עֲשָׂרָה נִסְיוֹנוֹת נִתְנַסָּה אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם וְעָמַד בְּכֻלָּם, לְהוֹדִיעַ כַּמָּה חִבָּתוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם:
Abramo, nostro padre, fu sottoposto a dieci processi: [uno —Ur Kasdim, dove Nimrod lo gettò nella fornace ardente; Due—"Vai dalla tua terra"; tre—"E c'era una fame"; quattro—"E la donna fu portata a casa del faraone"; cinque—la guerra dei re; sei—l'alleanza tra i pezzi, dove gli fu mostrato il soggiogamento (di Israele) da parte delle nazioni; Sette—circoncisione; otto—"E Avimelech mandò e prese Sarah"; nove—"Scaccia questa serva e suo figlio"; dieci— il legame di Isacco], e ha resistito a tutti loro, per apprendere (gli uomini) del grande amore di nostro padre Abramo, che la pace sia su di lui.
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer
THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM
OUR father Abraham was tried with ten trials, || and he stood firm in them all. The first trial was when our father Abraham was born; all the magnates of the kingdom and the magicians sought to kill him, and he was hidden under the earth for thirteen years without seeing sun or moon. After thirteen years he went forth from beneath the earth, speaking the holy language; and he despised idols and held in abomination the graven images, and he trusted in the shadow of his Creator, and said: "Blessed is the man who trusts in thee" (Ps. 84:12).
OUR father Abraham was tried with ten trials, || and he stood firm in them all. The first trial was when our father Abraham was born; all the magnates of the kingdom and the magicians sought to kill him, and he was hidden under the earth for thirteen years without seeing sun or moon. After thirteen years he went forth from beneath the earth, speaking the holy language; and he despised idols and held in abomination the graven images, and he trusted in the shadow of his Creator, and said: "Blessed is the man who trusts in thee" (Ps. 84:12).
Midrash Tanchuma Buber
(Gen. 22:1, cont.:) THAT GOD TESTED (rt.: NSH) ABRAHAM. This text is related (to Ps. 60:6 [4]): YOU HAVE GIVEN THOSE WHO FEAR YOU A TRIAL (NS) IN ORDER FOR THEM TO FLEE (rt.: NWS)148A more traditional translation reads: YOU HAVE GIVEN THOSE WHO FEAR YOU A BANNER (NS) THAT IT MIGHT BE DISPLAYED. < ON ACCOUNT OF TRUTH. SELAH >.149Gen. R. 55:1. < The passage refers to > a flight (rt.: NWS) through which Israel has been delivered from the judgment of Gehinnom. {Another interpretation: A TRIAL (NS) IN ORDER FOR THEM TO FLEE (rt.: NWS)} ON ACCOUNT OF TRUTH. SELAH. < The reason is > in order to grant < Israel > a reward in truth, as stated (in Is. 61:8): AND I WILL GIVE THEM THEIR RECOMPENSE IN TRUTH. The wicked, however, have no flight, as stated (in Job 11:20): BUT THE EYES OF THE WICKED FAIL; AND RETREAT IS CUT OFF FROM THEM. (Ps. 60:6 [4]:) YOU HAVE GIVEN THOSE WHO FEAR YOU A TRIAL (NS).150Cf. Tanh., Gen. 4:21. Come and see the difference between the early < ancestors > and those who came later! The early ones were tested (rt.: NSH) at the hands of the Holy One, as stated (in Gen. 22:1): THAT GOD TESTED (NSH) ABRAHAM. So also with the people of the wilderness generation (according to Exod. 16:4): SO THAT I MAY TEST < THE PEOPLE > AS TO WHETHER THEY SHALL WALK IN MY TORAH OR NOT. It also says this (in Deut. 8:16): IN ORDER TO HUMBLE YOU [AND IN ORDER] TO TEST YOU…. Those who came later, however, were