Lech-Lecha


Lech-Lecha, Lekh-Lekha, or Lech-L'cha is the third weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes The parashah tells the stories of God's calling of Abram, 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 and Hagar's son Ishmael, and the covenant of circumcision.
The parashah is made up of 6,336 Hebrew letters, 1,686 Hebrew words, 126 verses, and 208 lines in a Torah Scroll. Jews read it on the third Sabbath after Simchat Torah, in October or November.

Readings

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or, aliyot. In the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh, Parashah Lech-Lecha has three "open portion" divisions. Parashah Lech-Lecha has several further subdivisions, called "closed portion" divisions 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.

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 him, make his name great, bless those who blessed him, and curse 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, and traveled to the terebinth of Moreh, at Shechem in Canaan. God appeared to Abram to tell him that God would assign the land to his heirs, and Abram built an altar to God. Abram then moved to the hill country east of Bethel 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 struck the land, so Abram went down to Egypt, 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'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, oxen, donkeys, slaves, and camels, 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.

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 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 in Hebron, and built an altar there to God. The third reading and the second open portion end here with the end of chapter

Fourth reading — Genesis 14:1–20

In the fourth reading, in chapter the Mesopotamian Kings Amraphel of Shinar, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim made war on the Canaanite kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar, who joined forces at the Battle of Siddim, now the Dead Sea. 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, the Zuzim, the Emim, the Horites, the Amalekites, and the Amorites. 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 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. Abram and his servants defeated them at night, chased them north of Damascus, 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 of Salem, a priest of God Most High, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram and God Most High, and he gave him a tenth of everything. The fourth reading ends here.

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
As the reading continues in chapter some time 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 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 land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. A closed portion ends here with the end of chapter
As the reading continues in chapter having borne no children after 10 years in Canaan, Sarai bade Abram to consort with her Egyptian maidservant Hagar, 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 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. Ishmael 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
As the reading continues in chapter when Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to Abram as El Shaddai 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 was to be circumcised 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, 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 reading that concludes the parashah reports that when Abraham circumcised himself and his household, Abraham was 99 and Ishmael was 13. The seventh reading, the third open portion, chapter and the parashah end here.

Readings according to the triennial cycle

Jews who read the Torah according to the triennial cycle of Torah reading read the parashah according to the following schedule:
Year 1Year 2Year 3
2016–2017, 2019–2020 ...2017–2018, 2020–2021 ...2018–2019, 2021–2022 ...
Reading
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Maftir

In inner-biblical interpretation

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

Genesis chapter 12

reports that Abram's father Terah lived beyond the River Euphrates and served other gods.
While reports that Terah took Abram, Lot, and Sarai from Ur of the Chaldees to Haran, and subsequently reports God's call to Abram to leave his country and his father's house, reports that God chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees.
God's blessing to Abraham in that "all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you," is paralleled by God's blessing to Abraham in that "All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants," and God's blessing to Jacob in that "All the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants," and fulfilled by Balaam's request in to share Israel's fate.

Genesis chapter 15

In God promised that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. Similarly, in God promised that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore. In God reminded Isaac that God had promised Abraham that God would make his heirs as numerous as the stars. In Jacob reminded God that God had promised that Jacob’s descendants would be as numerous as the sands. In Moses reminded God that God had promised to make the Patriarch’s descendants as numerous as the stars. In Moses reported that God had multiplied the Israelites until they were then as numerous as the stars. In Moses reported that God had made the Israelites as numerous as the stars. And foretold that the Israelites would be reduced in number after having been as numerous as the stars.
While required a new mother to bring a burnt-offering and a sin-offering, and characterize childlessness as a misfortune; and Psalm make clear that having children is a blessing from God; and and threaten childlessness as a punishment.

