Midrash sobre Gênesis 11:26

‎ And in the night that Abram was born, all the servants of Terah and all the wise men and the ‎astrologers of Nimrod came, and they ate and drank in the house of Terah and they were ‎greatly rejoiced all night. And when the wise men and the astrologers left Terah's house they ‎lifted up their eyes unto heaven on that night to observe the stars; and behold a very large ‎star came from the rising of the sun and ran about in the heavens and swallowed up four stars ‎from the four winds of heaven. And the wise men and the astrologers were greatly astonished ‎at that spectacle, and the wise men reflected over the matter and they knew its meaning at ‎once. And they said to each other: This cannot be otherwise but in reference to the child that ‎was born unto Terah, that he will be great and that he will be increased and exceedingly ‎multiplied, and that he will inherit all the earth, he and his children forever, and that he and his ‎seed will slay great kings and possess themselves of their lands. And all the wise men, and all ‎the astrologers, went quietly to their homes that night. And in the morning they arose, and all ‎the wise men and all the astrologers assembled in the house appointed for their meetings, ‎and they spoke among themselves saying: Behold the sight we have seen last night is not ‎known, and it hath not been communicated unto the king. And now if the king should come to ‎the knowledge of that matter at some future time, then he will say unto us: Why have ye ‎withheld from me all those things? and all of us will have to die on that account. And now ‎come and let us impart to the king all about the sight we have seen last night, as well as its ‎interpretation, so that we may be free of all responsibility. And they did accordingly, and they ‎went unto the king, and coming unto his presence, they bowed down before him to the ‎ground and saluted him saying: May the king live, may the king live! We have been informed ‎that a son hath been born unto Terah thy chief commander, and we went unto his house last ‎night, and we were eating and drinking and rejoicing in his house all night. And when we, thy ‎servants, departed from the house of Terah, so that each of us should go to his home for the ‎rest of the night, we lifted up our eyes towards heaven and beheld a very great star coming ‎from the side of the rising of the sun in a very swift course, and it swallowed up four great ‎stars from the four winds of the heaven. And we, thy servants, were greatly astonished at that ‎strange sight which we have seen, and we were greatly terrified thereat. And we passed our ‎judgment over that strange phenomenon, and we discovered in our wisdom the ‎interpretation of that spectacle in its correctness. For this all was seen on account of the child ‎which was born unto Terah, meaning, that he would become great and very numerous, and ‎powerful, and that he would slay all the kings and inherit their lands, he and his children and ‎his seed forever. And now, oh king our lord, we have informed thee correctly of what we have ‎seen concerning that child, and if it so please the king we would say, that the king give unto ‎Terah the value of that child, and we will slay him ere he grows up and increases in the land, to ‎bring about the great evil, whereby we are all to be driven from the earth, and we, and our ‎children, and our seed perish through his wickedness. ‎

And the king hearkened attentively unto these words, and they pleased him greatly, and he ‎had Terah called, and Terah appeared before the king's presence. And the king said unto ‎Terah: I have been informed that a son hath been born-unto thee yesternight, and such and ‎such things have been seen concerning him in the heavens. Now therefore give me that child, ‎that I may slay him before his great wickedness will grow over us, and I will send unto thee his ‎full value in silver and gold, into thy house. And Terah replied saying; I have humbly listened to ‎the words of my king; whatever the king pleaseth he can do with his servant. But, my king and ‎lord, I would make known to the king what hath occurred unto thy servant yesterday, and I ‎would humbly beseech the king to give an advice unto his servant, and after my king shall have ‎given his servant an opinion on that matter, I will answer unto the king concerning his words. ‎And the king said unto Terah: Speak. And Terah went on saying: Long live the king! It is but last ‎night that, Lyon, the son of Nimrod, came into my house saying: Let me have thy beautiful ‎horse which the king hath given unto thee, and I will give thee its full value in gold and in silver, ‎and I will fill thy house besides with straw and with fodder. And I have bid him wait, until I shall ‎have laid the matter before the king, and whatever the king would say concerning that horse I ‎would do. And now my king, I have communicated unto thee these things, and according to ‎the advice of the king I have to act. And when the king had heard the words of Terah he was ‎exceedingly wroth, and he considered him quite a fool. And the king answered: Art thou so ‎ignorant and foolish, or hast thou lost thy reason to do such a thing, as to think of disposing of ‎thy beautiful horse for silver and for gold, and the more less for straw and for fodder? Art ‎thou, so short in silver and gold, and hast thou no means to buy straw and fod der to feed thy ‎horse, that thou must be reduced to such extremes? And what good will do thee all thy gold , ‎and silver, all thy straw and fodder if thou losest thy beautiful horse, the like of which does not ‎exist in the whole earth, and which I the king, have given unto thee? And when the king had ‎finished his speech Terah re plied saying: Hath my king really spoken these words? I beseech ‎thee oh king, what is it thou hast said unto me before: Give me thy son and we will slay him, ‎and I will give unto thee his full value in silver and in gold. And now my Lord, what shall I do ‎with all the silver and gold, after my son is dead? For I shall have no one to inherit my fortune, ‎and after I am dead the same gold and silver would revert to the king who gave it. And when ‎the king heard the words of Terah and the parable he brought concerning the king, the king ‎grew exceedingly wroth, and his anger kindled within him.‎

