Midras Kejadian 17:8: Bamidbar Rabbah, Vayikra Rabbah & Bereshit Rabbah

Another matter: “Ish ish” – that is what is written: “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your residence…” (Genesis 17:8).
“I will give to you” (Genesis 17:8) – that is what is written: “As the Lord your God walks [in the midst of your camp]” (Deuteronomy 23:15). That is what is written: “Now, children, listen to me.… Distance your way from her.… lest you give [your glory] to others.… lest strangers be sated with your strength” (Proverbs 5:7–10). What is, “Now, children, listen to me”? It is speaking of the ten tribes and the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, as all Israel are called children, as it is stated: “You are children to the Lord your God…” (Deuteronomy 14:1). “Listen to me” – he cautioned them to fulfill the obligation to heed. “Do not depart from the sayings of my mouth.” (Proverbs 5:7) – he cautioned them to fulfill the performance [of mitzvot] as they accepted upon themselves at Sinai. “Everything the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7) – it was for the transgression of both of them that they were exiled, as it is stated: “The king of Assyria exiled Israel.… because they did not heed the voice of the Lord…and they did not heed and did not perform” (II Kings 18:11–12).
“Distance your way from her” (Proverbs 5:8) – he cautioned them to distance harlotry from them. “And do not approach the entrance of her house” (Proverbs 5:8) – he cautioned them regarding forbidden relations, in whose regard it is stated: “Any man of you shall not approach his kin to uncover nakedness” (Leviticus 18:6). “Lest you give your glory [hodekha] to others” (Proverbs 5:9) – they will lose their kingdom, and it will be exalted for the nations. Hodekha is nothing other than kingdom, just as it says: “Upon whom the glory [hod] of kingdom was not placed” (Daniel 11:21). “And your years to the cruel” (Proverbs 5:9) – they gave their years to a cruel angel, as their days and years drew near to being eliminated, just as it says: “You brought your days near and came to the end of your years…” (Ezekiel 22:4). “Lest strangers be sated with your strength” (Proverbs 5:10) – they were exiled from their land, and foreigners settled in their place and consumed their strength and exertion. “Your strength” is nothing other than the strength of their land, as it is stated: “When you work the ground [it will no longer give its strength to you]” (Genesis 4:12). Likewise you find that when the king of Assyria exiled the ten tribes, he settled foreigners in their land, as it is stated: “The king of Assyria brought from Babylon, from Kuta, from Ava, and from Ḥamat, [and Sefarvayim, and he settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the children of Israel” (II Kings 17:24). That is, “lest strangers be sated with your strength.” “And your toils [vaatzavekha] be in the house of a stranger” (Proverbs 5:10) – toils [atziva] are nothing other than children, just as it says: “In pain [be’etzev] you shall bear children” (Genesis 3:16).
Another matter: “Vaatzavekha” (Genesis 3:16) – this is toil of the land, saying that they will eat with toil everything that they eat in the foreign land, just as it says: “With toil [be’itzavon] you shall eat of it…” (Genesis 3:17). And likewise it says: “The king of Assyria exiled Israel to Assyria…” (II Kings 18:11).
All this befell the ten tribes because they were steeped in harlotry with married woman. It was over that that their sentence was sealed, as it is stated in their regard: “Who lie on beds of ivory, and sprawl [usruḥim] on their couches…” (Amos 6:4); they would sully their beds with semen that was not theirs, as they would swap their wives with one another. What is written thereafter? “Therefore, now they will be exiled at the head of the exiles, and the revelry of the sprawled [seruḥim] will be discontinued” (Amos 6:7). At that time the rejoicing of the seruḥim will be removed. Likewise, Micah prophesied in their regard: “The women of My people you banish [tegareshun] from the house of her delight; from their young children, you take My grandeur forever” (Micah 2:9). The verse relates that they would violate men’s wives and render them forbidden to their husbands, and they would divorce [megareshin] them. That is, “the women of My people you banish [tegareshun] from the house of her delight”; this is the house of her husband, in which she would delight. What is, “from their young children, you take My grandeur forever”? The only grandeur I had in this world was from the young children, as it is stated: “From the mouths of young children and suckling babes You founded strength” (Psalms 8:3). And I am glorified through them, just as it says: “In the multitude of people is the glory of a king” (Proverbs 14:28). But you have rendered them mamzerim; you have voided that glory of mine, as I do not want mamzerim, as it is written: “A mamzer¹¹A mamzer is a child born of a forbidden union punishable by karet, e.g., between a married woman and a man other than her husband. shall not enter the congregation of the Lord…” (Deuteronomy 23:3).