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 reported that Abraham endured ten trials and was found faithful and patient in spirit. Jubilees listed eight of the trials: leaving his country, the famine, the wealth of kings, his wife taken from him, circumcision, Hagar and Ishmael driven away, the binding of Isaac, and buying the land to bury Sarah.
Acts reported that God appeared to Abram while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and told him to leave his country and his people, and then he left the land of the Chaldeans to settle in Haran. And then after Terah's death, God sent Abraham to Canaan.
Philo interpreted Abram's migration allegorically as the story of a soul devoted to virtue and searching for God.
The Apocalypse of Abraham 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 rabbinic sources from the era of the Mishnah and the Talmud:

Genesis chapter 12

The Mishnah taught that Abraham suffered ten trials and withstood them all, demonstrating how great Abraham's love was for God. The Avot of Rabbi Natan taught that two trials were at the time he was bidden 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, and one was the covenant of circumcision. Similarly, the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer counted as the ten trials: when Abram was a child and all the magnates of the kingdom and the magicians sought to kill him, when he was put into prison for ten years and cast into the furnace of fire, his migration from his father's house and from the land of his birth, the famine, when Sarah his wife was taken to be Pharaoh's wife, when the kings came against him to slay him, when "the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision," when Abram was 99 years old and God asked him to circumcise himself, when Sarah asked Abraham to "Cast out this bondwoman and her son," and 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 held in abomination the graven images, and he trusted in God, saying : "Blessed is the man who trusts in You." In the second trial, Abram was put in prison for ten years — three years in Kuthi, 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 of fire, as says, "And He said to him, 'I am the Lord who brought you out of the furnace of the Chaldees." Similarly, 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 died, and Athrai his mother. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that migration is harder for a human than for any other creature. And tells of his migration when it says, "Now the Lord said to Abram, 'Get out.'"
Rabbi Hiyya said that Abram's father Terah manufactured idols, 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 made sport of 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, king of Shinar. 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 the 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. Haran replied that he shared Abram's faith. Thereupon Nimrod cast Haran into the fire, and he died in his father's presence, as reports, "And Haran died in the presence of his father Terah."
Rabbi Aha said in the name of Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman in Rabbi Nathan's name that Abraham knew even the laws of the courtyard eruv. Rabbi Phinehas said in the name of Rabbi Samuel that Abraham knew even the new name that God will one day give to Jerusalem, as says, "At that time they shall call Jerusalem 'The Throne of God.'" Rabbi Berekiah, 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 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 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 "The Lord said to Abraham: 'Get out of your country.'"
A Midrash taught that when God spoke to Abram in it was the first time that God had spoken to a person since Noah. Thus, the Midrash said that Ecclesiastes "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 reported that some deduced from that change of place can cancel a man'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 to get out of his country along with Song of Songs "Your ointments have a goodly fragrance," Rabbi Berekiah taught that before God called on Abram, Abram resembled a vial of myrrh closed with a tight-fitting lid and lying in a corner, so that its fragrance was not disseminated. As soon as the vial was taken up, however, its fragrance was disseminated. Similarly, God commanded Abraham to travel from place to place, so that his name would become great in the world.
Rabbi Eliezer taught that the five Hebrew letters of the Torah that alone among Hebrew letters have two separate shapes — — all relate to the mystery of the redemption. With the letter kaph, God redeemed Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees, as in God says, "Get you out of your country, and from your kindred ... to the land that I will show you." With the letter mem, Isaac was redeemed from the land of the Philistines, as in the Philistine king Abimelech told Isaac, "Go from us: for you are much mightier than we." With the letter nun, Jacob was redeemed from the hand of Esau, as in Jacob prayed, "Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau." With the letter pe, God redeemed Israel from Egypt, as in God told Moses, "I have surely visited you, and 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, 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 says, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch ; and he shall grow up 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 the Redemption to Joseph, and Joseph delivered the secret of the Redemption to his brothers, as in Joseph told his brothers, "God will surely visit you." Jacob's son Asher delivered the mystery of the Redemption to his daughter Serah. When Moses and Aaron 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 you". Serah told the elders that Moses was the one who would redeem Israel from Egypt, for she heard, "I have surely visited you." The people immediately believed in God and Moses, as says, "And the people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel."
Rabbi Berekiah noted that in 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 it pleased him to bless.
Rabbi Nehemiah said that the power of blessing granted to Abraham in was what Abraham gave to Isaac in But Rabbi Judah and the Rabbis disagreed.
Rav Nahman bar Isaac deduced from God's promise to Abraham in "And I will bless them that bless you," that since the priests bless Abraham's descendants with the Priestly Blessing of God therefore blesses the priests.
Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words, "And in you shall the families of the earth be blessed " in to teach that God told Abram that God had two good shoots to graft onto Abram's family tree: Ruth the Moabitess and Naamah the Ammonitess. And Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words, "All the families of the earth," in to teach that even the other families who live on the earth are blessed only for Israel's sake.
Rav Judah deduced from that to refuse to say grace when given a cup to bless is one of three things that shorten a man's life. And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi deduced from that every kohen who pronounces the benediction is himself blessed.
Resh Lakish deduced from that the Torah regards the man who teaches Torah to his neighbor's son as though he had fashioned him.
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 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 did not simply say, "whom they had converted," and instead says, "whom they had made." The Midrash answered that thus teaches that one who brings a nonbeliever near to God is like one who created a life. Noting that 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.
Rabbi Haggai said in Rabbi Isaac's name that all of the Matriarchs were prophets.
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. And the Gemara taught that the 2,000 years of the Torah began when, as 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 with the terebinths of Moreh to which Moses directed the Israelites to journey in to hear the blessings and curses at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, 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 that Israel's troops survived at the Battle of Ai in the days of Joshua."
The Rabbis deduced from that when there is a famine in town, one should emigrate.
Rabbi Phinehas commented in Rabbi Hoshaya's name that God told Abraham to go forth and tread out a path for his children, for everything written in connection with Abraham is written in connection with his children:
VerseAbrahamVerseThe Israelites
"And there was a famine in the land.""For these two years has the famine been in the land."
"And Abram went down into Egypt.""And our fathers went down into Egypt."
"To sojourn there""To sojourn in the land are we come."
"For the famine was sore in the land.""And the famine was sore in the land."
"And it came to pass, when he came near to enter into Egypt ...""And when Pharaoh drew near ..."
"And they will kill me, but you they will keep alive.""Every son that is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive."
"Say, I pray you, that you are my sister, that it may be well with me.""And God dealt well with the midwives."
"And it came to pass, that, when Abram had come into Egypt ...""Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came in Egypt ..."
"And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him, and they sent him away.""And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, to send them out."
"And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.""And He brought them forth with silver and gold."
"And he went on his journeys.""These are the journeys of the children of Israel."

