Abrahams Trials English

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Testing Abraham

The biblical narrative of Abraham's life (Genesis 11:26 – 25:10) is a series of


challenges. Various midrashic sources developing out of the narrative identify these
challenges as ten trials. Underlying all of them is puzzlement that the quintessential
man of faith should be constantly tested. What was tested? Why did God need to test
him? Didn't the omniscient God know what Abraham would do? Jewish
commentators throughout the ages have wrestled with these questions and answered
variously. Artists, perenially fascinated by Abraham's life, create visual midrash,
illuminating and interpreting events in his life, even unaware of the tradition of the ten
trials.
What is the meaning of these trials?
 Are they a learning process to refine Abraham?
 Are they tests of his worthiness?
 Are they opportunities to reward him?
 Or are they simply crises?
The earliest appearance of the word "test" comes from Old French, meaning a vessel,
a cupel, in which precious metals were refined. The traditional view of the trials is a
refining of the relationship between Abraham and God; our inclination is to also
evaluate his relationship with others (family, foreigners, etc.), and his commitment to
morality.
1. Abraham in Ur Genesis 11
The first of Abraham's trials is midrashic rather than biblical, apparently because the
Bible was not interested in miraculous infants. In the legends about his beginnings,
Abraham first survives the royal edict to slay male infants in fear of the birth of a
religious subversive. In isolation he discovers the true God <link to PRE 26> and
then challenges the beliefs of his father and his king and finally is saved from
martyrdom. Theses legends of his youth were probably generated by the need to
answer the question: How did Abraham become the first person to discover the One
God? The answer they provide is that because of the threat to his life and his
abandonment, he was not exposed to the religious fallacies of his society. His trial
was living or dying with his Truth.

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The story of Abraham's breaking his father's idols is so well known that most people
don't realize that it's not in the Tanakh. In one of the earlier versions Abraham is left
to mind the shop of his father Terah, the idol maker; Abraham first foils the sale of his
wares and then destroys them.

<gods28>
Alexander Karl Floersheim Haggadah, Amsterdam Haggadah, 1712
Abraham breaks the idols of Terah, 1737

In this illustration from a Moravian haggadah of 1737, based on the printed


Amsterdam haggadah of 1712, Abraham is smashing his father's idols inside the walls
of Ur, while outside the walls three men kneel before an altar. Comparison with the
Amsterdam model (above right), clarifies that this picture is an illustration of the
haggadah's text recounting that originally (‫ )מתחלה‬our ancestors were idol
worshippers when they lived beyond the river (Joshua 24:2). In the original 1712
version, there is a river and a viaduct with numerous passages; in the 1737 version,
the river has disappeared and the viaduct has become a solid wall separating Abraham
from the idol worshippers. On the other hand, in our Moravian version, Abraham has
a hat that lies on the ground near by. The worshippers also have hats, indicating that
they, like Abraham, are our ancestors. Thus, the later version emphasizes the
separation between Abraham and idol worship, rather than his exodus from Ur
beyond the river.
A subsequent midrashic episode brings Abraham into confrontation with the
god-king, Nimrod, builder of the tower of Babel and enemy of God. The midrash
creates a theological disputation between Abraham and Nimrod, which ends, as in
Christian Spain, with Abraham's spiritual victory rewarded with a death sentence.

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>abefam56<
Leipzig Mahzor, Abraham in Nimrod's Furnace, ca.1320

In our picture, Nimrod is seated on his throne; before him stands Terah—seen
by some midrashim as a supporter of the evil king—and his three sons. At Terah's
feet lies Haran, who died "in his father's presence" according to the Genesis 11: 27,
having been burnt to death by Nimrod, according to the midrash, because of his
feigned belief in God. Behind Terah, stand Abraham and Nachor. On the right,
Abraham is saved by a divine hand extracting him from the flames. This particular
form of execution is generated in the midrash by the name of Abraham's home town,
Ur, which in rabbinic Hebrew also means fire. Our illustration, placed along side a
Yom Kippur liturgical poem glorifying Abraham's faith in God, seems to reflect the
persecutions that Jews endured in Christian Europe during the Middle Ages.
Thus in these two pictures, Jewish artists expressed their admiration of and
identification with Abraham in his role as believer and activist.

