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Pivotal Events
Abraham Cut Off from His Past and Future by the Awkward Divine Command: “Go You!”
Two short Hebrew words connect two pivotal episodes in Abraham’s life.

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Footnotes

See Bernard F. Batto, “Red Sea or Reed Sea?” BAR 10:04.

Abram does not become Abraham until Genesis 17:4, 5 when God makes a covenant with Abram and marks the new relationship by a change of name. God says: “No longer shall your name be Abram (the exalted father), but your name shall now be Abraham.” Abraham, is here taken to mean father of a multitude of nations.

This Midrash is of course based on the Hebrew word order. This Midrash does not “work” in English translations that do not follow the Hebrew word order.

This is an original insight of Rabbi Pinchas Peli, Professor of Jewish Values at Ben-Gurion University in Beer-Sheba, whose discussion of these passages was the inspiration for this article.

Endnotes

Midrash Rabbah to Genesis (Vayera LV. 7) (Soncino Press, 1977), pp. 486–87.