Avraham Believed in the Lord but Who Counted to Whom Righteousness?
Many translators tend to flatten out Hebrew grammatical difficulties to create a smoother translation. These difficulties are not always visible in translation. Such is the case of the translation of Genesis 15:6. There are two views as to how to translate the verse that reads,
And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness. (Gen 15:6 JPS)
According to this reading and more particularly this capitalization, Avraham believed in the Eternal and He (the Eternal) counted it to him (Avram) for righteousness. This is the JPS translation of the verse, which prompts such an interpretation. Although this translation is easy to read, like most others, nonetheless it may be inaccurate, because Hebrew has neither capitalization nor punctuation, these are questions to be asked here: Who is the “he” and the “him” in the sentence? Another difficulty in this verse is that the Torah refers to “it”. But what is the “it”, for Hebrew has no neuter form either? This will be further explained in the interpretation of the verse. In other words, the question that is almost forced upon us is: Who counted to whom righteousness, for as we will see in the following Hebrew language allows a different interpretation of the words in question, and therefore this verse calls aloud for an explanation. Thus, the present study will deal with a subject that has well been discussed by the rabbis of blessed memory have already treated this verse exhaustively in their commentaries. We will explain that this is not the only way to interpret this verse, as we will take sides in the disagreement of the rabbis. With that being said, we are asking the reader to consider what we intend to say, as we will explain the matter in the following vein.
For the purpose of this study, we will focus on the plain meaning of the Hebrew text of verse 6, considering the unique standing of the statement: “and he counted it to him for righteousness”. We will cite in this work several commentaries by some of the most respected rabbis in Judaism, as we will try to show that the question we raised above is far from being trivial. But before that it needs to be clearly understood how the Hebrew grammar addresses the words in question. The root of the verb וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ va’yach’sheveh, “he counted it” in verse 6, is חָשַׁב chashav, which means to think upon, to account, to consider. It is prefixed with the letter vav, “and”, which reverses the tense from imperfect to perfect (loosely translated as “present” and “past”), and it is suffixed with the letter hey, which indicates that the object of the verb is “she” (Hebrew has only two genders: masculine and feminine). In this form, the verb ויחשבה is mentioned three times in the Torah. Here in Genesis 15, in the case of Tamar, who was suspected by Yehudah of prostitution, and later in Tanach, when it also refers to the mother of the prophet Sh’muel, Hannah, who was suspected of being drunk. Therefore, what was counted in our verse was not “it” but “she”. But what is the “she” in the sentence? We will return to this question, but now we are more interested in Hebrew grammar.
The next word in question is the pronoun לוֹ l’o. לוֹ is an inflected personal pronoun meaning “to him” or “for him”. It is formed from the preposition לְ meaning “to” or “for” with the suffix וֹ, “him”.
The last word is צְדָקָה tsedakah, “righteousness”. A related word to צְדָקָה tsedakah, is צַדִּיק tsadik, which means just, lawful, righteous (man) from the root צָדַק tsadak, to be make right (in a moral sense), be turn to righteous. The term tsadik does not refer to greatness. Rather a tsadik is one who fulfills his or her role. Becoming a tsadik means materializing the unique potential one has into reality. A derivative of צָדַק tsadak are two words: צֶדֶק tsedek, which means the right (natural, moral or legal), as the adjective tsedek literally means “correct” and refers to something that is true, and צְדָקָה tsedakah, our word in the verse, which means rightness, righteousness, justice. The word “for” in “for righteousness” is not present in the Hebrew text and is supplied in the translations for clarity. Therefore, we may present to the reader a literal translation of Genesis 15:6 (without capitalization) that reads,
And he (Avram) believed in the Eternal, and he considered her to (or for) him righteousness (or justice). (Gen 15:6)
But who is who in the sentence, and what is the “her”?
The context
“Count the stars if you are able to count them. So are your seed”. And Avraham believed.
After these events the word of the Eternal came to Avram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Avram. I am your shield; your reward is exceedingly great.” (Gen 15:1)
Avram was afraid. But why would he be afraid and afraid of what? Evidently, Avram became afraid “after these events”. Ramban in his commentary on Genesis 15 says that Avraham merited that the word of the Eternal should come to him in a vision, but he feared two things: (1) that the four kings, who he just defeated — either they or their successors — might combine their forces against him and he would perish, or (2) that his day shall come to die without a son. To remove these two fears from Abraham, says Ramban, the Eternal promised him that He would be his shield against them, and that his reward for walking with Him should be very great.