Similarly, Rabbi Joshua of Sikhnin taught that God gave Abraham a sign: Everything that happened to him would also happen to his children:
VerseAbrahamVerseThe Israelites
"You are the Lord the God, who did choose Abram, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham.""For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be His own treasure out of all peoples on the face of the earth."
"Go for yourself""I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, unto a land flowing with milk and honey."
"And I will bless you, and make your name great; and you will be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless you.""The Lord bless you, and keep you."
"And I will make of you a great nation.""And what great nation is there ... ?"
"Abraham was one."1 Chronicles "Who is like Your nation, Israel?"
"And there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was severe in the land.""The famine was severe in the land."
"Abram went down into Egypt.""Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy grain from Egypt."
The Egyptians harassed Abraham: "The Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair."The Egyptians harassed the Israelites: "Come, let us deal wisely with them ..."
The kings joined forces against Abraham.The kings will join forces against Israel: "The kings of the earth stand up, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed."
God fought against Abraham's foes: "Who has raised up one from the east, at whose steps victory attends?"God will fight against Israel's foes: "Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle."

Rav deduced from 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 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 in Rabbi Isaac's name taught that Eve's image was transmitted to the reigning beauties of each generation. says of David's comforter Abishag, "And the damsel was very fair" —, yafah ad me'od — which the Midrash interpreted to mean that she attained to Eve's beauty. And 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 Rabbi Johanan 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 dinars for the right to enter the palace with Sarai, whereupon another bid two hundred dinars.
Rabbi Helbo deduced from 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 to show that incest had led to leprosy.

