Komentarz do Rodzaju 11:28

על פני תרח אביו IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS FATHER TERAH — meaning during his father’s lifetime (Genesis Rabbah 38:13). The Midrashic explanation is that he died through his father. For Terah accused his son Abram before Nimrod of haying smashed his idols to pieces, and he cast him into a fiery furnace. Haran waited and said to himself, “If Abram proves triumphant I will be on his side; if Nimrod wins I shall be on his”. When Abram was saved they said to Haran, “Whose side are you on?” Haran replied, “I am on Abram’s side”. They therefore cast him into the fiery furnace and he was burnt to death. It is to this that the name of the place Ur-Kasdim (fire of the Chaldees) alludes (Genesis Rabbah 38:13). Menachem ben Seruk, however, explains that אור means a valley, as (Isaiah 24:15) “Glorify ye the Lord in the valleys (באורים)”, and as (Isaiah 11:8) “the den (מאורת) of the basilisk”. Every hole or deep cleft may be called אור.

AND HARAN DIED IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS FATHER TERAH IN THE LAND OF HIS BIRTH IN UR OF THE CHALDEES. In accordance with the words of our Rabbis, Rashi wrote, “Terah accused his son Abram before Nimrod of having broken his idols, and he cast him into a fiery furnace. Meanwhile Haran waited and said to himself, ‘if Abram proves triumphant I will be on his side, and if Nimrod wins I shall be on his.’ When Abram was saved, they said to Haran, ‘On whose side are you?’ He replied, ‘I am on Abram’s side.’ They therefore cast him into the fiery furnace, and he was burnt to death. It is to this event that the name Ur Kasdim (fire of the Chaldees) alludes. Menachem ben Saruk,³⁴⁷Menachem ben Saruk was a great grammarian who lived in the middle of the tenth century in southern Spain. He composed the first dictionary covering the entire field of the Biblical language. His work is called Machbereth (literally, “a joining of words”). Rashi, in his commentary on the Torah and other books of the Bible, made great use of this work. however, explained the word ur as meaning ‘valley.’ So also, Therefore glorify ye the Eternal ‘ba’urim’ (in the valleys),³⁴⁸Isaiah 24:15. and also, ‘me’urath’ (the den of) the basilisk.³⁴⁹Ibid., 11:8. Every hole or deep cleft may be called ur.” This matter received by our Rabbis through tradition is the truth, and I will elucidate it.
Our father Abraham was not born in the land of Chaldaea. His ancestors were descendants of Shem, and Chaldaea and the whole land of Shinar were countries inhabited by the sons of Ham,³⁵⁰See above, 10:10-12. and Scripture states, And he told to Abram the ‘Hebrew,’³⁵¹Further, 14:13. not Abram the Chaldean. And it is further written, Your fathers dwelt in days of old beyond the river, Terah the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor,³⁵²Joshua 24:2. the word mei’olam (of old) teaching that his origins were always from there. And again Scripture states, And I took your father Abraham from beyond the river.³⁵³Ibid. 3. Proof of the matter is that we find Nahor [Abraham’s brother] in Haran.³⁵⁴Genesis 29:4-5. Now if Terah’s place were in Ur of the Chaldees in the land of Shinar and Scripture relates that upon Terah’s going forth from Ur of the Chaldees he took with him only his son Abram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and Sarai his daughter-in-law,³⁵⁵Verse 31 here. then Nahor was left in the land of Chaldaea, [and yet we find that he was in Haran,³⁵⁴Genesis 29:4-5. which is in the land of Mesopotamia, as explained further].
But the truth of the matter is that the country of the birth of Abraham’s ancestors was the land of Aram, which is beyond the River Euphrates; this was always the habitat of his ancestors. Thus Scripture says concerning the children of Shem, And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest toward Sephar, unto the mountain of the east,³³³Above, 10:30. this being a generic name applicable to all their countries, as it is written there, in their land, after their nations,³³⁶Above, 10:31. and again it is written, From Aram Balak bringeth me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east,³⁵⁶Numbers 23:7. [proving that Aram is in the land of “the mountains of the east”]. Thus it is clear that Abram and his ancestors always lived in the land of Aram. Furthermore, we find in the Talmud³⁵⁷Baba Bathra 91a. that Abraham was imprisoned [by Nimrod because he broke the idols] in Cuthah, and that city is not in the land of Chaldaea, for it is written, And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath,³⁵⁸II Kings 17:24. and it is further written, And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal.³⁵⁹Ibid., Verse 30. But it would appear that Cuthah is a city beyond the river, in the land of Mesopotamia, for Haran is the name of a city in the land of Mesopotamia, as it is written, And he went to Aram-naharaim [Mesopotamia], unto the city of Nahor,³⁶⁰Genesis 24:10. which is Haran. Furthermore, we have investigated and know it from the word of many students³⁶¹This alludes to the time during the last three years of his life when Ramban lived in the land of Israel and there gathered around him students from nearby countries. It was from these students, who came from the eastern countries, that he sought first-hand knowledge to illumine the problems he had in his commentary. Concerning this fascinating period in the life of Ramban, see his biography, pp. 191-206 in my Hebrew work, pp. 60-65 in the English edition. who lived in that country that Cuthah is a large city between Haran and Assyria, far from the country of Babylon. The distance between it and Haran is about that of a six-day journey. It is, however, included in the term, “beyond the river,”³⁵³Ibid. 3. because it lies between Mesopotamia and the River Euphrates — which is the border of the land of Israel³⁶²Genesis 15:18. — and the Tigris which goeth towards the east of Assyria.³⁶³Above, 2:14. Thus Terah begot his older sons, Abraham and Nahor, in the area “beyond the river,” the land of his ancestors. He then went with his son Abram to the land of Chaldaea, where his youngest son, Haran, was born. His son Nahor, however, remained “beyond the river,” in the city of Haran. It may be that he was born there or that he came to settle there from Cuthah. This is the meaning of [the verse here which says of Haran], in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldees, since that was the birthplace of Haran alone [among Terah’s children].
This matter received through tradition [that Cuthah was the birthplace of Abraham] is also found in a book called The Antiquities of the Nations, as the Rabbi²⁶⁷Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam or Maimonides). See Seder Bereshith, Note 139. wrote in the Moreh Nebuchim³⁶⁴III, 29. Ramban is following Al-Charizi’s translation, and not Ibn Tibbon’s. See notes in my Hebrew commentary, pp. 72-73. that in the book of Egyptian Agriculture it is mentioned that Abraham, who was born³⁶⁵“Born.” Ibn Tibbon has, “grew up.” in Cuthah, differed with the opinion of the people who worshipped the sun, and the king put him in prison, but he continued to argue against them for many days. At last the king was afraid that he might corrupt his land and turn the people away from their religion, and so he expelled him to the far land of Canaan, after confiscating all his wealth.
Thus in any case it was in this place, the land of Chaldaea, that a miracle — or more exactly a hidden miracle³⁶⁶See Ramban further, 17:1, concerning the two kinds of miracles. — was done to our father Abraham, for G-d put it into the heart of that king to save him and not to kill him, and so he released him from prison to go where he desires. It may be that it was an overt miracle,³⁶⁶See Ramban further, 17:1, concerning the two kinds of miracles. i.e., that the king threw him into a fiery furnace, and he was saved, as our Rabbis have stated.³⁶⁷As mentioned in Rashi, quoted at the beginning of this verse.
Let not Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra mislead you with his questions,³⁶⁸In Verse 26. saying that Scripture has not narrated this wonder, for I will yet give you³⁶⁹See Ramban further, 46:15. a reason for the omission and proof of the verity of this and other miracles like it. These peoples, however, did not mention it in their books because they differed with his [the Patriarch’s] opinion, and they thought his miracle was a deed of sorcery, just as was the case with our teacher Moses in his confrontation with the Egyptians at the beginning of his deeds. It is on account of this that Scripture no longer mentions this miracle [of Abraham] for it would have had to mention the words of those who differed with him, as it mentioned the words of the Egyptian magicians, and Abraham’s words were not as openly verified to them as were ultimately the words of our teacher Moses, [which were established by ten clearly revealed miracles]. Thus Scripture says, I am the Eternal that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees to give thee this land to inherit it,³⁷⁰Genesis 15:7. for the word hotzeisicha (brought thee out) points to a miracle. It does not say, “that took thee from Ur of the Chaldees;” instead it says, that brought thee out, meaning that He brought out a prisoner from the dungeon³⁷¹See Isaiah 42:7. just as in the verse: that brought thee out from the land of Egypt.