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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
“Haran died in the presence of Teraḥ his father in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans” (Genesis 11:28). “Haran died during the lifetime of Teraḥ his father” – Rabbi Ḥiyya grandson of Rav Ada of Yafo: Teraḥ was an idol worshipper [and a seller of idols]. One time, he went away to some place, and he installed Abraham as salesman in his stead. A person would come seeking to buy. He [Abraham] would say to him: ‘How old are you?’ He would say to him: ‘Fifty or sixty years old.’ He would say to him: ‘Woe to this man who is sixty years old and seeks to prostrate himself before something that is one day old.’ He would be ashamed and leave. One time, a certain woman came, carrying a dish of fine flour in her hand. She said to him: ‘Here, offer it before them.’ He arose, took a club in his hand, shattered all the idols, and placed the club in the hand of the largest among them. When his father came, he said to him: ‘Who did this to them?’ He said to him: ‘I will not lie to you, a certain woman came, carrying a dish of fine flour in her hand. She said to me: Here, offer it before them. I offered it before them. This one [idol] said: I shall eat first, and another one said: I shall eat first. This big idol, who was standing among them, got up and took the club and shattered them.’ He [Teraḥ] said to him: ‘What, are you mocking me? Are they sentient at all?’ He said to him: ‘Do your ears not hear what your mouth is saying?’ He [Teraḥ] took him and handed him over to Nimrod. He [Nimrod] said to him [Abraham]: ‘Let us bow down to fire.’ Abraham said to him: ‘Let us better bow down to water, that extinguishes fire.’ Nimrod said to him: ‘[All right,] let us bow down to water.’ He said to him: ‘If so, let us bow down to the clouds, that bear the water.’ He said to him: ‘[All right,] let us bow down to the clouds.’ He said to him: ‘If so, let us bow down to the wind, that scatters the clouds.’ He said to him: ‘[All right,] let us bow down to the wind.’ He said to him: ‘Better let us bow down to a person, who can withstand the wind.’ He said to him: ‘You are saying mere words. I bow down only to fire. I will cast you into it, and let that God to whom you bow down come and rescue you from it.’ Haran was there and he was conflicted. He said: ‘Either way [I will know what to do]; If Abraham is victorious, I will say: I am with Abraham, and if Nimrod is victorious, I will say: I am with Nimrod.’ When Abraham descended into the fiery furnace and was rescued, they said to him [Haran]: ‘With whom are you?’ He said to them: ‘I am with Abraham.’ They took him and cast him into the fire and his innards were scorched. He emerged and died in the presence of Teraḥ his father. That is what is written: “Haran died in the presence of Teraḥ…”
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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