Genesis chapter 13

A Baraita deduced from the words, "like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt," in 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 says of Pharaoh, "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 buried their dead there, as reported in 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 in Egypt" in to mean that Hebron was seven times as fertile as Zoan. The Baraita rejected the plain meaning of "built," reasoning that Ham would not build a house for his younger son Canaan before he built one for his elder son Mizraim "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 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 that the men of Sodom would have no place in the world to come.

Genesis chapter 14

Rabbi Levi, or some say Rabbi Jonathan, said that a tradition handed down from the Men of the Great Assembly taught that wherever the Bible employs the term "and it was" or "and it came to pass", as it does in 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 are followed by the words, "they made war with Bera, Birsta, Nianhazel, and Melchizedek the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Zoar, and Salem" in And the Gemara also cited the instances of followed by followed by followed by the rest of followed by 1 Samuel followed by followed by close after followed by followed by the rest of and followed by Haman. But the Gemara also cited as counterexamples the words, "And there was evening and there was morning one day," in as well as and So Rav Ashi 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 and
Rav and Samuel equated the Amraphel of with the Nimrod whom 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 calls him Amraphel because he ordered Abram to be cast into a burning furnace and "he cast" ). But the other held that his name was actually Amraphel, and calls him Nimrod because he led the world in rebellion against God.
Rabbi Berekiah and Rabbi Helbo taught in the name of Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman that the Valley of Siddim was called the Valley of Shaveh 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, "fear him not; for I have delivered him into your hand," implying that Moses should slay Og with his own hand.
Rabbi Abbahu said in Rabbi Eleazar's name that "his trained men" in 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 Abram asked God "how shall I know that I shall inherit it?" And Rabbi Johanan said that Abram was punished because he prevented people from entering beneath the wings of the Shekhinah and being saved, when in 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 to mean that Abram equipped them by teaching them the Torah. Samuel read the word vayarek to mean "bright," and thus interpreted the words "And he armed his trained servants" in to mean that Abram made them bright with gold, that is, rewarded them for accompanying him.
Reading the report in that Abram led 318 men, Rabbi Ammi bar Abba said that Abram's servant Eliezer outweighed them all. The Gemara reported that others said that Eliezer alone accompanied Abram to rescue Lot, as the Hebrew letters in Eliezer's name have a numerical value of 318.
Midrash identified the Melchizedek of with Noah's son Shem. The Rabbis taught that Melchizedek acted as a priest and handed down Adam's robes to Abraham. Rabbi Zechariah said on Rabbi Ishmael's authority that God intended to continue the priesthood from Shem's descendants, as says, "And he 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 reports, "And he blessed him, 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 says, "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool," which is followed in by, "The Lord has sworn, and will not repent, 'You are a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek,'" meaning, "because of the word of Melchizedek." Hence says, "And he 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. 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 said in the latter's name that Tamar descended from Melchizedek.
Rabbi Hana bar Bizna citing Rabbi Simeon Hasida identified Melchizedek as one of the four craftsmen of whom Zechariah wrote in The Gemara taught that David wrote the Book of Psalms, including in it the work of the elders, including Melchizedek in