What is written thereafter? “Arise and go, as this is not the resting place; because it was defiled it will destroy you, and it will be an intense destruction [veḥevel nimratz]” (Micah 2:10). The Holy One blessed be He said to them: For the rest of the transgressions I would have shown you forbearance. Because you have spread to adultery, “arise and go….” What is “veḥevel nimratz”? I said: “For the portion of the Lord is His people, Jacob the allotment [ḥevel] of His inheritance” (Deuteronomy 32:9). I took Jacob as My inheritance. He was My portion, because his descendants were all similar to a rope [ḥevel], which is intertwined one with another, as the descent of all of them was traceable to their ancestors, There was no offspring that was not theirs that interrupted between them, as they guarded themselves from adultery and there was no mamzerut there. How so? It is written: “Elazar begot Pinḥas, Pinḥas begot Avishua” (I Chronicles 5:30), and the same is true for all of them. The lineage continued in that manner. But you entered with the wife of another and defiled the inheritance. How can he enumerate: So-and-so, my son, and he is not his son, as he is a mamzer; you severed the rope. That is ḥevel nimratz. What is nimratz? Adulterer [noef], mamzer, wicked one [rasha], oppressor [tzorer].¹²Nimratz is spelled with the first letters of noef, mamzer, rasha, tzorer. You learned that regarding the ten tribes, their sentence was sealed only due to the iniquity of adultery.
From where is it derived that regarding the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, their sentence was sealed only due to the iniquity of adultery? It is as Jeremiah screams before God: ‘During the days of Menashe, Israel performed wickedness greater than them [of my generation], but You did not destroy them, but rather in my days.’ That is what is written: “My innards, my innards, I shudder, the walls of my heart, [my heart sighs to me]” (Jeremiah 4:19). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: During the days of Menashe, even though they angered Me, the children were the children of their fathers. Now they are the children of lewdness. That is what is written: “For My people are foolish…” (Jeremiah 4:22). What is written at the end of the passage? “They were lustful horses rising early; each would neigh to his neighbor’s wife” (Jeremiah 5:8). Even though they transgressed all the mitzvot and denied the Holy One blessed be He, just as it is stated: “They denied the Lord” (Jeremiah 5:12), He displays forbearance. It is only for the adultery that their sentence was sealed, as, indeed, it is written thereafter: “Will I not reckon for these, the utterance of the Lord…” (Jeremiah 5:9). The Holy One blessed be He said: For everything I will restrain myself, but for lewdness I am angry. I will deliver them to the kingdoms. That is what is written thereafter: “Enter within its walls…” (Jeremiah 5:10). “Lest strangers be sated with your strength” (Proverbs 5:10).
Likewise Moses said to Israel: When you go out to war, be careful that there will not be among you the iniquity of adultery, as if there is the iniquity of lewdness in your midst, the Holy One blessed be He, who wages war on your behalf, will turn away from you, and you will be delivered into the hand of your enemies. That is what is written: “For the Lord your God walks [in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to deliver your enemies before you and your camp shall be holy], and He shall not see a shameful matter among you and turn away from you” (Deuteronomy 23:15). What is, “for the Lord your God”? Moses said to Israel: Know that the Holy One blessed be He associates His name with Israel, as He is called, “your God,” only when “your camp shall be holy.” At that time, He rests His Divine Presence in your midst, and He rescues you from the hands of your enemies and delivers your enemies to you. That is what is written: “Walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you…”
From where is it derived that Israel is called holy when they protect themselves from adultery and lewdness? It is as it is written: “You shall sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy, as I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 20:7). From here, when they are holy, He is God to them. What is written thereafter? “You shall observe My statutes, and perform them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you” (Leviticus 20:8). When does the Holy One blessed be He sanctify Israel? It is when they observe His statutes. What are the statutes? These are the forbidden relations, as adultery with a married woman is written first, as it is stated: “A man who will commit adultery [with a married woman]” (Leviticus 20:10). What did it see that led it to have cursing one’s father or mother interpose between sanctification and adultery? It is because initially it is written: “For each man who shall curse his father” (Leviticus 20:9). What causes the son to curse his father? It is adultery. It is because he believes that his mother’s husband is his father and he honors him, and he believes that the adulterer is not his father and he curses him.
