Commentaire sur La Genèse 18:18

ואברהם היו יהיה SEEING THAT ABRAHAM SHALL SURELY BECOME — The Midrash applies to this the text Proverbs 10:7, “The mention of the righteous shall be for a blessing”: therefore, since He mentions him He blessed him (Genesis Rabbah 49:1). But its real meaning is: “Shall I conceal it from him, seeing that he is so beloved by Me as to become a great nation, and seeing that all nations of the earth shall bless themselves through him?”

AND ABRAHAM SHALL SURELY BECOME. A Midrash Agadah comments: The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing.¹¹⁵Proverbs 10:7. Since He mentioned Abraham, He blessed him. The simple meaning of the verse though is, “Shall I conceal it from him since he is so beloved by Me to become a mighty nation?” Thus the language of Rashi.
The correct interpretation is that G-d, blessed be He, spoke of the honor of Abraham, saying: “Behold, he is destined to become a great and mighty nation, and his memory will be a blessing among his seed and all nations of the earth. Therefore, I shall not conceal it from him for the future generations will say, “How could He hide it from him?’ or, ‘How could the righteous one¹¹⁶Abraham. be so callous about his close neighbors and have no mercy on them, not praying at all in their behalf, and that which was known to him, [i.e., that the cities will be destroyed], was good and pleasing!’ For I know that he recognizes and is cognizant that I the Eternal loveth righteousness and justice,¹¹⁷Psalms 33:5. that is to say, that I do justice only with righteousness, and therefore he will command his children and his household after him¹¹⁸Verse 19 here. to follow in his path. Now if it is possible in keeping with righteousness and justice to free the cities from destruction, he will pray before Me to let them go, and it will be well and good. And if they are completely guilty, he too will want their judgment. Therefore, it is proper that he enter in the council of G-d.”¹¹⁹Jeremiah 23:18.

ואברהם היה יהיה, seeing that he will become a standard bearer, flagpole for nations, his rebukes and instructions will carry a great deal of weight.

ואברהם היו יהיה לגוי גדול. "For Abraham is going to be a great nation." Therefore I have to inform him that contrary to what he had thought, righteous people can save both themselves and the towns in which they live. This is the meaning of the last words in our verse, ונברכו בו כל גויי הארץ. The word בו refers back to the words "a great nation."

ואברהם, seeing that he will become the founding father of most of mankind, how can I conceal from him My plans? Most of the nations of the earth will receive their blessings due to Avraham’s merits. How could I not share such information with him? כי ידעתיו, that he is in awe of Me and loves Me. I intend for his children to develop in the same way. This is why I will inform him “ למען אשר יצוה את בניו שישמרו דרך ה' לעשות צדקה ומשפט, so that Avraham will say to his children that if they practice and emulate G’d’s ways of performing charitable deeds and at the same time endeavour for justice to prevail, their lives will be successful seeing G’d will help them. They will then experience the fulfillment of all the promises (conditional) which I, G’d, have made to him concerning his offspring. If they fail to emulate that lifestyle these promises are liable not to be fulfilled.” If there are among his children some who argue that G’d does not concern Himself with the deeds of individuals, as opposed to the conduct of nations, remind them of what happened to the Sodomites so that they realise that G’d does indeed watch closely over the actions of even small communities. In the event such non-believers would argue that what happened to the Sodomites was an accident of nature, an earthquake, such as we all experience in different parts of the earth, Avraham could reply that G’d had advised him of that event in advance so that it could not be explained away as a natural event. G’d added;

ואברהם היו יהיה, “seeing that Avraham will surely become, etc., etc.” According to Rashi as soon as G’d made mention of Avraham, He immediately also blessed him. Nachmanides claims that the true meaning of this phrase is that G’d spoke deferentially about Avraham, saying that in view of the fact that this man would become the founder of such an important nation and kingdoms, and his memory as a dispenser of blessing would never fade from mankind’s consciousness, it was no more than courtesy to inform him of His plans and to record his intercession on behalf of the people of Sodom, so that future generations could not accuse him [as they might have accused Noach who had also been informed of the impending destruction of mankind, without, however raising his voice in prayer. Ed.] of mutely, and cruelly making peace with G’d’s plan without at least inquiring into the circumstances more deeply. Having been on record as praying on behalf of people who had already been condemned, his way of life of combining charity with righteousness, justice, would prove to be an acceptable role model for his descendants, and in fact, for much of mankind as a whole. It was also important to convey to future generations that even an Avraham, with his almost boundless love of mankind, agreed with G’d that there are people who are beyond the pale of redemption.

ואברהם היה יהיה....כי ידעתיו, “seeing that Avraham is destined to become....for I have become intimate with him, etc.;” the word: ידע describes special fondness someone has. A well known example is Ruth 3,2 where Naomi tells her daughterinlaw Ruth that Boaz was a close relative of hers, מודע לאיש, and that it was fortuitous that she had collected leftovers in hjs field. G-d explains that seeing that Avraham will become the founding father of a great nation, and many branch families, it was no more than fair that He should take him into His confidence. This included first and foremost how G-d was planning to deal with the city of Sodom and its inhabitants.

One may ask: "of what use is this promise to the nation that will follow Abraham?" G'd answers: "For I am aware that he will instruct his descendants, etc." G'd knew that Abraham would endeavour to teach his children to be good and to do good and to inform them about the ways of the Lord.

למען הביא ה׳ על אברהם, in order that G'd would be able to fulfil for Abraham, etc. G'd announced here that the essential part of His fondness was not for Abraham's descendants but His fondness of Abraham personally. G'd's planning focused on how to ensure that He could fulfil all the promises He had made to Abraham concerning his descendants. Unless Abraham's descendants observed the paths of G'd this could not be guaranteed.