tested at the hands of the nations, as stated (in Jud. 3:1): NOW THESE ARE THE NATIONS WHICH THE LORD LEFT TO TEST ISRAEL. Ergo (in Ps. 60:6 [4]): YOU HAVE GIVEN THOSE WHO FEAR YOU A TRIAL (NS) IN ORDER FOR THEM TO FLEE (rt.: NWS) ON ACCOUNT OF TRUTH. SELAH. What is the meaning of ON ACCOUNT OF TRUTH. SELAH? < The words refer to > whoever has been tested (rt.: NSH) and withstood trials (rt.: NSH). And so you find in the case of Daniel and his companions, that when they went into exile, the Holy One decreed for them to eat unclean bread. It is so stated (in Ezek. 4:13): SO SHALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL EAT THEIR UNCLEAN BREAD AMONG THE GENTILES WHERE I SHALL BANISH THEM. Nebuchadnezzar arose and fulfilled the oracle. He began by saying: I decree that they eat of my food. Thus it is stated (in Dan. 1:5): AND THE KING APPOINTED FOR THEM < A DAILY PORTION OF THE KING'S FOOD >…. Daniel did not accept it. Instead he said: Although the Holy One has decreed for us to eat unclean bread, he wants to test us. We, however, will do our part; and the Holy One will do his. He began to say [to the captain of the guards (in Dan. 1:12f.): If you please], PRAY, TEST (NS) YOUR SERVANTS FOR TEN DAYS, [AND GIVE US SOME LEGUMES TO EAT AND WATER TO DRINK. THEN LET OUR APPEARANCE AND THE APPEARANCE OF THE CHILDREN WHO EAT THE KING'S FOOD BE LOOKED AT IN YOUR PRESENCE, AND DEAL WITH YOUR SERVANTS ACCORDING TO WHAT YOU SEE]. He said to them: But are you able to stand the test (rt.: NSH) for ten days without eating bread or drinking wine? They said to him: Yes, because we are of the children of that person who withstood the test of ten trials from God. His merit will stand by us. Thus it is stated (in Dan. 1:12): PRAY, TEST (NS) YOUR SERVANTS. Has not the king already found us ten times better than the magicians? By whose merit? By the merit of Abraham, who withstood the test of ten trials.151On Daniel and the merit of Abraham, see Ber. 7b. Concerning Abraham’s ten trials, opinions differ as to which events they included, but the tradition is old. See Jubilees 19:8; Avot 5:3. See also above, 3:4; below, section 46; M.Pss. 18:25. For listings, see ARN, A, 33; ARN, B, 36; PRE 26. Once they had withstood their trial (rt.: NSH), what is written (in Dan. 1:9, 14-15): THEN GOD GRANTED DANIEL [MERCY AND COMPASSION BEFORE THE CHIEF OF THE EUNUCHS…. SO HE HEEDED THEM IN THIS MATTER AND TESTED (rt.: NSH) THEM FOR TEN DAYS. THEN AT THE END OF TEN DAYS, THEIR APPEARANCE WAS SEEN TO BE BETTER AND THEIR FLESH FATTER THAN ALL THE CHILDREN WHO HAD EATEN THE KING'S FOOD]. Ergo (in Ps. 60:6 [4]): YOU HAVE GIVEN THOSE WHO FEAR YOU A TRIAL (NS) IN ORDER TO HAVE A MIRACLE OCCUR (rt.: NWS).152This translation better fits the interpretation here than a more traditional rendering. In Ps. 60:6 [4] what is the meaning of (NS)? < That > you have made them great. It is just as it is stated (in Is. 30:17): AND LIKE A BANNER (NS)153This is the usual interpretation of NS in the verse. Just as A Banner UPON A HILL implies greatness, so has the Holy One made Israel great. UPON A HILL. So why did the Holy One test (NSH) them? In order to make them great. In order not to give the nations of the world a pretext for saying: He has made them great, but he did not test them. So they endured their test. Therefore (in Gen. 22:1): NOW IT CAME TO PASS AFTER THESE THINGS, [THAT GOD TESTED ABRAHAM].
