Abram becomes head of the clan

Terah's life lasted two hundred and five years; then he died at Haran (Bereshith 11:32). It may be well here to say a word on the question of the longevity of the patriarchs, whose ages, it will be noticed, decrease as we get nearer to historical times. Anthropologists who have specialized in the study of human remains consider that the duration of human life has scarcely changed for thousands of years past. How, then, are we to explain the astonishing figures given in the Scriptures? The explanation is simple enough. At the period with which we are concerned, long life was regarded in the East as a special blessing granted to the righteous. If therefore a man reached an advanced age it must be because he was a righteous man, so these high figures had a symbolic meaning.

An important stage in this story is reached with the death of Terah and the inheritance by Abram of the leadership of the small clan of nomads. The head of the clan among the nomad Semites possessed something more than the ordinary authority of a leader; since he was responsible for economic and military policy he was regarded as endowed with genuine powers from YAHWEH. In case of need, he was able to command the sun, the moon, and even, in time of persistent drought, the clouds -or at least so all his own people firmly believed. These anointed powers of the head of the nomad shepherds foreshadow, it seems, the appearance among the tribes of the kohen-kings of the East, and even, at a very much later date in the West, the belief in the divine right of kings, on the model of Louis XIV of France, for example.

And here, too, we can perceive the origin of the sceptre which later on David, Solomon and many other ancient and modern sovereigns hold in their right hands when seated hieratically on their thrones. Quite simply, it was originally the shepherd's staff, the crook, the insignia of the head of the clan. The bishop's crozier clearly shows this origin. With the Semite nomads the staff was the symbol of government (cf. Bereshith 49 10; Shophtim 5:14) just as it is for field marshalls in some countries. The meaning of the symbol was well known to all, as is proved by the fact that in the Hebrew language the same termshebet signified both 'tribe' and 'staff'.

The baton which the Semitic chief held in his hand was also believed to have magical powers. At the height of the YYisraelite period we find the chiefs 'digging wells!, that is, finding the subterranean water level which was necessary for the subsistence of the men and the flocks, using their staffs, probably, as sorcerer's wands (Num. 21:16-18).

Thus on the day that Terah died his oldest son, his heir, Abram, assumed the chiefs staff.

YAHWEH said to Abram (Bereshith 12:1)

Suddenly the powerful YAHWEH, 'revealed HIMSELF to Abram'. HE spoke to him and ordered him to leave Haran, but was silent about the precise country to which the patriarch was finally to direct his steps.

The Scriptures relates this first contact between YAHWEH and Abram with somewhat disconcerting abruptness. In all its simplicity, of course, the account bears the marks of a most impressive occurrence. The condensed style of the passage is evidence that the writer of this chapter regarded this episode as a spiritual and national tradition which it was sufficient to refer to in a few words. Historians of the twentieth century A.D., always concerned to place an action or an event within its social and spiritual setting, in the circumstances require far more detail than the Yisraelite in ancient Palestine. Of course, with the valuable help of subsequent chapters of the Scriptures itself, and also in the light of the history of religions, we shall be able at least to obtain more light upon the subject, even though it is impossible to reconstruct all the circumstances of this interview between YAHWEH and Abram.

On several occasions the Scriptures reports conversations between YAHWEH and the patriarchs; this is the moment, perhaps, to examine under what form these manifestations of the Most High took place.

There is an obvious parallel here with the experiences Messianic followers have had of conversations with our YAHSHUA the MessiYah throughout the centuries, from the encounter of Sha'ul on the Damascus Road (Ma'aseh Shilichim 9:3) right through to our own times. But it should be made clear at the outset that according to the theologians, and also the great mystics, appearances of MessiYah must be considered extremely rare manifestations.

As regards the appearances of YAHWEH to Abraham, the most general explanation is that YAHWEH spoke to the patriarch (and later to his sons and afterwards to the prophets) by an interior language reaching their mind directly. Are we then to regard all these visions as taking place, always and exclusively, solely in the mind of the recipient? Not entirely, for it may well be that on exceptional occasions some external vision, affecting the senses, did occur; manifestations of this kind would constitute genuine appearances.

This revelation, this formidable spiritual revolution which, whether we like it or not, has so influenced the whole of the moral and social organization of our western civilization, can be summed up in a few words. It was the proclamation of the ONE, the only YAHWEH; the proclamation of a Qadash YAHWEH; and the progressive establishment of a moral law enabling man to attain to an ever loftier and purer form of morality. Of this threefold affirmation Abram's contemporaries could have, of course, not the slightest idea. We must now consider shortly the significance of this imposing message.

One YAHWEH

One YAHWEH: such an idea at that time, in the ancient world, was absolutely unthinkable. Elsewhere, in the Near East, as in the other neighbouring countries and even in other continents, the most clearly marked form of polytheism prevailed. Hindus, Sumerians, the Semites of Arabia, Babylon and Canaan, the Egyptians, the peoples of Africa or Asia, the remote civilizations of America; in those far off times, everywhere men invoked an infinite plurality of gods. For them a tree was a god, a raised stone was the dwelling place of a god, as was a mountain, a river and the sea. Similarly, the wind, clouds, lightning, and of course the earth itself and each star were gods. 'Everything was god, except YAHWEH,' as Bossuet remarks.