And when Terah saw that the king was so wroth against him, he answered and said unto the ‎kiug: All that I have is in the hands of my king, whatsoever the king pleaseth he can do unto his ‎servant, and also my child is in the hand of the king with his two older brothers, without ‎money and without price. And the king re plied: Not so; but I will take thy son for his value. ‎And Terah answered unto the king, saying: I beseech thee my lord and king, suffer thy servant ‎to speak a word in the ears of my lord, and may the king hearken unto the words of his ‎servant. And Terah said: May it please the king to grant me three days time, that I may bring ‎the words of my Lord the king before my wife and my household, and I will consult them ‎concerning that matter. And the king hearkened unto the words of Terah, and the king gave ‎him three days for re flection. And Terah departed from the presence of the king, and he ‎hurried into his house and imparted the words of the king to all his household. And when they ‎heard the words of the king they were greatly terrified. And on the third day the king sent ‎unto Terah sayiug: Deliver now nnto me thy son, for the value I have spoken of And if thou ‎failest to comply with my order, then I will send my messengers to slay thee and all that belong ‎to thy household, and there will not remain of thee and all that is thine even a dog. And Terah ‎seeing the urgent manner of the king, hastened and took the child of one of his maid-‎servants, that was born unto him on the same day with Abram, and Terah brought the child of ‎his maid servant unto the king, and received the value thereof. And the Lord favored Terah's ‎course in that matter, so that Abram might be saved and not be slain. And the child which ‎Terah brought unto the king, the king took and with his own hands he dashed its head against ‎the ground, and spilt its brains upon the earth and killed it, thinking it was Abram. And the ‎deception remained a secret from that day on and all of the matter was finally for gotten from ‎the heart of the king, for it was the will of God that Abram should not be put to death. And ‎Terah had taken Abram, and his mother, and the nurse, and secreted them in a cave, ‎supplying them with food for a month, and bringing them all they needed month after month. ‎And the Lord was with Abram and he grew up and he was in the cave for ten years. And the ‎king, and his princes and astrologers, and all the wise men, verily believed that Abram had ‎been killed by the hands of the king. And Haran the son of Terah, Abram's oldest brother, took ‎a wife in those days; and Haran was thirty-nine years of age when he took unto himself a wife. ‎And Haran's wife conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Lot. And she conceived ‎again and bare a daughter, and called her name Milcah, and once more she conceived, and ‎bare a daughter and she called her name Sarai. And Haran was forty-two years old when Sarai ‎was born, and it was in the tenth year of the life of Abram.‎

At that time Abram, and his mother, and her nurse, went forth from the cave, for all that ‎occurred concerning him was entirely forgotten by the king, and by all his servants. And when ‎Abram left the cave he went at once to the house of Noah and his son Shem, and Abram dwelt ‎with them in their house, to learn the knowledge and fear of God, and all the ways of the Lord. ‎And nobody knew Abram, and he ministered unto Noah and unto Shem for many days. And ‎Abram lived in Noah's house for thirty-nine years, and Abram knew the Lord from his third ‎year on, and he walked in the ways of the Lord even unto the day of his death, according to ‎the teachings of Noah and his son Shem. And all the sons of man rebelled against the Lord in ‎those days, and they worshiped other gods, and they forgot the Lord that had created them ‎upon the earth. And the sons of manmade unto themselves their own gods, of wood and ‎stone, which can neither hear, nor speak, nor save; and yet the sons of man served them and ‎con sidered them their gods. And the king, and all his servants, and Terah, and all his ‎household, were the very first in those days among the worshipers of wood and Stone. - And ‎Terah had made unto himself twelve very large gods, according to the twelve months of the ‎year, and every month was set apart for one of the gods, and Terah offered to each one in his ‎month meat offerings and drink offerings, and he would bow down before his gods and serve ‎them. So Terah did through all these days, And the whole generation of the sons of man acted ‎very wickedly, and did all that was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and each of them had his own ‎god; but the Lord and Creator was forgotten. And in those days there was not to be found one ‎man that knew anything of the Lord, save Noah and his household, and all those living under ‎his influence and advice knew the Lord in those days. And Abram the son of Terah grew up at ‎that time in the house of Noah, but no man knew it. And the Lord was with him.And the Lord ‎gave unto Abram a heart full of knowledge and understanding, to know that the manners and ‎actions of his generation were all vanity and wickedness, as also the gods they worshiped he ‎knew to be vain and useless. And Abram saw the sun rising over the earth, and he said in his ‎heart: Verily, I believe the sun which hath the power to shine over all the earth must be the ‎true God, and him will I serve. And Abram knelt down before the sun and prayed unto him all ‎that day, acknowledging the sun to be the Lord and creator and governor of all the earth. But ‎evening came, and in obedience to higher laws the sun disappeared from the earth, and ‎Abram, said in his heart: I am now convinced that this is not God, the creator of all. And Abram ‎continued to speak in his heart, saying: Who is he that hath made the heavens and the earth, ‎and who is it that hath created all these sons of man, and where is he? And night darkened ‎over Abram in his meditation, and he lifted up his eyes to the west, and to the north, and to ‎the south, and to the east, and behold while the sun was slowly passing away and his light ‎faded,‎

