Book of Jasher 7:50
And Terah took a wife and her name was Amthelo the daughter of Cornebo; and the wife of Terah conceived and bare him a son in those days.
Bava Batra 91a:14
And Rav Ḥanan bar Rava says that Rav says:
"The mother of Abraham was called Amatlai bat Karnevo. The mother of Haman was called Amatlai bat Orevati. And your mnemonic, to ensure that the two are not confused for one another, is that a raven [orev] is impure, and in this manner one remembers that Orevati is the grandmother of the impure Haman, while a sheep [kar] is pure, which indicates that Karnevo is the grandmother of the pure Abraham."
Bereishit Rabbah 38:13 “And Haran died in the presence of his father Terach.” Rabbi Hiyya said: Terach was a manufacturer of idols. He once went away somewhere and left Abraham to sell them in his place. A man came in and wished to buy one. "How old are you?" Abraham asked the man. "Fifty years old," he said. "Woe to such a man, who is fifty years old and would worship a day old object!" Avraham said.
On another occasion a woman came in with a plateful of flour and requested him, "Take this and offer it to them." So he took a stick and broke them, and put the stick in the hand of the largest. When his father returned he demanded, "What have you done to them?" "I cannot conceal it from you. A woman came with a plateful of fine meal and requested me to offer it to them. One claimed, 'I must eat first,' while another claimed, 'I must eat first.' Thereupon, the largest arose, took the stick and broke them." "Why do you make sport of me? Have they any knowledge?" Terach said. "Should not your ears hear what your mouth has said?" Avraham said.
Thereupon Terach seized him and delivered him to Nimrod. "Let us worship fire," Nimrod said. "Let us rather worship water which quenches fire," Avraham said. "Let us worship water," Nimrod said. "Let us rather worship the clouds which bear the water," Avraham said. "Let us then worship the clouds," Nimros said. "Let us worship the wind which disperses the clouds," Avraham said. "Let us worship the wind," Nimrod said. "Let us worship human beings which can stand up to the wind," Avraham said. "You are just bandying words, and we will worship nothing but the fire. Behold, I will cast you into it, and let your God whom you adore come and save you from it!" Nimrod said. Now Haran was standing there undecided. "If Avraham is victorious, I will say that I am of Avraham’s belief, while if Nimrod is victorious, I will say that I am on Nimrod’s side," he thought. When Avraham descended into the fiery furnace and was saved, Nimrod asked him, "Of whose belief are you?" "Of Abraham’s," he replied. Thereupon he seized him and cast him into the fire; his innards were scorched and he died in the presence of his father. Hence it is written, "And Haran died in the presence of his father Terach."
Book of Jasher 7:46-48
And all the earth was of one tongue and words of union, but Nimrod did not go in the ways of the Lord, and he was more wicked than all the men that were before him, from the days of the flood until those days. And he made gods of wood and stone, and he bowed down to them, and he rebelled against the Lord, and taught all his subjects and the people of the earth his wicked ways; and Mardon his son was more wicked than his father. And every one that heard of the acts of Mardon the son of Nimrod would say, concerning him, From the wicked goeth forth wickedness; therefore it became a proverb in the whole earth, saying, From the wicked goeth forth wickedness, and it was current in the words of men from that time to this.
Midrash Ha-Gadol, Genesis 12:1 "And Abraham would roam in his mind, thinking, ‘How long shall we bow down to the work of our hands? It is not right to worship and bow down to anything but the earth, which brings forth fruit and sustains us.’ But when he saw that the earth needs rain, and that without the sky opening and sending down rain, the earth would grow nothing at all, then he thought again: ‘It is not right to bow down to anything but the sky.’ He looked again and saw the sun which gives light to the world, and brings forth the plants, and thought, ‘It is not right to bow down to anything but the sun.’ But when he saw the sun setting, he thought, ‘That is no god.’ He looked again at the moon and the stars that give light at night, and thought, ‘To these it is right to bow down.’ But when the dawn broke, they were all effaced, and he thought, ‘These are no gods.’ He was in distress at the thought: If these phenomena have no mover, why does one set and the other rise?… When Abraham saw the appearance and the disappearance of phenomena in nature, he thought, ‘Unless there were someone in charge, this would not happen. It is not right to bow down to these, but to the One in charge.’" (translation by Avivah Zornberg, Genesis, The Beginning of Desire, p. 83)
Apocalypse of Abraham 7:11-12
"Listen, Terah, my father, I shall seek in your presence the God who created all the gods which we consider! For who is it, or which one is it who colored heaven and made the sun golden, who has given light to the moon and the stars with it, who has dried the earth in the midst of many waters, who set you yourself among the elements, and who now has chosen me in the distraction of my mind?— Will he reveal himself by himself to us?— [He is] the God!"