2. Lekh Lekha Genesis 12

The second trial in our counting is ‫ לך לך‬the biblical portion in which Abraham is
commanded by God to go forth from "his land, his next of kin and his father's house".
The two words in Hebrew constitute an expression that has elicited much intepretation
in the history of Jewish commentary. Some of the midrashic sources (see below)
stress the disorientation implicit in the parasha and in these words – Abraham has
been uprooted from his homeland and has lost his parents; he then is commanded to
go to an unknown land. His trial is in his ability to withstand such loss of grounding
and remained focused on his mission.

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The two words look identical, inviting an interpretation that separates them: ‫ לך‬means
go out and ‫ לך‬means go in (to yourself). The definition of the spiritual journey
requires the two way movement; the hero goes forth and at the same time goes inward
to search for meaning.

In Dali's painting, God's presence in the command ‫ לך לך‬is seen in the


topographical map of the promised land and its aura, which creates the silhouette or
negative space forming Abraham's profile.

<dali12>
S. Dali, Biblia Sacra, Abraham Father of many Nations, 1964-67

Or you can see Abraham's dominant shape giving form to the amorphous
potentialities of the unknown land. This dual view of the Dali work enables us to see
the dual meaning of ‫לך לך‬, go forth as you go into yourself.

Anthony Dubovsky also creates a "before and after" by cutting his painting into two
distinct sections.

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<h&s01> <herzl>
Anthony Dobovsky, Abraham, 1992 Theodor Herzl, 1898

The introspective Abraham's forehead and chest are bathed in the light of the divine
command. Abraham's profile evokes the familiar image of Theodor Herzl, pondering
another Lekh Lekha. The larger half suggests desert, fire, sacrifice and trauma of the
external journey. A Midrash in Bereshit Rabba <link to BR 39:11> recognizing the
anxieties associated with travel, compensates Abraham with a triple blessing. He and
his destination (or destiny) are painted in the same colors, stressing their
interrelationship, if not their idenity.

3. A Case of Mistaken Identity?


The most perplexing of Abraham's trials occurs twice, when Sarah is put at risk in
order to save Abraham. The couple, having just arrived in the land of Canaan, leave
because of a famine. On approaching their foreign destination (Egypt, and later Gerar
of the Philistines), Abraham lays out his plan Sarah saying, "Tell them you're my
sister, so that it will go well with me because of you" (Genesis 12:13).

<h&s03>
James Tissot, Abraham's counsel, 1896 - 1902

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In James Tissot's orientalist presentation, Abraham is a bedouin sheikh, selling
his concerns with tenative gestures, as Sarah listens incredulously.
In American performance artist Susan Benton's work, Sarah is masked, in
order to accommodate Abraham's anxiety and his wish to profit from their situation

>h&s10> <h&s04<
Susan Benton, Sarah Masked Max Ernst
The King playing with the Queen, 1944

In fact, according to Genesis 20:12 Sarah is Abraham's half-sister or the


daughter of his half-brother. So neither Abraham nor Sarah is lying. But Abraham
does manipulate his wife and puts her at risk, in "a place where the people don't know
God". The twentieth century surrealist Max Ernst, on the right, critiques such
behavior: on the chess board, the king manipulates the queen.
The medieval Jewish commentator Nachmanides already dared to condemn
Abraham's behavior toward Sarah as sinful, reflecting his <lack of faith in God>, for
which his descendants were punished with extended enslavement in Egypt.

A Byzantine ivory plaque plays out this complex story in its narrative
sequence.

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<h&s05>

God appears to Abraham/Sarah given to Pharaoh, Cathedral of Salerno, ca. 1100

In the left panel, Abraham stands at an altar to receive God's blessing, now
that he has arrived in the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:6-8). In the righthand panel,
Abraham and Sarah stand before Pharaoh, who is either receiving the weeping Sarah
from Abraham or returning her. In either case, Sarah at the center right is parallel to
the flames of the altar (center left): she is Abraham's sacrifice, prefiguring her
ultimate sacrifice (her death associated with the Akedah, Genesis 23).
Does Abraham pass this test?

4. The Attack of the 4 Kings and the kidnapping of Lot

Abraham's next trial is by combat, a role inconsistent with his pastoral image. His
kinsman Lot, has been abducted by four kings; Abraham pursues them into Syria
with just a small group of retainers, defeats them, rescues Lot and returns with much
booty. On encountering the King of Sodom, Abraham refuses any reward as
conqueror. What does the king of Sodom have to do with Abraham and Lot?
Previously (Genesis 13) these kinsman had almost come to blows over water rights.
Generously Abraham conceded to Lot the well-watered plains and agreed to withdraw
to the hills; as it turns out, these plains were home to the infamous but wealthy cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah. When four foreign kings attack the land of Canaan, this
rich area is their natural target and Lot is taken prisoner.