the moon and the many stars became visible all above him. Abram observing the moon in her ‎beauty exclaimed: Verily, now I am certain that this is the God and creator of heaven and ‎earth, and all those lesser lights are his servants. And Abram knelt down before the moon, and ‎he prayed unto the moon all that night. And when the morning dawned the sun again rose in ‎his glory according to the law, as on the day before, and moon and stars vanished before the ‎rising of the sun. And Abram saw the change and he wondered greatly at the things which the ‎Lord had created in the earth. And Abram thought a great deal over what he had seen, and he ‎finally concluded, saying unto himself: Now, neither of these can be God; but all of them are ‎servants of the one invisible God, who is the ruler of heaven and of earth, of the sun, and of ‎the moon, and of the stars also. And after that, Abram went to dwell in the house of Noah and ‎Shem where he was confirmed in his belief in God, and he served the Lord all the days of his ‎life, while all his generation had forgot ten the Lord, and all the sons of man were serving gods ‎made of wood and stone. And Nimrod, the king, reigned securely, and he was the sole ruler of ‎all the earth. And all the earth was of one speech and one language, and all the princes of ‎Nimrod, as also Phut, and Mizraim, and Cush, and Canaan, and all their families together ‎consulted at that time, and they said one unto the other: Come and let us build a large city, ‎and within it a strong fortification and a tower, the top of which shall touch the heavens, so ‎that we procure a great name among the nations, and that our enemies can never prevail ‎against us. And we will be the sole rulers of all the earth, and we shall govern all the nations ‎with a strong arm, so that none of their battles can ever be successful to disperse us over the ‎face of the whole earth. And they came all into the presence of the king, and they made ‎known unto him all their deliberations, and the king agreed with them in all they concluded to ‎do. And after the king had consented, the princes and leaders gathered together all their ‎people and their families, numbering about six hundred thousand men, and all of them went ‎forth in search of a spacious land whereon to build the city and the tower. And they did search ‎all over the earth, and they found only one suitable place in a certain valley to the east of the ‎land of Shinar, a space of two days’ journey. And all the people went thither and they dwelt ‎therein. And they began making bricks, and they did burn them thoroughly, to build the city ‎and the tower, which they have resolved upon to erect. But the building of the city and tower ‎lead them to sins and transgressions, even when they commenced to build it. And while they ‎were engaged in building they rebelled against the Lord the God of heaven, and they thought ‎in their hearts to go up into heaven, and wage war against the Lord. And all these men, and ‎their families, divided themselves into three parties. And one party said, we will go up into ‎heaven and wage war against the Lord; and the second party said, we will go up into heaven ‎and there set up our own gods and worship them; and the third party said we will go up into ‎heaven and slay the Lord with spears, and with arrows. And the Lord knew all their actions and ‎all their evil thoughts, and he saw the city and tower which they were building.‎

“…seventy shekels according to the holy shekel…” (Numbers 7:13) Seventy in parallel to the seventy nations which descended from him (from Adam). Another explanation. Why seventy? In parallel to the seventy verses from the beginning of the book of Genesis to the curse of the snake. R’ Pichas said: there are two enemies who were not cursed until seventy verses had been completed about them – the snake and Haman the wicked. Regarding the snake, from “In the beginning…” (Genesis 1:1) until “…cursed be you more than all the cattle…” (Genesis 3:14) is seventy verses. Regarding Haman, from “After these events, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman…” (Esther 3:1) until “And they hanged Haman…” (Esther 7:10) is seventy verses. For the purpose of seventy he was hanged on fifty (cubits of wood). Another explanation. In parallel to the seventy holy names from ‘In the beginning’ until the story of the snake. And if you say there is one more (than seventy) “…and you will be like gods…” (Genesis 3:5) is not a holy name. Another explanation. In parallel to the seventy years before Terach gave birth to Avraham, as it says “And Terach lived seventy years…” (Genesis 11:26) Two people lived in two generations for seventy years. Kenan in the first generation, “And Kenan lived seventy years…” (Genesis 5:12) and Terach in the second generation. Another explanation. Parallel to the seventy days which they wept over Yaakov the pious, as it says “…and the Egyptians wept over him for seventy days.” (Genesis 50:3) Another explanation. Parallel to the seventy days of goodness which the Holy One gave to Israel – seven days of Passover, eight days of Sukkot, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, Shavuot and the fifty two days of Shabbat in the solar year make seventy. Another explanation. Parallel to the seventy names of the Holy One, the seventy names of Israel, the seventy names of the Torah, the seventy names of Jerusalem. Another explanation. Parallel to the seventy years that Adam took away from his life and gave to David ben Yishai. It was fit that he live for a thousand years, as it says “…for on the day that you eat thereof, you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) And a day to the Holy One is a thousand years, as it says “For a thousand years are in Your eyes like yesterday, which passed, and a watch in the night.” (Psalms 90:4)

