Why God Repaid Abraham's Water and Bread Measure for Measure

Midrash Aggadah, Genesis 18:4

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"Let now a little water be taken" (Genesis 18:4): [by means of a messenger. So too] the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them water by means of a messenger, as it is said, "and you shall strike the rock," etc. (Exodus 17:6). The bread, which he gave by his own hand — the Holy One, blessed be He, likewise gave by His own hand, as it is said, "when the LORD gives you in the evening flesh to eat, and bread," etc. (ibid. 16:8).

Themes

HospitalityDivine ProvidenceAbraham

Biblical References

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Tanna DeBei Eliyahu RabbahAbraham's Table and the Gifts of the WildernessChoose your table carefully, the chapter begins. Sit with people of learning, not with those careless about the law, because the company you keep at a meal seepYalkut Shimoni on TorahOnce Abraham Was Circumcised God Appeared to Him in PersonAfter the pain of circumcision, Abraham worries over a loss that has nothing to do with his body. He was famous for his open tent and his welcome of travelers, Yalkut Shimoni on TorahThe Lord Visits the Recovering Abraham on the Third DayThe opening of Vayera is read as the third day after Abraham's circumcision, the day a wound burns hottest, and the sages fill it with tenderness. God comes to Yalkut Shimoni on TorahBread That Sustains the Heart and Abraham's Passover FeastWhen three travelers approached his tent in the heat of the day, Abraham offered them a simple morsel of bread, yet he understood something the sages would lateYalkut Shimoni on TorahAbraham's Meal Greater Than Solomon's and the Angels Who Appeared to EatA son hires day laborers and promises them a meal. His father, Rabbi Yohanan ben Matya, stops him: even a feast worthy of King Solomon would not discharge the dYalkut Shimoni on TorahLot Urges the Angels In and Bakes Them MatzahLot greets the two visitors at Sodom's gate and begs them to lodge with him. The sages catch a wary note in his welcome. He asks them to bend their route and sl