And indeed, when Avraham saw himself well advanced in years and the first prophecy in Gen 12:7, when He had told him that He would give the land of the Kana’anites to his seed, had not been fulfilled, he might have thought that his sins had withheld it from him. At first, he perplexed (verse 3): “You have given me no seed, and see, one born in my house is my heir!” At that time Avraham had not questioned the promise, because he had believed it. But now he showed doubts, for he did not have a son from Sarah but Ishmael from Sarah’s servant, Hagar.
The Eternal assured him earlier that Abraham and Sarah would beget a child. Now. however, He did not assure him concerning Sarah. Avraham was still in doubt whether Sarah would bear a child. So, what is the immediate context? Avram said: You have given me no seed (Gen 15:3). The Eternal said: he who comes from your own body is your heir [not Ishmael]. (Gen 15:4), … count the stars if you are able to count them. So are your seed. (Gen 15:5) This is the context. Then we read (in JPS) what follows,
And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness. (Gen 15:6 JPS)
According to this translation, Avram believed in the Eternal, and the Eternal counted it (“faith” is assumed) to him (Avram) for righteousness. There are disagreements as to how to translate and therefore to interpret this verse. As we will see in the following, the translation of JPS is not without questions. The KJV translators noticed this ambiguity of Hebrew and rendered the verse with no capitalization,
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Gen 15:6 KJV)
The verse “and he counted it to him for righteousness” is capable of two interpretations.
The first view
Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchak 1040 – 1105 CE, aka Rashi, was an early and influential Torah and Talmud commentator. He was widely known as the father of all commentators, and in Judaism his commentary is considered an indispensable tool for Torah study. According to the first view defended by Rashi, Avraham did not ask Him for a sign regarding the promised child. But in respect to the promise that he would possess the land he asked for a sign, inquiring, “By what [sign] shall I know that I shall possess it?” (See verse 8). The sign Avram asked for was confirmed through the animals sacrifices the Eternal did before him. But as for the trust Avraham had in the promise concerning the promised child, the Eternal accounted it to Abraham as a merit, because of the faith with which he had trusted in Him. Rashi is building here his idea on the faith Avraham had in the Eternal. Therefore, he understands that the Eternal counted Avram’s faith or trust as his righteousness.
The 17th century commentary Siftei Chakhamim on Rashi says that Rashi is explaining that the Lord accounted the righteousness to Avram, not Avram to the Lord, because the greater one grants righteousness to the lesser one, not the reverse. “This is why Rashi explains that God considered it for Avram”. According to the first view, the conclusion is that although this seemed impossible to Abraham and Sarah to have children, he believed it, and He, the Eternal, considered it (literally, “she”, emununah, “faith” in Hebrew is feminine), for him as righteousness.
The 17th century Yiddish commentary on Torah, Tze’enah Ure’enah, asks a question: “Why did Avraham ask the Holy One: give me a sign that I will inherit the land? The Holy One had promised Abraham that he would have children, and he immediately believed and did not desire any sign”. Then the explanation that follows in the commentary is that Avraham only inquired a sign that his children will inherit the land, because if the Eternal did show him a sign that his children would inherit the land, then Avraham would certainly believe that the Eternal would give him children, since who would inherit a land without having children. While Tze’enah Ure’enah agrees with Rashi as to who is speaking here, it interprets the “she” in the sentence as “the land” (see verse 7) promised to Avram (the Hebrew word for “land” is erets which is feminine: “she” is the land). This is indeed a valid observation and a hint that corresponds to the matter. Thus far Rashi.
It is evident why a broad consensus has developed that this interpretation of Genesis 15:6 is the correct one: Avraham had faith and it was counted to him for righteousness. What should give us pause, however, is that there is a second view on the matter.
