Exodus'', pages 21–30. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017. *Steven Levy and Sarah Levy. ''The JPS Rashi Discussion Torah Commentary'', pages 9–11. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017. *Pekka Pitkänen
“Ancient Israelite Population Economy: Ger, Toshav, Nakhri and Karat as Settler Colonial Categories.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 42, number 2 (December 2017): pages 139–53. *Jeffrey K. Salkin. ''The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary'', pages 12–16. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017. *Alessandro Massa
“The European Convention on Human Rights and Ritual Male Circumcision: Religion, Family, Rights.”
(2019). *Pallant Ramsundar
“Biblical Mistranslations to 'Euphrates' and the Impact on the Borders of Israel.”
''American Journal of Biblical Theology'' (2019). *Irit Dekel, Bernhard Forchtner, and Ibrahim Efe
“Circumcising the Body: Negotiating Difference and Belonging in Germany.”
''National Identitie'' (2019). *Aren M. Wilson-Wright
"Bethel and the Persistence of El: Evidence for the Survival of El as an Independent Deity in the Jacob Cycle and 1 Kings 12:25–30."
''

'', volume 138, number 4 (2019): pages 705–20. *Liana Finck. ''Let There Be Light: The Real Story of Her Creation'', pages 137–89. New York: Random House, 2022. *Abigail Pogrebin and Dov Linzer. ''It Takes Two to Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses'', pages 17–23. Bedford, New York: Fig Tree Books, 2024.

External links

Texts

Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translationHear the parashah chanted

Commentaries

Academy for Jewish Religion, CaliforniaAcademy for Jewish Religion, New YorkAmerican Jewish University—Ziegler School of Rabbinic StudiesChabad.orgHadarJewish Theological SeminaryMyJewishLearning.comPardes from JerusalemReconstructing JudaismUnion for Reform JudaismUnited Synagogue of Conservative JudaismYeshivat Chovevei TorahYeshiva University
{{Book of Genesis Lech-Lecha, Abraham Weekly Torah readings from Genesis Weekly Torah readings in Cheshvan

Readings

First reading—Genesis 12:1–13

Second reading—Genesis 12:14–13:4

Third reading—Genesis 13:5–18

Fourth reading—Genesis 14:1–20

Fifth reading—Genesis 14:21–15:6

Sixth reading—Genesis 15:7–17:6

Seventh reading—Genesis 17:7–27

Readings according to the triennial cycle

In ancient parallels

Genesis chapter 14

In inner-biblical interpretation

Genesis chapter 12

Genesis chapter 15

Genesis chapter 17

In early nonrabbinic interpretation

Genesis chapter 12

In classical rabbinic interpretation

Genesis chapter 12

Genesis chapter 13

Genesis chapter 14

Genesis chapter 15

Genesis chapter 16

Genesis chapter 17

In medieval Jewish interpretation

Genesis chapters 11–22

Genesis chapter 12

Genesis chapter 13

Genesis chapter 15

In modern interpretation

Genesis chapters 12–36

Genesis chapter 12

Genesis chapter 13

Genesis chapter 14

Genesis chapter 15

Genesis chapter 16

Genesis chapter 17

Commandments

In the liturgy

The Weekly Maqam

Haftarah

Connection to the parashah

See also

Notes

Further reading

Ancient

Biblical

Early nonrabbinic

Classical rabbinic

Medieval

Modern

External links

Texts

Commentaries