Similarly, you say: “One who strikes his father or his mother.… One who abducts a man and sells him.[… One who curses his father or his mother…]” (Exodus 21:15–17). What did it see that led it to have one who abducts a person interpose between one who strikes and one who curses? Would it not have been appropriate not to interpose between them, as both are stated regarding a punishment generated by his father and his mother? Why did it do so? It is to teach you that it is for this that one who abducts an Israelite person incurs liability, because he [the person abducted] strikes his father and his mother and curses them because he did not grow up with them and does not know them. Here too, this is why cursing one’s father interposes between sanctification and harlotry. It is because anyone who consorts with one of the forbidden relations stated in the Torah, at times he begets a son and causes the mamzer to curse his father.
Why does it mention the cursing of the mother; does he not recognize his mother? When does he recognize his mother? When the mamzer is from adultery with a married woman, as the adulteress attributes him to her husband. However, regarding all other unmarried forbidden relations, they cast their child in the streets due to the shame, and others raise them. Those mamzerim recognize neither their father nor their mother. Even a mamzer from a married woman occasionally recognizes neither his father nor his mother. When? It is when she committed adultery while her husband was in lands overseas and she casts him away. That is why the Torah punishes one who consorts with a married woman or with forbidden relations with court-imposed execution and karet. That is why it is stated: “And your camp shall be holy” (Deuteronomy 23:15).
Another matter: “And your camp shall be holy” (Deuteronomy 23:15) – we learned there: One need not investigate from the altar¹³Priests and beyond, from the platform¹⁴Levites and beyond, nor from the Sanhedrin and beyond. Anyone whose ancestors were public officials or charity collectors may marry into the priesthood, and there is no need to investigate them. Rabbi Yosei says: The same is true of one who had signed as a witness in the old court of Tzippori. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Antigonus says: The same is true of one who was written in the army roster of a Jewish king.¹⁵Kiddushin 76a. The midrash is stating that one can rely on all these individuals’ presumptive status of unflawed lineage.
It is written: “You shall place a king over you…” (Deuteronomy 17:15). I have derived only a king of Israel; from where is it derived to include public officials, charity collectors, judges’ scribes, and floggers with the strap? The verse states: “From among your brethren you shall place a king over you” (Deuteronomy 17:15) – anyone whom you place over you, shall be only from among your brethren, from the select of your brethren. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman says in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: From where is it derived that those going out to war need that no mamzerim be in their midst? It is as it is written regarding the descendants of Asher: “Their lineage for military service” (I Chronicles 7:40) – the merit of their lineage stands for them in war.
To this point it is from the texts of tradition;¹⁶Prophets and Writings. from the words of the Torah, from where is it derived? It is as it is written: “One with crushed […testicles]…shall not enter [into the assembly of the Lord]. A mamzer shall not enter.… An Amonite shall not enter.… Do not despise an Edomite.… [Sons born to them of the third generation may enter…]” (Deuteronomy 23:2–4, 8–9). What is written thereafter? “When a camp shall go out against your enemy” (Deuteronomy 23:10); that is why it is written: “And your camp shall be holy…” (Deuteronomy 23:15), that there shall not be in their midst mamzerim and not those who are born not in sanctity, because the Holy One blessed be He does not associate His name with them and does not aid them in war. So, the Holy One blessed be He said to Abraham our patriarch: “I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land of your residence” (Genesis 17:8) – to those descendants whose descent will be traced back to you, I will give them “the land of your residence…as an eternal possession” (Genesis 17:8), and I will be their God. But mamzerim, whose descent is not traced back to you, as their forebears are not distinguishable, I will not be their God, as I do not associate My name with them and I will not give them a portion in the land.

Rabbi Avun, Rabbi Neḥemya, and Rabbi Yaakov bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: It is a dispute between Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Let the mitzva of the omer not be insignificant in your eyes, as by means of the mitzva of the omer, Abraham merited to inherit the land of Canaan. That is what is written: “I will give to you and to your offspring after you” (Genesis 17:8) – provided that “you will observe My covenant” (Genesis 17:9). Which is that? It is the mitzva of the omer. Reish Lakish said: Let the mitzva of the omer not be insignificant in your eyes, as by means of the mitzva of the omer, the Holy One blessed be He made peace between a man and his wife. That is to say: Due to the merit of barley flour.¹⁸Barley flour is the primary component in the omer offering, as well as in the flour offering of the sota. The sota ritual is intended to restore trust and peace between husband and wife.
