Tag: Gerar

Deeds of the Fathers

Posted on by jovial_cynic
There’s a rabbinical teaching that says “Ma’aseh Avot Siman LaBanim.” This translates to “The deeds of the father are a sign for the children.”

This is rooted in Abraham in Egypt, Isaac in Gerar, and (later) Jacob in Aram.

When Abraham goes to Egypt in Genesis 12, the rabbis teach that everything that happens gives us a pattern of the Exodus: it is seen as a prophetic journey, such that whatever Abraham does, so too will the children of Israel later on.

Here, Isaac goes to Gerar.

Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you.
Genesis 26:1-2 (NASB)

You might think that Gerar, being the land of the Philistines, points to the time of the Judges and the Kings, when Israel struggles against the Philistine kingdoms.

But the rabbis say that Isaac’s journey here is actually about the Babylonian exile.

We already saw Babylon being obscured with names like Shinar and Chaldea. It’s quite possible that Babylon is again being obscured with the name Gerar.

The Men were Afraid

Posted on by jovial_cynic

So Abimelech rose early in the morning, called all his servants, and told all these things in their hearing; and the men were very much afraid.
Genesis 20:8 (NKJV)

Why does the text tell us that Abemelech’s men were afraid?

In this chapter, we read that God appeared to Abimelech by dream and threatened his life unless he returned Sarah to Abraham. Abimelech tells his servants, and then the text says that “the men” were afraid.

There are speculations about the precise locations of Gerar (likely near the Negev region in Southen Israel) and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (near the Dead Sea), but it’s assumed that the places were about 40 to 50 miles from one another.

The rabbis note that by the time Abraham arrives, the people of Gerar could still see the smoke from the burning cities.

Perhaps the arrival of a prophet of the God who destroyed the cities was enough to terrify everyone. But the text doesn’t say “everyone” was afraid. It doesn’t give a vague pronoun here, even though it could have.

It said “and the MEN” were very afraid.

While the commentaries don’t say this, I wonder if “the men” are mentioned here to tie us back to the cities that were destroyed. There were wicked men in Sodom and Gomorrah, and perhaps the men here considered their own life choices and wondered if they were next.

One Jewish commentary says that perhaps the men were afraid that Abraham would not intercede for them and shield them from doom.

The men were very frightened. They were afraid that Avraham would refuse to pray for them.
Haamek Davar on Genesis 20:8:1

We already know that Abraham is a man who pleads on behalf of others. Perhaps here, God is teaching him to pray not just for his own people, but for the well-being and protection of others as well.