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As early as the fifth century, the mosaics of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome show the
parting of Abraham and Lot. On the right, Lot, his wife and two daughters are headed
toward a city. On the left, Abraham and company are backed by a tent and tree,
representing their rural environment. The two men look at one another with reluctance
at their separation.

<santa maria maggiore>

Abraham and Lot Part, Santa Maria Maggiore, 432-40

In the wild battle scene below, from an Italian illuminated Bible, a bright red figure
draws us to the center. Among the cavalry, Abraham is identified as a civilian by his
Jew's hat, beard and robe, as he embraces his rescued nephew Lot in the midst of
fighting and dying cavalry.

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<Italian gothic>

Bible of Matteo di Planisio, Abraham's Battle with the Four Kings, ca. 1362

What is the trial in this episode? The traditional sources seem to be saying that the
peaceful Abraham's willingness to do battle, trusting in God's aid, is the mark of his
faith. But we might add that his test is how he deals with tension within his family
and whether he maintains his family bond despite these tensions.

5. Progeny – and the covenant of pieces

<viegen06> <13MIMI> <lilien stars>


Vienna Genesis Bible Historiale, Illustrations of the Bible, Abraham,
Abraham's covenant, Covenant of the Pieces, 1372 1908
6th century

The trial of faith intensifies in Genesis 15 with a vision in which God,


anticipates Abraham's gnawing fear of childlessness. God calls out,, "Don’t be afraid,
Abraham, I am your shield and your reward. What comes out of your house will not
inherit you, but what comes out of your loins! Go out and count the stars – that many
will be your seed." From the purple calf parchment of the sixth century Vienna
Genesis, to the twentieth century illustration by E.M. Lilien, Abraham views the stars

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in a dark night, comforted again by the improbable promise. The gesture in both is
the gesture of receiving a gift: in the Lilien picture, Abraham holds his heart in
grateful anticipation; in the Vienna Genesis, covered hands is the visual convention
for receiving a gift. (In antiquity Roman soldiers would extend their covered hands to
the emperor, to receive their salary, a measure of salt. Salary derives from sal, salt-).
In the center, Abraham crouches in a trance before the split carcasses of the vision of
good news and bad news. The good news confirms his posession of the land; the bad
news forecasts the impending slavery of his descendents in Egypt.

6. Hagar and Sarah

Abraham just worries about continuity, but Sarah takes the initiative, introducing her
Egyptian handmaid, Hagar, whose hoped-for fertility will heal Sarah's barenness.

<h&s07>
Rembrandt, Sarah presents Hagar to Abraham, 1643-44

In Rembrandt's pen and ink drawing of ca. 1640, Sarah, in the center, brings
the demure Hagar, to the couch of the passive, reclining patriarch. Three gesturing
hands define the complexity of this proposal. And three feet of Sarah and Hagar show
them at a critical intersection. Two substantial breasts appear in the drapery, above
and to the right, focusing the pathos of the scene.

A few months later, the same trio appears once more.

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<h&s08>
Rembrandt, Sarah complaining of Hagar to Abraham, ca. 1640

Hagar, proud and pregnant, no long downcaste and demure is identified by the
peacock behind. No longer the "fixer", Sarah, still in the center is bent and
devastated, pouring out her wrath on the nonplussed master of the household. Adam
Nordwall's statue "Split woman" expresses Sarah's dilemma.

<h&s09>
Adam Nordwall, Split Woman

At this point in Hagar's saga, Abraham mollifies Sarah: She's your handmaid,
do with her what you will. Progeny notwithstanding, Sarah abuses Hagar, who flees.

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<h&s48>
James Tissot,
Hagar and the angel in the desert,
1896 - 1902

In Tissot's painting of 1896-1902 , an angel finds the pregnant child Hagar by


a well in the desert, and tells her to return home and endure her mistress's abuse,
because:
God will surely infinitely multiply your seed.
You shall call him Ishmael,
because God has paid attention to your suffering
In a rare depiction of her return, Pietro da Cartona portrays Abraham
welcoming back a more mature, contrite Hagar with open arms, while Sarah looks on
scornfully from a shadowy doorway. As opposed to Rembrandt's drawings, Abraham
is at center stage, caught between the two women.