Rabbi Abahu, Rabbi Simon, and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: It was this that stood them in good stead in the days of Gideon, as it is stated: “Gideon came, and behold, a man was relating a dream to another, saying: Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a loaf of barley bread [tzelil leḥem seorim] [was tumbling in the camp of Midyan, and it came to a tent and struck it, and it fell, and it overturned it, and the tent fell]” (Judges 7:13). What is tzelil leḥem seorim? The Rabbis said: It is because that generation became clear [tzalal] of the righteous. By what merit were they saved? It was by the merit of the barley bread. What is that? It is the mitzva of the omer.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: It was this that stood them in good stead in the days of Hezekiah. That is what is written: “It will be that with the passage of the staff on every established place that the Lord will place upon it, there will be drums and harps, and He will wage war against them with the waving of the hand [tenufa]” (Isaiah 30:32). Was there a war involving the waving of the hand in that generation?¹⁹Hezekiah and the people were passive and God smote the Assyrian camp (see II Kings chapter 19). You must say it is the mitzva of the omer.²⁰They were saved in the merit of the mitzva of the omer offering, which is waved before being offered on the altar.
The Rabbis say: It was this that stood them in good stead in the days of Ezekiel. That is what is written: “You, take for you wheat and barley, [beans and lentils, millet and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make them for you into bread]” (Ezekiel 4:9). Rabbi Ḥama bar Rabbi Ḥalafta said: He included a large proportion of barley.²¹The verse shortly after the one cited here states: “You shall eat them as barley cakes” (Ezekiel 4:12), implying that barley was the most significant ingredient. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: He included a large proportion of items that quicken the function of the intestines. Shmuel said: There²²In the Land of Israel. they say: They prepared it for the dog, but it did not taste it. A certain noblewoman asked Rabbi Yosei, she said to him: ‘How much did that righteous one suffer! How many servants and maidservants did he have, who would prepare him food and drink.’²³Ezekiel was used to eating high quality food, yet now he had to eat the low quality bread described above. He said to her: ‘Why to that extent? It is to inform you that as long as Israel is suffering, the righteous among them are with them in suffering.’
Rabbi Levi said: It was this that stood them in good stead in the days of Haman, as Rabbi Levi said: When Mordekhai saw Haman approaching him with the horse in his hand, he said: ‘It seems to me that this wicked one is coming only to kill me.’ His students were sitting and studying before him. He said to them: ‘Get up and flee so that you will not be burned in my coal.’ They said to him: ‘Whether for death or for life, we are with you and we will not forsake you.’ What did he do? He wrapped himself in his prayer shawl and stood in prayer before the Holy One blessed be He, and his students were sitting and studying. [Haman] said to them: ‘In what are you engaged?’ They said to him: ‘In the mitzva of the omer that Israel would offer in the Temple on this day.’ He said to them: ‘That omer, what was it, of gold or of silver?’ They said to him: ‘Of barley.’ He said to them: ‘What was its monetary value, ten silver kantars?’²⁴A kantar is the equivalent of a silver talent. They said: ‘Ten maot was sufficient.’²⁵This was a very small sum of money. He said to them: ‘Arise, as the ten [maot] of yours have overcome ten thousand silver kantars.’
When Esther heard this,²⁶When she heard that Ahasuerus had commanded Haman to lead Mordekhai through the city on a royal horse as a sign of honor. she dispatched a herald throughout the city and said: ‘Let no person open his store in the marketplace, let all the people go outside, a leader of the Jews must be hanged.’ When [Mordekhai] finished praying, Haman said to Mordekhai: ‘Don this royal garment, place this crown on your head, and go up and ride this horse.’ He said to him: ‘You great fool, do you not know that I have come from sackcloth and ashes? Is there any person who would wear the king’s royal garment who did not bathe? What, do you seek to demean the kingdom?’ [Haman] went for a bathhouse attendant but did not find one. What did he do? He tied the filthy garment on himself, warmed the water and scrubbed the bath and went in and bathed him. When [Mordekhai] finished, he donned the royal garment. [Haman] said to him: ‘Place this crown of the king on your head.’ He said to him: ‘Is there a person who would place the king’s crown on his head without a haircut? Why do you seek to demean the kingdom?’ [Haman] went for a barber but did not find him. What did he do? He took the haircutting tools and sat and cut his hair.