"G-d said to Abram, 'Go forth from your land…'" (Genesis 12:1)
Rabbi Yitzchak opened: "Listen, daughter, look, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father's house." (Psalms 45:11)
Rabbi Yitzchak said: This may be compared to a man who was traveling from place to place when he saw a castle aglow. He said, "Is it possible that this castle lacks a person to look after it?" The owner of the building looked at him and said to him, 'I am the master of the castle.'" What happened with Abraham our father was similar. He said, “Is it possible that this universe lacks a person to look after it?," the Holy Blessed One looked at him and said to him, 'I am the Master of the Universe.'" "And let the king be aroused by your beauty since he is your master" (Psalms 45:12) And let the king be aroused for your beauty in the universe. "And bow to him" (Psalms 45:12) Hence, G-d said to Abram, [go forth...].
Commentary from Vilna edition of Midrash Rabbah: Yaakov Moshe Hellin comments: “It seems to me that the intent is (as follows): Just as this one, who sees a birah burning, thinks, ‘Since no one is putting out the fire, certainly the birah is without a governor,’ and the owner of the birah looks out at him and says, ‘I am the owner of the birah, and it is my intention that it burn’—so, when Abraham our father saw the world go to desolation in the generation of Enosh, the flood and the dispersion (in the generation of the tower of Babel), he said, ‘Mercy; forbid! Perhaps the world is without a governor!’ The Lord then looked out at him and said, ‘I am the owner of the world, and it is my intention to destroy.’”
Bereishit Rabbah 39:2
Bereishit Rabbah 39:10
R. Berekhiah taught in the name of R. Nehemiah: This may may be illustrated by the parable of a king who, while traversing from place to place, lost a pearl from the crown of his head. The king halted and had his retinue halt. When a passer-by asked, “What is going on here with the king and his entire retinue?” they were told, “A pearl has fallen from the king’s head.” What did the king do? He heaped the soil in a number of piles, brought sieves, and sifted the first pile, but did not find the pearl… when he sifted the tenth pile, he found it. Then the passersby said, “The king has finally found his precious pearl.”
Likewise, the Holy One said to Abraham, (Lekh lekha) “Go–for you.”, it was for you that I was waiting. Otherwise, what need had I to record this [lengthy] genealogy of? Was it not on account of you? Hence it is written in Nehemiah, “You chose Abram…because you found his heart faithful before you.”
Bereishit Rabbah 40:12-19
R. Phinehas said in the name of R. Reuben: Two people were principal actors and yet made themselves subordinate: Abraham and Barak. Barak, as it is written, "And she sent and called Barak . . . And Barak said unto her : 'If thou wilt go with me, then I will go; but if thou wilt not go with me, I will not go'"… Abraham was the principal, as it is written, “And Abram took Sarai his wife”, but he made himself of secondary importance, saying, "Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister," whereupon he really became subordinate to her, as it is written, “And he dealt well with Abram for her sake.
Bereishit Rabbah 41:5
R. Berekiah said in R Judan's name: Abraham's cattle used to go out muzzled, but Lot's did not go out muzzled. Said Abraham's herdmen to them: "Has then robbery been permitted?" To which Lot's herdmen replied: "Thus did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Abraham: 'Unto thy seed will I give this land'; now Abraham is a barren mule, who cannot beget children, therefore Lot will be his heir; if they eat, they are eating their own."
Bereishit Rabbah 41:7
R. Hanina said: The whole of this verse connotes immoral desire. Thus: “And Lot lifted up his eyes,” as you read, “And his master's wife lifted up her eyes to Joseph.”...“So Lot chose him all the plain of the Jordan, etc.” R. Jose b. Zimra said: He was Like a man who covets his mother's dowry.Book of Jasher 19:1,3-7,11-17,24-35
And the cities of Sodom had four judges to four cities, and these were their names, Serak in the city of Sodom, Sharkad in Gomorrah, Zabnac in Admah, and Menon in Zeboyim.
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And by desire of their four judges the people of Sodom and Gomorrah had beds erected in the streets of the cities, and if a man came to these places they laid hold of him and brought him to one of their beds, and by force made him to lie in them. And as he lay down, three men would stand at his head and three at his feet, and measure him by the length of the bed, and if the man was less than the bed these six men would stretch him at each end, and when he cried out to them they would not answer him. And if he was longer than the bed they would draw together the two sides of the bed at each end, until the man had reached the gates of death. And if he continued to cry out to them, they would answer him, saying, Thus shall it be done to a man that cometh into our land. And when men heard all these things that the people of the cities of Sodom did, they refrained from coming there.