The second view
A radical approach suggested by other commentators is that it was Avraham who “counted it to him for righteousness”. We find the following difference of opinion. The 13th century Rabbi Chizkiah ben Manoach is an author of the Torah commentary “Chizkuni”, a compilation of insights picked from Midrash, alongside the writings of the leading rabbis such as Rashi, Rashbam, and Ibn Ezra. In the words of Chizkuni: “The letter ח chet, in this word ויחשבה “and he counted”, is vocalized by the semi vowel sh’va na, which has a dot above it”. This vocalization, Chizkuni is referring to, indicates that the subject of the word ויחשבה “and he counted” is Avram, not the Eternal. But this vocalization is wanting in the available Hebrew manuscripts, and we do not know what source Chizkuni has meant. He does not name any of his sources, as he felt that one should focus on the message rather than the messenger. If Rabbi Chizkiah ben Manoach is correct in his source, then this changes altogether the meaning of verse 6, namely, Avram is the one speaking in “and he considered it to him for righteousness. Although Rabbi Chizkiah ben Manoach does not cite evidence illustrating that this is an acceptable linguistic rule in Biblical Hebrew, he is not the only authority, who has stated that the “he” in “and he counted” is Avram, not the Eternal.
Rabbi Mosheh ben Nachman 1194 – 1270 CE, also known as Ramban or Nachmanides, was a leading Torah scholar who authored commentaries on Torah and the Talmud. His commentary on the Torah often critiques earlier commentaries especially Rashi’s. In the words of Ramban (it is better to quote Ramban verbatim rather than interpreting him): “Rashi’s explanation is: The Holy One, blessed be He, accounted it to Avraham for righteousness and merit because of the faith with which he had trusted in Him. But I do not understand the nature of this merit. Why should he not believe in the God of truth, and he himself is the prophet, and “God is not a man, that He should lie”? ... The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the verse is stating that Avraham believed in God and he considered it due to the righteousness of the Holy One, blessed be He, that He would give him a child under all circumstances, and not because of Abram’s state of righteousness and his reward, even though He told him, “Your reward shall be very great” (verse 1), Avraham had thought that the promise was conditional upon the recompense for his deeds, yet now since He promised him that he should have no fear on account of sin and that He will give him a child. It may be that the verse is stating that Avraham believed that he would have a child as an heir under all circumstances, but the Holy One, blessed be He, accounted to him that this promise He had assured him would in addition be as righteousness”. It is the present author’s preference to use Ramban’s commentaries on Torah in his work.
The 14th century commentary Tur HaAroch on Ramban says: “According to Rashi the meaning is that God accounted it as a righteous deed on the part of Avraham to trust Him completely. Nachmanides queries why trusting God should be something deemed especially meritorious. He considers the idea that someone does not trust a promise by God, when the latter had revealed Himself to him, as completely preposterous. Therefore, he considers that what is meant is that Avraham considered it as an outstanding act on God’s part to grant him such favor. He considered that God granting him physical offspring was an outstanding example of God’s kindness to him. Having heard the last words of God, Avraham was no longer worried that some sin of his at a future date might invalidate this promise”.
The conclusion that follows in the second view is, and so writes the Ramban: Avraham counted it as a charitable act to God that He promised him to give him children. The Eternal did this for His sake and not because of Avraham’s merit. In other words, Avraham considered this as an act of kindness by the Eternal.
In his commentary to Genesis 15:6, the 14th century commentator on Torah, Rabbeinu Bahya, while accepting the view of Nachmanides concerning the meaning of these words, also states that it is possible to explain the words: “he considered it for him for righteousness”, as the Eternal being the speaker and Avraham the one concerning whom He said it, thus agreeing with Rashi.
If we examine the arguments that have been cited in favor of both views, we find that Hebrew language indeed allows alternative translations and interpretations of our verse. In our opinion, it is possible that the translation of the verse based on the Ramban’s commentary is as follows (comments added for clarity): “And he [Avram] believed in the Eternal, and he [Avram] considered righteousness [or justice] for Him [that He would give him a child and the land]” (Gen 15:6). The patriarch believed that the Eternal was just, and He would keep His covenant with him.
After all of the above, it remains for us to explain why we endeavored to enter the polemics of the rabbis. If a reader does not know how to be careful when reading translations but takes them by blind faith, he will inevitably be robbed of knowledge and understanding. It would be therefore advantageous for the reader to study the commentaries of the rabbis and draw conclusions for himself. And why do we believe that it is important to correctly translate and interpret the Hebrew of Genesis 15:6 in a proper context and settings? This requires a lengthy exposition, but it is all explained in our commentary in By Works of Faith Avraham was Reckoned Righteous by Time of Reckoning Ministry.
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