³⁷²Exodus 20:2. And He said to Abraham, to give thee this land to inherit it,³⁷⁰Genesis 15:7. because from the time that G-d brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, it was His Will, exalted be He, to make him into a great nation and to give him this land of Canaan. From that day on which Abraham was saved, Terah — his father — and Abraham had in mind to go to the land of Canaan, a distant point far from the land of Chaldaea, out of fear of the king, since Haran, [the city of their inhabitance], was near them [the Chaldeans], and they were one people with one language since Aramaic was their common language. They [Terah and Abraham] wanted to go to a nation where their speech would not be understood by that king and his people. This is the meaning of the verse, And they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan, and they came unto Haran³⁷³Verse 31 here. where their families and ancestors ever lived, and they settled among them, staying there for many days. It was there that Abraham was commanded to do what he had intended, i.e., to go to the land of Canaan, and so he left his father, who later died there in Haran,³⁷⁴Verse 32. his country, and went with his wife and Lot, his brother’s son, to the land of Canaan.³⁷⁵Further, 12:5. Thus Scripture says, And I took your father Abraham from beyond the river, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan,³⁵³Ibid. 3. for Abraham was commanded concerning this when he was yet “beyond the river,” and from there G-d took him and led him throughout all the land of Canaan.
Now according to the opinion of our Rabbis [that Nimrod threw Abraham into a fiery furnace, the name] Ur Kasdim will be understood as the plain meaning indicates, [namely, “Fires of the Chaldees”], from the same expression: I am warm, I have seen ‘ur’ (the fire).³⁷⁶Isaiah 44:16. Scripture thus says, And they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees,³⁷³Verse 31 here. even though Terah did not go forth from the fiery furnace. However, since Abram is the main [person of interest, it mentions Ur Kasdim although the name has reference to him alone]. It may be that on account of the miracle the place came to be so called, just as we find, And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah,³⁷⁷Deuteronomy 9:22. — These places were so named because of the events that occurred there. See Numbers 11:3, 34. Exodus 17:7. and others. Scripture thus alludes that when Abram went forth from the fiery furnace, they all fled from that country.
And the meaning of the verse, Glorify ye the Eternal ‘ba’urim,’³⁴⁸Isaiah 24:15. is in my opinion consonant with that which the Rabbis have said [concerning Ur Kasdim, namely, that it means “the Fire of the Chaldees”], for urim are the high mountains on which they make fires and “kindle the flares”³⁷⁸Rosh Hashana 22b. The subject there concerns the kindling of flares on the tops of the hills to declare that the day of the New Moon had been declared. to make the new events known quickly in distant places, even as it says [in the second half of the verse]: In the isles of the sea, the name of the Eternal, the G-d of Israel.³⁴⁸Isaiah 24:15. The sense of that verse is thus that for the glory of G-d they should let the whole world know the miracle and the wonder which had been done to them. So also, ‘Me’urath’ the basilisk³⁴⁹Ibid., 11:8. means his [the serpent’s] hole, where his fire and great heat are, just as he is indeed called saraph [the serpent, but literally, “the burning one”]. And I have seen in the Midrash:³⁷⁹Pesikta d’Rabbi Kahana, 21. “Arise, ‘uri’ (shine).³⁸⁰Isaiah 60:1. Therefore glorify ye the Eternal ‘ba’urim.’³⁴⁸Isaiah 24:15. How do you glorify Him? Rabbi Yeivo bar Kahana said, ‘With these torches such as the lanterns which burn in synagogues³⁸¹This is one of the earliest sources for establishing the religious duty of kindling lights in a synagogue. See my edition of Kithvei Rabbeinu Bechaya, pp. 89-90. in all places, even in the isles of the sea,³⁴⁸Isaiah 24:15. to the glory of G-d.’” Thus it is clear that the Rabbis understood the word ba’urim as an expression of fire, in accordance with its simple sense.