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And in the course of time Sarah sent Eliezer to Sodom, to see Lot and inquire after his welfare. And Eliezer went to Sodom, and he met a man of Sodom fighting with a stranger, and the man of Sodom stripped the poor man of all his clothes and went away. And this poor man cried to Eliezer and supplicated his favor on account of what the man of Sodom had done to him. And he said to him, Why dost thou act thus to the poor man who came to thy land? And the man of Sodom answered Eliezer, saying, Is this man thy brother, or have the people of Sodom made thee a judge this day, that thou speakest about this man? And Eliezer strove with the man of Sodom on account of the poor man, and when Eliezer approached to recover the poor man's clothes from the man of Sodom, he hastened and with a stone smote Eliezer in the forehead. And the blood flowed copiously from Eliezer's forehead, and when the man saw the blood he caught hold of Eliezer, saying, Give me my hire for having rid thee of this bad blood that was in thy forehead, for such is the custom and the law in our land.
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At that time the wife of Lot bare him a daughter, and he called her name Paltith, saying, Because God had delivered him and his whole household from the kings of Elam; and Paltith daughter of Lot grew up, and one of the men of Sodom took her for a wife. And a poor man came into the city to seek a maintenance, and he remained in the city some days, and all the people of Sodom caused a proclamation of their custom not to give this man a morsel of bread to eat, until he dropped dead upon the earth, and they did so. And Paltith the daughter of Lot saw this man lying in the streets starved with hunger, and no one would give him any thing to keep him alive, and he was just upon the point of death. And her soul was filled with pity on account of the man, and she fed him secretly with bread for many days, and the soul of this man was revived. For when she went forth to fetch water she would put the bread in the water pitcher, and when she came to the place where the poor man was, she took the bread from the pitcher and gave it him to eat; so she did many days. And all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah wondered how this man could bear starvation for so many days. And they said to each other, This can only be that he eats and drinks, for no man can bear starvation for so many days or live as this man has, without even his countenance changing; and three men concealed themselves in a place where the poor man was stationed, to know who it was that brought him bread to eat. And Paltith daughter of Lot went forth that day to fetch water, and she put bread into her pitcher of water, and she went to draw water by the poor man's place, and she took out the bread from the pitcher and gave it to the poor man and he ate it. And the three men saw what Paltith did to the poor man, and they said to her, It is thou then who hast supported him, and therefore has he not starved, nor changed in appearance nor died like the rest. And the three men went out of the place in which they were concealed, and they seized Paltith and the bread which was in the poor man's hand. And they took Paltith and brought her before their judges, and they said to them, Thus did she do, and it is she who supplied the poor man with bread, therefore did he not die all this time; now therefore declare to us the punishment due to this woman for having transgressed our law. And the people of Sodom and Gomorrah assembled and kindled a fire in the street of the city, and they took the woman and cast her into the fire and she was burned to ashes.
Bereishit Rabbah 43:7
“And he blessed him, and said: blessed be Abram of the God most high, who has acquired heaven and earth.” From whom then did He acquire them?— Said R. Abba: as one says, So-and-so has beautiful eyes and hair. R. Isaac said: Abraham used to entertain wayfarers, and after they had eaten he would say to them, 'Say a blessing.' 'What shall we say?’ they asked. 'Blessed be the God of the Universe of Whose bounty we have eaten’ replied he. Then the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: 'My Name was not known among My creatures, and thou hast made it known among them: I will regard thee as though thou wast associated with Me in the creation of the world’ Hence it is written, And He blessed him, and said: “Blessed be Abram of the God most high, who has acquired heaven and earth.”
Noblewomen would come and inquire after Sarah’s wellbeing, and Sarah would say: ‘Go and inquire after the wellbeing of that meek woman’ [Hagar]. Hagar would say to them: ‘My mistress Sarah, her inner reality is not like her outward impression. She gives the impression of being a righteous woman, but she is not a righteous woman. Were she a righteous woman, look at how many years that she did not conceive, whereas I conceived in one night.’ Sarah would then say: ‘Should I have a discussion with this woman? Better that I should have a discussion with her master.’
