The First Wandering
(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃
(1) יהוה said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
1) Where are Abram and Sarai now?
2) What do we know about them at this point?
2) What do we know about them at this point?
כי חרן היא ארצו ושם מולדתו והיא ארץ אבותיו מעולם ושם נצטוה לעזוב אותם וכך אמרו בבראשית רבה (בראשית רבה ל״ט:ח׳) לך לך אחת מארם נהרים ואחת מארם נחור וטעם להזכיר "ארצך ומולדתך ובית אביך" כי יקשה על האדם לעזוב ארצו אשר הוא יושב בה ושם אוהביו ורעיו וכל שכן כשהוא ארץ מולדתו ששם נולד וכל שכן כשיש שם כל בית אביו ולכך הוצרך לומר לו שיעזוב הכל לאהבתו של הקב"ה:
UNTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW THEE. He wandered and went about from nation to nation, from kingdom to another people, until he came to the land of Canaan, where God said to him, Unto thy seed will I give this land. Then the promise, Unto the land that I will show thee, was fulfilled, and Abraham tarried and settled there. The verse which states, And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan, means that he was not heading for Canaan for the purpose of settling there since he did not as yet know that he had been commanded concerning this land...This is the reason why Abraham later said, And it came to pass, when G-d caused me to wander from my father’s house: he was indeed gone astray like a lost sheep.
What Ramban evokes here is an Abraham who is set on a course of total displacement, a series of encounters with mekomot, geocultural environments to be entered, known, and left. This directionless traveling is in one sense a travailing that is intimately connected with the quest for birth. The OED glosses travel: "1. torment, distress, suffer afflictions, suffer pains of paturition. 2/ make a journey, from one place to another."
Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, The Beginning of Desire, p. 75
Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, The Beginning of Desire, p. 75
(א) ויהי כאשר התעו וגו'. וְאִם תֹּאמַר מַהוּ לְשׁוֹן הִתְעוּ? כָּל הַגּוֹלֶה מִמְּקוֹמוֹ וְאֵינוֹ מְיֻשָּׁב קָרוּי תּוֹעֶה, כְּמוֹ וַתֵּלֶךְ וַתֵּתַע (בראשית כ"א), תָּעִיתִי כְּשֶׂה אֹבֵד (תהילים קי"ט), יִתְעוּ לִבְלִי אֹכֶל (איוב ל"ח) – יֵצְאוּ וְיִתְעוּ לְבַקֵּשׁ אָכְלָם:
(1) 'ויהי כאשר התעו אותי וגו AND IT CAME TO PASS WHEN GOD CAUSED ME TO WANDER If you ask why does it here use the term התעו, I reply, anyone who is exiled from his home and has no settled abode may be styled תועה a wanderer (or “one moving about aimlessly”), as (21:14) “And she, Hagar, went and strayed about (ותתע) in the wilderness”; (Psalms 119:176) “I have gone astray (תעיתי) like a lost sheep”, and (Job 38:41) “they wander (יתעו) through lack of food”, i.e. they go out and wander about to seek their food.
Abram (and Sarai) in the land
(ו) וַיַּעֲבֹ֤ר אַבְרָם֙ בָּאָ֔רֶץ עַ֚ד מְק֣וֹם שְׁכֶ֔ם עַ֖ד אֵל֣וֹן מוֹרֶ֑ה וְהַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י אָ֥ז בָּאָֽרֶץ׃ (ז) וַיֵּרָ֤א יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם וַיֹּ֕אמֶר לְזַ֨רְעֲךָ֔ אֶתֵּ֖ן אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את וַיִּ֤בֶן שָׁם֙ מִזְבֵּ֔חַ לַיהֹוָ֖ה הַנִּרְאֶ֥ה אֵלָֽיו׃ (ח) וַיַּעְתֵּ֨ק מִשָּׁ֜ם הָהָ֗רָה מִקֶּ֛דֶם לְבֵֽית־אֵ֖ל וַיֵּ֣ט אׇהֳלֹ֑ה בֵּֽית־אֵ֤ל מִיָּם֙ וְהָעַ֣י מִקֶּ֔דֶם וַיִּֽבֶן־שָׁ֤ם מִזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה וַיִּקְרָ֖א בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְהֹוָֽה׃ (ט) וַיִּסַּ֣ע אַבְרָ֔ם הָל֥וֹךְ וְנָס֖וֹעַ הַנֶּֽגְבָּה׃ {פ}
(6) Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, at the terebinth of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land. (7) יהוה appeared to Abram and said, “I will assign this land to your offspring.” And he built an altar there to יהוה who had appeared to him. (8) From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and he built there an altar to יהוה and invoked יהוה by name. (9) Then Abram journeyed by stages toward the Negeb.
