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Abram Fell Into Darkness and Saw Four Empires Rise

Between the cut animals, a deep sleep fell on Abram. What he saw was not a promise first. It was a nightmare about exile and four crushing kingdoms.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The Furnace and the Flame
  2. The Four Kingdoms in the Darkness
  3. What Abram Carried Back From the Dark
  4. A Good Old Age and a Horrible Promise

He had done everything right. Abram had cut the heifer, the she-goat, and the ram, each into two halves laid facing each other across the ground. He had set the turtledove and the young pigeon whole on the stones. He had driven away the vultures that circled down on the open flesh, hour after hour, until the sun began to fall. Then, as evening came, something seized him from outside himself and would not let go.

The Torah calls it tardemah, a word that appears only when the sleep is not ordinary rest. It is the same word used when Adam was put under before Eve was formed. A crushing, externally imposed unconsciousness. Not peaceful. Not willed. Abram did not drift off. He fell, and what he landed in was darkness.

The Furnace and the Flame

Midrash Aggadah, a compilation of homiletical interpretations drawing on rabbinic sources, reads the imagery of this vision with precision that Genesis does not supply. What Abram saw in the darkness was not abstract. He saw a smoking furnace and a lamp of fire pass between the pieces. The tradition identifies these images directly: the furnace is Gehinnom. The lamp is the revelation at Sinai. Two terrible and transforming things, one the place of judgment and one the fire of law-giving, passing through the cut animals at the center of the covenant.

Before either promise was delivered, before any word of comfort was spoken, Abram lay in the darkness between the pieces and received a vision of fire.

The Four Kingdoms in the Darkness

The Book of Jubilees, the second-century BCE text preserved among the Dead Sea Scrolls, fills in what the darkness contained. Abram saw four kingdoms - not named by nation in the vision, but unmistakable to any reader in the Second Temple period who had lived through or read about the sequence of empires that had consumed Israel. Babylon. Persia. Greece. Rome, or its predecessor in the tradition's scheme. Four crushing powers, each arriving after the last, each demanding what the previous one had demanded: submission, identity, the extinction of what made Abram's descendants who they were.

The vision was not given to Abram as something he would live to see. He would go to his fathers in peace. The four kingdoms were for his descendants, and the darkness was his way of knowing it: not from instruction but from direct encounter with what was coming.

What Abram Carried Back From the Dark

The tradition does not record what Abram said when he woke from the deep sleep. There was no outburst. No recorded argument with God about why the four kingdoms had to be part of the price. Abram had already demonstrated, when he refused the spoils of Sodom and gave a tithe to Melchizedek, that he understood his role in something larger than his own household. The darkness between the pieces was the same understanding made total. He lay in it. He received what was shown to him. When the smoking furnace passed and the flame followed and the covenant was sealed, he rose and built another altar. That is the only response the text records. He built.

A Good Old Age and a Horrible Promise

Into this darkness came the specific words recorded in Genesis 15: know of a surety that your seed will be a stranger in a land not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years. The nation they serve will be judged. They will come out with great substance. And you, Abraham, will die in peace and be buried at a good old age.

The midrashic tradition noticed the structure of this promise. It is not only a covenant of land. It is a covenant of suffering with a guaranteed endpoint. The four hundred years are not open-ended oppression. They have a term. God named the duration and named the judgment and named the exodus before any of it had happened, while Abram lay between the pieces in the dark, and the furnace and the flame passed over him.

AbrahamProphecyExileCovenantEgypt
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The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Book of Jubilees 14:23Book of Jubilees

The scene is set. God is speaking, promising judgement upon the nation that will enslave Abraham's descendants. But it doesn’t end there. There’s a promise of liberation, a return "with much substance." A powerful image of resilience and divine justice. And what about Abraham himself? He's told that he will "go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age." A blessing of long life and peaceful passing. It’s a classic reward for faith and righteousness.