וימת הרן על פני תרח אביו, during his father’s lifetime. Something parallel occurred when the two sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu died during the lifetime of their father (Numbers 3,4).

וימת חרן על פני תרח אביו, “Haran died during the lifetime of his father Terach.” Some commentators hold that until that time children did not die during the lifetime of their fathers except for Peleg (Genesis 11,18). Hence the Torah reported that this was an exception. A similar expression is used in Numbers 3,4 when the appointment of Elazar and Ittamar as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron is reported. [I do not think the argument is sound, as Lemech, Noach’s father died during the lifetime of his own father Methuselah. Ed. (5,31)]

The Midrash Aggadah. Rashi [offers the Midrashic explanation] because of a question on the simple meaning: What does it matter to us whether Haran died during Terach’s lifetime or after his death? Whereas according to the Midrash Aggadah, it teaches us the miracle of Avraham being saved while Haran was burnt [to death].

בארץ מולדתו, the Torah mentions this seeing that Terach, Haran’s father did not die in the land where he had been born, but died in Charan after having emigrated there. This became the reason why Lot emigrated with his grandfather Terach from Ur Kasdim.

בארץ מולדתו באור כשדים, “in the country of his birth in Ur of the Chaldaeans.” According to Nachmanides these last words refer back only to Haran, whereas Avraham himself was not born in Ur, seeing that his forefathers were descendants of Shem, whereas the Chaldaeans were descended from the descendants of Cham. Compare Genesis 14,13 where Avraham is described as an Ivri, and not as a “Casdi.” We also have clear evidence from Joshua that the forefathers of the Israelites had originally resided on the east bank of the river Euphrates. (Joshua 24,2) If, at the time when Terach took Avraham, and Haran and family leaving Nachor behind, and settled in Charan which is hundreds of miles north east of Shinor the land of the Casdim, how could Eliezer who was bidden to seek out Avraham’s family, have looked for Rivkah in Charan rather than in Ur? The truth is that Terach and family originated in the land of Aram that is east of the Euphrates. (Ur, downstream, was immediately west of the Euphrates) When Bileam commenced his blessing in Numbers 23,7 he described how Balak had brought him all the way from Aram, which he defines as הררי קדם, the range of mountains in the east, hardly identical with the Mesopotamian valley in which Ur was situated. The Talmud (Baba Batra 91) reports that Avraham had been jailed for 10 years, 3 of them in a town called כותא. It is common knowledge that this town was in the land of the Casdim (lower Mesopotamia, near Ur) as we have a verse describing the King of Ashur as coming from Babylon and Kuta as well as from Gaza and Chamat.(Kings II 17,30) In these verses the exile of the ten tribes is described. It is clear that Kuta would not have been situated anywhere near the route described in Kings II as taken by the King of Ashur who had taken the ten tribes prisoner, and who was about to repopulate the cities of Samaria with people from elsewhere, so that the land he had captured would not become desolate. Apparently, Kuta was a town in the general region of Aram Naharayim, the town in which Nachor, grandfather of Rebeccah had made his home (compare Genesis 24,10) Kuta was a large city in those days between the land of Israel and the river Tigris. Terach had moved with his older son Avraham from there downstream to the land of the Casdim (Ur) .Haran, his younger son was born in Ur. Whereas Nachor had remained in what is referred to as עבר הנהר, the Torah testifies only concerning Haran that he had been born in Ur Casdim. This information has also been recorded independently in books dating back to ancient times as pointed out by Maimonides in his Moreh. He writes that Avraham who had been born in Kuta had disagreed with the religions of his contemporaries Most of them were sun worshippers. The king incarcerated him for his refusal to toe the theological line deemed politically correct in his time. After many years when the king became afraid that the people might adopt some of the views Avraham had spread, he exiled him to an area bordering on the land of Canaan. This occurred after he had first deprived him of all his earthly belongings. At any rate, the region still belonged to that known as Ur Casdim. Avraham experienced either a manifest miracle, by being saved from the persecution of the king, or at least he experienced what is known as a נס נסתר, a “hidden miracle,” such as a sudden unaccountable change of heart by the king not to sentence him to death and to release him from jail allowing him to emigrate to a country of his choice. Alternately, he might even have thrown him into a furnace from which G’d saved him by direct intervention in his fate. The nations of the world in those days did not record this miracle in their records as it did not suit them to publicize proof