And now to this shepherd, ignorant and an idolater, entirely lacking in any theological knowledge, suddenly there was revealed, without any preparation it appears, YAHWEH who insists on being the only ONE. Nowadays, nearly four thousand years after Abram, this idea of YAHWEH is ONE with which we are familiar. But at the time of the patriarch it was an absolutely incomprehensible notion, inaccessible to the human mind. We have only to consider the facts: nearly five thousand gods in Babylon, thousands of them, also, in Egypt. The Semites, confirmed polytheists, had a fine collection of idols, fixed or portable, which were carved and made the object of worship. We find colleges of priests, who tried to bring order to this complexity by establishing a hierarchy, so far as they could, among the numerous elements of the pantheons. And so in certain regions, even in certain cities, preponderant influence was attributed to one god or another. But nowhere was it a question of one only god; it meant merely that one god was, as it were, promoted from among the others, which remained as numerous as before. Of course, religious evolution, and still more invasion, constantly produced radical changes in this mythological system of gods. It was a list under continual process of revision. At the same time other popular gods arose, here and there, as if to increase the theological confusion.

It is certainly difficult for us, with our modern outlook, in which the idea of one sole YAHWEH is the only acceptable ONE, to obtain a clear idea of this 'metaphysical leap' represented by the revelation made to Abram and its acceptance by him. Here we may see the first sign, no matter how small it may be, of the realization that the god of the Hebrews is the ONE true YAHWEH. Henceforward a real gulf separated the patriarch from his contemporaries, including the advanced priests of Egypt or Sumeria.

A Qadash, Set Apart YAHWEH

If we look at the religions of the Near East (though it was just the same at this period in all parts of the world) we cannot suppress a certain feeling of disgust at all these deities of Sumer, Akkad and Egypt, where all is materialistic, sensual and immoral. The gods are married, they have children who are disrespectful, to say the least. Adultery, incest, murder, parricide and untruth prevail. These so-called 'supernatural' beings, who reign over mankind, are inspired by the most degrading passions, and during their meetings, which on occasion are more like orgies, they carouse, get drunk, and plot the most perverse activities imaginable.

Since all the inhabitants of these lofty spheres were powerful, man's especial concern was to prevent their harming him. And so there were the sacrifices of animals before the altar. A bargain was struck: a man offered an ox, and in return the god spared him some trial. This act of magic had no other end than to constrain the god to bow to his request; there was no compunction of heart; and remorse, or love, were sentiments that were hardly known. Religion was reduced on a final analysis to rites demanding the shedding of blood, and to ritual crimes. In certain temples sacred prostitutes were to be found who gave themselves to visitors, and also male prostitutes, who were held, of course, to be no less sacred. It was all very primitive, but no one was unduly concerned about it.

And then, suddenly, at Haran YAHWEH spoke to Abram. As historians we too can recognize the presence of this YAHWEH, the ALMIGHTY of Abraham, by looking at the moral work which HE accomplished in this man, in the clan, and in the people whom HE chose. And HE appeared absolutely alone; as a general rule HE is absolutely invisible to HIS faithful followers; as a pure Ruwach HE exacts a spiritual worship, adoration in ruwach; HE is a Qadash YAHWEH.

It is possible to find in the Old Covenant certain anthropomorphic (human characteristics to nonhuman beings or objects) characteristics which seem to clash with the notion of set apartness. YAHWEH in the Scriptures appears on occasion to be carried away by anger, HE talks of vengeance, HE says that he repents for acting in some way or another. Yet we must not forget that we are dealing with the origins of the Chosen People, and so we must not be too severe on those who took part in these episodes or recounted them; these wandering shepherds had not yet been able to free themselves entirely from the polytheism, both Semitic and Sumerian, with which they had been imbued for thousands of years past.

One only YAHWEH

It was a matter for the time being, of course, of the 'only YAHWEH of the clan of Abram', the protector of this small group of nomads. Five centuries later, on Sinai, we reach a further spiritual stage: YAHWEH, always the only Almighty, was there accepted as the Sovereign Ruler of Yisrael. HE is a national Sovereign Ruler. After this, on the ground thus prepared, in the eighth and seventh centuries, arose the monotheism of the great prophets, and then, in the last place, YAHSHUA, who tore down the veil of the Tabernacle, proclaimed that the ABBA is the only Sovereign Ruler, is supranational, the Sovereign Ruler of all men.

These three stages show us clearly the 'progressive' nature of the Old Covenant. We must not expect too much of Abram. Even if his YAHWEH is still only the Sovereign Ruler of his clan HE remains nonetheless the ONE and only Almighty. That is the essential fact and it is an extraordinary novelty in the history of religions, the remarkably fruitful contribution of this small Hebrew clan to the mind and heart of man. So we must not expect too much of Abram, the Hebrew shepherd, but rather consider the very great difficulties experienced by the men of this 'religious prehistory' in accepting, understanding and describing such novel ideas.

Nor must we forget the essentially concrete nature of the ancient Hebrew language; it can only suggest abstract ideas by means of images and symbolism; that is its beauty as well as its weakness. It can only describe the nature and attributes of YAHWEH by using terms that apply to man; as a result there are certain anthropomorphic features which can disturb the reader. But the faithful Jew made no mistake about it. 'For / am YAHWEH: declared YAHWEH, 'not man' (Hosea 11:9).

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