And Terah said unto Abram: Behold my son, these are they that have created all that thou ‎seest in this world, as also thee and me, and all the sons of man. And thus saying, Terah bowed ‎down before everyone of his gods, and finally left the chamber taking Abram along with him. ‎And when Abram had left the house of the gods, he hastened to his mother and said unto her: ‎Behold my father hath shown unto me those that have created the heavens, the earth, and all ‎the sons of man. And how I pray thee hasten and take a kid from the sheep, and prepare of it ‎a savory meat, so that I may bring it as an offering unto the gods of my father, that they may ‎eat thereof; perhaps that thus I might find grace before them. And his mother hastened to ‎take a kid from the midst of the flock, and she made thereof good and savory meat and she ‎brought it unto Abram. And Abram took the savory meat from the hands of his mother, and ‎brought it before the gods and he served it for them, as if inviting them to eat thereof. But ‎there was no sound and no motion, nor did any one put forth a hand to take and eat. And ‎Terah knew nothing of what Abram hath done. And Abram sat quietly in the house of the ‎gods, but seeing that the gods were not willing to partake of his offering he said: May be that I ‎have brought too little or perhaps my offering is not of the kind to be acceptable unto them. ‎Now therefore to-morrow I will prepare much more and better meats than those I brought to-‎day, to see what the end will be. And in the morning Abram instructed his mother concerning ‎the offering he had decided upon, and his mother took accordingly three kids from the flock, ‎and she made thereof savory meats as it was the desire of her son, and she placed them in the ‎hands of her son Abram, unbeknown to Terah his father. And Abram took the savory meats ‎from the hand of his mother, and he carried them into the chamber of the gods. And he ‎divided the meats among the gods and placing a dish before everyone of them he invited ‎them to eat of his offering. And Abram seated himself before them, and tarried there the ‎whole day to see whether they would eat or not. But there was no sound, and no motion, and ‎none of the gods put forth a hand to taste of the savory meats before him. And the spirit of ‎God came over Abram, on the evening of that day, and he cried out in the midst of the house: ‎Woe unto my father and woe unto this entire wicked generation, whose hearts are bent upon ‎vanities, to worship idols like these here, made of wood and stone; images that can neither ‎eat nor smell, and neither hear nor speak. They have a mouth but cannot speak, eyes and ‎cannot see, ears and cannot hear, hands and cannot grasp, feet and cannot walk. Like unto ‎them may be all those that make them, all those that serve them and bow down before them. ‎And Abram became very wroth at his father, and he hastened and took an axe, and hurried ‎into the chamber to the gods of his father, and broke them all to pieces. And when he had ‎broken them to pieces, he put the axe into the hands of the largest god, which he did not ‎break, and he left the chamber hastily.‎

And Terah heard something like blows with an axe and he hurried into his house, when he ‎noticed that the noise came from the hall of his gods. And Terah hastened into the chamber to ‎ascertain the cause of all that noise, and he met Abram just coming out of it. And when Terah ‎entered the house of his gods, he saw all were shattered to pieces, save the largest one of ‎them which held the axe in his hands; and Terah saw also the savory meat-offerings before ‎each of the idols. And seeing that great destruction, Terah's wrath kindled within him, and he ‎ran out unto Abram. And he found him and said unto him: What is it thou hast done unto all ‎my gods? And Abram replied unto Terah: Not so my Lord, but I have brought a savory meat ‎offering before them. And while I came before them with the meats, each of the gods put ‎forth his hand to eat, before the largest god could take some for himself. And when the large ‎god saw their ill-manners then his anger rose and he seized the axe which was in the house ‎and went and broke them all to pieces. And you can see the axe in his hands even now. And ‎Terah grew furiously angry at his son, and he screamed out bitterly: What is it that thou art ‎saying? Darest thou to come with such falsehood before thy father? Wilt thou try to make me ‎believe such things, as if I did not know that these gods have no soul, and no spirit, and no ‎strength within them? For are these gods anything but pieces of wood and stone which I ‎myself have shaped into images? And now darest thou to tell me the falsehood, that the ‎greatest god among them hath broken all the other ones to pieces, while it is thou that hath ‎done all that mischief, putting finally the axe into the hands of the greatest of the gods, to ‎deceive me. And Abram replied unto his father, saying: Now if thou knowest all that, how ‎canst thou worship these idols which have neither strength nor power to do the least thing? ‎Can those idols, in whom thou trusted, save thee in the hour of danger, can they hear thy ‎prayers when thou callest upon them, or can they deliver thee from the hands of thy enemies, ‎and fight thy battles for thee, that thou art worshiping those idols of wood and stone, which ‎can neither hear nor speak.‎

And now it is not good for thee to do these things, nor for those men that are attached unto ‎thee. Have ye all lost your reason and become fools to worship wood and stone, while ye are ‎forgetting the Lord your God who made heavens and earth, and who hath created you in the ‎earth? And why should ye summon upon your heads the great evil which must follow the ‎worship of wood and stone? Have not your forefathers acted in the same way, in times of old, ‎until the Lord had brought over them the waters of the flood to the destruction of the whole ‎earth. And now how can ye reasonably do again the same wicked things, to worship wood and ‎stone, strange gods, which can neither hear nor speak, nor deliver from trouble, while at the ‎same time ye invite the anger of the Lord against your souls and upon the souls of all your ‎household? And now my father do abstain from doing these things. Thus saying Abram hurried ‎and jumped towards the big idol, took the axe from its hands and chopped the 'god to pieces ‎in the presence of his father Terah, and then he took flight. And Terah, seeing what his son ‎had done, hastened from his house into the presence of the king, and he knelt down before ‎the king, saying: May it please thee, oh king, it is now fifty years since a son hath been born ‎unto me, and he did unto me and my gods according to this manner. And now, oh king, do ‎send thy messen gers after my son, that he be seized and brought before thee for judgment, ‎to be punished according to his wickedness, in order that we be saved the punishment for his ‎great sins. And Nimrod dispatched three of his servants and they went and seized Abram and ‎they brought him before the king. And the king was surrounded by all his princes and officers, ‎and Terah, Abram's father, sat before them. And the king said unto Abram: What is it that thou ‎hast done unto thy father and unto his gods? And Abram answered in the words that he spoke ‎first unto his father, saying: The largest god which was in the house hath done all that my ‎father is accusing me of before thee, oh king! And the king replied: And dost thou suppose ‎those gods have the capacities to speak, to eat and to do as thou sayest? If this be so, said ‎Abram, why dost thou serve them thy self, and what for dost thou mislead thy people into the ‎worship of those idols, which can neither deliver thee from danger, nor do anything from the ‎greatest to the smallest? Why dost thou not worship him who is the God of the heavens and ‎of the earth, and in whose hand it is to kill and to give life?