Then comes a fascinating detail: "in the fourth generation they will return hither; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." This introduces a crucial element: timing. Divine plans unfold according to a specific schedule. The return is contingent upon the Amorites reaching a certain level of. well, let's just say "unrighteousness." This idea, that nations can fill a measure of sin, is a recurring theme in ancient Jewish thought. The implication is that God’s judgement is not arbitrary, but rather a response to accumulated wickedness.

The narrative then shifts to a vivid, almost surreal scene. Abraham wakes from sleep. The sun has set. And what does he see? "A flame, and behold! a furnace was smoking, and a flame of fire passed between the pieces." This imagery is striking! According to scholars, the "pieces" likely refer to animal sacrifices, a common practice in ancient covenant rituals. The passing flame symbolizes God's presence and acceptance of the covenant.

Here's the pivotal moment: "On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'To thy seed will I give this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.'" A formal agreement. A binding promise. This is the seed of the promise of the Land of Israel. The boundaries are clearly defined, stretching from the river of Egypt (which some identify not with the Nile, but with a smaller river on the border of Egypt) all the way to the Euphrates. It’s a vast territory, a grand vision of future inheritance.

Think about the weight of this moment. A man, a promise, a land, and the destiny of generations hanging in the balance. It's a evidence of the enduring power of faith and the belief that even in the darkest of times, a brighter future is possible. It makes you wonder, doesn't it, what promises are being made today, and what future generations will inherit.

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Legends of the Jews 5:125Legends of the Jews

The Torah touches on this in the Brit Bein Habetarim (ברית בין הבתרים), the Covenant Between the Pieces, in Genesis 15. But the story doesn't end there. The Legends of the Jews fills in some fascinating details, giving us a glimpse into a profound vision Abraham himself experienced.

Abraham is preparing sacrifices, a sacred act of devotion. As the sun dips below the horizon, a deep slumber overtakes him. But this is no ordinary sleep; it’s a divinely granted vision, a window into the future of his descendants.

What does he see? He beholds a terrifying image: a smoking furnace, none other than Gehenna (גהנם), the Jewish concept akin to hell, the place God prepares for the wicked. Then, a flaming torch appears, representing the revelation at Sinai, where the entire nation witnessed fiery displays of God’s power. He sees the sacrifices that Israel will offer, a continuation of his own sacred service. And finally, a chilling darkness descends, the oppression of four kingdoms that will rule over his people. Then, God speaks to Abraham. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, God explains that as long as Abraham's children uphold two crucial duties – studying the Torah (תורה), and performing the Temple service – they will be spared the horrors of Gehenna and foreign domination. But if they neglect these duties, they will face these very punishments.

Here’s the kicker: Abraham is given a choice. Should his descendants suffer punishment in Gehenna, or through subjugation by foreign powers?

Can you imagine the weight of that decision? All day long, Abraham struggles, torn between these two terrible options. Finally, God intervenes, urging him to choose the dominion of the stranger.

Why?

Perhaps because earthly suffering, while painful, is temporary. As we find in Midrash Rabbah, the bondage of Israel in Egypt for four hundred years was revealed to him, calculated from the birth of Isaac. It was also revealed that Abraham himself would not experience the full brunt of this oppression. A promise was given that he would go to his fathers in peace. At the same time, his father Terah, who had repented for his sins, would have a share in the world to come.

Abraham learns that his son Ishmael will find righteousness during Abraham's lifetime, and his grandson Esau will not begin his wicked ways until after Abraham's death. It’s a interplay of good and bad, of promise and suffering, all interwoven.

But the vision doesn't end with doom and gloom. Just as Abraham received the prophecy of his descendants' enslavement, he also received the assurance of their ultimate deliverance. God would judge the four kingdoms and ultimately destroy them.

So, what are we to make of this ancient story? Is it a comforting tale? A terrifying warning? Perhaps it's both. It reminds us that our choices have consequences, not just for ourselves, but for generations to come. And it offers a glimmer of hope, a promise that even in the darkest of times, redemption is always possible. The Zohar tells us that even the darkest night eventually gives way to dawn.