<h&s51>
Pietro da Cartona, The Return of Hagar, ca. 1637

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This trial can be understood in two ways: 1) Abraham's equinimity is
challenged by a disturbed family dynamic or 2) Abraham's faith that God's providence
will justify the subsequent exile of Hagar and Ishmael.

7. Circumcision
Up to now the relationship between God and Abraham has been a promise;
now it becomes a contract or brit. The verbal is now cut into the flesh.
The twenty-seven verses of Genesis 17 are teeming (13 out of 27 verses) with words
connected with fertility: ‫' זרע‬seed', ‫' הרבה‬make many', ‫' הפרה‬make fruitful', ‫' ברך‬bless',
etc. The word ‫ ברית‬itself appears in this chapter thirteen times out of the 17 total
occurences in the Abraham narrative. The focus of the chapter is the circumcision rite,
mentioned here ten times, the first occurrence of this practice in the Tanakh. Both
here and in the context of agricultural law (Lev 19:23), the orla 'foreskin' is
considered to be an obstacle to fertility. Thus circumcision is required to enhance
human fruitfulness.

Two scenes appear in one of the few portrayals of this chapter in European art.

<18 MIMI>
Bible Historiale, The Circumcision of Ishmael, ca. 1430

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In this fifteenth century illuminated manuscript of Guiart des Moulins' Historical
Bible, Abraham kneels before God outside, on the left, and receives the divine
promise. Inside, on the right, we observe the ceremony of Ishmael's circumcision,
attended by the men of Abraham's house. In order to concretize the involvment of all
those "born in the house" (v. 23), a wall of the house is cut away exposing the
interior. Finally, both Sarai/Sarah and Abram/Abraham receive new names to mark
their new status. The heh in Sarah and Abraham emphasizes both the presence of
God (‫ )'ה‬and the "muchness" '‫ 'המון‬that is to come.

8. The Expulsion of Ishmael and Hagar


In Genesis 21, after the long and difficult process of creating Abraham's
family, that family begins to fall apart. At the baby Isaac's weaning party, Ishmael
does something (‫ )מצחק‬that evokes Sarah's rage. This something has been variously
interpreted as sexual misconduct, idolatry or attempted murder (Rashi and others) or
simply as childish mischief (Ibn Ezra and others). Sarah demands:
" drive out this maid and her son,
he will not inherit with my son, with Isaac".
As opposed to his previous indifference, Abraham is outraged and only God's
intervention sets the exile in motion. What is Abraham's trial? It can be understood
as the dilemma of human as opposed to Divine love and it can be seen as a conflict
between two human loves: the love for Sarah/Isaac and the love for Hagar/Ishmael.

<h&s24> <h&s33>
Rembrandt, Abraham dismisses Hagar, 1656 Jan Victors, The Expulsion of Hagar and
Ishmael, 1650

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Rembrandt was drawn repeatedly to the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael because of
similiarities with his own personal life. In his portrayal, Abraham is filled with compassion
for Hagar and for Ishmael both. The heavy black cloud over Abraham expresses his anguish
over the forced exile. One hand caresses Ishmael, the other hovers toward the weeping
Hagar. The stoop suggests both an altar upon which mother and child are being sacrificed,
and intimates the missing presence of Sarah, usually standing in the doorway.
Jan Victors learned from his teacher, Rembrandt, the power of portraiture, especially
the play of light and shadow. He chooses the moment of separation; all are present at the
doorway, Hagar is already outside. Strong light illuminates her distressed face and wringing
hands as she looks back to her home. Innocent Ishmael's head is capped with light as
Abraham's hand hovers in blessing. The child's right hand reaching out to his father, calls
our attention to Abraham's fist. Strong light moves us to Abraham's far-away stare. Lesser
light illumines the tight-lipped Sarah, as usual in the doorway, the place of the manipulator.
Small light focuses on her hands, one clenched fist and an assertive index finger, pointing
Out. The totality of the painting is restraint, in comparison with Rembrandt's emotionality.
In our own times, the story has not lost its pathos. All the players are present in
George Segal's painted plaster installation.

<h&s38>
George Segal, Abraham's farewell to Ishmael, 1987

A modern family is breaking up. Father and grownup son embrace in parting. The
other woman stands alone, embracing herself. The matriarch, the manipulator, supervises in
the shadows. A large crack appears in the wall of separation.

