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Josephus and Rabbinic tradition in Genesis Rabbah describe Abraham persecuted for teaching monotheism in Ur. Josephus says the Chaldeans gave him trouble, while the midrash dramatizes this as Nimrod throwing Abraham into a fiery furnace.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 1.7.1
Classical
1 Abraham, having no son of his own, adopted Lot, the son of his brother Haran and brother of his wife Sarah, and he left the land of Chaldea at age seventy-five, going to Canaan at God’s command, remaining there himself and leaving it to his descendants. He was a person of exceptional insight, skilled at understanding everything, able to convince his listeners, and accurate in his opinions. For this reason he was the first to champion higher concepts of virtue than others and chose to reform and correct the widespread notions about God that people held then. He was the first to boldly declare there was but one God, the Creator of the universe, arguing that since these other bodies do not maintain a consistent cycle of their own accord, they must be governed by the command of a single Ruler, to whom we rightly offer our thanks and worship. Because of these doctrines, the Chaldeans and Mesopotamians stirred up trouble against him, so he resolved to leave that region, and, with God’s help and guidance, came to dwell in the land of Canaan. He built an altar there and offered a sacrifice to God. 2 Berosus references our ancestor Abram without naming him directly, saying, “In the tenth generation after the Flood, there was among the Chaldeans a just, remarkable man, skilled in heavenly matters.” Hecatæus is even more explicit, writing a whole book on him. Nicolaus of Damascus, in his fourth Book of History, says, “Abram reigned in Damascus; a foreigner who came with an army from the land above Babylon, the territory of the Chaldeans. After a long time, he moved on with his people to what was then called Canaan, now Judea, and his posterity grew numerous, of which we write elsewhere. Even now, Abram’s name is celebrated in Damascus, and there is shown a village named ‘The House of Abram.’”
Date: 93-94 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Genesis Rabbah 38:14
Aggadah
Rabbinic
[Genesis 11:28 says,] “And Haran died in the presence of his father Terach.” Rabbi Hiyya said: Terach was a manufacturer of idols. He once went away somewhere and left Abraham to sell them in his place. A man came in and wished to buy one. ‘How old are you?’ Abraham asked the man. ‘Fifty years old,’ he said. ‘Woe to such a man, who is fifty years old and would worship a day-old object!’ Avraham said. On another occasion, a woman came in with a plateful of flour and requested him, ‘Take this and offer it to them.’ So he took a stick and broke them, and put the stick in the hand of the largest. When his father returned, he demanded, ‘What have you done to them?’ ‘I cannot conceal it from you. A woman came with a plateful of fine meal and requested me to offer it to them. One claimed, “I must eat first,” while another claimed, “I must eat first.” Thereupon, the largest arose, took the stick, and broke them.’ ‘Why do you make sport of me? Have they any knowledge?’ Terach said. ‘Should not your ears hear what your mouth has said?’ Avraham said. Thereupon Terach seized him and delivered him to Nimrod. ‘Let us worship fire,’ Nimrod said. ‘Let us rather worship water which quenches fire,’ Avraham said. ‘Let us worship water,’ Nimrod said. ‘Let us rather worship the clouds which bear the water,’ Avraham said. ‘Let us then worship the clouds,’ Nimrod said. ‘Let us worship the wind which disperses the clouds,’ Avraham said. ‘Let us worship the wind,’ Nimrod said. ‘Let us worship human beings which can stand up to the wind,’ Avraham said. ‘You are just bandying words, and we will worship nothing but the fire. Behold, I will cast you into it, and let your God whom you adore come and save you from it!’ Nimrod said. Now Haran was standing there undecided. ‘If Avraham is victorious, I will say that I am of Avraham’s belief, while if Nimrod is victorious, I will say that I am on Nimrod’s side,’ he thought. When Avraham descended into the fiery furnace and was saved, Nimrod asked him, ‘Of whose belief are you?’ ‘Of Avraham’s,’ he replied. Thereupon he seized him and cast him into the fire; his innards were scorched and he died in the presence of his father. Hence it is written, ‘And Haran died in the presence of his father Terach.’
Date: 500 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... The rabbinic system mirrors the theology of some strands of Second Temple Judaism. The monotheism ascribed by Josephus to Abraham closely resembles the rabbinic view: Abraham “was the first to boldly declare that God, the creator of the universe, is one, and that, if any other being contributed anything to man’s welfare, each did so by his command and not in virtue of its own inherent power.” The cult of the temple, like the cult of the rabbinic synagogue, recognized God alone and ignored all other supernatural beings. ...”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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