창세기 12:10의 미드라쉬

“There was a famine in the land.” Ten famines came to the world. One during the days of Adam; one during the days of Lemekh; one during the days of Abraham; one during the days of Isaac; one during the days of Jacob; one during the days of Elijah; one during the days of Elisha; one during the days of David; one during the days when the judges judged; and one that is yet progressing and coming to the world.
One during the days of Adam, as it is stated: “Accursed is the ground because of you” (Genesis 3:17); one during the days of Lemekh, as it is stated: “From the ground that the Lord had cursed” (Genesis 5:29); one during the days of Abraham, as it is stated: “There was famine in the land and Abram descended to Egypt” (Genesis 12:10); one during the days of Isaac: “There was a famine in the land, beside the first famine” (Genesis 26:1); one during the days of Jacob, as it is stated: “For these two years there has been famine in the land” (Genesis 45:6); one during the days of Elijah, as it is stated: “There will not be dew or rain these years, except by my word” (I Kings 17:1); one during the days of Elisha, as it is stated: “There was a great famine in Samaria” (II Kings 6:25); one during the days of David, as it is stated: “There was a famine during the days of David, three years” (II Samuel 21:1); one during the days when the judges judged, as it is stated: “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1); and one that is advancing upon the world, as it is written: “I will send famine in the land, not famine for bread, not thirst for water” (Amos 8:11).
Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Shmuel: It would have been appropriate for the main manifestation of them³⁹The years of famine during the days of David. to have been during the days of Saul, and it was not appropriate for them to have been during the days of David. [But] because Saul was an offshoot of a sycamore tree,⁴⁰The sycamore tree is frail. and would have been unable to withstand it, the Holy One blessed be He transferred it and brought it to David, who is the offshoot of an olive tree⁴¹The olive tree is sturdy. and [he] was able to withstand it. A parable says: Shila sinned and Yoḥana⁴²Generic names of that period. pays for it? So, all of them did not come upon lowly people, but rather upon mighty people who could withstand them. Rabbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar: [It is analogous] to a glazier who had a basket filled with cups of cut glass. When he sought to hang his basket, he would bring a peg, hammer it [into the wall,] and then hang his basket. So, all of them did not come upon lowly people, but rather to mighty people. Rabbi Berekhya would read in reference to them:⁴³David’s generation. “He gives strength to the weary” (Isaiah 40:29).
Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Ḥelbo: Two [famines]⁴⁴That of Lemekh occurred while Adam was still alive. came during the days of Adam.⁴⁵In the parallel text of this midrash found in Bereishit Rabba 25:3 it says ‘Abraham’ instead of ‘Adam.’ Rav Huna in the name of Rav Aḥa: One was during the days of Abraham, and one was during the days of Lemekh. The famine that was during the days of Elijah was due to a drought. One year it produced [a harvest] and the other year it did not produce. But the famine during the days of Elisha was due to [economic] panic, as it is stated: “Until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty of silver” (II Kings 6:25). [Regarding] the famine that came during the days that the judges judged, Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Dosa: They were forty-two se’a⁴⁶A measure of dry volume roughly equivalent to 8 liters. and they became forty-one se’a.⁴⁷The reference is to the amount of produce that could be purchased for one sela. Some commentators suggest that the text should be read: they were [sold] at a rate of two se’a [per sela] and became one se’a [per sela]. See Etz Yosef. But is it not taught: A person may not depart to outside the Land of Israel until two se’a⁴⁸Of wheat. are bought for a shekel?⁴⁹The reference is to the biblical shekel, which is the equivalent of the rabbinic sela. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: When is that so? It is when one cannot find anything [else] to buy. But if he can find [other food] to buy, even [at] one se’a for a shekel, a Jew may not leave the Land of Israel.⁵⁰Elimelekh was punished because his decision to leave the Land of Israel was not justified. But is it not taught: During a time of pestilence, a time of war, gather everyone inside, but during a time of famine, scatter? Why was Elimelekh punished? It is because he sank the hearts of Israel.
[It is analogous] to a prominent person who lived in a province, and the residents of the province would depend upon him, and would say that if drought years would come, he could provide food for the province for ten years. When a drought year came, his maidservant went out, and went into the market with her basket in her hand. The residents of the province said: This is the one who we relied upon, that if there would be a drought he could support us for ten years? His maidservant is standing in the market with her basket in her hand! So, Elimelekh was one of the prominent residents of the province, and one of the leaders of the generation. When the years of famine arrived, he said: ‘Now, all Israel will come around to my door, this one with his basket and that one with his basket.’ He arose and fled from them; that is what is written: “A man of Bethlehem of Judah went.”