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In contrast to the victim we have seen until now, a defiant Hagar emerges from the
feminist movement in the art of North Carolina artist Mickey Gault.

<h&s27> <h&s26>
Mickey Gault, Hagar and Ishmael
While defiance is clear from her arched back in profile, Hagar's face reveals tragedy.
The boy's bug-eyed look says fear, but his profile suggests urgency. None of the narrative
details are present: not the home, not the family, not the water or bread. The red sculpture
suggests a burning desert and high emotion. Gault's agenda is not Abraham's trial, but
Hagar's.

9. Akedah – The Binding of Isaac


Lekh lekha is the lead word of the Abraham saga, occuring twice. Once in Genesis
12, commanding Abraham to Go Forth from Ur "to the land that I will show you,"
accompanied by a promise of blessing and greatness. The second lekh lekha closes
the bracket around the Abraham saga and unravels the blessing by commanding
Abraham to Go Forth to sacrifice his son, Isaac. The "land that I will show you"
becomes Moriah, the place of the altar. The blessing of future becomes the dread of
the end.

God's words come tumbling down in Shraga Weil's silkscreen.

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<aked98>
Shraga Weil, Abraham's Dream, 1970

From a line of text containing the lekh lekha, a hail of letters awakens
Abraham, who covers his ears in dismay. A vague image of the Menorah descends
from the passage cut from a printed Bible, while the flood of letters below suggests
ripped newspapers, connecting the biblical narrative to the State of Israel and
contemporary protest against sacrifice of sons. An impression of broken glass and
shattered dreams pervades.
Avraham Ofek takes us on the journey to Moriah. Sparse lines and minimal
detail speak eloquently.

<Ofek sketch>
Avraham Ofek, On the way to the Mountain, 1980's
Abraham and Isaac in the lead, followed by the two servants and the donkey,
strain emotionally against the ascent as we observe from the side and behind. The
figures of Abraham and Isaac are filled in, as is the wood loaded on the donkey, while
the two boys are mere outlines. Diagonal movement stresses not only the ascent, but

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also the burden. The bare, harsh landscape and the threatening midrashic vulture
convey a bleak mood; salvation is not in sight.

<akdr297>
Abel Pann, Binding of Isaac, 1923
Paradoxic love and violence fill the scene in Abel Pann's painting of the Akedah
of 1923. A distraught father, staring into space, caresses with one hand and wields a
knife in the other. Neither the saving ram nor God's presence appears here, but rather
a vast tree shadows across the background.
The three major moments of the Akedah are God's call to Abraham, the journey
to Morah and the sacrifice, presented above. Jan Lievens, a colleague of Rembrandt,
painted a fourth, rarely illuminated scene, a midrashic reconciliation of father and son.

<akdr090b>
Jan Lievens, Abraham and Isaac, 1637

The biblical text (Genesis 22:19) speaks in the singular of Abraham's return
from Moriah—Isaac is not mentioned—leading to midrashic conjectures about his
whereabouts. Lievens creates positive closure, the embrace of Abraham and Isaac,
with the slaughtered ram at their feet.

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The reader has probably observed that Sarah is entirely absence from the
Akedah narrative. However, the next chapter opens with the announcement of her
death. It doesn't take much imagination for the Midrash to create a causal connection:
The satanic rumour reaches her; the shock kills her. In Dore's engraving of 1865, the
shrouded body of Sarah is placed upright in a niche within a burial cave.

<Dore Burial>
Gustav Dore, Burial of Sarah, 1865
Two burial workers are pushing the stone door into place; once again, the
shadowy figure of Sarah stands in a doorway. A group of mourners pull the reluctant
Abraham toward the exit. Abraham looks back in anguish, perhaps in guilt.
Abraham and Isaac go their separate ways. Hagar will soon find a bride for
Ishmael. Perhaps Sarah is the true sacrifice of the Akedah.

Abraham's life is characterized by many trials. Various rabbinic traditions


record 10 trials, with variations on their identification, perhaps reflecting the
statement in Numbers 14:22 that the people of Israel tried God ten times during the
desert wanderings. Ten is a good round, typological number; we could find even
more but our (ac)counting produces one less. The traditional approache to these trials
is that they are tests of faith; our own reading of Abraham's story and the reading of
many artists is that he undergoes tests of character. In both cases, it is not clear
whether Abraham gets good grades.

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