וטעם לה' הנראה אליו כי הודה לשם הנכבד וזבח לו זבח תודה על שנראה אליו כי עד הנה לא נראה אליו השם ולא נתודע אליו במראה ולא במחזה אבל נאמר לו "לך לך מארצך" בחלום הלילה או ברוח הקדש ויתכן שירמוז "הנראה אליו" על סוד הקרבן (עיין רקאנטי כא ב) והמשכיל יבין:
The sense of the expression, And there he built an altar unto the Eternal, who appeared unto him, is that he gave praise to the Glorious Name and offered unto Him a sacrifice of thanksgiving for His having appeared to him. Until now G-d had not appeared to him neither in a mar’eh nor in a machzeh. Rather, the command, Get thee out of thy country, was said to him in a nocturnal dream or through Ruach Hakodesh. It is possible that the expression, Who appeared unto him, alludes to the mystery of the sacrifice. The one enlightened [in the mysteries of the Torah] will understand.
This is the first theophany, or divine revelation, introduced by Hebrew va-yera, as distinct from divine speech to an individual introduced by va-yomer. The term, which is characteristic of the Genesis patriarchal narratives, is used three times with Abraham, twice with Isaac, and once with Jacob. The root belongs to the formal vocabulary of prophecy.
He built an altar there: Significantly, we have no record of an act of worship by the patriarchs outside the boundaries of the Land of Israel, and Abram refrains from putting up an altar inside the land before it has been divinely identified as the land of promise...
Legal ownership of the land is not the same thing as actual possession. The nation does not exist, and the patriarchs remain wanderers, ever on the move.
Nachum Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, p. 92
He built an altar there: Significantly, we have no record of an act of worship by the patriarchs outside the boundaries of the Land of Israel, and Abram refrains from putting up an altar inside the land before it has been divinely identified as the land of promise...
Legal ownership of the land is not the same thing as actual possession. The nation does not exist, and the patriarchs remain wanderers, ever on the move.
Nachum Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, p. 92
Abram in Egypt
(י) וַיְהִ֥י רָעָ֖ב בָּאָ֑רֶץ וַיֵּ֨רֶד אַבְרָ֤ם מִצְרַ֙יְמָה֙ לָג֣וּר שָׁ֔ם כִּֽי־כָבֵ֥ד הָרָעָ֖ב בָּאָֽרֶץ׃ (יא) וַיְהִ֕י כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר הִקְרִ֖יב לָב֣וֹא מִצְרָ֑יְמָה וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־שָׂרַ֣י אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ הִנֵּה־נָ֣א יָדַ֔עְתִּי כִּ֛י אִשָּׁ֥ה יְפַת־מַרְאֶ֖ה אָֽתְּ׃ (יב) וְהָיָ֗ה כִּֽי־יִרְא֤וּ אֹתָךְ֙ הַמִּצְרִ֔ים וְאָמְר֖וּ אִשְׁתּ֣וֹ זֹ֑את וְהָרְג֥וּ אֹתִ֖י וְאֹתָ֥ךְ יְחַיּֽוּ׃ (יג) אִמְרִי־נָ֖א אֲחֹ֣תִי אָ֑תְּ לְמַ֙עַן֙ יִֽיטַב־לִ֣י בַעֲבוּרֵ֔ךְ וְחָיְתָ֥ה נַפְשִׁ֖י בִּגְלָלֵֽךְ׃ (יד) וַיְהִ֕י כְּב֥וֹא אַבְרָ֖ם מִצְרָ֑יְמָה וַיִּרְא֤וּ הַמִּצְרִים֙ אֶת־הָ֣אִשָּׁ֔ה כִּֽי־יָפָ֥ה הִ֖וא מְאֹֽד׃ (טו) וַיִּרְא֤וּ אֹתָהּ֙ שָׂרֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֔ה וַיְהַֽלְל֥וּ אֹתָ֖הּ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֑ה וַתֻּקַּ֥ח הָאִשָּׁ֖ה בֵּ֥ית פַּרְעֹֽה׃ (טז) וּלְאַבְרָ֥ם הֵיטִ֖יב בַּעֲבוּרָ֑הּ וַֽיְהִי־ל֤וֹ צֹאן־וּבָקָר֙ וַחֲמֹרִ֔ים וַעֲבָדִים֙ וּשְׁפָחֹ֔ת וַאֲתֹנֹ֖ת וּגְמַלִּֽים׃ (יז) וַיְנַגַּ֨ע יְהֹוָ֧ה ׀ אֶת־פַּרְעֹ֛ה נְגָעִ֥ים גְּדֹלִ֖ים וְאֶת־בֵּית֑וֹ עַל־דְּבַ֥ר שָׂרַ֖י אֵ֥שֶׁת אַבְרָֽם׃ (יח) וַיִּקְרָ֤א פַרְעֹה֙ לְאַבְרָ֔ם וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מַה־זֹּ֖את עָשִׂ֣יתָ לִּ֑י לָ֚מָּה לֹא־הִגַּ֣דְתָּ לִּ֔י כִּ֥י אִשְׁתְּךָ֖ הִֽוא׃ (יט) לָמָ֤ה אָמַ֙רְתָּ֙ אֲחֹ֣תִי הִ֔וא וָאֶקַּ֥ח אֹתָ֛הּ לִ֖י לְאִשָּׁ֑ה וְעַתָּ֕ה הִנֵּ֥ה אִשְׁתְּךָ֖ קַ֥ח וָלֵֽךְ׃ (כ) וַיְצַ֥ו עָלָ֛יו פַּרְעֹ֖ה אֲנָשִׁ֑ים וַֽיְשַׁלְּח֥וּ אֹת֛וֹ וְאֶת־אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ וְאֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר־לֽוֹ׃
(10) There was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. (11) As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. (12) If the Egyptians see you, and think, ‘She is his wife,’ they will kill me and let you live. (13) Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that I may remain alive thanks to you.” (14) When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw how very beautiful the woman was. (15) Pharaoh’s courtiers saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s palace. (16) And because of her, it went well with Abram; he acquired sheep, oxen, asses, male and female slaves, she-asses, and camels. (17) But יהוה afflicted Pharaoh and his household with mighty plagues on account of Sarai, the wife of Abram. (18) Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me! Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? (19) Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife; take her and begone!” (20) And Pharaoh put agents in charge of him, and they sent him off with his wife and all that he possessed.
