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86 THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

Abraham

other kings, Abraham cast dust upon them, and it turnid into swords and Innces. and the stubble turned

and arrows (accordini; to Isji. xli. 2). Og. " tlie jjiant king of Hashan, was the one " tliat escaped (/iiilHilil). and brought him the news of the capture into

was

left to

orous,

ward further developed under the inIkfluence of i5aby!onian folk-lore. was born in Kuta, another name for Ur of the Clial<^u the night when he was born, decs (B. B. !)!«)• Tendi's friends, among whom were councilors and soothsayers of Ninuod, were feasting in his house, and on leaving late at night they obscrveil a star which swallowed up four other stars from the four They furthwitli hastened to sides of the heavens. Nimrod and siud: "Of a certainty a lad has been born who is destined to con(iuer this world and the next; now, then, give to his parents as large a sum of money as they wish for the child, and then " Your kill him. " But Terah, who was present, Siiid advice reminds me of the nude to whom a man Siiid, 'I will give thee a house full of biirliy if thou wilt allow me to cut oil thy head,' whereupon the mule replied: "Fool that thou art, of what use will the bailey be to me if thou cuttest ofT my head'/' Thus I say to you: if you slay the son, who will inherit the money j'ougive to the parents?" Then the rest " From thy words we perof the councilors said ceive that a son has been born to thee." "Yes," said Terah, "a son has been born to me, but he is dead." Terah then went home and hid his son in a cave for three years. AVlien, on coming out of the cave, Abraham saw the sun rising in all Jiis glory in the east, he said to himself: "Surely this is the Lord of the universe, and Ilim I will worship." But the evening came, and lo! the sun set and night befell him, and seeing the moon with her silver radiance, he Siiid, "This, then, is the Lord of the world, and all the stars are His servants; to Him I will kneel." The following morning, when moon and Stars had disappeared and the sun had risen anew, Abraham said: "Now I know that neither the one nor the other is the Lord of the world, but He who controls both as His servants is the Creator and Ruler of the whole world." Forthwith Abraham asked his father " Who created heaven and earth " Terah, pointing to one of his idols, reiilied: "This great image is our god. " " Then let me bring a sacrifice to him " said Abraham, and he ordered a cake of fine flour to be baked, and offered it to the idol, and when the idol did not eat it, he ordered a still finer meal-offering to be prepared, and offered it to the idol. But the idol did neither eat nor answer when addressed by him, and so Abraham grew angry and, kindling a fire, burned them all. When Terah, on coming home, found his idols bvirnt, he went to Abraham and said: "Who has liurned my gods?" Abraham replied: "The large one (piarreled with the little ones and btirned them in his anger." "Fool that thou art, how canst thou say that he who can not see nor hear nor walk should have done this?" Then Abraham said: "How then canst thou forsake the living God and serve gods that neither see nor

His Birth,







'!

!

hear?" According to Gen. R. xxxviii. and Tanna debe Eliyahu, ii. 25 (probably a portion of Krke R. El.), Terah was a manufacturer of idols and had them for sale. One day when Terah was absent and Abraham

take charge of the shop, an old, yet vig-

man came in

to buy an idol. the one on to|i. " the price asked.

him

l)(ivs

of I>ot. Og was of the rinuiant of the giants that lived before the Flood (Dent. iii. 11). Hecast a lustful eye upon iSandi. and hoped to see Abraham killed in the war in order that he might take hir to wife. Far more explicit is the story of Abraham's life in Ills Chaldean home as told by the Palestinian rabbis of the .second century, and afler-

86

Breaks

Abraham handed and he gave him

How old art thou V"

Abraham asked. "Seventy years, "was the answer. "Thou fool," continued Abraham, "how canst thou adore a god so much younger than thou ? Thou wert born seventy years ago and this god was made yesterday." The buyer threw away his idol and received his money back. The other sons of Terah complained to their father that Abraham did not know how tosell the idols, and so Abraham was told to attend to the idols as priest. One day a woman brought a meal-offering for the Idols.

A

" and, as they would not eat, he exclaimed but speak not, eyes but .see not, ears but hear not, hands but handle not. May their makers be like them, and all who trust in them" (P.s. cxv. 5-8, LIiiiA. and he broke them to pieces and burned them. Abraham was brought befcjie Nimrod, who sjiid: " Knowest thou not that I am god and ruler of the world? Why hast thou destroyed my images?" Then Abraham sjud " If thou art god and ruler of the world, why dost thou not cau.se the sun to rise in the westandsetiu the east? If thouart god and ruler of the world, tell me all that I have now at heart, and what I shall do in the future." Nimrod was dumfounded. and Abraham continued: "Tlumart the son of C'ush, a mortal like him. Thou couldstnolsjivc thy father from death, nor wilt thou thyself escape it." According to Gen. R. xxxviii, Nimrod .said: "Worship the fire!" "Why not water that quenches the fire?" asked Abraham. "Very well, worship the water " " Why not the clouds which swallow the water? " " So be it worshij) the clouds " Then Abraham .said: "Rather let me adore the wind which blows the clouds about!" "So belt; )iray to the wind! " "But," said Abraham, "man can stand up against the wind or shield himself behind the walls of ins house." " Then adore me! "said Ninnod. Thereupon Nimrod ( Amraphel see Pesitc. R. § 3S, 'Er. T,'Aa) ordered Abraham to be cast into a furnace. He had a pile of wood five yards in circumference set on idols,



mouth have they



!



!



and Abraham was cast into it. But God Himself went down from heaven to rescue him. Wherefore the Lord appeared to him later, saying: "I am the Lord who brought thee out of the fire of the Chaldeans " ( (> ICdsdim, Gen. x v. 7). The legend betrays fire,

Persian influence (compare the Zoroaster legend in Windischmann, "Zoroastrische Studien," pp. 'i07Regarding the cave in which Abraham dwelt, 313). see

ib.

p.

113;

compare

also B. B. 10a.

The

dia-

logue with Nimrod, pointing from fire, water, the cloud, wind, and man to God, has its parallel in Hindu legend (see Benfey, " Pant.schatantm," i. 376). Abraham is thereupon commissioned by God to propagate His truth throughout the world, and he wins many souls for Him; while he wins the men, Sarah, his wife, converts the women. In this manner "they made souls in Haran " (Gen. xii. lleb.). He awakens the heathen from shnuber and brings them under the wings of Ood, He is the father of the proselytes (Gen. R. xliii; .Mek., Jlishpatim, § 18). Henceforth he was to become " like a stream of blessing to purify and regenerate the pagan world." Of the manner in which he converted As a Phi- the heathen it is related that he had lanthropist. a palatial mansion built near the oaktree of Mamre or at Beersheba on the crossing of the roads, wherein all kinds of victuals and wine were spread on the table for the passersby, who came through the doors kept open on all sides; and when they, after having partaken of the meal, were about to offer their thanks to him before .">,