The Torah tells us that "the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision" (Genesis 15:1). But what kind of word was it? What kind of vision?
Our sages in Bereshit Rabbah (44) – that incredible, expansive midrashic commentary on the Book of Genesis – unpack this very question. They point out that prophecy, that divine communication, is referred to by ten different expressions in the Hebrew Bible! Ten different ways to describe how God makes God's will known.
What are they? Well, there's nevu’ah (prophecy), chazon (vision), massa (preaching), dibbur (speaking), amirah (saying), tzivui (a command), massa (a burden), mashal (a parable), melitza (a metaphor), and chidah (an enigma).
Quite the range, isn't it? From the clarity of a command to the mystery of an enigma... It makes you wonder, which of these is the most… intense? The most powerful? The most… difficult?
The Rabbis debate this very point. Rabbi Eliezer suggests that "vision" (chazon) is the harshest. He finds support in Isaiah 21:2: "A harsh vision was told to me." A vision, perhaps, can be overwhelming, even frightening, in its directness.
But Rabbi Yochanan disagrees. He argues that "speaking" (dibbur) is the most severe. He cites Genesis 42:30, where Joseph’s brothers describe him, unknowingly, as "the man, lord of the land, spoke harshly with us." The spoken word, especially when delivered with authority, can cut deep.
And then "the Rabbis" – a collective voice of wisdom – offer yet another perspective: "burden" (massa) is the most onerous. They point to Psalm 38:5: "Like an onerous burden, they are too heavy for me." The weight of prophecy, the responsibility it places on the prophet, can be crushing.
What's fascinating is that Abram – who later becomes Abraham – receives both "speaking" (dibbur) and "vision" (chazon). As Bereshit Rabbah notes, “The word [devar] of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.” This, the midrash implies, speaks to Abram’s exceptional capacity for prophecy. He was able to handle both the directness of vision and the power of the spoken word.
So, what does this all mean for us? Maybe it's about recognizing the different ways we encounter the divine. Sometimes it's a clear command, sometimes a subtle metaphor. Sometimes it feels like a burden, sometimes like a gift. And maybe, just maybe, like Abram, we have the capacity to understand more than we think.