Bereshit Rabbah
“The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from the heavens” (Genesis 22:15).
“He said: I swear by Myself, the utterance of the Lord, that because you have done this matter, and did not withhold your son, your only one” (Genesis 22:16).
“The angel of the Lord called…a second time…He said: I swear by Myself” – what need was there for this oath? He [Abraham] said to Him: ‘Take an oath to me that you will not test me again from now on, nor Isaac my son.’ This is analogous to one who jumped from the bank of a stream, over the current, and took his son along with him as he jumped.
Another interpretation, what need was there for this oath? Rabbi Ḥama ben Rabbi Ḥanina: He said to Him: ‘Take an oath to me that You will not test me again from now on.’ This is analogous to a king who was married to a noblewoman. She bore for him a first son, and he divorced her. [He remarried her and she bore him] a second son, and he divorced her, a third son, and he divorced her. When she bore a tenth son for him, all of them gathered together and said to him: ‘Take an oath to us that you will not divorce our mother from now on.’ So, too, when Abraham our patriarch was tested with the tenth ordeal,52The binding of Isaac was the tenth and last of Abraham’s tests (see Mishna Avot 5:3). he said to Him: ‘Take an oath to me that You will not test me again from now on.’
Rabbi Ḥanin said: “That because you have done this matter” – this was the tenth test, and yet you say [when reading the verse]: “That because you have done this matter”? The explanation is that this final ordeal is equal in importance to all the others combined, as had he not accepted it upon himself, he would have lost everything <variant reading:="" everything="" that="" he="" had="" done.="">
“For that I will bless you and multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand that is upon the seashore, and your descendants will inherit the gate of their enemies” (Genesis 22:17).
“For that I will bless you [varekh avarekhekha]…” – [the doubling of the verb indicates] a blessing for the father, a blessing for the son. “And multiply [veharba arbeh]” – multiplication for the father, multiplication for the son.
“And your descendants will inherit the gate of their enemies” – this refers to Tarmod.53The people of Tarmod were implacable enemies of the Jews. Fortunate are all those who will witness the downfall of Tarmod, as it was a partner to the two destructions [of the Temples]. Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Ḥanina, one of them said: In the destruction of the First Temple, they provided eighty thousand archers <variant reading:="" shooters="">, and in the destruction of the Second Temple, it provided eight thousand archers.
“Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba and Abraham lived in Beersheba” (Genesis 22:18).
“Abraham returned to his young men” – and where was Isaac? Rabbi Berekhya in the name of the Rabbis from over there:54Babylon. He sent him away to Shem to learn Torah from him. This is analogous to a woman who became wealthy from plying her spindle. She said: ‘Since it was from this spindle that I became wealthy, it will never depart from my possession’. So, Abraham said: ‘Everything that has come into my possession is only because I engaged in Torah and mitzvot. That is why I do not want it to depart from my children forever.’
Rabbi Ḥanina said: He sent him at night55Abraham did not bring Isaac back with him, but told him to travel later on, at night. due to the evil eye.56He did this so that the evil eye would not affect Isaac in the wake of the miracle that was performed on his behalf. [Similarly, we find] that from the moment that Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya emerged from the fiery furnace, their names are not mentioned again. Where did they go? Rabbi Elazar said: They died because of the spittle.57After they survived, all the gentiles mocked Israel and spat at them, saying: ‘You have a God capable of such miracles, and yet you worship idols?’ God took the lives of Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya so that Israel would no longer be mocked by the gentiles. Rabbi Yosei said: They died from the [evil] eye. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: They relocated and went to Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak to learn Torah from him. That is what is written: “Hear now, Yehoshua the High Priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you, [for they are men of wonders]” (Zechariah 3:8). Rabbi Ḥanina said: It is was with that understanding that Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya descended into the fiery furnace – in order that a sign would be performed through them.58If they would be saved, it would be a sign of God’s greatness. If they would not be saved, it would be a sign of loyalty to God even at the cost of one’s life.