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Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 77:17Yalkut Shimoni on Torah

(Genesis 15:17) "And it came to pass, when the sun went down, and there was thick darkness" -- it was pitch dark -- "behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch." Rabbi Shimon bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Yochanan said: He showed him four things -- Gehenna, the kingdoms, the giving of the Torah, and the Temple. He said to him: As long as your children occupy themselves with two of them [Torah and the Temple service] they will be saved from two of them [Gehenna and the kingdoms]; if they withdraw from the two, they will be judged by the two; and the Temple is destined to be destroyed and the sacrifices abolished. By which do you wish your children to descend, by Gehenna or by the kingdoms? Rabbi Chanina bar Pappa said: Abraham chose the kingdoms for himself. Bar Chanina said: The Holy One, blessed be He, chose the kingdoms for him, as it is written, "were it not that their Rock had sold them" (Deuteronomy 32:30) -- this is Abraham; "and the LORD had delivered them up" -- this teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, agreed with his words. Rav Huna in the name of Rav Acha said: So Abraham sat wondering all that day, by which shall I choose, Gehenna or the kingdoms? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Cut off this doubt from your heart -- choose the kingdoms for yourself, as it is written, "you have caused men to ride over our heads" (Psalms 66:12), you have made the nations ride over our heads, "we went through fire and through water." Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: He showed him also the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, as it is written, "which passed between the pieces" (Genesis 15:17), as you say, "to Him who divided the Sea of Reeds into pieces" (Psalms 136:13).

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Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 77:10Yalkut Shimoni on Torah

"And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep [tardemah] fell upon Abram" (Genesis 15:12). Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi: The beginning of a downfall is sleep; he lies down and does not labor in Torah, he lies down and does not labor in work.

Rav said: There are three kinds of deep sleep. The deep sleep of slumber, "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept" (Genesis 2:21). The deep sleep of prophecy, "And a deep sleep fell upon Abram." The deep sleep of stupor, as it is said, "And no one saw and no one knew and no one awoke, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen upon them" (1 Samuel 26:12). And the Rabbis say: Also a deep sleep of folly, as it is said, "For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep" (Isaiah 29:10).

Rabbi Chanina son of Rabbi Yitzchak said: There are three faded fruits [unripe forerunners]. The faded fruit of death is sleep; the faded fruit of prophecy is a dream; the faded fruit of the world to come is the Sabbath. Rabbi Avin adds two more: the faded fruit of the light above is the disk of the sun; the faded fruit of the wisdom above is the Torah.

"And behold, a dread" (Genesis 15:12), this is Babylon, as it is written, "Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury" (Daniel 3:19). "Darkness," this is Media, which darkened the eyes of Israel with fasting and affliction. "Great," this is Greece. Rabbi Simon said: it raised up a hundred and twenty dukes, a hundred and twenty governors, a hundred and twenty commanders. And the Rabbis say: it raised them sixty by sixty, as it is written, "serpent, fiery serpent, and scorpion" (Deuteronomy 8:15); just as a scorpion bears young sixty at a time, so the kingdom of Greece raised them sixty by sixty. "Fell upon him," this is the fourth kingdom, as it is written, "At the sound of their fall the earth trembled" (Jeremiah 49:21). And some reverse it: "falling" is Babylon, "fallen, fallen is Babylon" (Isaiah 21:9); "great" is Media, "the king Ahasuerus made great" (Esther 3:1); "darkness" is Greece, which darkened the eyes of Israel with decrees, for they would say, "Write on the horn of an ox that you have no portion in the God of Israel"; "dread" is the fourth kingdom, "dreadful and terrible and exceedingly strong" (Daniel 7:7).

"And He said to Abram, Know surely" (Genesis 15:13): know that I will scatter them, and be sure that I will gather them; know that I will enslave them, and be sure that I will redeem them. "That your seed shall be a stranger": from the time that seed shows itself to you, four hundred years. Rabbi Yudan said: the strangerhood, the slavery, and the affliction in a land not theirs, four hundred years to their term.

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