Abraham had demolished the idols. Now he turned his mind to the elements themselves.
"Fire is more worthy of honor than all things formed," he reasoned, "because even that which is not subjected to it is subjected unto it, and things easily destroyed are mocked by its flames."
But then: "Water is even more worthy, because it conquers fire and satisfies the earth." Yet he would not call water God either, because water is subjected to the earth, flowing beneath it, held within it.
"The earth is more worthy still, because it overpowers the nature and fullness of the water." But the earth, too, is dried up by the sun and given to man to till. So the earth is not God.
"The sun illuminates the whole world with its rays." A strong candidate. But at night, and behind clouds, its course is obscured. Not God.
The moon? The stars? "They also in their season obscure their light at night." Not God.
Abraham had climbed through every candidate in creation: idols, fire, water, earth, sun, moon, stars. Each one ruled by something above it. Each one insufficient.
He turned to his father with a question that contained its own answer: "Hear this, Terah my father. I will make known to you the God who made everything, not these we consider as gods. Who is He? What is He?"
And then Abraham spoke a poem that trembled on the edge of revelation:
Who has crimsoned the heavens and made the sun golden,<br/>
And the moon lustrous, and with it the stars;<br/>
And made the earth dry in the midst of many waters?
"Yet may God reveal Himself to us through Himself!" Abraham cried. He had followed the chain of being to its end. Now he waited for the One at the top of it to speak.
8“Behold, the fire is more worthy of honour than 9all things formed because even that
which is not subjected is subjected unto it, and things easily perishable are mocked by its
flames. 9 10But even more worthy of hon our is the water, 10 because it conquereth the fire and
satisfieth the earth.11 But even it I do not call God, because 12it is subjected to the earth
under which the water inclineth.12 But I call the earth much more worthy of honour, because
it overpowereth the nature (and the fulness)13 of the water. Even it (viz. the earth), how ever,
I do not call god, [because]14 it, too, is dried up by the sun, [and] 14 is apportioned to man to be
tilled.15[I call the sun more worthy of honour than the earth,]16 because it with its rays illumineth
the whole world 17and the different atmospheres.17 [But]14 even it I do not call god, because
at night 18and by clouds its course is obscured.18 Nor, again, do I call the moon or the stars
So S; A, Joauv; K, Joav; R, Jav.
The lon g passage in bracke t s w h i c h h e r e f o llows is extant in A and K, but is wanting in S. It
consists of a long comparison between the gods Joauv (Joavon) and Barisat, and is very obscure. It is
probably a later interpolation.
4
Lit. that.
? read rooted.
i.e. while it was growing as a tree.
Lit. and he.
Hath he not abandoned this (once for all) by perishing to utter destruction? A (K).
A K i n sert at the beginning of this chapter: Having thought thus, Abraham came to his father, sa yi n g:
“Father Terah,” forgetting that A braham was already speaking to him. The sen tence is wan ting in S.
So S; for this A K have thy honoured gods of gold, silver, stone, and wood, because it bur n eth up thy gods;
yea, thy gods are burnt up in subjection to the fire, while the fire mocked them, devouring thy gods.
A K r e a d : B u t that (viz. the fire) I do not call god, because it hath been subjected to the water, while the
water is more worthy of honour than it (i. e. the fire).
A K, maketh the fruits of the earth sweet.
A K, the water inclineth under the earth.
14
So S; but A K omit—it is probably a gloss.
S omits.
Lit. for work (= Heb. la‘ |bÇd).
Omitted by S; but it must have belonged to the original text. It is attested by A K.
So S; A K omit: atmospheres (? lower and upper) = ’XDgH; cf. 4 Ezra vi. 4, altitudines aerum.
A K, it is obscured by the darkness.
god, because they also in their season obscure [their] 1 light at night. 2 [But]1 hear [this],1 Terah
my father; for 3I will make known to thee3 the God who hath made everything, not these we
consider as gods. Who then is He? or what is He?
Who hath crimsoned the heavens, and made the
sun golden,
And the moon lustrous, and with it the stars;
And hath made the earth dry in the midst of many
waters,
And set thee in4 . . . . 5[and tested me in the
confusion of my thoughts ]5
“Yet may God reveal Himself to us through Himself!”