Genesis chapter 15

According to the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, 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. tells of the revelation when it says, “And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre.” And 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 says, “Your exceeding great reward.”
The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer identified Abraham's servant Eliezer introduced in with the unnamed steward of Abraham's household in The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that when Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees, 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 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 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 taught that Sarah was one of seven barren women about whom says, "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, Leah, Manoah's wife, Hannah, and Zion. The Pesikta de-Rav Kahana taught that the words of "He ... makes the barren woman to dwell in her house," apply, to begin with, to Sarah, for reports that "Sarai was barren." And the words of "a joyful mother of children," apply to Sarah, as well, for also reports that "Sarah gave children suck."
The Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael taught that Abraham inherited both this world and the World to Come as a reward for his faith, as says, "And he believed in the Lord."
Resh Lakish taught that Providence punishes bodily those who unjustifiably suspect the innocent. In 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 reports that "the people believed" and reports that the Israelites' ancestor Abram "believed in the Lord," while reports that Moses "did not believe." Thus, Moses was smitten when in 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 "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 and the generation of the Dispersion. God told Abraham that God would not. Abraham then asked God, "Let me know how I shall inherit it." God answered by instructing Abraham, "Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old". 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.
Reading “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....”
Reading “And He said to him: ‘Take me a heifer of three years old, a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old,’” 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: the bullock that would require the Israelites to sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, the bullock that would require the Israelites to bring on account of unwitting transgression of the law, and the heifer whose neck would require the Israelites to break. The three kinds of goats were: the goats that would require the Israelites to sacrifice on festivals, the goats that would require the Israelites to sacrifice on the New Moon, and the goat that would require an individual to bring. The three kinds of rams were: the guilt-offering of certain obligation that for example, would require one who committed a trespass to bring, the guilt-offering of doubt to which one would be liable when in doubt whether one had committed a transgression, and the lamb to be brought by an individual. Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai said that God showed Abraham all the atoning sacrifices except for the tenth of an ephah of fine meal in The Rabbis said that God showed Abraham the tenth of an ephah as well, for says “all these,” just as says, “And you shall bring the meal-offering that is made of these things,” and the use of “these” in both verses hints that both verses refer to the same thing. And reading “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 would not be divided.
A Midrash noted the difference in wording between which says of the Israelites in Goshen that "they got possessions therein," and 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 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 so as to bring about God's declaration to Abraham in that the Egyptians would afflict the Israelites for 400 years. But the Midrash read 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 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 and 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 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.

Genesis chapter 16

Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai deduced from the words, "and she had a handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar," in 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", imagining Pharaoh to say, "Here is your reward."
A Midrash deduced from Sarai's words in "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, while Rabbi Simeon did not meet an angel even once.
A Midrash found in 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 saying, "Behold, your maid is in your hand." And then the angel called Hagar Sarai's servant the second time in saying, "Hagar, Sarai's handmaid." Thus, thereafter in Hagar acknowledged that she was Sarai's servant, saying, "I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai." Similarly, Rava asked Rabbah bar Mari where Scripture supports the saying of the Rabbis that if your neighbor calls you a donkey, you should put a saddle on your back. Rabbah bar Mari replied that the saying found support in 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."
Noting that the words "and an angel of the Lord said to her" occur three times in 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 reports that Manoah and his wife, the parents of Samson, saw an angel, Manoah exclaimed to his wife in fear, "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 "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, while Rabbi Simeon did not meet an angel even once.
A Midrash counted 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, Solomon, and Josiah.
The Gemara taught that if one sees Ishmael in a dream, then God hears that person's prayer.

Genesis chapter 17

Resh Lakish taught that the words "I am God Almighty " in mean, "I am He Who said to the world: 'Enough!.'" Resh Lakish taught that when God created the sea, it went on expanding, until God rebuked it and caused it to dry up, as 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 with the words, "Noah walked with God," in 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, 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, 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. Resh Lakish said: It was as if a prince walked along while the elders preceded him. 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. Similarly, a Midrash read the words "Noah walked with God" in 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 "walk before Me," and regarding the Patriarchs, Jacob said in "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.
Rabbi taught that notwithstanding all the precepts that Abram fulfilled, God did not call him "perfect" until he circumcised himself, for in God told Abram, "Walk before me and be perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and you," and in 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 "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 "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 says, "Walk before me and be perfect," and shortly thereafter reports Abram's reward for doing so: "And you shall be a father of many nations."
Rabbi Ammi bar Abba employed gematria to interpret the meaning of Abram's name change in 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 is one of 36 transgressions that cause the transgressor to be cut off from his people.
The Gemara read the command of to require an uncircumcised adult man to become circumcised, and the Gemara read the command of to require the father to circumcise his infant child.
Rav Zeira counted five kinds of orlah in the world: uncircumcised ears, uncircumcised lips, uncircumcised hearts, uncircumcised flesh, and uncircumcised trees. 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 says, "And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh," and 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 demonstrates one of God's attributes that humans should emulate. Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina asked what means in the text, "You shall walk after the Lord your God." How can a human being walk after God, when says, "he 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 says, "And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them" — so should we also clothe the naked. God visited the sick — for says, "And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre" — so should we also visit the sick. God comforted mourners — for 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 says, "And He buried him in the valley" — so should we also bury the dead. Similarly, the Sifre on taught that to walk in God's ways means to be "merciful and gracious."

