[6] (Gen. 14:1:) NOW IT CAME TO PASS IN THE DAYS OF AMRAPHEL. Let our master instruct us: In regard to a proselyte who converts on the eve of Passover, how does he eat his paschal offering? Thus have our masters taught (in Pes. 8:8)⁠¹ THE BET SHAMMAY SAY: HE IMMERSES AND EATS HIS PASCHAL OFFERING ON THE EVE, BUT THE BET HILLEL SAY: ONE WHO TURNS ASIDE FROM A STATE OF UNCIRCUMCISION IS AS ONE WHO TURNS ASIDE FROM THE GRAVE.⁠² Resh Laqish said: The proselyte who converts is more beloved than Israel when they stood at Mount Sinai. Why? Because, if they had not seen the thunder and lightning, the mountains trembling, and the noise of the trumpets, they would not have accepted the Torah. But this < proselyte >, who did not see one of them, came, resigned himself to the Holy One, and took upon himself the Kingdom of Heaven. Is there one of you more lovable than this one? Once upon a time Onqelos the Proselyte questioned a certain elder and said to him: How the Holy One loves the proselyte when he has stated (in Deut. 10:18 that one should) LOVE {THE} [a] PROSELYTE IN GIVING HIM FOOD AND CLOTHING!⁠³ Is that everything? FOOD AND CLOTHING? He said to him: But did not our father Jacob seek only this? Thus it is stated (in Gen. 28:20): AND < IF GOD > GIVES ME FOOD TO EAT AND CLOTHING TO PUT ON < … >. Our masters have said: The proselyte is beloved because the Holy One had < the following > written about himself (in Jer. 14:8): WHY ARE YOU LIKE A PROSELYTE IN THE LAND? The Holy One said: Thus do I love the proselyte. Moreover, Abraham is the father of proselytes,⁠⁴ and these wicked ones have come to join < in battle > against him. Woe to them, for their end is to fall (PL) before him. Where is it shown? From what they read on the matter (in Gen. 14:1): NOW IT CAME TO PASS IN THE DAYS OF AMRAPHEL ('MRPL).⁠⁵

[7] [(Gen. 14:1:) NOW IT CAME TO PASS IN THE DAYS OF AMRAPHEL.] Thus did R. Tanhuma bar Abba begin: (Ps. 37:14-15:) THE WICKED HAVE DRAWN A SWORD … < TO BRING DOWN THE POOR AND NEEDY >…. THEIR SWORD SHALL ENTER THEIR HEART.⁠⁶ What is the meaning of THE WICKED HAVE DRAWN (rt.: PTH) A SWORD? This refers to Cain, for until then no murderer had existed in the world. But Cain came and began (PTH) murder, as stated (in Gen. 4:8): CAIN AROSE [AGAINST HIS BROTHER ABEL AND MURDERED HIM]. The Holy One said to him: O wicked one, you have started using (rt.: PTH) the sword in the world. (Ps. 37:14:) THE WICKED HAVE DRAWN (rt.: PTH) A SWORD. This refers to Cain. (Ibid., cont.:) TO BRING DOWN THE POOR AND NEEDY, < TO SLAY THOSE WHO WAY IS UPRIGHT >. This refers to Abel. The Holy One said to him (i.e., Cain): You have let loose (rt.: PTH) a sword in the world. The sword shall enter the heart of that same person. (Ps. 37:15:) THEIR SWORD SHALL ENTER THEIR OWN HEART.