Rabbi Abba bar Kahana began: “Raise your voice, Bat-Galim, [listen, Layish; destitute is Anatot]” (Isaiah 10:30). Isaiah said to Israel: Instead of reciting songs and psalms before idols, raise your voice in words of Torah, raise your voice in synagogues. “Bat-Galim” – just as these waves [galim] are conspicuous in the sea, so their ancestors were conspicuous in the world.
Another matter: “Bat-Galim” (Isaiah 10:30) – bat golim, daughter of exiles: daughter of Abraham, the one of whom it is written: “There was a famine in the land and Abram descended to Egypt [to reside there]” (Genesis 12:10); daughter of Isaac, of whom it is written: “Isaac went to Avimelekh, king of the Philistines, to Gerar” (Genesis 26:1); daughter of Jacob, of whom it is written: “He went to Padan Aram” (Genesis 28:5). “Listen” (Isaiah 10:30), listen to My commandments, listen to words of Torah, listen to words of prophecy, listen to perform acts of righteousness and good deeds.
“Layish [Laisha]” (Isaiah 10:30) – and if not, laisha,¹This is one of the biblical terms for lion. the lion will ascend upon you. This is the wicked Nebuchadnezzar, in whose regard it is written: “The lion has ascended from its lair” (Jeremiah 4:7). “Destitute [is Anatot]” (Isaiah 10:30) – destitute of righteous individuals, destitute of prophecy, destitute of mitzvot and good deeds. “Anatot” – and if not,²If you do not listen to all these warnings. “Anatot,” – that resident of Anatot will come and prophesy in your regard, as it is written: “The words of Jeremiah son of Ḥilkiyahu, of the priests who were in Anatot…” (Jeremiah 1:1). When the punishment arrived, he lamented over them, eikha.³Eikha means “how,” and is the opening word of the book of Lamentations, which begins: “How does the city that was full of people sit solitary?” (Lamentations 1:1). Eikha is also the Hebrew name of the book of Lamentations. The prologue to Eikha Rabba records how different Sages would begin their study of Lamentations. They would often begin by expounding a verse that in their view encapsulated the essence of the book, before beginning with the first verse. Thus, many of these introductions conclude with the word eikha, which is used as an expression of lamentation, as well as a reference to Lamentations 1:1 and a transition from the Sage’s introduction to his actual recitation or study of Lamentations (see Etz Yosef).