which would cause people to question their beliefs. They were not as truth-loving as Pharaoh’s advisers, the magicians who openly admitted that the G’d in heaven had manifested Himself when working the ten plagues. Moreover, even assuming that they had witnessed this miracle, they would not attribute it to Divine intervention by Avraham’s G’d, but would see in this the work of magicians, or invisible forces in nature. Do not allow Ibn Ezra to confuse you with his various questions on this subject, especially the fact that the Torah failed to mention such an outstanding miracle as G’d saving Avraham from a fiery furnace. The magicians of Pharaoh, until the third plague, that of the lice and vermin, also thought that Moses was a superior magician rather than an emissary from G’d who could call on G’d to perform miracles. Had the Torah reported on the miracle of Avraham’s survival of that experience in Nmirod’s furnace, it would also have had to devote some space reporting the refusal of the onlookers and especially Nimrod’s theologians, to acknowledge that this had proven the existence of an invisible G’d who was the Creator, and therefore able to control laws of nature. It suffices for the believers that the Torah wrote (Genesis 15,7) “I am the Lord Who has taken you out from Ur Casdim to give you this land (Canaan) as an inheritance.” The very expression הוצאתיך, “I have taken you out,” alerts the reader to the fact that the Torah refers to something supernatural, to a miracle. Ever since G’d had saved Avraham miraculously, He had had in mind to commence the process that would lead ultimately to Avraham’s descendants inheriting the land of Canaan. From that day on, both Terach and his son Avraham had intended to get away as far as possible from lands under the control of Nimrod. Their arrival in Charan must be viewed as a way station (halfway house) on the way to the land of Canaan. The advantage of Charan was the fact that they had relatives there, people who spoke their language. As a result, what was intended as a brief stopover became a prolonged stay in Charan. While he was in Charan, G’d commanded Avraham to do what had been in his mind already, namely to emigrate to the land of Canaan. He therefore left his aging father behind in Charan. Whereas Terach died in his birthplace Charan, Avraham took his wife and his nephew Lot to move to Canaan with him. This is what Joshua had in mind when he reminded the people shortly before his death of their origins, and how G’d had taken their forefather Avraham from a region called עבר הנהר, “the far side of the river Euphrates.” (Joshua 24,2-7) The reference to that region was meant to tell the people that this is where Avraham was commanded to begin his pilgrimage. G’d made Avraham traverse the entire length of the land of Canaan According to our sages (who say that Nimrod had thrown Avraham into a fiery furnace for his refusal to toe the theological line of his time) the words אור כשדים are to be understood literally, i.e. “the fire of the Chaldaens.” This expression is used in a similar sense in Isaiah 44,16חאח, חמותי, ראיתי אור, “hurrah, I am warm, I can feel the heat.” Terach had not been thrown into the furnace, so he did not need to be saved. The Torah concentrates on the principal personality in that episode, leaving out some details. The principal character was Avraham, hence it was only he to whom G’d referred to when He reminded him of the purpose for which he had been saved. Alternately, the reason why that place was namedאור כשדים, was on account of the miracle which had occurred there when Avraham was saved. We have numerous occasions when locations where the Israelites stopped on their journey through the desert were given names based on what had occurred there, such as תבערה, (Numbers 11,3; or קברות התאוה, Numbers) The verse in our portion would allude to the fact that when Avraham came out of the furnace the whole family fled from that region. This would be parallel to the use of the wordאורים in Isaiah 24,15 באורים כבדו ה' where it means: “therefore honour the Lord in the lands of the mountains where they light signal fires to communicate news items over long distances.” This would be a veiled reference to communicating the miracle that had happened to Avraham in the fiery furnace of Nimrod. The expression מאורות צפעוני, is a description of the lair of a serpent whose poison is as burning as hot fire. This serpent is also known as שרף, [from שרפה, “burning.” Ed.]

באור כשדים, a place known nowadays as Ur Kasdim, It could not have had that name at the time Terach and Avraham lived, as כשד the son of Nachor had not been born until later (Genesis 22,22) The offspring of this Kessed became were known as the Kasdim.

אור, the word means: “valley.” It occurs in this sense also in Isaiah 24,15 על כן באורים כבדו ה', “therefore honour the Lord in the valleys.” The view of our sages in the Midrash that the name is a reference to the place where Avraham was saved from the furnace of Nimrod is well known. (Bereshit Rabbah 38,13) They understand the word אור as meaning “fire.”