(Genesis 25) How did we become descendants of Abraham?
(Chat GPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）
How did we become descendants of Abraham? For many who have no biological relationship with Abraham, this is a strange question. Furthermore, from a broader perspective, isn’t our true Father the Creator, our Heavenly Father?
In fact, there is no contradiction in this.
This week’s Torah reading is called “Chayei Sarah” – “The Life of Sarah” (Genesis 23:1-25:18).
The opening verses discuss the passing of Sarah, and near the end, it talks about the passing of Abraham. When this couple passed away, their names had changed from their birth names. They were originally Abram and Sarai, and it was the Creator who changed their names, altering their identities. They were to become the father and mother of many nations (Genesis 17). They were half-siblings (Genesis 20:12) who left behind the idolatrous traditions of their forefathers to follow the Creator. So, for those of all nations in the future who abandon the traditions of their fleshly ancestors and return to following the Creator, Abraham and Sarah are their spiritual ancestors. This is based on the blessing given by the Creator in Genesis 17, not a mere human invention.
Our true father in faith is not Abram (Abrm), but Abraham ( AbrHm). He became our father in faith due to the addition of the letter “H” in his new name, representing the Creator. H represents HaShem (the Name), which is also a letter in the Creator’s name Y-H-W-H (see https://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/blog/2013/10/becoming-avraham-on-names-and-transformation-in-lech-lecha.html). Sarai’s name was changed to Sarah (SrH), adding the letter H, which represents the Creator. This is why, when the Romans persecuted the Jews, some converts from the nations who wanted to hide their identity would sign their names as Ben Hei Hei (the descendants of H), subtly indicating their faith as children of Abraham and Sarah (see Pirkei Avot 5:21: https://www.sie.org/templates/sie/article_cdo/aid/2865569/jewish/Chapter-Five.htm).
In the Christian perspective, the “H” in Abraham’s name is seen as a foreshadowing of “the Word becoming flesh”, of a future descendant of Abraham, who would die, and be resurrected, allowing all non-biological descendants of Abraham to be reborn through “H” and become spiritual descendants of Abraham with the new name.
When Abraham passed away, the Bible says he “was gathered to his people” (Genesis 25:8). The original text uses the plural “peopleS.” I believe this is a way of saying that when the dead are resurrected in the future, Abraham will personally witness the fulfillment of the Creator’s blessings, and he will live together with his spiritual descendants from many nations， just as Jesus stated in the New Testament, “numbers will come from the east and the west, and will take their seats with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven“ .
Let us follow in the footsteps of Abraham and serve and worship the Creator together, for He is the One Who also governs both the present and the future.
（创25）我们怎么变成了亚伯拉罕的后代？
我们怎么变成了亚伯拉罕的后代？
对很多人与亚伯拉罕没有生物学关系的人来说，这是一个奇怪的问题。另外，如果是从更广泛的角度来看，我们的父，难道不是造物主，我们的天父吗？
其实这些都没有矛盾，
本周的读经进度叫“chayei Sarah “撒拉享寿” 创世记23:1-25:18”。
开始的经文讲到撒拉逝世，将近结尾时讲到亚伯拉罕逝世。这夫妇俩去世时的名字与出生时不一样了，他们原来是亚伯兰与撒莱（大概分别是亚兰的父，与我的公主的意思），是造物主叫他们改的名字，也改变了他们的身份，他们要作多国的父，与多国的母（创17）。他们是同父异母（创20:12），一同离开了迷信拜假神的父家（约书亚记24:2“…古 时 你 们 的 列 祖 ， 就 是 亚 伯 拉 罕 和 拿 鹤 的 父 亲 他 拉 ， 住 在 大 河 那 边 事 奉 别 神 ，…”），追随造物主。 所以，对将来各民族所有离弃了肉身祖先的迷信传统，回归追随造物主的人来说， 亚伯拉罕与撒拉就是他们信仰方面的祖先。这是根据造物主自己在创世纪17章给出的祝福，决不是人为的臆想。
我们的父不是亚伯兰Avrm，而是亚伯拉罕AvrHm，所以，他是因为这新名字所添的一个字母H所代表的造物主，才成了我们这些与他没有肉身关系的人的父。H代表HaShem（那个名字）， 也是造物主的名字Y-H-W-H 里的一个字母。（见https://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/blog/2013/10/becoming-avraham-on-names-and-transformation-in-lech-lecha.html）
撒莱Sry的名字变成撒拉SrH（即Sarah，希伯来原文没有元音）， 也添上了代表H这个代表造物主的字母。以至于当年罗马人迫害犹太人时，有皈依犹太人的外邦人为了不泄露身份，署名时自称Ben Hei Hei （H H 的后代），隐含着自称是亚伯拉罕撒拉的信仰之子。（见Pirkei Avot 5:21
https://www.sie.org/templates/sie/article_cdo/aid/2865569/jewish/Chapter-Five.htm）
按基督教的思路，亚伯拉罕名字里的H，多年后要在亚伯拉罕的一位肉身后裔上道成肉身，在肉身上死里复活，让所有与亚伯兰没有生物学关系的外邦人也可以因H重生，成为H的后代， 也就成为被赋予包含着H的新名字的亚伯拉罕的信仰后代。
亚伯拉罕去世时，圣经说他 “归 到 他 列 祖 （ 原 文 作 本 民 ） 那 里 ”（创25:8）。 原文的“本民”是复数，他被收到了他的“本民们”那里，我觉得这是在说，将来死人复活时，亚伯拉罕会亲眼看到造物主当年给他的祝福现在已经成就了，他将和他在各民族的信仰后代们团聚，如同新约里耶稣所说，“从 东 从 西 ， 将 有 许 多 人 来 ， 在 天 国 里 与 亚 伯 拉 罕 ， 以 撒 ， 雅 各 ， 一 同 坐 席 。”
让我们一起追随亚伯拉罕的脚踪，侍奉敬拜那位造物主，祂也是掌管今世和来世的主。