While he was sitting and cutting his hair, he began sighing. [Mordekhai] said to him: ‘What [ails] you?’ He said: ‘Woe unto this person what has befallen him. The one who appointed court officials, the one who appointed officers, the one who appointed palace officials, should become a bathhouse attendant and a barber?’ He said: ‘Do I not know the father of this man,²⁷Haman. may his bones be crushed, who was a bathhouse attendant and a barber in the village of Kerinus, and these are his haircutting implements?’²⁸Mordekhai reminded Haman that his father had served as a barber and bathhouse attendant, therefore this was befitting Haman’s true, lowly background.
When he finished cutting his hair, he said to him: ‘Go up and ride this horse.’ He said to him: ‘I do not have the strength, as I am an old man.’ He said to him: ‘Am I not an old man?’ He said to him: ‘But did you not bring it upon yourself?’ He said to him: ‘Stand, I will lower my neck for you, step on me, and go up and ride the horse,’ in fulfillment of what is stated in your Bible: “Your enemies will deceive you and you will tread on their backs”’ (Deuteronomy 33:29).
When he was riding on the horse, he began lauding the Holy One blessed be He: “I extol You, Lord, for You lifted me… Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. Lord, You lifted my soul from the grave” (Psalms 30:2–4). What did his students say? “Sing to the Lord, His pious ones, and give thanks in remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but a moment…” (Psalms 30:5–6). What did that wicked one [Haman] say? “I had said in my tranquility: [I will never stumble]. Lord, by Your will You put in place mighty mountains; [You hid Your face, and I was terrified]” (Psalms 30:7–8). What did Esther say? “To You, Lord, I called…. What gain is in my blood, in my descending into the pit? Can the dust thank You? Can it declare Your truth?” (Psalms 30:9–10). What did Israel say? “Hear me, Lord, and be gracious to me…. You transformed my mourning into dancing” (Psalms 30:11–12). Rabbi Pinḥas said: He was engaged in the reciting of Shema and he did not stop,²⁹Rabbi Pinḥas asserts that when Haman first came for Mordekhai, Mordekhai was reciting the morning Shema and that he continued without interruption. as it is stated: “So that he may sing praises of glory [unceasingly to You. Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever]” (Psalms 30:13).

“I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojourning, the entire land of Canaan for an eternal holding, and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8).
“I will give to you, and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojourning” – Rabbi Yudan said five things:³⁵The passage alludes to five covenants contingent one upon the other. If your descendants accept My Godliness upon themselves, I will be God and patron for them; if not, I will not be God and patron for them. If your descendants enter the land, they will be able to accept My Godliness, but if not, they will not be able to accept it.³⁶One who does not dwell in the land of Israel is lacking in his realization of God’s mastery )see Ketubot 110b). If your descendants fulfill the precept of circumcision, they will enter the land; but if not, they will not enter the land. If your descendants accept the Shabbat they will enter the land;³⁷Shabbat, like circumcision, is referred to as “an eternal covenant for your generations” (Genesis 17:7, Exodus 31:16). but if not, they will not enter the land.
“God said to Abraham: And you, you shall observe My covenant, you, and your descendants after you, throughout their generations” (Genesis 17:9).
Rabbi Berekhya and Rabbi Ḥelbo in the name of Rabbi Avun ben Rabbi Yosei: It is written: “This is the matter [hadavar] that Joshua circumcised” (Joshua 5:4) – Joshua made a statement [davar] to them and circumcised them. He said to them: ‘What do you think, that you will enter the land uncircumcised? So the Holy One blessed be He said to Abraham our patriarch: “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, [the land of your sojourning],” with the provision that: “And you, you shall observe My covenant.”’
“And you, you shall observe My covenant” – Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yoḥanan, Rabbi Huna said: “And you” – from here we learn that the circumciser must himself be circumcised. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: “You shall surely circumcise [himol yimol]” (Genesis 17:13) – from here³⁸From the double expression himol yimol. we learn that the circumciser must himself be circumcised. It is taught: An uncircumcised Israelite may not be a circumciser; all the more so, an uncircumcised idolater.