Messianic Education Trust
		Lech L'cha   (Gen 12:1 - 17:27)

B'resheet/Genesis 14:14   When Avram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he armed his retainers ... and gave chase as far as Dan.

View whole verse and interlinear translation ...

This verse comes near the middle of the curious interlude referred to by some commentators as "Avram the Warrior" after Avram has separated from his nephew Lot and before Avram's great statement of faith and the covenant ceremony in the next chapter. Someone had escaped from Sodom and told Avram that Lot had been captured with the rest of the people of Sodom and Avram acts to rescue his nephew. Targum Onkelos retains the Hebrew's word , although strictly Lot is a nephew and not a brother; the word can be used in the wider context of 'kinsman'. Picking up on Avram's statement to Lot as they part ways - "for we are brothers" (B'resheet 13:8, NIV), Who Is ...

Hirsch: Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888 CE), German rabbi, author and educator; staunch opponent of the Reform movement in Germany and one of the fathers of Orthodox Judaism
Hirsch comments that "before the separation, Avram had said, 'we are men who should be brothers', but when he heard of Lot's misfortune, the unfortunate Lot is at once his brother". Nahum Sarna explains that "Although Lot separated himself from his uncle, the ties of kinship remained intact. Avram performs what in rabbinic parlance is termed the duty of 'redeeming the captives'" (b. Bava Batra 8a).

Examining the Hebrew text gives us a measure of how Avram acted. The verb - a Hif'il 3ms prefix form of the root , here in a vav-conversive construction and a Explaining Terms ...

hapax legomenon: (pl. hapax legomena) a Greek phrase meaning "something said once"; a word that only occurs once either in a particular form or at all, in the Hebrew or Greek biblical texts, or in an author's work or a literary corpus
hapax legomenon in this form - can mean "to empty, to pour out, to draw out (a sword or spear) or to draw or lead out (troops)" (Davidson). Translated 'mustered' (JPS), 'led out' (ESV, NRSV), 'armed' ( What Is ...

Targum Onkelos: An early (1^st-2^nd Century CE) translation/paraphrase of the Torah into Aramaic; attributed to a Roman convert to Judaism, Onkelos; used in Babylonian synagogues during the Talmudic era
Targum Onkelos, Who Is ...

Rashi: Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040-1105 CE), French rabbi who wrote commentaries on the Torah, the Prophets and the Talmud, lived in Troyes where he founded a yeshiva in 1067; focuses on the plain meaning (p'shat) of the text, although sometimes quite cryptic in his brevity
Rashi, the word is juxtaposed with its direct object , another hapax legomenon, variously translated 'young men' (Onkelos), 'retainers' (JPS), 'trained men' (ESV, NRSV); this speaks of a considerable military force. Sarna points out that the word "occurs in Egyptian execration texts of the 19^th-18^th centuries BCE in reference to armed retainers of Canaanite chieftains".

The verb - a Qal 3ms prefix form also in vav-conversive construction, of the root , to follow after, to pursue, to chase - is followed by the preposition , which often means 'until' or 'as far as': "as far as Dan". Avram's pursuit of the raiders was a lengthy affair. The Who Is ...

Ramban: Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman of Gerona or Nachmanides (1194-1270 CE), Spanish rabbi, author and physician; defended Judaism in the Christian debates in Barcelona before making aliyah
Ramban explains, "It is known that there is a great distance from the oaks at Mamre in Hebron in the land of Judah, to Damascus, which is outside the Land. If so, he pursued them for many days until he forced them to leave the Land for they were returning to Babylon, their country." The ancient Rabbis, connecting this verse with "He pursues them and passes on safely, scarcely touching the path with his feet" (Isaiah 41:3), claim that a miracle occurred: "Rabbi Levi in Rabbi Jose's name said: Abraham's steps were three miles long [This relies on reading the word 'shalom' as as abbreviation for 'sh'losh milim', three miles]. Rabbi Judan the son of Rabbi Simeon said: They were one mile long, for it says, 'The way with his feet he treads not' [This relies on the assumption that a mile is the shortest distance that can be called 'way', so he passed over a whole mile without treading]" (B'resheet Rabbah 43:3). Sarna again helps with geography: "This city represents the northern extremity of the Land of Israel as texts such as Judges 20:1 and 1 Samuel 3:20 show. It is identified with Tel Dan about 4 miles west of Banias, lying at the foot of Mt. Hermon on the international trade route. Excavations have shown that is was founded in the 3^rd millenium BCE and was a prosperous and important settlement in the 18^th century BCE. The original name of the site was Laish".