Another interpretation (of Ps. 37:14-15): THE WICKED HAVE DRAWN (rt.: PTH) A SWORD. This refers to Hanun ben Nahash. When his father died, David sent him his condolences. What did Hanun do? He took David's servants and made paradeigmata⁷ {i.e., a mockery} of them, as stated (in II Sam. 10:4): SO [HANUN] TOOK DAVID'S SERVANTS, [SHAVED OFF ONE SIDE OF THEIR BEARDS, CUT THEIR GARMENTS IN HALF] < AT THEIR BUTTOCKS >…. < Hanun > immediately sent to Aram-maharam and hired thirty-two thousand chariots in addition to as many troops⁸ as he had.⁠⁹ (I Chron. 19:7): THEN THEY CAME AND ENCAMPED AT MEDEBA. The Holy One said to him: O wicked one, you have started using (rt.: PTH) the sword. A sword shall enter the heart of that same person, as stated (in Ps. 37:15): THEIR SWORD SHALL ENTER THEIR OWN HEART. Immediately Joab and Abishai arose and killed all the troops, as stated (in II Sam. 10:13): THEN JOAB < AND THE PEOPLE WHO WERE WITH HIM > WENT < INTO BATTLE AGAINST THE ARAMEANS >….

Another interpretation (of Ps. 37:15): THEIR SWORD SHALL ENTER THEIR OWN HEART. These were the four kings, Amraphel and his allies, for until then there had been no war in the world.⁠¹⁰ Then they came and started using (rt.: PTH) the sword, as stated (in Gen. 14:1): NOW IT CAME TO PASS IN THE DAYS OF AMRAPHEL that they began to make war. The Holy One said to them: O wicked ones, you have started using the sword. The sword shall enter the heart of those same people, as stated (in Ps. 37:15): THEIR SWORD SHALL ENTER THEIR OWN HEART. Immediately Abraham rose up against them and killed them, as stated (in Gen. 14:15): THEN HE DEPLOYED < HIS FORCES > AGAINST THEM BY NIGHT.

[8] What is written above concerning the matter (in Gen. 12:1): NOW THE LORD SAID UNTO ABRAHAM: GO < FROM YOUR NATIVE LAND > … UNTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU. "Unto such and such a land" is not written here, but UNTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU. So Abraham was on the move until he came to the land of Israel. May the name of the Holy One be blessed!⁠¹¹ He desired to test the righteous one and to make his good works known. For his sake there immediately came a famine. When he encountered the famine, he said to his wife, Sarah: See, there is a famine here. Our masters have said: There was never a famine in the world more severe than < that > one. Abraham said to Sarah: Consider Egypt. It would be nice to settle there inasmuch as famine has come. The supply is available there, and meat is plentiful. Let us go there. At that time they went down to Egypt. When they arrived at the gate¹² of Egypt, Abraham said to Sarah: My girl¹³ Egypt is a place of whoredom, as stated (in Ezek. 23:19-20): … < SHE WAS A WHORE IN THE LAND OF EGYPT, AND SHE LUSTED OVER THEIR PARAMOURS > WHOSE FLESH IS LIKE THE FLESH OF ASSES. Let us, however, put you in a box and lock you in it. Then he did so. When they arrived at the gate of Egypt, the customs officers said to him: What are you carrying in the box? He said to them: Beans. They said to him: No, it is pepper. Give us the duty for pepper. He said