And in the evening Rikayon walked about sorrowfully to find a place to tarry over night, and he ‎saw the ruins of a house, once a bakery as they are made in Egypt, and therein he spent the ‎night with bitterness of soul and in hunger, and sleep shunned his eyes. And Rikayon thought ‎within himself what he should do in the city until he could see the king, and in what manner he ‎could maintain his life up to that time. And he arose in the morning and walked about town ‎and he met venders of vegetables, and he inquired of them concerning some employment. ‎And they told him that they made a living by selling vegetables and seeds, which they bought ‎and sold unto the people of the city. And Rikayon resolved to do as they did, in order to ‎maintain his life in the city. Yet Rikayon was unacquainted with the manners of the people of ‎the land, and he seemed like a blind man, in their midst. And he went and procured ‎vegetables to sell for a living, but the rabble came around him and made sport of him, and they ‎took away from him all the vegetables, and nothing was left. And Rikayon arose with a ‎sorrowful spirit and with bitterness of heart, and returned unto the house of the bakery and ‎tarried there all night as he did before. And he consulted with himself what he was to do in ‎order to support himself, and finally he succeeded in his wisdom to find a cunning way of doing ‎something for his support. And he rose in the morning and hired thirty men, who were strong ‎and powerful but without any good within their hearts, and he gave weapons of war into their ‎hands and he conducted them unto the pyramids that are before Egypt, and he placed them ‎there. And he commanded them saying: Thus hath the king ordered: Be valiant and ‎strengthen yourselves, and do not allow anyone to be buried in this place unless you are given ‎two hundred pieces of silver. And the men did according to the words of Rikayon for a full ‎year. And at the lapse of eight months Rikayon and his men had accumulated great wealth in ‎gold and in silver, in pearls and in precious stones beyond number, and Rikayon bought horses ‎and cattle and many more men that were around him, and he gave them horses and they did ‎according to his commandments. And it was when the year came around and the day when ‎the king was to go forth and show himself through the city, that all the people came together ‎to discuss measures, in order to bring before the king the actions of Rikayon, as soon as the ‎king was to appear on the appointed day. And when the day came and the king went forth ‎from the castle, all the people appeared before him and cried out saying: May the king live ‎forever! What is it that thou dost unto thy servants in the city, that no one is allowed a burial ‎unless we pay for him silver and gold? Hath such a thing ever been done in this land, either in ‎the days of the first kings that were before us in the earth, even from the days of Adam unto ‎this day, that the dead be not allowed to be buried unless for a certain amount of silver or ‎gold? We are aware that it is the custom of the king, to take taxes from the living, year after ‎year, but thou art not satisfied with that and takest even from the dead as well as from the ‎living day after day? And now, oh king, we can no more endure such treatment, for the whole ‎city is plundered and despoiled, and thou knowest it not.‎...

‎ And when the king heard these words he was greatly enraged, and his anger kindled within ‎him, for he knew nothing concerning that matter. And the king said: Who is he and where is he ‎whose heart made him daring to do such a thing in my land, without my order and knowledge. ‎And the people acquainted him with the deeds of Rikayon and his men, and the king was ‎exceedingly wroth, and he sent his servants to bring Rikayon and his men unto the presence ‎of the king. And Rikayon took about one thousand children, boys and girls, and dressed them ‎up in silks and embroideries, and he set them upon horses and let them ride into the presence ‎of the king. And Rikayon himself took very costly presents, consisting of silver and gold and ‎pearls and precious stones, in abundance, and he selected one of the finest horses and came ‎before the king, and Rikayon bowed down to the ground before the king. And the king, and ‎his servants, and all the people wondered greatly at the ways of Rikayon when they saw his ‎great wealth. And the costly presents which Rikayon had brought unto the king, all were very ‎pleasing in the eyes of the king and he wondered greatly. And when Rikayon sat before the ‎king and the king inquired of him concerning the things he had done, Rikayon made his speech ‎in great wisdom before the king and his servants and all the inhabitants of Egypt. And when ‎the king heard those wise words, Rikayon found grace and mercy in the eyes of the king and ‎captivated likewise the grace and mercy of all the king's servants and of all the inhabitants of ‎Egypt, by reason of his wisdom and his good speech. And the king loved him with a powerful ‎love from that day on, and the king said unto him: Thy name shall no more be Rikayon, but ‎Pharaoh shall thy name be henceforth, after that thou hast understood to gather taxes even ‎from the dead; and they called his name Pharaoh from that time on. And the king and all the ‎people had love for Rikayon because of his wisdom, and they resolved to raise him in dignity as ‎a viceroy to their king. And it was done accordingly, and all the people and all the wise men ‎proclaimed it throughout the land, that Rika yon hath been chosen second to the king. And ‎Rikayon Pharaoh ruled over Egypt through the whole year, judging the people every day in the ‎year, and king Ashvirosh ruled over the country and judged them on the only day in the year ‎when he went forth from the palace to show himself unto the people. And Rikayon Pharaoh ‎took into his hands the rulership of Egypt with strength and with cunning, and he secured ‎taxes both from the dead and living, and therefore they called his name Rikayon Pharaoh. And ‎the people of Egypt loved Rikayon greatly and they passed a law and had it recorded in writing, ‎that every king that would come after him, should bear the name of Pharaoh, as also all the ‎seeds of the kings of Egypt. That is the reason why all the kings of Egypt are called Pharaoh up ‎to this very day. And it came to pass at that time that a great famine was in the land of Canaan, ‎and the inhabitants of the land could not dwell therein on account of the famine, for it was ‎very great.‎

