וַיִּסַּ֣ע אַבְרָ֔ם הָל֥וֹךְ וְנָס֖וֹעַ הַנֶּֽגְבָּה׃ (פ)
И Аврам продолжал путь, продолжая идти на юг.
Midrash Tanchuma
Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred (Gen. 12:9). R. Berechiah opened the discussion with the verse: We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts; what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? If she be a wall, we will build upon her a turret of silver; and if she be a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar (Song 8:8–9). To whom does Scripture refer in this verse? It refers to Abraham at the time when Nimrod ordered that he be hurled into the fiery furnace. He was little because the Holy One, blessed be He, had not yet performed any miracles in his behalf. By why was he called “sister” (ahot)? Because he united (iha) all mankind (into a single brotherhood) before God,3Abraham’s mission was to teach the Oneness of God and the oneness of mankind. just as one who tears a garment apart and then sews it together. Hence, he was called a sister.
Midrash Tanchuma Buber
Jer. 3:19): <HOW I WOULD PUT YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN> AND GIVE YOU A DESIRABLE LAND, a land that the ancestors of the world33Literally: “fathers of the world.” According to Ber. 16b and Rashi, ad loc., the title father should be limited to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Similarly the title mother should apply only to Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, and Rachael. found desirable. <The first of these ancestors was> Abraham, of whom it is stated (in Gen. 12:9): THEN ABRAM JOURNEYED AS HE WENT ON AND TRAVELED TOWARDS THE NEGEB. And so it says (in Gen. 23:4): I AM AN ALIEN AND TRANSIENT AMONG YOU; GIVE ME A BURIAL PLACE AMONG YOU. <The second was> Isaac. {He also found it desirable when he was departing from <this> world. What did he say to his children (in Gen. 49:29)? BURY ME WITH MY ANCESTORS IN THE FIELD OF EPHRON BEN ZOHAR THE HITTITE.}34Note that Gen. 49:1, 28 attributes these words to Jacob. [The Holy One also endeared it to Isaac (in Gen. 26:3): RESIDE IN THIS LAND, <AND I WILL BE WITH YOU AND BLESS YOU>…. ] <The third was> Jacob. This <is what> he commanded (in Gen. 50:5): IN MY GRAVE WHICH I DUG FOR MYSELF IN THE LAND OF <CANAAN, THERE YOU SHALL BURY ME>…. Ergo (in Jer. 3:19): A DESIRABLE LAND, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL (rts: TsBH TsB') HERITAGE OF THE NATIONS, in that it is a land of delights (rt.: TsBH) for the peoples of the world.
Bereshit Rabbah
“He built an altar to the Lord there” – Rabbi Elazar said: He built three altars; one for the good tidings of [being granted] the Land of Israel,56See Genesis 12:7. one for its acquisition,57See Genesis 13:18. and one so his descendants would not fall [in battle].58In this verse, Genesis 12:8. That is what is written [concerning the battle of Ai]: “Joshua rent his garments, fell on his face to the ground before the Ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and they put dust on their heads” (Joshua 7:6). Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua said: They began evoking the merit of Abraham our forefather, as it is stated: “I am dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27). Did Abraham not build an altar in Ai specifically so that his descendants should not fall [in battle] at Ai?
“And proclaimed [vayikra] the name of the Lord” – this teaches that he caused all the people to proclaim the name of the Lord. Vayikra59Literally, he called. – he began converting proselytes to bring them under the wings of the Divine Presence.
“Abram journeyed, steadily journeying to the Negev” (Genesis 12:9).
“Abram journeyed, steadily journeying to the Negev” – he directed his attention and charted his path toward the site of the Temple.
“And proclaimed [vayikra] the name of the Lord” – this teaches that he caused all the people to proclaim the name of the Lord. Vayikra59Literally, he called. – he began converting proselytes to bring them under the wings of the Divine Presence.
“Abram journeyed, steadily journeying to the Negev” (Genesis 12:9).
“Abram journeyed, steadily journeying to the Negev” – he directed his attention and charted his path toward the site of the Temple.