Avraham's Aliyah/2

Avraham's Aliyah

Exegetical Approaches

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Left Ur Kasdim at 70

Hashem commanded Avraham to leave Ur Kasdim when he was 70.  He emigrated, stayed in Charan for five years, and then made the final move to Canaan.

Sources:Philo,  R. Saadia GaonTafsir Bereshit 11:31About R. Saadia Gaon, Ibn EzraBereshit 11:29Bereshit 12:1Bereshit 15:7Bereshit 24:4About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, RadakBereshit 11:31Bereshit 12:1Bereshit 24:4About R. David Kimchi,

" וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל אַבְרָם לֶךְ לְךָ" – Though all these sources agree that Hashem's command to Avraham was given while he was still in Ur Kasdim, and not, as the verses might suggest, in Charan, they differ in how they read the verse:

• According to Ibn Ezra the statement is simply but one example of many verses which are not found in their chronological place.
• R. Saadia agrees that the story is not told chronologically but asserts that Tanakh simply reversed the cause and effect.  He suggests that the verse is connected to the previous passage and should read as if written, "And Terach took... [because] Hashem said to Avraham, go".
• Radak, in contrast, maintains that the word "וַיֹּאמֶר" should be understood as "He had already said".

Why did Avraham's family leave Ur Kasdim? According to these sources, the family left due to Hashem's command to Avraham.   Avraham, rather than Terach, prompted the family's uprooting.

"‎‏וַיִּקַּח תֶּרַח אֶת אַבְרָם...‏" – R. Saadia and Radak suggest that despite it being Avraham's decision to leave, the verse nonetheless attributes the move to Terach since he was the patriarch of the family.¹

"לָלֶכֶת אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן" – These commentators disagree in how they explain why Avraham went towards Canaan if Hashem had not told him where he was headed.

• According to Ibn Ezra, even though it is not explicit in the text, Hashem did in fact tell Avraham upfront that he should travel to Canaan.² The family left with the intent of arriving there and Avraham only procrastinated in Charan since the land was pleasing to his father.  
• Radak disagrees, suggesting that though Avraham was unaware of the final destination, he headed towards Canaan since that was the first country outside the borders of Aram.³

Why is the story achronological? R. Saadia  asserts that since leaving Ur Kasdim is connected to the death of Terach in Charan, the Torah wanted to first discuss the matters relating to Terach before moving into the material relevant only to Avraham.

"מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ" – These sources understand the word "מולדת"  to mean birthplace, and see in this proof that Hashem must have spoken to Avraham in Ur Kasdim,⁴ for if Avraham had been in Charan, he would not be leaving his place of birth.  The phrase "מִבֵּית אָבִיךָ", though, is somewhat difficult in light of the fact that Avraham did not leave his  immediate family behind him.   Ibn Ezra explains that Hashem knew that Terach was to stay in Charan. Alternatively, one might suggest that the term refers literally to the house Avraham grew up in, or perhaps to the rest of the family that did not join.

Avraham's servant – "אֶל אַרְצִי וְאֶל מוֹלַדְתִּי תֵּלֵךְ" – This understanding must explain how when Avraham tells his servant to go "אֶל אַרְצִי וְאֶל מוֹלַדְתִּי", he  heads to the city of Nachor, or Charan, rather than Ur Kasdim.  Ibn Ezra suggests that only the word "מוֹלַדְתִּי" referred to Ur Kasdim, while the the word "אַרְצִי" referred to Charan,⁵ where Avraham had lived for some years.⁶

Ur Kasdim or ‎‏?עֵבֶר הַנָּהָר – Ramban questions this position from Yehoshua 24 which presents Avraham as coming from "עֵבֶר הַנָּהָר" which he assumes refers to the area of Aram Naharayim (Charan)⁷ rather than Ur Kasdim, which he places in Babylonia (home of the Chaldeans). 

• It is not clear, though, where exactly Ur Kasdim is.  Radak, in fact, appears to believe that both Charan and Ur Kasdim are cities in the same general region of Aram.⁸ If so, there is no contradiction in saying that Avraham came from both Ur Kasdim and ‎‏.עֵבֶר הַנָּהָר
• Moreover, it is not clear that עֵבֶר הַנָּהָר is limited to the area of Aram.  If the river spoken of is the Euphrates, it could perhaps refer to any region along the river, to the east or west, in the northern or southern sections.