And Abram and all his people went down to the land of Egypt to escape from the famine, and ‎when they came to the river of Egypt they tarried there for several days in order to gain rest ‎after their long journey. And one day Abram was walking with Sarai his wife by the bank of the ‎river and behold Abram saw the image of Sarai upon the face of the waters. And Abram by ‎reason of his piety, and Sarai’s modesty, never saw her face before. And now when Abram ‎saw the face of his wife, and behold she was very beautiful, Abram said unto Sarai: Behold my ‎wife now I see how exceedingly beautiful thou art, and after the Lord hath created thee with ‎such fair looks, I do greatly fear the Egyptians, lest they might kill me and take thee away, for ‎verily there is no fear of God in that place. But do thou after this wise with me, and say that ‎thou art my sister to everybody that might question thee concerning me, that it may be well ‎with me, and we may live and not die. And Abram ordered all the men that came along with ‎him into Egypt from the famine, and also to Lot his brother's son, saying: When the Egyptians ‎inquire of you aught concerning Sarai, tell them: She is the sister of Abram. And Abram did not ‎yet feel satisfied, and he was lacking confidence in God concerning Egypt, therefore he took ‎Sarai and placed her into a box, and hid the box under the various tools and vessels which he ‎had with him; for he was in very great fear of the Egyptian people, and their wickedness. And ‎Abram and all his people arose and left the river, and they passed over into the land of Egypt. ‎And when they came to the gates of the city, the guards of the city surrounded Abram, saying: ‎Give tithes unto the king from everything that thou hast with thee, and then only thou canst ‎enter the city. And Abram and all his men did accordingly, and all of them came into the city. ‎And when they came into the city they took along the chest, and when they carried the chest ‎with Sarai in it, the Egyptians surrounded the men saying: What is it that thou hast in this ‎chest? Open it and let us see what it containeth so that we may get the tenth part thereof for ‎the king. And Abram said: I will give you whatever you demand but I will never open this chest. ‎And the princes of Pharaoh said: This box containeth pearls and precious stones, and a tenth ‎part thereof belongs to the king. And Abram replied: I will pay you any amount you demand, ‎yet I will not open this chest. And the officers surrounded Abram, and they opened the box by ‎force and behold there was a beautiful woman within it.‎

And there was a famine in the land (Gen. 12:10) What is stated in Scripture prior to this verse? It is written: And the Lord said to Abraham: “Get thee.” Blessed be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, who tested this righteous man in order to make his meritorious deeds known throughout the world. Forthwith, a famine came into the world and when the famine reached the Land of Israel, Abraham said to his wife Sarah: “There is a famine in our land.” Our sages have maintained that no famine ever equaled it. He said to her: “Egypt is a pleasant land in which to dwell; let us go there, since there is a huge supply of bread and meat in that land.” Thereupon, the two of them departed for Egypt. When they reached the Egyptian border, and were standing on the bank of the Nile, our patriarch Abraham noticed that Sarah’s reflection in the river was like the radiance of the sun.⁷Zohar I, 81b Cf. Bava Batra 16a, Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 1:222. Our sages concluded from this episode that any woman compared to Sarah was like a monkey in comparison to a human. Abraham said to her: Now, indeed, I know that you are a beautiful woman (ibid., v. 11). From this statement, we may conclude that he had not previously been aware of her beauty. He told her: “The Egyptians are a dissolute lot, for it is written of them: Whole flesh is as the flesh of asses (Ezek. 23:20), and so, I will hide you in this cabinet and lock it, for I fear for my safety if the Egyptians should see you.” He did so.