Egypt: The first mention of Egypt as a factor in Israelite history. The narrative prefigures the ambiguity of future relationships--on the one hand as a place of shelter and succor in time of distress, on the other hand as a place of mortal danger.
-Nachum Sarna
The story of Abraham’s migration to Egypt in Genesis 12 (vv. 10–20) is a particularly strong example of this principle. Some midrashim recognised that the story anticipates the later fate of the people of God even in its details. כל מה שכתוב באבינו אברהם כתוב בבניו “Everything written in connection with our father Abraham is written in connection with his children,” says Genesis Rabbah 40:6, offering no fewer than eleven instances illustrating this principle.
In the words of the modern Jewish exegete Umberto Cassuto, “There is hardly a verse or half a verse in this section that does not remind us of a parallel statement in the narratives pertaining to the Israelites.”[2] Indeed, a comparison of the phrases and elements of this narrative with other biblical narratives, especially that of the exodus, bears this out.
--C. Levin, TheTorah.com
-Nachum Sarna
The story of Abraham’s migration to Egypt in Genesis 12 (vv. 10–20) is a particularly strong example of this principle. Some midrashim recognised that the story anticipates the later fate of the people of God even in its details. כל מה שכתוב באבינו אברהם כתוב בבניו “Everything written in connection with our father Abraham is written in connection with his children,” says Genesis Rabbah 40:6, offering no fewer than eleven instances illustrating this principle.
In the words of the modern Jewish exegete Umberto Cassuto, “There is hardly a verse or half a verse in this section that does not remind us of a parallel statement in the narratives pertaining to the Israelites.”[2] Indeed, a comparison of the phrases and elements of this narrative with other biblical narratives, especially that of the exodus, bears this out.
--C. Levin, TheTorah.com
Return to the Land
(א) וַיַּ֩עַל֩ אַבְרָ֨ם מִמִּצְרַ֜יִם ה֠וּא וְאִשְׁתּ֧וֹ וְכׇל־אֲשֶׁר־ל֛וֹ וְל֥וֹט עִמּ֖וֹ הַנֶּֽגְבָּה׃ (ב) וְאַבְרָ֖ם כָּבֵ֣ד מְאֹ֑ד בַּמִּקְנֶ֕ה בַּכֶּ֖סֶף וּבַזָּהָֽב׃ (ג) וַיֵּ֙לֶךְ֙ לְמַסָּעָ֔יו מִנֶּ֖גֶב וְעַד־בֵּֽית־אֵ֑ל עַד־הַמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁר־הָ֨יָה שָׁ֤ם אׇֽהֳלֹה֙ בַּתְּחִלָּ֔ה בֵּ֥ין בֵּֽית־אֵ֖ל וּבֵ֥ין הָעָֽי׃ (ד) אֶל־מְקוֹם֙ הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ אֲשֶׁר־עָ֥שָׂה שָׁ֖ם בָּרִאשֹׁנָ֑ה וַיִּקְרָ֥א שָׁ֛ם אַבְרָ֖ם בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְהֹוָֽה׃
(1) From Egypt, Abram went up into the Negeb, with his wife and all that he possessed, together with Lot. (2) Now Abram was very rich in cattle, silver, and gold. (3) And he proceeded by stages from the Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been formerly, between Bethel and Ai, (4) the site of the altar that he had built there at first; and there Abram invoked יהוה by name.
למסעיו. שנסע מסעים רבים כאשר שב מפאת דרום אל בית אל שהיא בצפון ובא אל מקום המזבח להודות לשם שבא בשלום:
ON HIS JOURNEYS. Abraham made many stops on his journey from the south to Beth-el which is in the north. He came unto the place of the altar (v. 4) to give thanks to God for ensuring his safe return.
v. 3-4: Abram renews his spiritual connection with the land by returning to worship at the altar he had previously built.
(Sarna)
(Sarna)