CHAPTER XXVII THE TRIALS OF ABRAHAM (continued) [32A. i.] THE sixth trial [ According to Midrash Agadah, Gen. p. 26, this incident is not enumerated among the ten trials of Abraham. A good deal of the material of this chapter is preserved in Midrash Haggadol, Gen. c. 214 ff.; especially cols. 217 and 218.] was (when) all the kings [ Amraphel and his allies mentioned in Gen. 14:1. Amraphel is identified with Nimrod in T.B. ‘Erubin, 53a. See Gen. Rab. 42:4.] came against him [ See Jalḳuṭ, Gen. § 68, which has used P.R.E.] to slay him. [ See T.B. Synhedrin, 95b.] They said: Let us first begin with the house [ The first editions read: “with the son of his brother.” The reference is to Lot.] of his brother, and afterwards let us begin with him. [ See Leḳach Ṭob and Agadath Bereshith on Gen. 14:11.] On account of Lot they took all (the wealth of) [ Our MS. omits “the wealth of”; it occurs in the first editions; see also for similar text, Midrash Haggadol, Gen. c. 216.] Sodom and Gomorrah, [ See Gen. Rab. 42:7.] as it is said, "And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah" || (Gen. 14:11). Afterwards they took Lot captive, and all his wealth, as it is said, "And they took Lot… and [ The MS. reads: “and all his goods”; the word “all” is not in the actual quotation.] his goods" (ibid. 12).
Michael came and told Abraham, as it is said, "And there came one who had escaped, and told Abram [ See Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 182.] the Hebrew" (ibid. 13). He [ i.e. Michael. See Midrash Haggadol, Gen., loc. cit., which has a better text: “for he discloses all the secrets of the world.”] is the prince of the world, he was the one who told, as it is said, "Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought;… he who hath wings shall tell the matter" (Eccles. 10:20). Why was his name called "Paliṭ" ("One who had escaped")? Because in the hour when the Holy One, blessed be He, caused Sammael and his band to descend from heaven from their holy place, [ See supra, pp. 46, 92, 99.] he caught hold of the wings of Michael to make him fall [ “With him” is added by the ‘Arukh, ed. Kohut, vi. p. 340b.] with himself, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saved [ פלט, hence פליט (Paliṭ).] him from his power; [ Lit. “hand.” See Assumption of Moses x. 1, 2 for the final conflict between Michael and Satan. Cf. Jude 9.] therefore was his name called "The one who had escaped." [ Paliṭ. The title of Michael as PALIṬ (פליט) may possibly be due to an abbreviated form of his other title of PRAḲLIṬ (פרקליט); see Rabbinic Philosophy and Ethics, p. 74.] Concerning him Ezekiel said, "One who had escaped [ See Pal. Targum, Gen. 14:13.] out of Jerusalem came to me, saying, The city is smitten" (Ezek. 33:21).
Abraham rose up early in the morning, and he took his three disciples, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, with him, and Eliezer [ The first editions read: “three disciples and Eliezer his servant.”] his servant with him (also), and he pursued after them as far as Dan, which is Pameas, [ See T.B. Megillah, 6a, Bechoroth, 55a, and ‘Arukh, ed. Kohut, vi. p. 369b; and cf. Targum to Cant. 5:4.] as it is said, "And he pursued as far as Dan" (Gen. 14:14). And there the righteous man [ Abraham.] was hindered, for there it was told him: Abraham, know thou that in the future [ See T.B. Synhedrin, 96a; and Pal. Targum, Gen. 14:14.] thy children's children will serve idols in this place; therefore was he hindered there. Whence do we know that Israel served idols there? Because it is said, "And he made two calves of gold… and he set the || one [ The calf of gold.] in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan" (1 Kings 12:28, 29). There he left his three disciples, [ See T.B. Nedarim, 32a; Gen. Rab. 43:2; Agadath Bereshith, 13; Agadath Bereshith, 13; and cf. Tanchuma, Lekh Lekha, § ix. The first editions add: “and their wives with them.”] and he took his servant Eliezer. The numerical value of the letters of his name equals 318. [ This Haggadah was known to Clement of Alexandria, whose book The Miscellanies, vi. 11, states: “As then in astronomy we have Abraham as an instance, so also in arithmetic we have the same Abraham. For, hearing that Lot was taken captive, and having numbered his own servants born in his house, 318, he defeats a very great number of the enemy.” See also the Epistle of Barnabas ix., where the “318” is interpreted as a Christian Midrash. See Siegfried, Philo von Alexandria, p. 330, and Güdemann, Religionsgeschichtliche Studien, pp. 119–121. Other Rabbinic parallels are Pal. Targum, Gen., loc. cit., and Pesiḳta Rabbathi, § xviii. p. 91b. The first editions add after 318: “He led forth his trained men, born in his house” (Gen. 14:14). There are also variations in the next quotation, according to our MS. and the first editions respectively.] He pursued them as far as the left of Damascus, [ See Gen. 14:15.] as it is said, "And he pursued them unto Hobah" (Gen. 14:15).
