The Midrash of Philo turns to Philo Unpacks God's Covenant Promise to Abraham.
Philo, a Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, grappled with this very question. His interpretation, preserved in The Midrash of Philo, offers a fascinating perspective. Philo suggests that when God says, "Behold, my covenant," He's not just talking about a written agreement. He's saying, "I myself am the covenant." God is the agreement, the very foundation upon which everything is built.
Philo beautifully elaborates, picturing God raising Abraham up, not just from earth to heaven, but beyond – to the incorporeal realm of intellect. And then, even further, drawing him closer to Himself. It's not about seeing God as He is – that's beyond human capacity – but seeing Him as much as our limited perception allows.
What of the promise that Abraham will be the father of a multitude of nations? Philo sees layers within that promise. Literally, it means Abraham’s descendants will found nations. And metaphorically, Abraham, as a lover of God, will have power and authority over many nations, guiding them toward righteousness. He'll be a leader, concerned not just with his own people, but with all of humankind, especially those inclined toward virtue and reason.
But Philo doesn't stop there. He takes it a step further, into the realm of allegory. The "multitude of nations" can also represent the diverse inclinations within our own minds – the desires, the impulses, the thoughts that flood our consciousness. These inclinations arise from within ourselves and enter through our senses and imagination. If our mind, like Abraham, possesses supreme authority, it can guide these inclinations toward better purposes.
It's like being a father to our own thoughts and feelings. We nurture the nascent ones, encourage the maturing ones, and praise those that act rightly. And, yes, we discipline and correct those that rebel. Just as God displays both beneficence and avenging might, we too must use both kindness and reproof to guide our inner world. The Zohar, that foundational text of Jewish mysticism, often speaks of the human being as a microcosm, reflecting the macrocosm of the Divine. Philo’s interpretation certainly resonates with that idea.
So, what does it all mean? This interpretation from The Midrash of Philo encourages us to see ourselves as microcosms, as individuals capable of reflecting God's attributes in our own lives. And it challenges us to strive for that higher connection, to seek a deeper understanding of the covenant, not just as a set of rules, but as a relationship with the Divine itself. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, Abraham's journey was one of constant striving towards this very connection. As we find in Midrash Rabbah, the Sages constantly sought to unlock the hidden meanings within Torah. Perhaps that’s the greatest takeaway: that our own journey of understanding is a lifelong ascent, a continuous drawing closer to the source of all being.
What is the meaning of, "And God conversed with him, saying, And I, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of a multitude of nations?" (Genesis 17:4).
Since he had previously used the expression, "treaty," he now proceeds to say, do not seek that treaty in letters, since I myself, in accordance with what has been said before, am myself the genuine and true covenant. For after he has shown himself and said, "I," he makes an addition, saying, "Behold, my covenant," which is nothing but I myself; for I am myself my covenant, according to which my treaty and agreement are made and agreed to, and according to which again all things are properly distributed and arranged. Now the form of this prototypal treating is put together from the ideas and incorporeal measures and forms in accordance with which this world was made. Is it not therefore a climax to the benefits which the Father bestowed on the wise man, to raise him up and conduct him not only from earth to heaven, nor only from heaven to the incorporeal world appreciable only by the intellect, but also to draw him up from this world to himself, showing himself to him, not as he is in himself, for that is not possible but as far as the visual organs of the beholder who beholds virtue herself as appreciable by the intellect are able to attain to. And it is on this account that he says, "Be no more a son but a father; and the father, not of one individual but of a multitude; and of a multitude, not according to a part, but of all nations;" therefore of the revealed promises two admit of a literal interpretation, but the third of one which is rather spiritual. One of those which admit of a literal interpretation is to be construed in this way: in truth thou shalt be the father of nations, and shalt beget nations, that is to say, each individual among thy sons shall be the founder of a nation. But the second is of this kind; like a father you shall be clothed with power over, and authority to rule, many nations; for a lover of God is necessarily and at once also a lover of men; so that he will diligently devote his attention, not only to his relations but also to all mankind, and especially to those who are able to go through the discipline of strict attention, and who are of a disposition the reverse of anything cruel or hard, but of one which easily submits to virtue, and willingly gives obedience to right reason. But the third we may explain under this allegory: the multitude of nations spoken of indicates as it were the multifarious inclination of the will in each of our minds, both those inclinations which it is accustomed to form with reference to itself, and also those others which it admits by the agency of the senses, as they enter clandestinely through the intervention of the imagination, and if the mind possesses the supreme authority over all these, it, like a common father, turns them to better objects, cherishing their infant opinions, as it were, with milk, exhorting those which are older and more mature, though still imperfect, to improvement, and honouring with commendation those which perform their duty aright; and again, putting a bridle, by means of discipline and reproof, on those which rebel and act rashly; since, wishing to imitate the Deity, it receives a twofold influx from the virtues of that same being, one from his beneficent attributes and another from his avenging might, as if from two sources; therefore the docile receive his kindness, and towards the rebellious he uses reproof; so that some are led to improvement by praise and others by chastisement: in truth, he who is eminent for virtue is able to be of great, and extensive, and just service to all, according to his power.
