Midrash sobre Gênesis 17:2

Another interpretation (of Cant. 4:6): UNTIL THE DAY BECOMES COOL. Until the kingdom of the Holy One appears in this world. (Ibid., cont.:) AND THE SHADOWS FLEE, i.e., the shadows of the kingdom. (Ibid., cont.:) I WILL GO UNTO THE MOUNTAIN OF MYRRH, i.e., Jerusalem. Thus it is stated (in Cant. 5:1): WHEN I COME TO MY GARDEN, MY SISTER, MY BRIDE, I HAVE PLUCKED MY MYRRH ALONG WITH MY SPICE. (Josh. 5:3:) UNTO THE MOUND OF FORESKINS,²⁰Buber again suggests emending to fit Cant. 4:6: UNTO THE MOUND OF FRANKINCENSE. since he took the foreskins and made a mound of them. For that reason the Holy One was revealed to him, as stated (in Gen. 18:1): THEN < THE LORD > APPEARED UNTO HIM. Now when the angels saw this, they also came along with the Holy One, as stated (in Gen. 18:2): WHEN HE LIFTED HIS EYES AND LOOKED, BEHOLD, THERE WERE THREE MEN < STANDING NEAR HIM >. And so David gives praise (in Ps. 25:10): ALL THE PATHS OF THE LORD ARE STEADFAST LOVE AND TRUTH. What is the meaning of ALL THE PATHS OF THE LORD ARE STEADFAST LOVE AND TRUTH? < With reference to > the Torah, its beginning is steadfast love,²¹See above, 4:1; below, 5:2. its end is steadfast love, and its middle is steadfast love. Its beginning is steadfast love. Where is it shown? You find that when the Holy One formed Eve, he adorned her and brought her to Adam, as stated (in Gen. 2:22): THEN THE LORD GOD BUILT THE RIB < WHICH HE HAD TAKEN FROM THE HUMAN INTO A WOMAN >. What is the meaning of BUILT? R. Abbahu said: In Arabia they call the plaited coiffure a "building."²²Cf. Ber. 61a; Shab. 95a; ‘Eruv. 18a; Nid. 45b; ARN, A, 4; Gen. R. 18:1; M. Pss. 25:11; above 4:1; below 5:2. Its end is steadfast love, < i.e., > at Moses' death when the Holy One attended him in his glory,²³BKBWDW: perhaps a misprint for BKBWRW, “at his burial.” as stated (in Deut. 34:6): AND HE BURIED HIM IN THE VALLEY. At the middle there is steadfast love in the case of Abraham, as stated (in Gen. 17:2): AND LET ME PUT MY COVENANT BETWEEN ME AND YOU. When the Holy One was revealed to him, he was sitting, as stated (in Gen. 18:1): < THEN THE LORD APPEARED UNTO HIM > … AS HE WAS SITTING AT THE TENT DOOR IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY.²⁴Below, 8:28. Abraham went to stand up. The Holy One said to him: Do not trouble yourself to stand up. Sit down! It is so stated (in Ps. 110:1): THE LORD (God) SAID TO MY LORD (Abraham): SIT DOWN AT MY RIGHT HAND. Abraham said to him: Is this good manners for me to be sitting while you are standing? The Holy One said to him: Do not trouble yourself. You are an old man of a hundred years. Sit down! The Holy One said to him: By your life, because you are sitting while I stand, your children at the age of three years, at the age of four years, are going to be sitting in the academies and in the synagogues with me standing over them. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 82:1): GOD STANDS IN THE DIVINE CONGREGATION. Abraham began to praise²⁵Rt.: QLS, possibly related to the Gk.: kalos, which means “beautifully.” God (according to Ps. 18:36 [35]): YOU ALSO GAVE ME THE SHIELD OF YOUR SALVATION, when the kings had pursued < me >. It is so stated (in Gen. 15:1): FEAR NOT, ABRAM, I AM YOUR SHIELD. (Ps. 18:36 [35], cont.:) YOUR RIGHT HAND SUSTAINED ME, when you grasped the foreskin along with me as I was cutting. (Ibid., cont.:) AND YOUR CONDESCENSION MAGNIFIED ME, in that I was sitting while you were standing.

Abraham sat and wondered where he was to be circumcised, after the Holy One, blessed be Him, informed him: I will establish My covenant between Me and thee (Gen. 17:2). What follows this verse? And Abraham fell on his face (ibid., v. 3). Once he fell on his face, the Holy One, blessed be He, indicated that place, and a scorpion bit him there. Forthwith, Abraham found himself circumcised. Whence do we know this? We know it from the verse And God spoke unto him, saying: As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee (ibid., vv. 3–4); that is, behold, thou art circumcised. Furthermore, it is written: In the self-same day was Abraham circumcised (ibid., v. 26). Scripture does not say “he circumcised himself” but he was circumcised.

And I will make my covenant between Me and thee (Gen. 17:2). Scripture says elsewhere in allusion to this verse: The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and His covenant, to make them know it (Ps. 25:14). What secret did He reveal to those who feared Him? The secret of circumcision. The Holy One, blessed be He, revealed to Abraham alone the mystery of circumcision. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him. This alludes to Abraham, for it is written about him: Thou art a God-fearing man (Gen. 22:12). What is the meaning of the word sod (“secret”)? It may be explained arithmetically. In the word sod, the samekh is sixty, the vav six, and the dalet four—totaling seventy in all. Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, informed Abraham: I will produce from you seventy, as it is said: Thy fathers descended to Egypt with threescore and ten persons (Deut. 10:22); I will cause seventy elders to descend from them, as it is written: Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel (Num. 11:16); and I will also cause Moses to descend from you, and he will explain the Torah in seventy languages. Therefore, it is written: The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and His covenant, to make them know it.