In medieval Jewish interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these medieval Jewish sources:

Genesis chapters 11–22

In their commentaries to , Rashi and Maimonides differed on what 10 trials Abraham faced:
RashiMaimonides
1Abraham hid underground for 13 years from King Nimrod, who wanted to kill him.
2Nimrod threw Abraham into a fiery furnace.
3God commanded Abraham to leave his family and homeland.1Abraham's exile from his family and homeland
4As soon as he arrived in the Promised Land, Abraham was forced to leave to escape a famine.2The famine in the Promised Land after God assured Abraham that he would become a great nation there
5Pharaoh's officials kidnapped Sarah.3The corruption in Egypt that resulted in the kidnapping of Sarah
6Kings captured Lot, and Abraham had to rescue him.4The war with the four kings
7God told Abraham that his descendants would suffer under four regimes.
5Abraham's marriage to Hagar after having despaired that Sarah would ever give birth
8God commanded Abraham to circumcise himself and his son when Abraham was 99 years old.6The commandment of circumcision
7Abimelech's abduction of Sarah
9Abraham was commanded to drive away Ishmael and Hagar.8Driving away Hagar after she had given birth
9The very distasteful command to drive away Ishmael
10God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.10The binding of Isaac on the altar

Genesis chapter 13

In his letter to Obadiah the Proselyte, Maimonides relied on 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 "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 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 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 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 "One shall say, I am the Lord's, and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob."

Genesis chapter 15

According to the Zohar, Rabbi Abba was once going toward Lod when he met Rabbi Zeira, the son of Rav. Quoting "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 says, "and he reckoned her" " and not "and he reckoned to him," Rabbi Abba taught that this means that Abraham counted it to God. For 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 Abraham would beget children. says, "So 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 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 "and a great, dark dread fell over him," 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.

In modern interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these modern sources:

Genesis chapters 12–36

Professors Yehuda T. Radday, formerly of Technion — Israel Institute of Technology, and Haim Shore, of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 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 contains less than half the Divine speech but nearly seven times the human speech as the Primeval history in
The 20th century Reform Rabbi Gunther Plaut noted that the two pieces of Genesis, the primordial history in and the story of Abraham and Sarah and their descendants in are quite distinct from each other, held together only by a brief genealogical bridge in makes no mention of not even an allusion, suggesting that the two pieces were originally quite separate and only later joined into one book.
Professor John Van Seters of the University of North Carolina argued that the Abraham cycle was a post-exilic invention of the 5th century c.e. or later.
The mid-20th-century Italian-Israeli scholar Umberto Cassuto, formerly of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, identified the following chiastic structure in Abraham's 10 trials in
Professor James Kugel of Bar Ilan University wrote that over the last 100 years, scholarship has performed something of a zigzag about the historicity of Abraham. In the late 19th century, scholars were often skeptical of the Biblical account and believed that someone 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 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, and Serug mentioned in Genesis; the movement of people throughout the area in the late 18th century BCE; and documentation of adoptions 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 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 and Israel's desert wanderings, but do not mention Abraham until the 6th century or later. Professor Seters] of the University of North Carolina argued that the Bible says that Abraham migrated from Babylon to Canaan to reflect the Jews' own "migration" from Babylon after having been exiled 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.