to them: I shall hand it over. They said to him: It is not that. Rather this box is full of gold coins. He said to them: I shall hand you over the duty for gold coins. When they saw that he was accepting whatever they would say about it, they said: Unless he had something of value in his possession, we < could > not be raising the price for him. At that moment they said to him: You are not moving from here until you open the box. Then he said to them: It is up to me to give you whatever you want, but you are not to open the box. Nevertheless, they insisted on opening the box against his will and saw Sarah. When they saw her, they said: In the case of one like this, it is not seemly to touch her. Immediately they took < her > and brought her to Pharaoh. So they brought her into his palace¹⁴ When Abraham saw that they had taken her and brought her unto Pharaoh, Abraham began to cry. < Sarah > also said: Sovereign of the World, Abraham came with you under a promise,⁠¹⁵ since you had said to him (in Gen 12:3): I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU. Now I did not know anything except that, when he told me that you had said to him (in Gen. 12:1): GO, I believed your words. But now, < when > I have been left isolated from my father, my mother, and my husband, this wicked man has come to mistreat me. He (Abraham) had acted because of your great name and because of our trust in your words. The Holy One said to her: By your life, nothing evil shall harm you, as stated (in Prov. 12:21): NO HARM SHALL BEFALL THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT THE WICKED ARE FULL OF EVIL. So in regard to Pharaoh and his house, I will make an example¹⁶ of them. Thus it is written (in Gen. 12:17): THEN THE LORD AFFLICTED PHARAOH AND HIS HOUSE WITH GREAT PLAGUES AT THE WORD OF SARAI.⁠¹⁷ In that very hour an angel came down from the heavens with a rod in his hand. < When > Pharaoh came to take off her shoe, he smote him with his hand. < When > he came to touch her clothes, he would smite him. And the angel would consult with Sarah on each and every blow. If she said that he should be afflicted, he was afflicted. When she would say: Wait for him until he recovers himself, the angel would wait for him, as stated (in Gen. 12:17): AT THE WORD OF SARAI. What is the meaning of AT THE WORD OF SARAI? That < here > is not stated "On the matter of,⁠" nor "over the cause of,⁠" nor "for the sake of,⁠" nor "in consequence of,⁠" but AT THE WORD OF SARAI.⁠¹⁸ Thus, if she said that he should be afflicted, he was afflicted; and, if not, he was not afflicted. R. Judah b. R. Shallum the Levite said: The Holy One did not allow a wicked man to occupy himself with a righteous woman. Our masters have said: < When > he came to take off her shoe, leprosy immediately came over him,⁠¹⁹ and his governors²⁰ were also afflicted with him—also the princes, also the servants, and also his family. And the walls also were afflicted along with him,⁠²¹ as stated (in Gen. 12:17): THEN THE LORD AFFLICTED PHARAOH AND HIS HOUSE. Why? (Ibid., cont.:) AT THE WORD OF SARAI, ABRAM'S WIFE….