[(Gen. 26:1:) NOW THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THE LAND.] This text is related (to Ps. 33:18): BEHOLD, THE EYE OF THE LORD IS ON THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.¹⁹Gen. R. 40:1. It is speaking about Abraham, of whom it is read that he feared God. Thus it is stated (of Abraham in Gen. 22:12): THAT YOU FEAR GOD. (Ps. 33:18, cont.:) ON THOSE WHO WAIT FOR HIS STEADFAST LOVE, since < Abraham > was waiting for the Holy One, for this reason: (Ps. 33:19:) TO DELIVER THEIR LIFE FROM DEATH, < i.e., > from his execution by Nimrod. (Ibid., cont.:) TO KEEP THEM ALIVE IN THE FAMINE, the one which came in his days, as stated (in Gen. 26:1): NOW THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THE LAND.

Another comment on I have been young, and now am old. This verse suggests that the Holy One, blessed be He, will never abandon the righteous during a time of famine, neither they nor their descendants. In fact, when a disaster envelops the world, the Holy One, blessed be He, decrees how they will survive. You find this to be so in the case of Elijah, whom He told how to survive, as it is said: Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Sidon, and dwell there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain thee (I Kings 17:9). Similarly you find: Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there (ibid., vv. 3–4). And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine (Gen. 26:1); and there was a famine in the land; and Abraham descended (ibid. 12:10). Similarly, when the famine came upon Jacob, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed to him that Joseph would feed him in Egypt, as it is said: And Joseph fed his father and his brothers (Gen. 47:12). Hence, Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt.

R. Joshua of Sikhnin was of the opinion that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave Abraham a sign that whatever happened to him would likewise happen to his descendants. He chose Abraham from among all those in his father’s house, as it is said: Thou art the Lord God who didst choose Abraham, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham (Neh. 9:7). And He selected Abraham’s sons to be His chosen ones among the seventy nations, as is said: For thou art a Holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be His own treasured nation out of all the peoples that are upon the face of the earth (Deut. 14:2). He said to Abraham: Get thee, and to Abraham’s sons, He said: I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Emorite, etc. (ibid. 3:17). He promised Abraham: And I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing (Gen. 12:2), and He told his sons: The Lord bless thee, and keep thee (Num. 6:24). To Abraham He said: I will make thee a great nation (Gen. 12:2), and to his descendants He said: And what great nation is there (Deut. 4:8). Concerning Abraham it is written: Abraham was one (Ezek. 33:24), and of Israel it is said: And who is like thy people Israel, a nation one in the earth (I Chron. 17:21). In reference to Abraham it is said: and hunger was in the land (Gen. 12:10), and about his descendants it is said: When they returned to Egypt, hunger was already in the land (ibid. 43:1). Abraham descended to Egypt because of famine, and his sons, also, descended because of famine, as is said: And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn from Egypt (ibid. 42:3). When Abraham descended the Egyptians approached him, and the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair (ibid. 12:14), and concerning his descendants, the Egyptians declared: Come, let us deal wisely with them lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that when there befalleth us any war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land (Exod. 1:10).

