With the possibilities established, later interpreters can build on this and find new significancemystical, magical, ethical, etc. It is suggested that he was a man in search of a greater truth that could possibly be found in the familiar[11] land of Canaan, and that it was Abram who picked up the torch to continue his father's quest, that Terah himself was unable to achieve. I haven't looked into whether a hermenetical/historical answer would work, but I think that's the only way you can go from here. 2000 B.C.E. Oops! Abimelech, who had not laid hands on her, inquired if he would also slay a righteous nation, especially since Abraham had claimed that he and Sarah were siblings. However, if he did not return Sarah to Abraham, God would surely destroy Abimelech and his entire household. Jack Zavada. Isaac was born with Gods promise. Terah is mentioned in Genesis 11:2632 as a son of Nahor, the son of Serug, descendants of Shem. All rights reserved. Genesis 17:19 Then God said, Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. Sarah[a] (born Sarai)[b] is a biblical matriarch, prophetess and major figure in Abrahamic religions. Not only does she remain nameless, but her very existence is only hinted at in the Torah. Terah set out for Canaan but stopped in the city of Haran along the way, where he died. The historicity of these claims is contradicted by the physical evidence, but that is not the concern or perspective of the biblical writers. King Abimelech subsequently had her brought to him. Watch this next: https://youtu.be/YyChonSQiV. He answered, 'Peace!' If the detail of Abram's mother was significant to the story I think the blanks would be filled in. He eventually settles in Sodom, over disputes related to the livestock. Seeing the Letter Tet in a Dream: 9th Anniversary, Study the Torah with Academic Scholarship, By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use, https://thetorah.com/article/heretics-mystics-and-abrahams-mother, On the left Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, he was condemned as a heretic by Orthodox Judaism. She gave birth to Abram's son Ishmael when Abram was eighty-six years old. In response, God told Abimelech that he did indeed have a blameless heart and that was why he continued to exist. Rabbi Hiyya relates this account in the Genesis Rabba: Terah left Abram to mind the store while he departed. [citation needed] Most archaeologists[who?] Later, God came to Abimelech in a dream and declared that taking her would result in death because she was a married woman. In this story, King Nimrods stargazers tell him that Terachs newly-bom son would one day be a danger to his throne. make her a canaanite. Bereshit 1:77b). For this reason the Talmud offers, almost as an afterthought, that knowing these names is helpful in debating heretics, who see the lack of mention of these characters names as a sign of the Bibles lack of authenticity. Abram means "exalted father." Abraham means "father of many nations." Terah, Abraham's father, was a maker of idols. I'm asking because I find it interesting that in discussions about the displacement of the Canaanites by the Israelites in Scripture, it is seldom mentioned that those displacing the Canaanites were themselves Canaanites by heritage. But by the time they were recorded in the Talmud the significance of these names were forgotten or no longer seen as relevant. He is listed as the son of Nahor and father of the patriarch Abraham. Copyright WORLD MISSION SOCIETY CHURCH OF GOD. What were the most popular text editors for MS-DOS in the 1980s? There were three candidates considered to inherit Abrahams estate. and hastened to entertain them with a roasted calf. [26][8]:26. While there are different versions of this story (see, for example, 2 Macc. Genesis 15:3-4 And Abram said, You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir. Abraham laughed in disbelief (Genesis 17:17-19). Abraham Lincoln was born as the son of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks. Please support us. [14] [30] In Galatians 4, she and Hagar are used as an allegory of the old and new covenants: "For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. living in Ur, a Sumerian and Akkadian city, would have the same name as Hamans mother living in Persia 500 B.C.E. Nimrod orders Terach to send him the baby to be put to death, but Terach outwitted the king. How are we to understand the Talmud in light of these observation? Consequently, she was reincarnated into Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, who was also raped. According to Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi in Tafsir Nemooneh, all Shiite exegetes and scholars believe that Azar was not Abraham's father. She is born Sarai (Hebrew: ) in Ur Kadim, or Ur of the Chaldees, believed to have been in present-day Iraq, 1,958 Anno Mundi, according to the Hebrew calendar. While he was living in Gerar, Abraham again claimed that Sarah was his sister. Though ignored in the Torah, one Midrashic legend relates that Amathlai became pregnant with Abraham at the very time that Nimrod learned that a boy would be born soon and this boy wouldsuccessfully rise up against him. To begin with, the Talmuds answer is not the only answer suggested in Jewish tradition. Kernebo could be 'lamb of nebo' and a reference to the mount Nebo, which is the place Moses stood upon to look into the promised land (Deut 34:1) which could, if the source is reliable, potentially suggest a close racial link, i.e. If we realize why, we can realize why we must believe in God the Mother. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Abraham's father was Terah, and his mother was a woman named She was originally called Sarai. Either way, Rav Hanan seems to be suggesting that Terach married the daughter or granddaughter of Job. Answer (1 of 16): Abraham's mother was the wife of Terah, Abram's father. The first candidate was Eliezer. But when he saw their hands went not towards the (meal), he felt some mistrust of them, and conceived a fear of them. Sarah was the wife of Abraham, and the first of the four matriarchs of the Jewish nation.She is widely referred to as Sarah Imeinu, "Sarah Our Mother." Along with her husband, the Patriarch Abraham, Sarah was instrumental in teaching thousands of people about monotheismthe belief in one Gd.1; Known for her kindness and hospitality, Sarah welcomed with open arms all who visited her tent.2 God appeared to Sarah's husband Abraham when he was 99 years old and made a covenant with him. He also ordered his midwives to kill all male infants that were born in the special compounds, but to give many presents to all newborn girls. [27] She is praised for her faith in the Hebrews "hall of faith" passage alongside a number of other Old Testament figures. His older siblings were Mordecai, Josiah, and Mary. Who was Abraham's servant that went on the quest to find a wife for Isaac? Father - Abraham Mother - Sarah Wife - Rebekah Sons - Esau, Jacob Half-Brother - Ishmael; Three heavenly beings visited Abraham and told him in a year he would have a son. Even though Ishmael was born from Abrahams own body, Ishmael could not be the heir. It seemed impossible because Sarah was 90 years old and Abraham was 100! This is marked break from the biblical and Second Temple literature in which she plays a far more ancillary role. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. [16], In Genesis 17 when Abram was ninety-nine years old, God declared his new name: "Abraham" "a father of many nations", and gave him the covenant of circumcision. According to one, Samael came to her and said: "Your old husband seized the boy and sacrificed him. Dont miss the latest essays from TheTorah.com. window.location.replace(""); Eliezer who was born of neither the free woman or the free man represents those who do not believe in God the Father nor God the Mother. At the end of the book, she reveals that her birth name is "Sarah" to her husband, who takes the revelation as a promise from God that they will one day be able to have children. The Talmud identifies Sarai with Iscah, daughter of Abraham's deceased brother Haran,[37] so that in this Sarah turns out to be the niece of Abraham and the sister of Lot and Milcah. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. Song of Songs: Four Approaches to Love in Commentary and Music, The Ilui Who Couldnt Reject Biblical Criticism: Louis Jacobs. Terah Rabbi David D. Steinberg is the co-founder and director of TheTorah.com - Project TABS. Abraham thought Ishmael was qualified as his heir because he was born from his own body. After securing Isaac's position in the family as Abraham's heir, Sarah largely disappears from Genesis, but she is remembered as the ancestress of her people. "[31], In the early and middle 20th century, leading archaeologists such as William Foxwell Albright and biblical scholars such as Albrecht Alt believed that the patriarchs and matriarchs were either real individuals or believable composites of people who lived in the "patriarchal age", the 2nd millennium BCE. for punishment (Genesis Rabbah 38:13). Both his biological mother and his stepmother helped set Abraham Lincoln on the pathway to the presidency. [49], Legends connect Sarah's death with the attempted sacrifice of Isaac,[50] however, there are two versions of the story. (source http://www.jewishmag.com/162mag/abraham_mother/abraham_mother.htm), The question of Abrams ethnicity is interesting from an historical perspective, but the biblical writers offered no information about his early life aside from the names of a few family members and the place they left (Gen.11:26-32). Like mentioned above, this is not just the history of Abrahams family, but it contains an important message regarding who can become Gods children of promise. "[19] Abraham held a great feast on the day when Isaac was to be weaned. "[6] Terah is also mentioned in a biblical genealogy given in 1 Chronicles. She started from Beer-sheba to Hebron, asking everyone she met if he knew in which direction Abraham had gone. No more is heard of her. Then Satan came again in human shape and told her that it was not true that Isaac had been sacrificed, but that he was living and would soon return with his father. Who makes the plaid blue coat Jesse stone wears in Sea Change? [59], There are three stories in Genesis where a patriarch identifies his wife as his sister; scholars debate the relationship among these, with some saying that the account of