The narrator ends the “dialogue” with
an evaluation of Abram: “And because he put his trust in the Lord, He reckoned
it to his meri” (6). (NJPS. צדקה—zedaka also denotes righteousness or
charity) This conclusion invites the reader to reevaluate the scene, since the conclusion
turns the promise into a test of Abram’s reaction. The conclusion declares that
Abram passed his test, and believed that God will keep His promises, even
though the reality Abram is faced with does not support this conclusion. The
syntax of the phrase “he reckoned it to his merit” lends itself to two opposing
interpretations, which were discussed by medieval commentators. Rashi wrote
that God is the subject of the sentence: “God considered this Abram’s merit,
and piety for believing in Him.” According to this interpretation, the verse is
a summary of the two characters in the scene: Abram believes in God, and God appreciates
Abram’s faith. However, Nahmanides and Bekhor Shor viewed Abram as the subject
of the entire sentence: “He believed in God, who in His righteousness would
give him a child despite everything not because of Abram’s merit or as a reward.”
According to this reading, the entire conclusion is focused on Abram, who
believes that God will keep His promises, and also appreciates the righteousness
of the undeserved promise. Both possibilities are convincing. It would be
convenient to assume that the subject of the beginning of the sentence has not
changed; since Abram “put his trust” in God, he is also the one who “reckons”
at the end. In contrast, attributing such evaluations as “reckoned” and zedaka
(merit/righteousness) to God is possible, but incongruent with the style of the
story and the current portrayal of the relationship. Therefore, most scholars
assumed that God viewed Abram’s faith as righteousness or merit. (Cf. Ps
106:31) This ambiguity may well be intentional, and designed to emphasize the
reciprocity of the relationship. The concluding verse closes the first part of
the chapter, the promise of an heir to Abram, while portraying Abram as one who
believes in God’s promise. Clearly Abram’s faith is not to be taken for
granted. His current reality does not support the fulfillment of God’s
blessings, and in order to believe, Abram needs to look at the stars. (Jonathan
Grossman, Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative [Das
Alte Testament Im Dialog 11; New York: Peter Lang, 2016], 168-69)
Interestingly, the two additional appearances
of the word וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ (translated here as “reckoned”) in the Bible
describe a person who is mistaken about the identity of another. Judah mistook
Tamar for a prostitute: “When Judah saw her he took her (ויחשבה) for a harlot”
(Gen 3:15), and Eli mistook Hannah for a drunk: “so Eli thought (יחשבה) she was
a drunk” (1 Sam 1:13). (Ibid., 169 n. 28)
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