"אֲנִי ה' אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִּים" – Ibn Ezra points to this verse in the Covenant of the Pieces as evidence that Hashem commanded Avraham to leave while still in Ur Kasdim.⁹

430 vs. 400 – This position is motivated to set Avraham's departure from Ur Kasdim at 70 specifically in order to solve the idscrepancy in the account of the length of the Egyptian exile in Bereshit 15:13 (400 years) and Shemot 12:40-41 (430 years).  These sources maintain that the 430 year period is dated from Avraham's personal exile, while the 400 years is dated from the birth of YItzchak.

Why date the move from the departure from Charan? This approach must explain why the Torah deems it important to tell the reader that Avraham left Charan at 75, if Charan had just been a transition point and the main departure took place at 70.

Left Charan at 75

Hashem first commanded Avraham to go to Israel after he was already living in Charan.  He headed towards the promised land at the age of 75.

Sources:Jubilees12About Jubilees, Judith5:5-11About Judith, R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 12:1About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, RambanBereshit 11:28-31Bereshit 12:1Bereshit 24:7About R. Moshe b. Nachman, AbarbanelBereshit 11:27Bereshit 11:27 QuestionsAbout R. Yitzchak Abarbanel, ShadalBereshit 11:28,31Bereshit 12:1About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto

Why did Avraham's family leave Ur Kasdim for Canaan? This position offers various possibilities:

• According to Ramban, due to Avraham's monotheistic beliefs, he was in danger of persecution in Ur Kasdim.¹⁰ Thus, Terach decided to take the family to Canaan, a long distance from the Chaldeans.¹¹
• Abarbanel asserts that Terach thought that the atmosphere of Ur Kasdim was detrimental to his family, leading him to bear only three children, his son to die early, and Avraham and Sarah to be barren.  He hoped that a change of place and the good air of the mountainous Canaan would be beneficial to his household.¹²
• Chizkuni  maintains that the family, being of Semitic origins, headed to Canaan since that land was given to them as an inheritance.¹³ 

"‎‏וַיִּקַּח תֶּרַח אֶת אַבְרָם...‏" – The verse attributes the move to Terach since he initiated it.

" וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל אַבְרָם לֶךְ לְךָ" – According to this position, this sentence is found in its chronological place and Hashem only commanded Avraham to emigrate once he had already moved to  Charan.

"מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ" – This position must explain how leaving Charan constituted leaving Avraham's "‏‎‎‏מולדת".‎‏‏¹⁴  These sources differ in their understanding of the word, and, thus, also in how they resolve the problem:

• Birthplace – According to both R"Y Bekhor Shor and Ramban "מולדת" is a place of birth.  R. Yosef Bekhor Shor asserts that, even though Avraham had already physically left his home, Hashem told him to also mentally sever ties and to have no intentions of returning there.  Ramban, in contrast, assumes that Charan, rather than Ur Kasdim, was Avraham's birthplace.¹⁵ At some point, Terach had uprooted his family to live in Ur Kasdim, but that was not their place of birth.
• Family – Shadal¹⁶ claims that the word means family, obviating the issue of Charan not being Avraham's place of birth.  As evidence of this usage, Shadal points to  Bereshit 43:7, Esther 2:10, and 8:6.

"מִבֵּית אָבִיךָ" – As Avraham was leaving his family behind in Charan, this term is easily understood.

Avraham's servant – "אֶל אַרְצִי וְאֶל מוֹלַדְתִּי תֵּלֵךְ"

• Ramban points to this story as proof that Avraham's birthplace was Charan since the servant, after being told to go "אֶל אַרְצִי וְאֶל מוֹלַדְתִּי" went to Charan. 
• The story could also support Shadal's suggestion that the word means family, especially since in the servant's retelling he says that Avraham told him "אֶל בֵּית אָבִי תֵּלֵךְ וְאֶל מִשְׁפַּחְתִּי".

Location of Ur Kasdim - Is Avraham from עֵבֶר הַנָּהָר? Ramban points to the verses in Yehoshua that claim that Avraham was from "עֵבֶר הַנָּהָר" as proof that he must have been born in Charan (Aram Naharayim, which was עֵבֶר הַנָּהָר) and not Ur Kasdim (Babylonia). Both Abarbanel and Shadal, though, assume that Ur Kasdim itself was not in Babylonia but in the region of Aram Naharayim as well.¹⁷

"אֲנִי ה' אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִּים" – This verse is difficult for this position as it suggests that Hashem spoke to Avraham when still in Ur Kasdim.  Shadal explains that it simply means that behind the scenes, Hashem pulled the strings leading to Avraham's departure.  Ramban, in contrast, explains that "הוֹצֵאתִיךָ" refers to saving and freeing Avraham from prison or the furnace of Ur Kasdim, not to taking him out of the country.¹⁸

Time spent in Charan – According to this approach, it is unclear how long Avraham spent in Charan.  R"Y Behor Shor assumes that he was there for five years,¹⁹ while Jubilees maintains that he spent a  full 14 years there.