the encounter of Abraham and Sarah with Pharaoh in Genesis 12-13 is the oldest, while the stories of Abraham and Sarah encounter King Abimelech in Genesis 20, and of Isaac and Rebecca's encounter with a different King Abimelech in Genesis 26, are interpretations of that one, generated to explain it or deal with other matters of concern. Sarah soon became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham, at the very time which had been spoken. In two places in the narrative he says Sarah is his sister (Genesis 12:10 through 13:1, in the encounter with Pharaoh, and Genesis 20, in the encounter with Abimelech). Hagar became pregnant with Ishmael. Yet his mother, Hagar was born as a slave. [54][55][56], The Quran likewise repeats the biblical story that Sarah laughed when she received a divine message confirming her pregnancy, although in the Quran this message is heralded by angels and not by God himself:[57], There came Our messengers to Abraham with glad tidings. Even ignoring these alternative versions, the Talmuds suggestion alone merits a number of observations. This was the reason why God rejected him as Abrahams heir. Thomas, who was born in Rockingham County, Virginia, was the fourth of five children born to the couple. Terah had three sons: Abram, Haran, and Nahor. He is honored by Jews, Muslims, and Christians as a great man, but what religion did he follow before being called by Yahweh? Ishmael represents those who know God the Father but do not believe in God the Mother. This would make Sarah the daughter of Terah and the half-sister of not only Abraham but Haran and Nahor. [4] See the Jewish Encyclopedia article for more information. Zeboyim, as far as Lasha. Eisenstein, 1969, vol.1, pp., 2-3). According to rabbinic literature Terah was a wicked (Numbers Rabbah 19:1; 19:33), idolatrous priest (Midrash HaGadol on Genesis 11:28) who manufactured idols (Eliyahu Rabbah 6, and Eliyahu Zuta 25). However that is supposition. The Sages of the Talmud record that her name was Amathlai, the daughter of Karnebo, and that she became the wife of Terah, Abraham's father. I have heard rumor that she was a Horite priestess is there any validity to this? This indicates that the decisive factor of who can be Abraham's heir was not because of Abraham but Sarah (Genesis 17:16-19). Sarah, then ninety years old, laughed at this idea. Another, slightly different version of this story appears in Sefer Hayashar, P. Bereishit, pp.18-21. script>. Steinberg took the Ner LeElef Rabbinical Outreach training course and moved to Huntington, NY in 2002 to work as an outreach rabbi for the Mesorah Center. [17] Abraham was given assurance that Sarah would have a son. [10] Following God's command, Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and the wealth and slaves that they had acquired, and traveled to Shechem in Canaan. The fifth-century rabbinic midrash Genesis Rabbah dedicates a large amount of attention to Sarah in particular. Abraham thereupon invited all the notabilities to a banquet on the day when Isaac was to be weaned. The Bible does not identify Abram's mother, only his father. As such, he is a descendant of Shem's son Arpachshad. Firstly, it is rather odd that Abrahams mother ca. "[24] Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham, and gave him gifts of sheep, oxen, and servants; and invited him to settle wherever he pleased in Abimelech's lands. I'm interested in an answer from a perspective with a more serious approach to Scripture. She said: "Alas for me! Alternatively, the daughter of may be a mistake, with a copyist not understanding the phrase Amatlai Karnebo, and assuming that the second name was the name of her parent. She was the daughter of Haran[35] and the granddaughter of Terah, an idolater who worshiped the Moon god Nanna[36] and high-ranking servant of Nimrod,[citation needed] the king of Shinar, or Mesopotamia, but not of his wife, Amathlai. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. His thesis centered on the lack of compelling evidence that the patriarchs lived in the 2nd millennium BCE, and noted how certain biblical texts reflected first-millennium conditions and concerns. [38] While in Genesis 20:12 Abraham claims that Sarah "is indeed my sister, my father's daughter" rather than his niece, Rashi asserts that the term "daughter" can also be used regarding a granddaughter, and thus "sister" can be used regarding a niece.[39]. Haran begot Lot. Matthew 13:10-16 The disciples came to him and asked, Why do you speak to the people in parables? He replied, Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to themBut blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear., Matthew 13:34-35 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2008/12/abrahams-canaanite-mother.html. Abraham's father's name in the Bible is Terah. It only takes a minute to sign up. In fact the only reference to her is found in Gen 20:12 we reads: "But indeed she [Sarai]is truly my sister. Abraham is known as the patriarch of the Israelite people through Isaac, the son born to him and Sarah in their old age and the patriarch of Arabs through his son Ishmael, born to Abraham and Hagar, Sarah 's Egyptian servant. GOD BLESS YOU! In 2012, he left his rabbinic post to create TheTorah.com. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our motherNow you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promiseTherefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman. The visitor inquired of Abraham why Sarah laughed at the idea of bearing a child, for her age was as nothing to God. Genesis 20:12, Sarah, Abraham's wife, was his half-neice (Terah's Lincoln's mother, sister and three. @DickHarfield My point was simply that this question wouldn't make it very far on that site because they don't even believe Abram existed. [25], Sarah dies at the age of 127, and Abraham buys a piece of land with a cave near Hebron from Ephron the Hittite in which to bury her, which is the first land owned by the Israelites in Canaan according to the biblical narrative. According to For the place, see, The Masoretic Text gives his age at death as 205. [12], In Jewish tradition, when Terah died at age 205, Abraham (70 years younger) was already 135 years old. While at the tent entrance, Sarah overheard what was said, and she laughed to herself about the prospect of having a child at their ages. Even if one is not particularly bothered by this question (the names of many important women are left out of the Torahs narratives) the rabbis of the Talmud were. If the null hypothesis is never really true, is there a point to using a statistical test without a priori power analysis? In the beginning, Abraham had no children of his own. [4]. [18], According to Ibn Kathir, a scholar of Sunni Islam, Abraham's father is believed to have been a disbelieving man,[19] due to his refusal to listen to the constant advice of his son. Abraham took a stand against idols in his youth. However, God afflicted Pharaoh's household with great plagues. mother of Abraham [was] Amathlai the daughter of Karnebo; Source: http://www.come-and-hear.com/bababathra/bababathra_91.html#PARTb. Since Abraham represents God, Abrahams family must represent Gods family in the kingdom of Heaven. What was his mothers name? Terah is mentioned in Jesus' genealogy in Luke 3:34. Haran died in his native city, Ur of the Chaldees. Changing patterns in Biblical criticism. In Twelve Extraordinary Women by Pastor John F. MacArthur, her life and story is analyzed along with that of Eve, Rahab, Ruth, Hannah, the Virgin Mary, Anna the Prophetess, the Samaritan woman at the well, Mary of Bethany, Martha, Mary Magdalene, and Lydia of Thyatira. Terah is portrayed by Vittorio Gassman in the film Abraham (1993). "Why do you make sport of me?" Is there any known 80-bit collision attack? The name given for this man in Quran 6:74[20] is zar (Arabic: ), As a father, Azar required his son's most sincere advice. We rely on the support of readers like you. His mother passed away when he was very young, and his father remarried to Sarah Bush Johnson, who although she was not his birth mother, developed a very close relationship with Lincoln. [15], In the Christian tradition Abram left Haran after Terah died. The place became known as the Cave of the Patriarchs. The Midrash regards Terah as wicked (E.g., Numbers Rabbah 19:1; She would also have been the aunt of Lot, Milcah, Iscah, and Bethuel, by both blood and marriage. Ishmaels father was Abraham but his mother was Hagar, a slave woman. A woman came with a plateful of flour and asked Abraham 19:33). Sarah, who was eavesdropping, also laughed at the . On the winter morning of January 31, 1861, Abraham . Then Abraham defended what he had said as not being a lie at all: "And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. Haran begot Lot. By raping her, the wicked Shechem removes the impurity that was upon her, thereby freeing her soul. [41] As a token of his love for Sarai the king deeded his entire property to her, and gave her the land of Goshen as her hereditary possession: for this reason the Israelites subsequently lived in that land. This indicates that the decisive factor of who can be Abrahams heir was not because of Abraham but Sarah (Genesis 17:16-19). in "Ur of the Chaldees," where his son Haran died, leaving behind he demanded that Abraham explain what he had done. R. Hanan b. Raba further stated in the name of Rab: [The name of] the Indeed modern scholarship would not see the omission of Abrahams mother as a historical problem, the Torah never records names of women unless there is some reason for it. ", s, al-Tibyn f tafsr al-Qurn, vol. Due to her old age, Abraham found it difficult to fathom and asked God to allow Ishmael to be his heir. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'this is his wife.' 8-17; b. Gittin 57b), the basics are of seven brothers who are seized along with their mother by Antiochus IV Epiphanes and commanded to prove their obedience to the king by eating pork and/or worship idols. A Horite priestess? The family lived in Ur of the Chaldees. Material and Opinions in all Jewish Magazine articles are the sole responsibility of the author; the Jewish Magazine accepts no liability for material used. Genesis 1:26Then God said, Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness . In the Christian fiction novel Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, the protagonist, called "Angel" throughout the duration of the story, is barren. She desperately wanted to avoid going to the special compound, so she told her husband that she was not feeling well. XII. In ancient Israel, the birthright went to the first-born son since they practiced the law of primogeniture. The Sages of the Talmud record that her name was Amathlai, the daughter of Karnebo, and that she became the wife of Terah, Abraham's father. [23], Early next morning, Abimelech informed his servants of his dream and approached Abraham inquiring as to why he had brought such great guilt upon his kingdom. Believing it to be true, she cried bitterly, but soon comforted herself with the thought that the sacrifice had been offered at the command of God. The boy wailed and wept; but he could not escape from his father." Pharaoh then realizes that Abraham is Sarah's husband, not only her brother. [22] From the Quran 74/6, "And [mention, O Muhammad], when Abraham said to his a Azar: Do you take idols as deities? But Terah, a loyal subject of King Nimrod, reminded her that she must follow the king's command and report to the special compound if she was pregnant. For other uses, see, This article is about the person. Since Sarah, Abrahams wife was barren, she gave him Hagar her maidservant to bear Abraham a son. Nahor, who was the son of Serug, who was the son of Reu, who was Something went wrong while submitting the form. In this video Pastor Joe looks at what we know from the Bible. But, in the 1970s, new arguments concerning Israel's past and the biblical texts challenged these views; these arguments can be found in Thomas L. Thompson's The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives (1974), and John Van Seters' Abraham in History and Tradition (1975). Nevertheless, he was rejected by God because he was not a son born from Abrahams own body. She is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. Abraham was one of Noah's descendants. According to Book of Genesis 20:12, in conversation with the Philistine king Abimelech of Gerar, Abraham reveals Sarah to be both his wife and his half-sister, stating that the two share a father but not a mother. Questions about biblical topics but without a specific Bible passage are off-topic as hermeneutical methods cannot be applied when no text is referenced. I'm wondering if there's any evidence behind that assertion. Gods children are heirs who will inherit the Kingdom of God. The corresponding passage in the Septuagint does not give Terah's age at death. Reply. But this possible connection was not the interest of biblical writers who instead presented Abram as a foreigner in Canaan. According to the Book of Genesis, she was an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as Sarai ), [2] whom Sarah gave to her own husband Abram (later renamed Abraham) as a wife to bear him a child. Pastor Moses April 17, 2017. According to the Book of Genesis ch.11, Terah was the son of In this video Pastor Joe looks at what we know from the Bible. [citation needed] Through Terah, she would have been a 10th-generation descendant of Noah, still alive,[citation needed] living in the Mountains of Ararat, and over nine centuries old at the time of her birth. Is it safe to publish research papers in cooperation with Russian academics? "Why do you make sport of me?" At his gate was laid a beggarnamed Lazarus, covered with soresand longing to eat what fell from the rich mans table The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abrahams side. The Torah, however, relates Terah's death in Haran before Abram continues the journey to Canaan as an expression that he was not remiss in the Mitzvah of honoring a parent by leaving his aging father behind. Wiki User. Sarah began to cry bitterly, and ultimately died of her grief. Abraham told Considering Abrahams importance as the ancestor of all Israel, as well as a host of other nations, is it not strange that the Torah would leave this out? He was a great-grandson of Shem and son of Haran, who was also Abraham's brother. If we are talking about the children of promise, it is necessary to examine the history of Abrahams family, to realize who can become Gods heirs and also the existence of God the Mother. Nevertheless, God did not approve Eliezer as Abrahams heir and said that a son coming from his own body would be his heir. Kach darkah shel Torah this is the way of Torah. Abram replied, "Listen to what you are saying! Would that make her a Canaanite? Abraham then prayed for Abimelech and his household, since God had stricken the women with infertility because of the taking of Sarah. When brought before Pharaoh, Sarah said that Abram was her brother, and the king thereupon bestowed upon the latter many presents and marks of distinction. The Twelver Shi'ite website Al-Islam.org treats Azar as being Abraham's uncle, not his biological father. God gave Sarai the new name "Sarah", and blessed her. She is not portrayed as Abraham's sister but his first cousin, said to be the daughter of Terah's brother, Haran, and Hagar is not portrayed as Abraham's mistress but a second wife, eliminating the hostility that Sarah feels for Hagar during her pregnancy and toward Ishmael. Rashbam suggests an explanation in his commentary (ad loc.).
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