[9] It is written (in Ps. 92:13 [12]): A RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL BLOSSOM LIKE THE DATE PALM, < AND GROW LIKE A CEDAR OF LEBANON >.⁠²² R. Tanhuma began: Why are the righteous likened to a date palm and cedar, but not to another tree? You find that < of > all the trees, there is none < about which > one can say at a distance: This such-and-such a tree. Why? Because they are short. But the date palm and the cedar, because they are tall in stature, are seen at a distance. So the righteous are seen at a distance.

Another interpretation: Why are the righteous likened to a date palm and a cedar? Because you find that with most trees, even though they are chopped down, if one takes shoots from them and plants them in another place (i.e., to replace the lost trees), they will immediately grow. However, when the date palm and the cedar are chopped down, who can make others grow in their stead, except with a lot of years and with great toil? Thus, if a righteous person is lost from the world, who can raise up another in his stead, except after several years?

[10] There is a story about R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus,⁠²³ who was a child of the palace.⁠²⁴ Now his father was connected with the government and with matters of the army commander.⁠²⁵ One day R. Eliezer's father went to another place. When he had realized that they²⁶ were coming, he had said to his children: Let us rise and flee from them. He immediately called his servants and attendants. He said: Bring me the cattle and the camels. They loaded the vessels upon the cattle. Then Hyrcanus and his sons fled. R. Eliezer, however, did not go with his father. Instead, he fled to Jerusalem. Moreover, he took with him no loaf of bread, no money, nothing at all. Rather he entered Jerusalem as a pauper. Then he saw Rabban Johanan ben Zakkay sitting and teaching Torah, with his students sitting before him < as they studied > the chapter. When they had finished the chapter, he told them haggadah. Then afterwards he would tell them a mishnah. He (Eliezer) entered and sat by Rabban Johanan ben Zakkay. He spent two or three weeks before him; but when he came to speak to the < regular > students, they smelled a foul odor from his mouth. So they hid and said nothing. Again he came to speak, but they hid and said nothing. Again he came to speak, and < again > they hid and said nothing. Rabban Johanan ben Zakkay knew that his mouth odor was not from something bad which he had in his mouth, but from hunger, since he had not been eating anything. Rabban Johanan ben Zakkay said to those students: By your lives, you should look into the thing so as to know what is the matter with this student, whether he is hungry and what he is eating. So they went around through all Jerusalem and asked innkeepers:⁠²⁷ Is there a haver lodging²⁸ here? They said to them: No. They came to a certain woman. They asked her: Is there a haver lodging here? She said to them: Yes. Does he have anything in here? She said to them: He has a single sack. They said to her: Show it to us. She immediately brought it to them. They opened it and found dirt in it, for he would put his head in it and suck as on a wine bag. They went and told Rabban Johanan ben Zakkay, who was astonished over the matter. Then he saw < that there was > righteousness with R. Eliezer in that he had not sought out someone at once and said: Give me something. In that very hour he designated a great deal of money for him, so that he would eat good food like that to which he had been accustomed in his father's house. So he ate and drank well until the odor from his mouth was cured. He spent a year before Rabban Johanan ben Zakkay, then two, then three years, until R. Eliezer's father returned to his place. When he had returned to his place, he remained there a month, then two months; but his son, R. Eliezer, did not come. He became angry and said: I left him, and he went to Jerusalem. {R. Eliezer's daughter also said to her father:} [R. Eliezer's brothers also said to their father:] Look at your son, Eliezer! What has he done? He has forsaken you and gone to Jerusalem to eat fattened < meats >, while you have moved away from your home and gone after him.⁠²⁹ If something bad (i.e., your death) had happened, would he not have jumped to obtain an inheritance? How great a difference there is between us and your son! We have given our lives for you and did not forsake you, but he did not come to see you in your trouble. Yet now, if he hears that something has happened to you, he is going to come unto us and share < the inheritance > with us. In that very hour he said to them: By thus and so, he is not inheriting anything from me. They said to him: Before you die, should you < not > disinherit him? He said to them: Summon me a tablet.⁠³⁰ They said: It will not be of any use. There is a certain nasi in Jerusalem whose name is Rabban Johanan ben Zakkay, {he has helped me.} [and he is helping him.] After you die, he will surely come and say: Who will say that his father disinherited him? Then we shall bring out the document, but he will say: It is a plaston³¹ {i.e., a forgery}. You made it, and I will not believe it until we go to court. He said to them: Inasmuch as you have told me this, < even though > Rabban Johanan ben Zakkay is praising him, I am disinheriting him. In that hour his sons mounted him in a basterna³² {i.e., a carriage}, and he entered Jerusalem on the eve of the Sabbath. He said: I am not disinheriting him < anywhere > but [on the Sabbath] in the academy. When? When the whole congregation will be assembling. He went in to sit down in the academy, and all Israel entered according to their custom to hear the sermon that R. Eliezer was preaching in public < from > upon the seat of honor, with the hazzan standing before him. His father saw him wrapped in his tallit with tefillin on his head.⁠³³ He immediately saw the one whom he thought had departed for bad ways. When he saw him sitting upon the throne and preaching, Hyrcanus stood upon the bench³⁴ and said before the people of Jerusalem: I only went up to Jerusalem to cast you out, Eliezer my son, and also to remove you from your inheritance. Now behold, I am giving you two portions more than your brothers. And on what subject was R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus preaching at that time? Our masters have said: On this subject (in Gen. 14:1): NOW IT CAME TO PASS IN THE DAYS OF AMRAPHEL. R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus began: This text is related (to Ps. 37:15): THEIR SWORD SHALL ENTER THEIR OWN HEART. This whole subject is what there is at the beginning of the parashah.⁠³⁵