Woe unto thee, oh foolish and ignorant king, woe unto thee forever! I thought thou leadest ‎thy subjects in the ways of rectitude, but on the contrary thou fillest with thy sins all the world, ‎as also the hearts of thy people that follow thee. Dost thou not know it, hast thou never heard ‎of it, that thy forefathers have been guilty of the same wicked actions which thou art now ‎practicing, and finally the Lord had to bring over them the waters of the flood to destroy the ‎whole earth on their account. And now why dost thou rise up now, and all thy people with ‎thee, to re-enact all the sins of old, and thus cause the anger of the Lord to kindle against thee ‎and against all thy princes and thy servants, until the Lord of the universe will smite thee and ‎all the earth with the greatest of all evils. Now therefore return ye all, and may the king abstain ‎from the worship of idols made of wood and of stone, but serve ye only the Lord, the creator ‎of all things, and the ruler of all the sons of man. And if thy evil heart, oh king, keep thee from ‎leaving its wicked ways, then thou wilt die in shame at the end of thy days, thou and thy ‎people and all those that are attached unto thee, and all those that give ear unto thy words, ‎and all those that walk in thy evil ways. And when Abram had concluded to speak before the ‎king and his princes, Abram lifted up his hand and pointing to the heavens he exclaimed with a ‎loud voice: The Lord who seeth everything may see and judge these wicked men. And when ‎the king had heard Abram's word he ordered Abram to be cast into prison, and Abram ‎remained in prison for ten days. And at the end of those days, the king sent messengers to ‎summon before his presence all the princes and warriors, and all the governors of his various ‎provinces, and all of them assembled and took their seats before the king, to listen unto his ‎words. And Abram was still in prison. And the king spoke unto all his princes, and officers, and ‎warriors saying: Have you heard what the son of Terah hath done unto his father, and unto his ‎gods? Such and such things did he do, and when I had him brought before my presence he ‎spoke to me accord ing to these words. And he was not moved, and there was no fear in his ‎heart to say all these things before me. And now the son of Terah is in prison, and it is for you ‎to judge him and to decide what should be done unto him, who hath cursed the king, and who ‎hath done all these things which I have related in your hearing. And all of them replied saying: ‎May it please thee, oh king! the man that dareth to curse the king is to be punished by hanging ‎to a tree, but he who doeth the things thou hast spoken of must be burned in fire, as it is ‎stated in our laws. And now to do the lawful thing, we beseech thee, oh king, to have a fire ‎kindled in the brick furnace of the king, and let it burn day and night, and then let the son of ‎Terah be cast into it to be burnt to death.‎

And the king acted accordingly, and he Ordered the brick furnace, which was in Casdim, to be ‎kindled, and the fire to be kept up for three days and three nights, and then the king ‎commanded to bring Abram from the prison to be burnt in the fire. And all the servants of the ‎king, and all the princes, the warriors, and the officers, and all the governors of the various ‎provinces and all the judges, and all the inhabitants of the land stood before the furnace, to ‎the number of nine hundred thousand, to see Abram, and what was to be done unto him. And ‎all the women and children were assembled upon the roofs and towers, so that there was not ‎a single person which did not come to see the burning of Abram. And when Abram ‎approached in the midst of the guards, all the astrologers and the wise men saw his face. And ‎as soon as they saw Abram's face they cried out before the king, saying: Oh our king and lord, ‎verily this man is well known unto us, for he was once the child concerning whose birth we ‎have seen the great star swallow up four other stars. And it is now fifty years, precisely to-day, ‎since we have said these things unto the king. And now it is certain that his father is guilty of ‎having deceived thee by bringing before thee another child which thou thyself hast then slain. ‎And the king was extremely wroth on hearing their words, and he ordered to bring Terah ‎before him, and the king said unto Terah: Hast thou heard the words which my astrologers and ‎wise men have spoken? And now inform me correctly of what thou hast done and how thou ‎hast accomplished those things, and if there be truth in thy words I shall spare thee. And ‎Terah, seeing the anger of the king, confessed, saying: Oh my king, thou hast heard the truth ‎and it is even as thy wise mren and astrologers have informed thee. And the king said: How ‎couldst thou do such a thing, to rebel against my words and to bring unto me, and take the - ‎value for, a child which was not begotten of thee? And Terah replied: Because my compassion ‎was excited in behalf of my child at that time, and I took the child of my maid servant and ‎brought it unto the king. And the king continued: And who is it that hath advised thee to do ‎that thing? Tell me truthfully all about it so that thy soul be spared and thou be not put to ‎death. And Terah was greatly afraid of the king, and he said: Haran my oldest son advised me ‎to do these things. And Haran was thirty years old when Abram was born. And Haran had ‎never advised Terah to do anything of the kind, but Terah, being greatly afraid of the king, said ‎so in order to save his own life. And the king said: If this be so, then thy son Haran must be ‎burned in the fire as well as his brother Abram, for the judgment of death stands against him ‎lawfully for opposing the will of the king, in doing these things. And Haran was inclined towards ‎Abram and his God all that time, but he kept it within his heart,

