Avraham/0/en
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
This topic has not yet undergone editorial review
Avraham – Overview
Unique Traits
Belief in Hashem
- Was Avraham's monotheism unique? This question depends on how one understands the phrase "וּמַלְכִּי צֶדֶק מֶלֶךְ שָׁלֵם...וְהוּא כֹהֵן לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן":
- Not Unique – Malkitzedek, and perhaps his followers, were monotheistic.
- Shem - The Midrash and many sources in its wake identify Malkitzedek with Shem, whose monotheism predated that of Avraham.
- Radak, instead, allows for the possibility that Malkitzedek was an outsider, unrelated to Avraham in any way, who served only one God. Moreover, given that he was a king, it is possible that the entire city of Shalem was similarly monotheistic.
- Unique – Shadal, Netziv, and Hoil Moshe, in contrast maintain that being a "כֹהֵן לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן" simply meansserving the highest god in a pantheon of many gods, or that "Elyon" was the name of a Canaanite god.1
- Did Avraham convert others? Sefer Bereshit never explicitly presents Avraham as actively converting others to monotheism, yet commentators point to several verses which might bear on this question:
- "הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ בְחָרָן" – Sifre Devarim, Bavli Sanhedrin, and R. Elazar in Bereshit Rabbah all suggest that this verse speaks of converting those in Charan. Most of the non-midrashic sources, in contrast assume it refers to Avraham's slaves and maidservants.
- וַיִּבֶן שָׁם מִזְבֵּחַ לַי"י וַיִּקְרָא בְּשֵׁם י"י – While Onkelos, Rashi, and R"Y Bekhor Shor2 assume that this refers to personal prayer, Bereshit Rabbah and Ramban maintain that it refers to Avraham calling to others to worship Hashem. According to Ramban, it is possible that the altar was not meant for sacrifices but instead served as a monument to announce Hashem's unity.
- וַיִּטַּע אֶשֶׁל... וַיִּקְרָא שָׁם בְּשֵׁם י"י – According to Resh Lakish in Sotah, Targum Pseudo Jonathon and R. Saadia, the planting of the Eshel was meant to encourage people to gather around Avraham, so he could teach them about Hashem. R"Y Bekhor Shor and Radak, in contrast, suggest that it related to the covenant with the Philistines.
- How did Avraham arrive at belief in Hashem?
- Akeidat Yitzchak