Samuel the Younger said: There the night was divided for him; (the night) when the children of Israel went forth out of Egypt, [ The first editions read: “That is the night which was from of old, that is the night in which He smote the first-born of the Egyptians.” This night was destined from the beginning, prepared for the victories of Abraham and his seed, see Mekhilta, p. 13a; Gen. Rab. 43:3; and cf. infra, pp. 201, 402. The night itself was divided, one-half being spent in the days of Abraham in gaining victory, and the other half of the night was destined to be reserved for the victory of God over Egypt at the Exodus. See Wisdom xviii. 6.] that was the night in which Abraham smote the kings and their camps with them, as it is said, "And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants" (ibid.). [ The first editions add: “And concerning this (night) it is said: ‘And it came to pass at midnight’” (Ex. 12:29). See Pal. Targum, Gen. 14:15.]
Hillel the Elder said: Abraham took all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah and all the wealth of Lot, the son of his brother, and he returned in peace, [ This is based on the Haggadic interpretation of Isa. 41:3. See Pal. Targum, Gen. 14:16, and cf. T.B. Synhedrin, 108b; Ẓohar, Gen. 26a, and Gen. Rab., loc. cit.] and not even one of his men failed [ For the word in the text see 2 Sam. 17:22. Luria interprets: “nothing of the wealth was missing.”] him, as it is said, "And he brought back all [ Our MS. omits “all.”] the goods, and also his brother Lot" (ibid. 16). [ The first editions add here: “Abraham was afraid, and said: Perchance I have slain all these troops (or, multitude), and no righteous person can be found among them. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: ‘Fear not, Abram’ (Gen. 15:1). With reference to this it is said: ‘He pursueth them and passeth on safely, even by a way that he had not gone with his feet’ (Isa. 41:3). It has not come on thy foot to soil thee in this matter.” See Shocher Ṭob, p. 233 b.]
Rabbi Joshua [ The first editions add: “son of Ḳorchah.”] said: Abraham was the first to begin to give a tithe. He took all the tithe of the kings and all the tithe of the wealth of Lot, the son of his brother, and gave (it) to Shem, [ He was the chief priest then; see supra, pp. 53 f., and cf. J.E. xi. 261 f. As we have seen, P.R.E. identifies Shem with Melchizedek; see Jubilees xiii. 25, especially Charles’ note on pp. 100 f.] the son of Noah, as it is said, "And he gave him a tenth of all" (ibid. 20).
Shem, the son of Noah, came forth to meet him, [ With bread and wine; see Gen. 14:18.] and when he saw all the deeds which he had done and all the wealth which he had brought back, || he wondered in his heart. He began to praise, to glorify, and to laud the name of the Most High, saying: "And blessed be God the Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand" (ibid.). Abraham arose and prayed before the Holy One, blessed be He, saying: Sovereign of all worlds ! Not by the power of my hand, nor by the power of my right hand have I done all these things, but by the power of Thy right hand with which Thou dost shield me in this world and in the world to come, as it is said, "But thou, O Lord, art a shield about me" (Ps. 3:3) in this world; "my glory, and the lifter up of mine head" (ibid.) [ The first editions read: “‘But thou, O Lord, art a shield about me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head’ (Ps. 3:3) in the world to come.”] in the world to come. [ See next chapter. According to the Midrash, Ps. 110 refers to Abraham; see Shocher Ṭob, pp. 233a, b.] The angels answered and said: Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the shield of Abraham. [ See Singer, p. 44. These angelic words form the end of the first benediction of the Shemoneh ‘Esreh. Other chapters of P.R.E. terminate with the last words of other benedictions of this Prayer. This fact is not mentioned in the annotated edition of Singer’s Prayer Book. From this aspect our book forms a Midrash on the Shemoneh ‘Esreh. See Roḳeach, 322, and Gen. Rab. 44:4. See also Sirach (li. x.*) in A. and P. i. p. 515. The last chapter of our book probably ended with the words printed in the “contents of the chapters” in the Venice edition (1544) and in later editions thus: “Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who healest the sick of Thy people Israel.” This is the eighth benediction of the Shemoneh ‘Esreh. See Singer, p. 47.]