Genesis chapter 12

Israeli scholar Moshe Weinfeld noted that after the string of curses in human history reached a turning point with Abraham in as God emphatically promised blessings instead of curses.
Reading Professor Ephraim Speiser of the University of Pennsylvania in the mid 20th century argued that it is significant that God promised to make of Abraham a great “nation”, not “people”, for a “nation” requires a territorial base, since the concept is a political one, while a “people” does not.
The 17th-century Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza noted the similarity between God's blessing of Abraham in and Balak's description of Balaam in "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 "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 Abraham ibn Ezra alluded to the difficulty by noting that if, as 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.
Reading the three instances of the wife-sister motif in and 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 that the Jahwist was responsible for incidents and, while the Elohist was responsible for incident. 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

The early 20th century German scholar Hermann Gunkel noted that verses like representing that in those days the Canaanites dwelt in the land must have been written at a time when Canaanites had long since passed away, and cited this as evidence of a great interval of time between the period of the patriarchs and that of the narrators of Genesis.

Genesis chapter 14

Gunkel identified 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”, as in 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 during the 19th to 14th centuries B.C.E. who may originally have come from Arabia, became prominent in Mesopotamia, and later spread to Egypt. The Habiru followed distinct occupations, particularly mercenaries and administrators. Although at first they were nomads 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 group as to a social or political group. Plaut reported that the words Habiru and “Hebrew” appear to share a common linguistic root. Plaut concluded that Israelites in Egypt likely occupied positions similar to, 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 calls Abram Ivri vis-a-vis an outsider, and Jonah says, "I am an Ivri,” when asked his identity by non-Israelite sailors in but otherwise Israelites referred to themselves by their tribes or by their common ancestor, Israel.
Spinoza noted that reports that Abraham "pursued as far as Dan," using a name that 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 to relate that Melchizedek was king of Jerusalem and priest of the Most High God, that in the exercise of his priestly functions he blessed Abraham, and that Abraham gave to this priest of God a tithe 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 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.

Genesis chapter 15

In God promised that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. In God promised that Abraham’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore. The astronomer Carl Sagan 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 that the time of Israel’s servitude would be 400 years to conflict with the report of 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.
The 18th-century German Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn read the report of that "Abraham trusted in the Eternal" along with the report of 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 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.

Genesis chapter 16

Reading the angel's blessing of Hagar in Professor Lewis B. Smedes, formerly of the Fuller Theological Seminary, taught that just because God chose Abraham and Sarah did not mean that they were the only ones whom God chose.

Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there is one positive commandment in the parashah:
The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch cites the words of "Fear not, Abram", 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 "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 to support the proposition that a convert may be included in a group of three or more for the purposes of the blessing after meals 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 as they study of Pirkei Avot on a Sabbath between Passover and Rosh Hashanah.
Jews refer to God's selection of Abraham in God's covenant with Abraham to give his descendants the Land in and and God's changing of Abram's name to Abraham in as they recite as part of the Pesukei D'Zimrah prayers during the daily morning prayer service.
The Passover Haggadah, in the concluding nirtzah section of the Seder, in a reference to 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 is used in to refer to God, and is in turn recited after the Lekhah Dodi liturgical poem of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer service.
The Amidah draws on God's words in "Fear not, Abram, I am a shield to you," to refer to God as "Shield of Abraham."
In the hymn Adon Olam, use of the title "Adon" recalls the merit of Abraham, who first addressed God with the title in
The Haggadah, in the magid section of the Seder, quotes 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 ," and many commentators think that this statement refers to God's foretelling in 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 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 service, Jews traditionally read rabbinic sources on the observance of the Sabbath, including , in turn, makes clear the precedence of the law of circumcision in over even the observance of the Sabbath.

The Weekly Maqam

In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardi Jews each week 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, as in this parashah, Abraham and his sons undergo circumcisions, a ritual that signifies a covenant between man and God.

Haftarah

The haftarah for the parashah is:
Some commentators, including Rashi, interpret the verses in as referring to the Battle of Siddim 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."

Ancient

Medieval

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