Live Blog Today 12-28-08 at 3:00 PM Eastern Time Zone

Shalom Everyone…

This weeks Limood is Bereisheit 14.

Bereisheit Yud Dalet {14} is about Avraham’s Nephew, Lot and his wife, children and all of Sedom being taken captive by Kedarlaomer, King of Eilam, Sidal, king of Goyim, Amraphel, king of Shinar and Aryoch, king of Elasar.

Does anyone know who Amraphel was?

Shalom, How are you today? Hope to blog with a few of you. I’m reviewing Bereisheit 14, the Limood of this week. Will comment soon…

Amraphel was the king of Shinar

I believe Amraphel is aka Nimrod.

There is some evidence that he was Hammurabi, king of Babylon, the sixth king in the first dynasty of Babylon

Does anyone have some references connecting Amraphel with Nimrod?

Bereisheit 14.1 Says, Amraphel, king of Shinar… Bereisheit 10.8 ties Nimrod to the land of Shinar Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Hashem. The beginning of his kingdom was Bavel, Erech, Akkad and Calneh in the land of Shinar.

What about Bavel… What is know as Bavel today?

I this reference of being delivered from the Assyrian referring to Amraphel?

And they shall rule the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the keen blade; thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he comes into our land, and when he treads inside our borders: Michah 5.5

Would that be Iraq

I believe Bavel is Iraq.

Babylon was by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and when my son was in Iraq he talked about those rivers and he had a chance to go to the current Babylon

Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia (which was sometimes considered an Empire) , the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers (55 mi) south of Baghdad. All that remains today of the ancient famed city of Babylon is a mound, or tell, of broken mud-brick buildings and debris in the fertile Mesopotamian plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in Iraq. Historical resources inform us that Babylon was at first a small town, that had sprung up by the beginning of the third millennium BC (the dawn of the dynasties). The town flourished and attained prominence and political repute with the rise of the first Babylonian dynasty. It was the “holy city” of Babylonia by approximately 2300 BC, and the seat of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 612 BC. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon

The Jewish Encyclopedia says….

According to Rab and Samuel, Amraphel is identical with Nimrod. Some say Amraphel was his real name, and he was called Nimrod, “the chief rebel,” as leader of the tower-builders, “who led the world unto rebellion” () against heaven’s Ruler; others again say Nimrod was his real name, and he was called Amraphel as the one who “commanded them to cast Abraham into the fire” () (‘Er. 53a and Targ. Yer. to Gen. xiv. 1).

When Ha Torah Says Nimrod was a might hunter before Hashem was is the intent?

Bereisheit 14.13: “Then there came the fugitive and told Abram, the Ivri, who dwelt in the plains of Mamre…” (The Stone Edition The Chumash) What the fugitive told Abram was that his nephew Lot had been taken captive in the seige on Sodom. According to the Stone Chumash commentary, the Midrash explains that the fugitive was actually the giant Og who was the only fugitive that survived the Flood. The Midrash goes on to reveal that Og had an evil motive in informing Abram about his kinsman. His motive was to incite Abram to go to war to save Lot, thinking that Abram would surely die in battle, leaving Sarah for him to take as his queen. Hashem rewarded the good deed with exceptionally long life for Og but punished his evil motive by having im fall into the hands of Abraham’s descendants.

The Words four and five of Bereisheit 10.9 are Gee Boor {Gibor} meaning ‘mighty’ and Tzah Yeed {hunter}.

Targum Yerushalmi explains pasuk 9 as “He was mighty in ‘hunting’ in sin before Hashem, that he captured people with words, and said to them, ‘Distance yourselves from the laws of Shem and attach to the laws of Nimrod.’ “

There is a tradition that Nimrod had a law code, and that it was sinful for people to follow that law code over that of Shem (and Ever). And if Nimrod = Amrafel, and Amrafel = Hammurabi, then the Code of Hammurabi is the perverted law code of Nimrod.

Good Comment Tibbles! The Word Tz Yeed comes from Tzawd which means to capture on ensnare.

So Nimrod was aggressively trying to get people away from HaShem

drafting a code of law was then the first step in Man leaving the Fold of G-d and Rebelling against Him

The giant Og was on the outside of the Tava clinging on for dear life. He was not on dry ground. He was spared the destruction. Ha Torah Says, ‘All flesh that moved on the ground perished, Bereisheit 7.21

Yes, Nimrod did challenge the Truth as taught by Shem and Eiver.

You said… The giant Og was on the outside of the Tava clinging on for dear life.

How could he live with no food or water, exposed to the elements?

Does anyone know when Og did? About how old was he when he died?

The Midrash Teaches that Noach drilled a hole through the Tava {Ark} and fed Og through that Hole.

Is this the same Og that was around when Joshua led Yisroel?

Nice work, Dr. Akiva and Tribbles, on Amraphel aka Nimrod… I’m trying to keep up!

Devarim 3.11 Says,’ For only Og, King of Bashan, survived the remainder of the giants.’ ‘These are the giants killed by Amraphel and his allies at Ashteros Karnayim, and (Og) escaped from the battle, as it is said. ‘And the one who escaped came. and that refferred to Og. Rabbi Avrohom Davis / Rabbi Avrohom Kleinkaufman, The Metsudah Chumash / Rashi (Hoboken, NJ: KTAV Publishing House, Inc. 1993) p 46

Well it’s been great learning with everyone. It is real good to start the weekly Limood with some pointed thoughts. Thank you each for blogging with us.

G-d Willing later this evening at 8:00PM Easter time Zone we will be blogging on http://www.jewishpath.org/jewishpath_blog/ Please join there for more blogging as we review a few thoughts from Parshat Vayigash.

Joshua 13.12 All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants-these did Moses smite, and cast them out. Rashi who remained of the remnant of the giants [Rephaim] whom Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him had slain, as it is stated: “And they smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim.”

So this was the end of them?

Tribbles, I’m answering that, it’ll be just a minute.

Per Blackwell Dictionary of Judaica, p.404: Og was defeated in the battle of Edrei (Numbers 21.33-5). Numbers/ Bamidbar 21.33-35: “They turned and ascended by way of Bashan; Og, king of Bashan, went out against them, he and his entire people, to do battle at Edrei. Hashem said to Moses, ‘Do not fear him, for into your hand Have I Given him, his entire people, and his land…They smote him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left of him, and they took possession of his land. According to The Stone Edition The Chumash commentary on these passukim, there is controversy over whether this was the original Og who had survived the Flood and informed Avraham of Lot’s kidnapping. The Sages agree it was the original Og, making him well over 400 years old at his death. The one dissenter noted was R’Bachya who conjectures this may have been a descendant of the original Og.

Hi Dr Akiva Gamiliel

Hi Martha bat Na’amah!