Vayeira

[27] So out of God's mercy, the men seized Lot, his wife, and daughters and brought them out of the city, telling them to flee for their lives and not to stop or look back anywhere in the plain.

[32] As the sun rose and Lot entered Zoar, God rained sulfurous fire from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah and annihilated the entire plain.

[47] Abraham replied that he had thought that Gerar had no fear of God and would kill him because of his wife, and that she was in fact his father's daughter though not his mother's, so he had asked of her the kindness of identifying him as her brother.

[75] Early the next morning, Abraham saddled his donkey and split wood for the burnt offering, and then he, two of his servants, and Isaac set out for the place that God had named.

The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources:[94] The second century BCE Book of Jubilees reported that Abraham endured ten trials and was found faithful and patient in spirit.

Jubilees listed eight of the trials: (1) leaving his country, (2) the famine, (3) the wealth of kings, (4) his wife taken from him, (5) circumcision, (6) Hagar and Ishmael driven away, (7) the binding of Isaac, and (8) buying the land to bury Sarah.

[107] Similarly, the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer counted as the 10 trials (1) when Abraham was a child and all the magnates of the kingdom and the magicians sought to kill him, (2) when he was put into prison for ten years and cast into the furnace of fire, (3) his migration from his father's house and from the land of his birth, (4) the famine, (5) when Sarah his wife was taken to be Pharaoh's wife, (6) when the kings came against him to slay him, (7) when (in the words of Genesis 17:1) "the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision," (8) when Abram was 99 years old and God asked him to circumcise himself, (9) when Sarah asked Abraham (in the words of Genesis 21:10) to "Cast out this bondwoman and her son," and (10) the binding of Isaac.

"[112] Rabbi Leazar ben Menahem taught that the opening words of Genesis 18:1, "And the Lord appeared," indicated God's proximity to Abraham.

[124] The heart speaks,[125] sees,[125] hears,[126] walks,[127] falls,[128] stands,[129] rejoices,[130] cries,[131] is comforted,[132] is troubled,[133] becomes hardened,[134] grows faint,[135] grieves,[136] fears,[137] can be broken,[138] becomes proud,[139] rebels,[140] invents,[141] cavils,[142] overflows,[143] devises,[144] desires,[145] goes astray,[146] lusts,[147] can be stolen,[148] is humbled,[149] is enticed,[150] errs,[151] trembles,[152] is awakened,[153] loves,[154] hates,[155] envies,[156] is searched,[157] is rent,[158] meditates,[159] is like a fire,[160] is like a stone,[161] turns in repentance,[162] becomes hot,[163] dies,[164] melts,[165] takes in words,[166] is susceptible to fear,[167] gives thanks,[168] covets,[169] becomes hard,[170] makes merry,[171] acts deceitfully,[172] speaks from out of itself,[173] loves bribes,[174] writes words,[175] plans,[176] receives commandments,[177] acts with pride,[178] makes arrangements,[179] and aggrandizes itself.

[185] Similarly, in the Jerusalem Talmud, Rabbi Ḥanina said that Scripture teaches how awful the penumbra of gossip is, for Genesis 18:12–13 speaks evasively to keep the peace between Abraham and Sarah.

Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, plenty of bread, and careless ease was in her and in her daughters; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

Rava interpreted this to teach that they used to cast envious eyes on wealthy people and entrust fragrant balsam into their keeping, which they placed in their storerooms.

Alternatively, the midrash said, because at the generation of the Flood, eight righteous people remained (in Noah and his family) and God did not give the world respite for their sake.

Expanding on the words, "but before they lay down" in Genesis 19:4, the midrash told that the angels began questioning Lot, inquiring into the nature of the people of the city.

Rabbi Eliezer argued that Lot's experience proved the maxim (of Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:5[210]) that the property of the wicked, whether inside or outside the town, will be lost.

[217] Rabbi Joshua ben Levi (according to the Jerusalem Talmud) or a baraita in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Jose the son of Rabbi Ḥanina (according to the Babylonian Talmud) said that the three daily prayers derived from the Patriarchs, and cited Genesis 19:27 for the proposition that Jews derived the morning prayer from Abraham, arguing that within the meaning of Genesis 19:27, "stood" meant "pray," just as it did in Psalm 106:30[218] Reading the words of Genesis 19:29, "God remembered Abraham and sent out Lot," a midrash asked what recollection was brought up in Lot's favor?

[238] The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that Ishmael cast himself beneath thorns in the wilderness, so that he might get some moisture, and called out to the God of his father Abraham to take away his soul, so that he would not have to die of thirst.

While the continuation of Genesis 21:17, "God has heard the voice of the lad where he is," connotes that this was for Ishmael's own sake, for a sick people's prayers on their own behalf are more efficacious than those of anyone else.

[250] A Tanna taught in the name of Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar that intense love and hate can cause one to disregard the perquisites of one's social position.

"[256] Similarly, Rav Huna son of Rabbi Isaac read Genesis 22:13 to teach that God showed Abraham the ram tearing itself free from one thicket and getting entangled in another.

"[257] Rabbi Josiah taught in his father's name that God created the ram that Genesis 22:13 reports Abraham sacrificed in lieu of Isaac on the eve of the first Sabbath at twilight (indicating the miraculous nature of its appearance).

[254] The Mishnah taught that on public fasts when Israel was afflicted with drought, the Israelites would conclude a prayer with, “He Who answered Abraham on Mount Moriah [as reported in Genesis 22:11–18], He shall answer you and hearken this day to the voice of your cry.”[262] God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 22:17 that God would multiply his children like the stars figures in a midrashic interpretation of the Plagues of Egypt.

[270] The parashah is discussed in these medieval Jewish sources:[271] In their commentaries to Mishnah Avot 5:3[99] (see "In classical rabbinic interpretation" above), Rashi and Maimonides differed on what 10 trials Abraham faced:[272] Reading Genesis 18:19, "For I (God) have known him (Abraham), to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice," Baḥya ibn Paquda suggested that this points to how Israel's ancestors handed down the knowledge of God to their descendants.

Maimonides reasoned that Abraham taught the people, brought many under the wings of the Divine Presence, and ordered members of his household after him to keep God's ways forever.

"[276] Baḥya ibn Paquda read the story of Lot and Zoar in Genesis 19:20–23 to teach that the presence of one who trusts in God brings good fortune to a city and shields its people from troubles.

[277] Baḥya ibn Paquda read Genesis 22 to show Abraham reaching such a high level that he regarded everything as insignificant when compared with the fulfillment of God's commandment.

Then, early in the 20th century, archaeologists began turning up evidence that seemed to confirm, or at least coincide with, elements of the Genesis narrative, including evidence of Abraham's hometown, Ur; legal practices, customs, and a way of life that suited the Abrahamic narratives; the names of cities like Haran, Nahur, Terah, Peleg, and Serug mentioned in Genesis; the movement of people throughout the area in the late 18th century BCE; and documentation of adoptions of mature adults and wives like Eliezer and Sarah.

Kugel concluded that most scholars now concede that the Abrahamic stories contain some very ancient material arguably going back to the 10th or 11th century BCE, transmitted orally, and then transformed into the present, prose formulations at a time that remains the subject of debate.

Michael Carasik argued that the common root of the two words “Judge (שֹׁפֵט‎, shofet)” and “justice (מִשְׁפָּט‎, mishpat)” makes Abraham's question all the more pointed.

[298] Also, in the nirtzah section of the seder, in a reference to Genesis 20:3 or 20:6, the Haggadah recounts how God judged the King of Gerar Abimelech in the middle of the night.