saying unto himself: Now the king has seized upon Abram for doing all these things, therefore ‎I will wait to the end. If Abram will be stronger than the king then I will follow Abram, and if the ‎king be the successful one, then I will follow the king. And when Terah had said to the king all ‎those things concerning Haran the king ordered forthwith to seize Haran, as well as Abram his ‎brother, and accordingly both, Abram and Haran his brother, were brought together to be ‎burnt in the fire. And all the inhabitants of the land, and all the princes, and all the women and ‎children were assembled around there on that day. And the servants of the king took hold ‎upon Abram and upon his brother and they stripped them of their coats and other garments, ‎only their under clothes were left upon them. And they bound their hands and feet with ropes ‎of linen, and the servants of the king lifted them up and cast them both into the furnace. And ‎the Lord espoused Abram’s cause and he had mercy upon him. And the Lord came down and ‎delivered Abram from the fire, so that he was not burnt. Only the ropes with which Abram was ‎bound were burnt from him, but Abram himself was unhurt, and he walked about in the midst ‎of the fire. Haran however died as soon as thrown into the furnace and his body burnt up into ‎ashes, because his heart was not fully decided to follow the Lord. And a fearful flame issued ‎from the mouth of the furnace consuming the men that threw Abram into the fire. And of ‎those men all were burnt up to death, to the number of about twelve thousand. And Abram ‎continued walking up and down in the fire of the furnace for three days and three nights. And ‎the servants of the king saw him, and they came unto the king saying: Behold Abram is walking ‎up and down in the fire of the furnace, and not even his undergarments are burnt, only the ‎ropes that we bound him with are burnt off his hands and feet. And when the king heard ‎these things, he doubted their words, for he could not believe it. And the king sent his most ‎trustworthy princes to ascertain the truth of their words. And the princes went and saw it and ‎returned unto the king, saying: Verily it is the truth that thy servants have spoken. And the ‎king hastened unto the furnace to convince himself, and he saw Abram walking up and down ‎in the fire of the furnace, while the body of Haran was seen burnt up completely by the fire. ‎And the king wondered greatly at these things. And the king ordered his servants to take ‎Abram out of the furnace; and they approached to the mouth of the furnace, but they could ‎not come near it, for the heat of the fire and the flames came forth against them, and the ‎servants of the king ran away from before the great heat. And the king rebuked his servants ‎for running away, saying: Hasten and rescue Abram from the midst of the fire, lest ye be put to ‎death. And the servants of the king approached once more to bring Abram out of the furnace, ‎and a great flame issued against them so that eight of the servants were burnt up.‎

And when the king saw that the men could not possibly approach the fire lest they be all ‎burnt, then the king called unto Abram: Oh, Abram, servant of the God who is in, heaven, get ‎thee out of the fire and come hither before me. And Abram obeyed the commandment of the ‎king, and Abram went forth from the midst of the fire, and he came and stood before the king. ‎And when Abram came forth the king and his servants saw him in his under-garments, for ‎nothing save the ropes that bound him, burnt up in the fire. And the king said: How is it that ‎thou hast not been burnt up in the fire? And Abram replied: The God of heaven and earth in ‎whom I trust, and who is all powerful, he hath saved me from the fire whereinto I was cast at ‎thy command. And Haran, Abram's brother, perished in the fire, and they searched the entire ‎furnace for some part of his body, but they found nothing as it was completely burnt up. And ‎Haran was eighty-two years old when he was burnt in the fire of Casdim. And when the king ‎and all the princes and the servants saw Abram delivered from the midst of the fire, they came ‎and bowed down before Abram. And Abram said unto them: Do not bow down before me, ‎but bow down before the Lord of the universe who hath saved me from this fire. It is he who ‎hath created the soul and spirit of every son of man and who formed the body of every one, ‎and that God will deliver from all danger, those that fear him and trust in his goodness. And ‎the king and his princes could not understand it how Abram was saved while Haran was burnt ‎up to ashes. And the king gave unto Abram great many presents, also two servants which ‎were the highest in the king's house, the name of the one being Oni, and the name of the ‎second Eliezer. And the princes of the king gave unto Abram likewise many valuable presents ‎of silver and of gold and of gems, and they told him to go, and he departed from them in ‎peace. And many of the people followed him, and about three hundred men concluded to ‎abide and dwell with him. And Abram returned unto the house of his father and he dwelt ‎there. And Abram walked in the ways of the Lord and he turned the hearts of all his people to ‎serve the Lord and to worship him all the days of their lives. And Nahor and Abram took unto ‎themselves wives from the daughters of Haran their brother. The wife of Nahor was Milcah ‎and the wife of Abram was Sarai. And Sarai, Abram’s wife, was barren, she had no children in ‎those days.‎