R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi: The Holy One transmitted a sign⁵⁹Gk.: semeion. to Abraham that whatever had happened to him would happen to his children.⁶⁰Cf. Gen. R. 40:6. Abraham was chosen from the whole household of his father. Israel also was chosen from seventy tongues. It was said to Abraham (in Gen. 12:1): GO … < FROM YOUR FATHER'S HOUSE >; and it was said for Israel (in Exod. 3:17): AND I HAVE SAID: I WILL BRING YOU UP < OUT OF THE AFFLICTION OF THE LAND OF EGYPT >. It was said to Abraham (in Gen. 12:3): I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU; and also for Israel (in Numb. 6:24): THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU. It was said to Abraham (in Gen. 12:2): [THEN I WILL MAKE YOU INTO A GREAT NATION, BLESS YOU], AND MAKE YOUR NAME GREAT; and also concerning Israel (in Deut. 4:8): AND WHAT GREAT NATION IS THERE < WHICH HAS STATUTES AND ORDINANCES AS RIGHTEOUS AS ALL THIS LAW THAT I SET BEFORE YOU THIS DAY >? Abraham was called an individual, as stated (in Ezek. 33:24): ABRAHAM WAS ONE (ehad); and also Israel (in I Chron. 17:21): AND WHO IS LIKE YOUR PEOPLE ISRAEL, A UNIQUE (ehad) NATION ON EARTH? Just as with Abraham, when he came to the land, there was a famine in the land; with Israel also, when they had settled in the land of Israel, there was famine, as stated (in Gen. 43:1): BUT THE FAMINE WAS SEVERE IN THE LAND. Just as Abraham went down to Egypt because of famine, [as stated (in Gen. 12:10): NOW THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THE LAND, AND ABRAM WENT DOWN TO EGYPT]; so with Israel, as stated (in Gen. 42:3): SO THE TEN BROTHERS OF JOSEPH WENT DOWN TO BUY GRAIN < FROM EGYPT >. Just as in the case of Abraham, when he went down to Egypt, the Egyptians provoked him; so in the case of Israel, as stated (in Exod. 1:10): COME, LET US (Egyptians) ACT SHREWDLY < TOWARD THEM (Israel), LEST THEY MULTIPLY >…. Just as in the case of Abraham, four kings engaged him in battle;⁶¹“Engage in battle” comes from the Hebrew root ZWG, which corresponds to the Greek zeugos or zugon. so in the case of Israel, the nations are going to make an alliance⁶²Gk.: omonoia. against them, as stated (in Ps. 2:2): THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TAKE THEIR STAND, < AND THE RULERS TAKE COUNSEL TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS ANOINTED >. Just as in the case of Abraham, the Holy One went out to fight before him and slew his enemies; so the Holy One has fought for Israel. In the age to come the Holy One is going out to fight their wars, as stated (in Zech. 14:3): THEN THE LORD WILL COME FORTH AND FIGHT WITH THOSE NATIONS AS WHEN HE FIGHTS IN THE DAY OF BATTLE.

(Gen. 49:6:) LET NOT MY SOUL COME INTO THEIR COUNCIL, AND LET NOT MY GLORY BE JOINED WITH THEIR ASSEMBLY. When these two tribes (of Simeon and Levi) are assembled, let not my name be mentioned there. When Zimri arises and sins, LET NOT MY GLORY BE JOINED < with them >,⁵⁹Probably the first part of the verse should have been cited here, as in Tanh., Gen. 12:10; Gen. R. 99 (another version):7 (= p. 1278 in the Theodor-Albeck edition). [since it is stated (in Numb. 25:14): ZIMRI BEN SALU, PRINCE OF A CLAN BELONGING TO THE SIMEONITES. And likewise (in Numb. 16:1 & 3): NOW KORAH BEN IZHAR BEN KOHATH BEN LEVI…. AND THEY GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST MOSES AND AGAINST AARON. (Gen. 49:6:) NOR LET MY GLORY BE JOINED WITH THEIR ASSEMBLY.]⁶⁰Cf. Numb. R. 18:5.

The fourth trial (was the famine). From the day when the heavens and the earth were created, the Holy One, blessed be He, had not brought into the world a famine but only in the days of Abraham, and not in any of the lands but only in the land of Canaan, in order to try him and to bring him down into Egypt, as it is said, "And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down into Egypt" (Gen. 12:10).

(Gen. 22:2:) GO (Lekh-lekha).¹⁶³Tanh., Gen. 4:22. The Holy One said to him: The first trial¹⁶⁴On the ten trials of Abraham, see above, 4:43, and the note there; see also above, 3:4. < was given > through < the words > Lekh-lekha, as stated (in Gen. 12:10): GO FROM YOUR < NATIVE > LAND, FROM YOUR BIRTHPLACE. Now the last trial < is given here > through < the words > Lekh-lekha (GO) UNTO THE LAND OF MORIAH.