“Sarai said to Abram: The injustice done to me [ḥamasi] is on you” – Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon: You are committing an injustice of words against me, as you hear my humiliation and remain silent. Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Kahana: [Sarah said:] ‘I have a grievance against you.’ This is analogous to two men incarcerated in prison. Once it happened that the king passed by. One of them said to him: ‘Take up my cause for the wrong done to me.’ He said [to the jailers]: ‘Free him.’ His counterpart said to him: ‘I have a grievance against you. Had you said: Take up our cause for the wrong done to us, just as he freed you, he would have freed me. Now that you said: Take up my cause for the wrong done to me, he freed you and did not free me.’ So, too, [Sarah said:] ‘Had you said: “We go childless,” just as He granted you [a child], so would He have granted me. But now that you have said: “I go childless” (Genesis 15:2), He granted you [a child], but did not grant me.’
This is analogous to two people who went to borrow seeds from the king. One of them said to him: ‘Lend me seeds.’ He gave the order and they gave it to him. His counterpart said: ‘I have a grievance against you. Had you said: Lend us seeds, just as he gave you, so he would have given me.’ Here, too, [Sarah said: ‘Had you said: “Behold, you have not given us descendants,” just as He granted you [a child], so would He have granted me. Now that you said: “Behold, you have not given me descendants” (Genesis 15:3), He granted you, but did not grant me.’
Rabbi Neḥemya said in the name of Rabbi Avun: She scratched [ḥimesa] him in the face.
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“Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her” – Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: She prevented her from engaging in conjugal relations. Rabbi Berekhya said: She hit her in the face with a slipper. Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Kahana: She made her take buckets and towels to the bathhouse for her.
Bereishit Rabbah 46:1,4
Bereishit Rabbah 48:19
Bereishit Rabbah 49:2
Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: This is analogous to a king who had three close friends, and he would never do anything without their knowledge. One time he wanted to do something without their knowledge. He took the first one and banished him and expelled him from the palace. The second one he incarcerated in a prison cell and placed his royal seal upon it. Regarding the third, who was exceedingly beloved to him, he said: ‘I will not do anything without consulting him.’ So, too, Adam the first man – “He banished the man” (Genesis 3:24); Noah, “the Lord shut him in” (Genesis 7:16). Regarding Abraham, who was exceedingly beloved to him, he said: ‘Could I do anything without his knowledge?’
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: This is analogous to a king who had a senior adviser, and he would not do anything without his knowledge. The king said: ‘Did I not appoint him as my adviser specifically so that I would not to do anything without his knowledge?’
Rabbi Yudan said: The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘His brother’s son, Lot, is there; shall I not reveal it to him?’
The Rabbis say: [God said:] ‘I have already called him their father, as it is stated: “For I have rendered you the father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17:5). Does one judge a son without [notifying] the father? I revealed the giving of the Torah to him. I revealed Gehenna to him. The sentence of Sodom is tomorrow, shall I not reveal it to him?’
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The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Abraham, “You love righteousness [tzedek] and abhor wickedness” (Psalms 45:8) – you love to vindicate [letzadek] My creations. “And abhor wickedness” – you refuse to condemn them. “Because of this, God your God, has anointed you over your counterparts with the oil of joy” (Psalms 45:8). What is “over your counterparts”? From Noah until you there were ten generations, and from among all of them, I did not speak with any of them except for you: “God said to Abram: Go you”’ (Genesis 12:1).
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Bereishit Rabbah 51:5
Book of Jasher 19:37-44
For a traveler came into the city of Admah to abide there all night, with the intention of going home in the morning, and he sat opposite the door of the house of the young woman's father, to remain there, as the sun had set when be had reached that place; and the young woman saw him sitting by the door of the house. And he asked her for a drink of water and she said to him, Who art thou? and he said to her, I was this day going on the road, and reached here when the sun set, so I will abide here all night, and in the morning I will arise early and continue my journey. And the young woman went into the house and fetched the man bread and water to eat and drink. And this affair became known to the people of Admah, and they assembled and brought the young woman before the judges, that they should judge her for this act.
And the judge said, The judgment of death must pass upon this woman because she transgressed our law, and this therefore is the decision concerning her. And the people of those cities assembled and brought out the young woman, and anointed her with honey from head to foot, as the judge had decreed, and they placed her before a swarm of bees which were then in their hives, and the bees flew upon her and stung her that her whole body was swelled. And the young woman cried out on account of the bees, but no one took notice of her or pitied her, and her cries ascended to heaven. And the Lord was provoked at this and at all the works of the cities of Sodom, for they had abundance of food, and had tranquility amongst them, and still would not sustain the poor and the needy, and in those days their evil doings and sins became great before the Lord.