And it came to pass, two years after Abram had been delivered from the fiery furnace, which ‎was the fifty-second year of Abram’s life, that the king sat upon his regal throne in Babel. And ‎the king fell asleep and he dreamed a dream, and behold he was standing with his army ‎before the fiery furnace which belonged to the king. And the king lifted up his eyes, and saw a ‎man, after the likeness of Abram, going forth from the furnace with a drawn sword in his hand. ‎And the man ran against the king and the king greatly terrified fled from before him. And the ‎man took an egg and threw it at the head of the king, and the egg became a mighty stream ‎wherein all the king's armies were submerged and died, only the king and three men escaped ‎with him. And the king looked at the three men that were with him and behold they were all ‎dressed in regal garments like unto the garments of the king, and in figure and appearance ‎they were the semblance of the king. And while they were escaping, the great river became ‎again an egg as it was before. And from the egg went forth a young bird which flew at the ‎head of the king and plucked out one of his eyes. And the king was greatly wroth at that sight, ‎and he awoke from his sleep. And the king's mind was very disturbed and the king was in very ‎great fear. And in the morning the king arose from his couch in great terror, and he ‎commanded that all the wise men and his astrologers should come before him, and when they ‎came the king related unto them his strange dream. And one wise man of the king's servants, ‎his name was Anuki, addressed the king, saying: The dream can have reference only to Abram ‎and his seed, and the evil which will grow through them upon the king in some future time. For ‎behold the days are coming when Abram and his seed and his household will array themselves ‎in battle against my lord the king, and they will smite all the hosts and armies of my king. And ‎the strange sight of thy having saved thyself with three other kings, and the river which again ‎turned into an egg as before, and the young bird which plucked out the eye of the king, points ‎to the seed of Abram which will kill thee, oh king, in some future time. This is the dream and ‎such is its meaning and thy servant, oh king, is correct in his interpretation. And now, oh king, it ‎is fifty-two years since those things were foretold and made known unto thee at the time of ‎Abram’s birth, and while Abram is alive on the earth there will be no rest nor peace neither ‎unto thee nor unto thy descendants, wherefore then shouldst thou, oh king, permit Abram to ‎live for thy own destruction? And when Nimrod heard the words of Anuki, he sent his servants ‎secretly to seize Abram and to bring him before the king to be slain

And Eliezer, the servant which the king had given unto Abram, was present when Anuki had ‎thus spoken before the king. And Eliezer ran hastily unto Abram, and he reached there before ‎the messengers of the king had time to arrive. And Eliezer said unto Abram: Arise and flee for ‎thy life before the king's messengers come to kill thee, for such and such was the king's dream ‎and thus the interpretation of Anuki and his advice concerning thee. And Abram hearkened ‎unto the voice of Eliezer and he hied unto the house of Noah and his son Shem, to save his ‎life, and hiding himself there he escaped death. And the servants of the king came to seize ‎Abram, but he was not in his house, and they searched in the entire land and on all the roads, ‎but Abram was not to be found. And when the king's servants were tired searching they ‎returned unto their tents. And the king's anger soon was pacified, and all concerning the ‎dream and Abram was forgotten from the king's heart. And Abram was hidden for one year in ‎the house of Noah, until the king had completely forgotten all concerning these things; but ‎Abram was still in fear of the king because of that matter. And Terah came secretly to visit his ‎son Abram in the house of Noah, and Terah stood still very high in the eyes of the king and in ‎the eyes of the people, And Abram said unto his father: Knowest thou not that Nimrod is ‎planning to kill me, and to wipe out my name from the earth according to the advice of his ‎princes and counselors? And now what hast thou here and whom hast thou here in this land? ‎Arise and let us go all of us, into the land of Canaan, so that we be delivered from his hand or ‎else thou too mightst perish at some future time. And knowest thou not, and hast thou not ‎heard it said that it is not on account of love to thee that he hath done unto thee so much ‎honor, but that he is kind to thee for his own benefit. And even though the king do show unto ‎thee many honors of the kind thou already hast received of him, still all those rewards and ‎distinctions, are mere worldly vanities, for all the riches and all the wealth cannot deliver thee ‎from the anger of the Lord on the day of wrath. And now, oh father, hearken unto my voice, ‎and let us arise and depart and go into the land of Canaan, to be secure against the wickedness ‎of the king. And there thou canst serve the Lord that hath created thee upon the earth, and it ‎will be well with thee, if thou denouncest the vanities which thou art pursuing for so many ‎years. And when Abram had finished his speech Noah and Shem remarked: Indeed the words ‎which Abram hath spoken are true. And Terah listened unto the voice of his son, for it was so ‎decreed by the Lord that Abram should not be slain by the hand of the king. Haran–In ‎Canaan—Nimrod vanquished—Rikayon the first Pharaoh—His great cunning—How he accumu ‎lated wealth—Famine in Canaan—Abram removes to Egypt—He smuggles Sarai across the ‎river in a box— The box forced open–Sarai taken to the king—She denies her husband—How ‎she was saved from the king's wickedness—Abram and Lot separate—The people of Sodom ‎captured—Lot among them—Abram rescues all of them—Refuses any reward–Hagar—Ish ‎mael—The beautiful women of the Tubalites—Feud with the Kittites—Birth of Isaac ‎foretold—Sodom and Gomorrah—Great wickedness—Their orgies—Their peculiar charity—‎Their judges—How Eliezer got ahead of the judge—The scoundrel, Hidod, and his tricks—‎Procrustean beds—How two women were tor tured—Destruction of the cities.‎

