Aggada -- Translations into English; Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends; Midrash -- Translations into English
While Abraham proclaimed this with a loud voice, the idols fell upon
their faces, and with them also King Nimrod.[24] For a space of two
hours and a half the king lay lifeless, and when his soul returned upon
him, he spoke and said, "Is it thy voice, O Abraham, or the voice of
thy God?" And Abraham answered, and said, "This voice is the voice of
the least of all creatures called into existence by God." Thereupon
Nimrod said, "Verily, the God of Abraham is a great and powerful God,
the King of all kings," and he commanded Terah to take his son and
remove him, and return again unto his own city, and father and son did
as the king had ordered.[25]
THE PREACHER OF THE TRUE FAITH
When Abraham attained the age of twenty years, his father Terah fell
ill. He spoke as follows to his sons Haran and Abraham, "I adjure you
by your lives, my sons, sell these two idols for me, for I have not
enough money to meet our expenses." Haran executed the wish of his
father, but if any one accosted Abraham, to buy an idol from him, and
asked him the price, he would answer, "Three manehs," and then question
in turn, "How old art thou?" "Thirty years," the reply would be. "Thou
art thirty years of age, and yet thou wouldst worship this idol which I
made but to-day?" The man would depart and go his way, and another
would approach Abraham, and ask, "How much is this idol?" and "Five
manehs" would be the reply, and again Abraham would put the question,
"How old art thou?"—"Fifty years."—"And dost thou who art fifty years
of age bow down before this idol which was made but to-day?" Thereupon
the man would depart and go his way. Abraham then took two idols, put a
rope about their necks, and, with their faces turned downward, he
dragged them along the ground, crying aloud all the time: "Who will buy
an idol wherein there is no profit, either unto itself or unto him that
buys it in order to worship it? It has a mouth, but it speaketh not;
eyes, but it seeth not; feet, but it walketh not; ears, but it heareth
not."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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