[11] Another interpretation (of Gen. 14:1): NOW IT CAME TO PASS IN THE DAYS OF AMRAPHEL. This text is related (to Ps. 44:6 [5]): THROUGH YOU SHALL WE PUSH DOWN OUR ADVERSARIES. THROUGH YOU means "through your Law.⁠" [R. Isaac said:] THROUGH YOU (BK) < is to be interpreted > by gematria:⁠³⁶ B = two; K = twenty. Ergo: twenty-two. < Thus, THROUGH YOU means > "through the twenty-two letters which are in the Law. (Ps. 44:6 [5], cont.:) {IN YOUR NAME SHALL YOU RAISE UP OUR BRIGHTNESS.} [AND IN YOUR NAME WE SHALL TRAMPLE DOWN THOSE WHO ARISE AGAINST US.] Abraham said: Sovereign of the World, If you had not united your glory with me and helped me, what could < I as > a single person have done against nine kings (of Gen. 14:9) and their forces? However, because you helped me they fell at my hand. What is written (in Gen. 14:15)? AND THE NIGHT WAS DIVIDED AGAINST THEM.⁠³⁷ Masters say: The night divided of its own accord. R. Benjamin ben Jafeth said in the name of R. Johanan: The Holy One, the one who knows his moments and his instants, he divided it.⁠³⁸ The Holy One said: You have worked with me from yesterday evening until midnight and killed my enemies. By your life, I am working with your children from midnight until the morning and killing their enemies. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 12:29): AND IT CAME TO PASS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. Therefore it is stated (in Gen. 14:1, 15): NOW IT CAME TO PASS IN THE DAYS OF AMRAPHEL … < AND THE NIGHT WAS DIVIDED AGAINST THEM >.

[12] R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi: The Holy One transmitted a sign³⁹ to Abraham that whatever had happened to him would happen to his children.⁠⁴⁰ Abraham was chosen from the whole household of his father. Israel also was chosen from seventy tongues. It was said to Abraham (in Gen. 12:1): GO … < FROM YOUR FATHER'S HOUSE >; and it was said for Israel (in Exod. 3:17): AND I HAVE SAID: I WILL BRING YOU UP < OUT OF THE AFFLICTION OF THE LAND OF EGYPT >. It was said to Abraham (in Gen. 12:3): I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU; and also for Israel (in Numb. 6:24): THE LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU. It was said to Abraham (in Gen. 12:2): [THEN I WILL MAKE YOU INTO A GREAT NATION, BLESS YOU], AND MAKE YOUR NAME GREAT; and also concerning Israel (in Deut. 4:8): AND WHAT GREAT NATION IS THERE < WHICH HAS STATUTES AND ORDINANCES AS RIGHTEOUS AS ALL THIS LAW THAT I SET BEFORE YOU THIS DAY >? Abraham was called an individual, as stated (in Ezek. 33:24): ABRAHAM WAS ONE (ehad); and also Israel (in I Chron. 17:21): AND WHO IS LIKE YOUR PEOPLE ISRAEL, A UNIQUE (ehad) NATION ON EARTH? Just as with Abraham, when he came to the land, there was a famine in the land; with Israel also, when they had settled in the land of Israel, there was famine, as stated (in Gen. 43:1): BUT THE FAMINE WAS SEVERE IN THE LAND. Just as Abraham went down to Egypt because of famine, [as stated (in Gen. 12:10): NOW THERE WAS A FAMINE IN THE LAND, AND ABRAM WENT DOWN TO EGYPT]; so with Israel, as stated (in Gen. 42:3): SO THE TEN BROTHERS OF JOSEPH WENT DOWN TO BUY GRAIN < FROM EGYPT >. Just as in the case of Abraham, when he went down to Egypt, the Egyptians provoked him; so in the case of Israel, as stated (in Exod. 1:10): COME, LET US (Egyptians) ACT SHREWDLY < TOWARD THEM (Israel), LEST THEY MULTIPLY >…. Just as in the case of Abraham, four kings engaged him in battle;⁠⁴¹ so in the case of Israel, the nations are going to make an alliance⁴² against them, as stated (in Ps. 2:2): THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TAKE THEIR STAND, < AND THE RULERS TAKE COUNSEL TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS ANOINTED >. Just as in the case of Abraham, the Holy One went out to fight before him and slew his enemies; so the Holy One has fought for Israel. In the age to come the Holy One is going out to fight their wars, as stated (in Zech. 14:3): THEN THE LORD WILL COME FORTH AND FIGHT WITH THOSE NATIONS AS WHEN HE FIGHTS IN THE DAY OF BATTLE.