“He said: I swear by Myself, the utterance of the Lord, that because you have done this matter, and did not withhold your son, your only one” (Genesis 22:16).
“The angel of the Lord called…a second time…He said: I swear by Myself” – what need was there for this oath? He [Abraham] said to Him: ‘Take an oath to me that you will not test me again from now on, nor Isaac my son.’ This is analogous to one who jumped from the bank of a stream, over the current, and took his son along with him as he jumped.
Another interpretation, what need was there for this oath? Rabbi Ḥama ben Rabbi Ḥanina: He said to Him: ‘Take an oath to me that You will not test me again from now on.’ This is analogous to a king who was married to a noblewoman. She bore for him a first son, and he divorced her. [He remarried her and she bore him] a second son, and he divorced her, a third son, and he divorced her. When she bore a tenth son for him, all of them gathered together and said to him: ‘Take an oath to us that you will not divorce our mother from now on.’ So, too, when Abraham our patriarch was tested with the tenth ordeal,52The binding of Isaac was the tenth and last of Abraham’s tests (see Mishna Avot 5:3). he said to Him: ‘Take an oath to me that You will not test me again from now on.’
Rabbi Ḥanin said: “That because you have done this matter” – this was the tenth test, and yet you say [when reading the verse]: “That because you have done this matter”? The explanation is that this final ordeal is equal in importance to all the others combined, as had he not accepted it upon himself, he would have lost everything <variant reading:="" everything="" that="" he="" had="" done.="">
“For that I will bless you and multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand that is upon the seashore, and your descendants will inherit the gate of their enemies” (Genesis 22:17).
“For that I will bless you [varekh avarekhekha]…” – [the doubling of the verb indicates] a blessing for the father, a blessing for the son. “And multiply [veharba arbeh]” – multiplication for the father, multiplication for the son.
“And your descendants will inherit the gate of their enemies” – this refers to Tarmod.53The people of Tarmod were implacable enemies of the Jews. Fortunate are all those who will witness the downfall of Tarmod, as it was a partner to the two destructions [of the Temples]. Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Ḥanina, one of them said: In the destruction of the First Temple, they provided eighty thousand archers <variant reading:="" shooters="">, and in the destruction of the Second Temple, it provided eight thousand archers.
“Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba and Abraham lived in Beersheba” (Genesis 22:18).
“Abraham returned to his young men” – and where was Isaac? Rabbi Berekhya in the name of the Rabbis from over there:54Babylon. He sent him away to Shem to learn Torah from him. This is analogous to a woman who became wealthy from plying her spindle. She said: ‘Since it was from this spindle that I became wealthy, it will never depart from my possession’. So, Abraham said: ‘Everything that has come into my possession is only because I engaged in Torah and mitzvot. That is why I do not want it to depart from my children forever.’
Rabbi Ḥanina said: He sent him at night55Abraham did not bring Isaac back with him, but told him to travel later on, at night. due to the evil eye.56He did this so that the evil eye would not affect Isaac in the wake of the miracle that was performed on his behalf. [Similarly, we find] that from the moment that Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya emerged from the fiery furnace, their names are not mentioned again. Where did they go? Rabbi Elazar said: They died because of the spittle.57After they survived, all the gentiles mocked Israel and spat at them, saying: ‘You have a God capable of such miracles, and yet you worship idols?’ God took the lives of Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya so that Israel would no longer be mocked by the gentiles. Rabbi Yosei said: They died from the [evil] eye. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: They relocated and went to Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak to learn Torah from him. That is what is written: “Hear now, Yehoshua the High Priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you, [for they are men of wonders]” (Zechariah 3:8). Rabbi Ḥanina said: It is was with that understanding that Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya descended into the fiery furnace – in order that a sign would be performed through them.58If they would be saved, it would be a sign of God’s greatness. If they would not be saved, it would be a sign of loyalty to God even at the cost of one’s life.