Sunday, August 11, 2024

Jonathan Grossman on Genesis 15:6

 

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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