As soon as Avram hears that Lot has been taken away captive, he assembles and arms his retainers, his private army, and gives chase for at least 160 miles - a not inconsiderable distance in those days - and then mounts an attack by night to rescue Lot and his family. The Who Is ...

Sforno: Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno (1470-1550 CE), Italian rabbi, philosopher and physician; born in Cesena, he went to Rome to study medicine; left in 1525 and after some years of travel, settled in Bologna where he founded a yeshiva which he conducted until his death
Sforno comments that he travelled "in great haste, so as to attack them suddenly". Avram went a long way and he went fast and, of course, at no insignificant personal cost and inconvenience.

Throughout Jewish history, captives have been redeemed at great personal and communal cost, usually ignoring the instructions of the Sages (e.g. m. Gittin 4:6, "They do not redeem captives for more than they are worth"). To this day, it is considered a prime responsibility of the State of Israel to redeem captives at almost whatever the price in order to preserve morale and unity within the Jewish people and the Israeli Defence Forces. In recent years, there has been great public hand-wringing over a number of high profile cases, with conflicting halakhic rulings being issued by prominent rabbis who disagree with each other over the price involved and the message that such redemptions send to the enemies of the Jewish people.

Bringing the issue back to our own lives, however, how far will we go to rescue a brother? Clearly, the Torah speaks about rescuing our neighbours' animals and property - "If you see your fellow's ass or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it; you must help him raise it" (D'varim 22:4, JPS) - and tells us to meet the needs of the poor: "If, however, there is a needy person among you ... you must open your hand and lend him sufficient for whatever he needs" (15:7-8, JPS). The prophets speak about G-d rescuing our people: "As a shepherd seeks out his flock when some animals in his flock have gotten separated, so I will seek out My flock, I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of cloud and gloom" (Ezekiel 34:12, JPS). Yeshua Himself said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11, ESV) and told the parable of the shepherd who went out to find the one lost sheep (Luke 15:4-6). He taught the disciples an example of the lengths to which they should be prepared to go to rescue a brother who is lost. This, however, is all at a physical level: nuts and bolts, bread and water, money and farm stock. Is it supposed to go any further?

"Yes," Rav Sha'ul explains: It goes much further. Yeshua put it into practice - He lived, or should that be died, what He taught: "For while we were still helpless, at the right time, the Messiah died on behalf of ungodly people. Now it is a rare event when someone gives up his life even for the sake of somebody righteous, although possibly for a truly good person one might have the courage to die. But G-d demonstrates His own love for us in that the Messiah died on our behalf while we were still sinners" (Romans 5:6-8, CJB). Without Yeshua, all of us are lost; without Him we are not even brothers and yet He died for us.

But there is yet another level; one with which we are called to engage. We are not all Yeshua; we cannot die for the sin of the world and neither are we expected to. We are nevertheless expected to be involved in rescuing people at a more than physical level. James has the text: "My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:19-20, ESV). When a brother (or sister, James is not being gender specific here, it is a feature of koine Greek) wanders from the truth - that is: looses the plot, stumbles in sin, starts to wobble in fundamental beliefs about Yeshua, even as far as being lost to the kingdom - we are to reach out to them, reason with them, encourage them and bring them back into the fold. This is what Yeshua did during His earthly ministry and continues to do through people like us today. He told the disciples, "If your brother commits a sin against you, go and show him his fault- but privately, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother" (Matthew 18:15, CJB). Rav Sha'ul too emphasizes that duty of care, that role of shepherding, for each believer in Messiah: "Brothers, suppose someone is caught doing something wrong. You who have the Spirit should set him right, but in a spirit of humility, keeping an eye on yourselves so that you won't be tempted too" (Galatians 6:1, CJB).

It is too easy to turn away, to assume that someone else will do it or is already on the case, to believe that we can't or shouldn't help, or simply not to bother. This is not what Avram did; as soon as he heard, he put aside the previous separation, mustered his resources and did whatever was necessary to rescue his nephew. We too, if we are sons and daughters of Avraham (see Galatians 3:7), are called to engage whatever it takes to rescue those of the brethren who stumble or get lost. Yeshua rescued us at the cost of the cross and calls us to do likewise!

Further Study: Vayikra 19:17-18; Ephesians 2:4-7

Application: How good are you at rescuing lost or fallen brothers? Is there someone you know who seems to have fallen through the cracks? Reach out to them today and play your part in restoring your brother to relationship with G-d.

© Jonathan Allen, 2013

Messianic Trust Home Page	Join Weekly Email	More Weekly Drashot
Last Week	Support the work of producing this weekly commentary	Next Week
Last Year - 5773	Scripture Index	Next Year - 5775