Moved to Israel Multiple Times

Avraham moved to Israel for the Covenant of the Pieces,  returned to Charan, and then left again at the age of 75.

¹ Radak asserts that in the later phrase "וַיֵּצְאוּ אִתָּם", the word "אִתָּם" refers to Avraham and Sarah and so here the verse does attribute the leaving to Avraham and presents everyone as accompanying him.

² He explains that when Hashem said to Avraham to go to the land "that I will show you", He then explained further.  Alternatively, Hashem simply meant that all the land that He would show Avraham would belong to him, as in "כי את כל הארץ אשר אתה רואה לך אתננה".

³ He apparently assumes that both Ur Kasdim and Charan were in the same country and so Avraham had to leave both if he was to leave "his land".

⁴ Since Avraham is in Ur Kasdim before he starts his travels, this position assumes that he was born there as well.

⁵ Cf. Radak who suggests that the term refers to Aram Naharayim, the larger region.

⁶ Ramban questions why the verse would refer to a place that Avraham had lived for just a short while as "אַרְצִי".  One normally thinks of a place as their land only if they were born there or have lived there for a long while.

⁷ See, for instance Shemuel II 10:16 which identifies Aram as living in עבר הנהר.

⁸ In explaining Hashem's command to leave his land and birthplace, he writes,  ומן הארץ ההיא שהיא ארץ ארם, suggesting that he thought that Ur Kasdim was in Aram. Cf. Abarbanel below.

⁹ One might point to the similar verse in Nechemyah as well.

¹⁰ See also Jubilees, Judith and

¹¹ He had not originally thought to stop in Charan at all, thinking that it was too close to Ur Kasdim and the family would still be in danger there.  Since the family had family ties in Charan, though, they were delayed. [See below that Ramban assumes that Avraham was actually born in Charan and that his family originated from there rather than Ur Kasdim.]

¹² En route they passed Charan, found it to pleasing and decided to settle there.

¹³ Noach had blessed Shem that Canaan would serve him: "בָּרוּךְ ה' אֱלֹהֵי שֵׁם וִיהִי כְנַעַן עֶבֶד לָמוֹ".

¹⁴ Leaving his "land" is much less problematic since Charan could be called Avraham's land even if he had only resided there a short while, as that was his present location.  Nonetheless, both Abarbanel and Shadal explain that Ur Kasdim and Charan were both in the same region, so leaving Charan constituted leaving Avraham's home country as well.  Ramban, in contrast, assumes that Charan (rather than Ur Kasdim) was Avraham's original homeland, so leaving it  meant leaving his original country.

¹⁵ To support his claim, Ramban points out that the land of Ur Kasdim belonged to the descendants of Cham, not Shem, the line of avraham.  Moroever, Avraham is known as "אַבְרָם הָעִבְרִי" and in Yehoshua 24 we are told that he was from "עֵבֶר הַנָּהָר" which would support the idea that he came from Aram Narahayim, or Charan.  In addition, it is known that Nachor lives in Charan even though it is never mentioned that he travelled there with Terach and Avraham.  Ramban explains that he had remained behind in Charan when the rest of the family had moved temporarily to Ur Kasdim.  as such, only the youngest of the brothers, Haran, was born in Ur Kasdim.

¹⁶ In his comments to Bereshit 24, Ramban raises this as a second possible meaning as well.

¹⁷ Both suggest that it was named after the Chaldeans for some unknown reason.  Abarbanel raises the possibility that maybe it got its name after being conquered by the Chaldeans.  shadal asserts that had Ur Kasdim really been in Babylonia, Avraham would not have needed to travel via Charan to reach Canaan.   One might question, though, if crossing the desert instead was really a viable option.

¹⁸ See Abarbanel who explains similarly.

¹⁹ This allows him to resolve the discrepancy regarding the duration of the exile, by suggesting that the 430 years began with Avraham's departure from his homeland at 70, while the 400 years began with Yitzchak's birth.