And Terah took his son Abram and Lot, the son of his brother Haran, and Sarai his daughter-in-‎law, the wife of Abram, and all the people of his household, and left with them Ur Casdim in ‎Babel to go unto the land of Canaan. And when they reached the land of Haran they made ‎their dwelling place therein, for they found the land very good and spacious and sufficient for ‎all the men that followed them. And the people of the land of Haran saw that Abram was a ‎good and just man, doing right towards God and man and the Lord his God was with him. And ‎the people seeing that, many of the men of Haran came and attached themselves unto ‎Abram, and he instructed them in the knowledge of God and his ways. And the people ‎remained with Abram, and they dwelt in his place, and Abram dwelt in the land for three ‎years. And at the end of seven years the Lord appeared unto Abram and said unto him: I am ‎the Lord who hath brought thee out from Ur Casdim and delivered thee from the hands of thy ‎enemies. And now if thou wilt hearken diligently unto my commandments, my laws and my ‎statutes, and observe them, then I will cause thy enemies to fall down before thee and I will ‎multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and I will send my blessing into all the works of thy ‎land, and thou shalt not want anything thou desirest. And now arise and take thy wife and all ‎belonging unto thee, and go into the land of Canaan. And thou shalt dwell there in the land of ‎Canaan, and I will be unto thee a God, and I will bless thee. And Abram arose and took his wife ‎and all belonging to him and went into the land of Canaan, according to the words of the Lord. ‎And Abram was sixty-five years of age when he emigrated from Haran. And Abram came into ‎the land of Canaan and he dwelt in a city, and he put up his tent in the midst of the sons of ‎Canaan, the inhabitants of the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram at his arrival in the ‎land of Canaan, and said unto him: This is the land which I have given unto thee, and unto thy ‎seed after thee forever And I will make thy seed numerous as the stars of heaven, and I will ‎give unto thee all the lands which thou seest, for their possession. And Abram built an altar on ‎the place where the Lord had spoken unto him, and Abram prayed there in the name of the ‎Lord. And it was at that time, when Abram had lived for three years in the land of Canaan, that ‎Noah died in the same year, which was the fifty-eighth year of the life of Abram. And all the ‎days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years when he died. And Abram dwelt in the land of ‎Canaan, he and his wife and all the men that followed him from among the natives of the land, ‎save Nahor, Abram’s brother, and Terah their father, and Lot the son of Haran, and all ‎belonging unto them, who dwelt in the land of their birth.‎

And in the fifth year of Abram's dwelling in the land of Canaan the people of Sodom and ‎Gomorrah, and all the cities of the plain, rebelled against Chedorlaomer, king of Elam. For ‎during twelve years all the kings of the cities of the plain have been subject to Chedorlaomer ‎and they paid him tribute year after year, and they rebelled against him in the thirteenth year. ‎And in the tenth year of Abram's dwelling in the land a war raged between Nimrod king of ‎Shinar, and Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Nimrod came to do battle with Chedorlaomer and ‎to humble him under his hands, because he had heard that the people of Sodom had rebelled ‎against their king. For Chedorlaomer was one of Nimrod's princes in the days of the building of ‎the tower, and when all of the builders of the tower were dispersed, Chedorlaomer went ‎unto the land of Elam and proclaimed himself king over it and revolted against Nimrod his ‎master. Therefore when Nimrod heard that the people of the plain revolted against ‎Chedorlaomer, Nimrod hastened to make war against him, and he came full of pride and ‎contempt. And Nimrod assembled all his princes and servants, about seven thousand men, ‎and he went against Chedorlaomer. And Chedorlaomer came to meet him with five thousand ‎men, and they prepared for the fight in the valley of Babel, which is between Shinar and ‎between Elam. And all those kings engaged in battle in that place, and Nimrod and all his ‎people were humbled before the men of Chedorlaomer, and there fell in that battle of ‎Nimrod's men about six thousand. And Mardon the son of Nimrod was among the slain. And ‎Nimrod fled and returned unto his country in shame and contempt. And he was subject to ‎Chedorlaomer for many days, And Chedorlaomer also returned unto his land and sent the ‎princes of his host to the surrounding kings, to Arioch king of Ellasor, and Tidal, king of Goyim, ‎to cut a covenant with them; and all submitted in obedience unto his voice. And it was in the ‎fifteenth year of Abram's living in the land of Canaan, which was the seventeenth year of the ‎life of Abram, that the Lord appeared unto Abram and said unto him: I am the Lord thy God ‎who brought thee out from Ur Casdim to give unto thee this land to possess it. And now walk ‎thou before me and be sincere and upright, and regard my instructions, for unto thee and ‎unto thy seed I will give this land to possess it, even from the stream of Mizraim unto the great ‎stream, the stream Prath. And thou shalt be gathered unto thy fathers in peace and in a good ‎old age, and the fourth generation of thy descendants will return into this land to possess it ‎forever. And Abram built an altar and prayed in the name of the Lord who had appeared unto ‎him, and Abram offered up burnt offerings to the Lord upon the altar. At that time Abram ‎returned unto Haran to see his father and his household, and his mother; and Abram and his ‎wife and all belonging unto him returned to Haran and they dwelt there for five years. And ‎many men followed the way of Abram from among the people of Haran, to the number of ‎seventy-two men. And Abram gave them the instructions of the Lord and his ways, and he ‎taught them the knowledge of the Lord. At that time the Lord appeared unto Abram in the ‎land of Haran and said unto him: Have I not spoken unto thee these last twenty years, saying: ‎