창세기 13:14의 인용 해설

It is also possible that whereas Abraham's departure from Ur Casdim had included a migration of his whole family, now G'd demanded that he leave his family behind. Abraham did not understand this correctly; this is why he took Lot with him. Alternatively, Abraham did understand that he was not supposed to take Lot with him, but the latter was so attached to him that he insisted on coming along on his own. When the Torah says in 12,5 that he did "take" Lot with him, the meaning is merely that he did not push him away until he found a suitable pretext as he did not want to shame his nephew. As soon as Abraham found a minor pretext to separate from Lot, such as when the shepherds of Lot and those of Abraham began to feud, he used that incident as an excuse to separate from Lot (13,8). It sounds quite uncharacteristic for Abraham, the model of making people welcome in his environment, to push someone away with both hands by saying: "if you want to go to the right, I will move to the left; if you want to move to the left, I will move to the right." The fact that G'd had not communicated with Abraham for a while until immediately after he separated from Lot (13,14), indicates that G'd had been waiting for the moment when Lot would finally separate from him. Only then did G'd show Abraham the extent of the land that would eventually belong to his descendants. G'd delayed fulfilling the last part of the promise contained in our verse until Abraham had rid himself of Lot.

אל הארץ אשר אראך, to the land which I will show you. G'd did not tell Abraham if he was meant to set out on his journey immediately or if he should wait till He would specify the exact location He wanted Abraham to move to. This ambiguity was part of the test to which G'd subjected Abraham. G'd also hinted that He would show Abraham the whole of the land of Israel by broadening his field of vision, etc, as we know from 13,14: "lift your eyes from where you are and look northward, southward, eastward, and westward."

There are conflicting views concerning the nature of this entire paragraph. Some (including Maimonides in his Moreh Nevuchim 2,42), hold that the entire story is merely a description of a prophetic vision which Avraham experienced. People who hold this view believe that human beings never see angels in the flesh but only experience visions of angels. According to the people who believe this, Sarah never baked any cakes for these angels, neither did Avraham prepare animals for slaughter and cook the meat. If we accept this view as a consistent approach, Lot never entertained any angels but instead attained the level of prophecy in order to see the kind of visions which resulted in his leaving Sodom at a crucial moment. We would even have to believe that the inhabitants of Sodom were given prophetic insights in spite of their wickedness and that they assailed Lot and his daughters. If all this were so, how is it possible that G’d refrained from communicating with Avraham as long as Lot was in his company because he did not qualify for such visions while voluntarily in the company of an evil person such as Lot? (compare 13,13 where the Torah emphasised that G’d spoke to Avraham “after Lot had separated from him?”).
There is no doubt in my mind that in the main the whole paragraph has to be understood literally, i.e. according to the plain meaning of the text. All the experiences related as having happened to Avraham, to Sarah and to Lot, were not figments of their imaginations but actually happened.
If your heart chafes or your mind boggles at such happenings and you find it difficult to credit that mere mortals had such encounters with heavenly beings, you have a point; this is why we need to fall back on kabbalistic interpretations seeing that normal human beings are unable to cope with such encounters on a purely rational basis.
We will therefore consider that if our sages have given these angels “names” corresponding to human beings and have made them appear as if they were dressed as human beings, this did not mean that the garments perceived by Avraham were garments made of fabrics such as used by human beings. Rather, these celestial beings wrapped their essence within “robes,” much as G’d Himself is perceived as having surrounded His essence with “light” which serves as something parallel to our garments. [After all, our garments are also designed to hide our essence. Ed.] Celestial beings known as אד'ם, a term reflecting three superior characteristics, are composed of these characteristics which serve as their מלבוש “garment.” Ever since the Temple was destroyed, this kind of מלבוש has no longer become visible to people on earth; in other words, apparitions of celestial beings such as the angels who visited Avraham or even Lot, are no longer part of the human experience.

עד תאות גבעות עולם EVEN TO THE BOUNDARIES OF THE EVERLASTING HILLS — Because my blessings have prevailed, extending to the very ends of the bounds of the everlasting hills, for He gave me a blessing that bursts all bounds, one that has no limits, that reaches even unto the four corners of the world, as it is stated, (Genesis 28:14) “[God said to Jacob] and thou shalt spread abroad to the West and to the East [and to the North and to the South]”, an unqualified promise that was made neither to Abraham nor to Isaac. For to Abraham He said, (Genesis 13:14) “Lift up thine eyes and look northwards etc. … for all the land which thou seest to thee will I give it”, and He showed him only the Land of Israel. To Isaac He said, (Genesis 26:3) “for unto thee and unto thy seed will I give all these lands, and I will establish the oath [which I swore unto Abraham thy father]”. It is to this that Isaiah alludes when he said, (Isaiah 58:14) “And I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father” (Shabbat 118b), and he did not say, “with the heritage promised to Abraham”.