Vayeira 22:12 · unit 2

Parashas Vayeira · Passuk 22:12

The Complete Passuk

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אַל־תִּשְׁלַ֤ח יָֽדְךָ֙ אֶל־הַנַּ֔עַר וְאַל־תַּ֥עַשׂ ל֖וֹ מְא֑וּמָה כִּ֣י עַתָּ֣ה יָדַ֗עְתִּי כִּֽי־יְרֵ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ אַ֔תָּה וְלֹ֥א חָשַׂ֛כְתָּ אֶת־בִּנְךָ֥ אֶת־יְחִידְךָ֖ מִמֶּֽנִּי׃

And he said, “Do not stretch forth your hand against the lad, nor do anything to him, for now I know that you are a God-fearing man, for you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me.”

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Bava Batra 15b.

TT lemma: ירא אלהים.

Sefaria — Bava Batra 15b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
ירא אלהים. א"ר יוחנן, גדול הנאמר באיוב יותר ממה שנאמר באברהם, דאלו באברהם כתיב כי ירא אלהים אתה, ובאיוב כתיב איש תם וישר ירא אלהים וסר מרע.

English: “A God-fearing man.” Rabbi Yochanan said: Greater is that which is said of Iyov than that which is said of Avraham. Of Avraham it is written, “for you are a God-fearing man,” while of Iyov it is written, “a man whole-hearted and upright, God-fearing and turning away from evil.”

On the daf / in context: The fuller description of Iyov’s character is noted as quantitatively greater, though both are called God-fearing.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. Comparative reading of epithets measures relative praise.

What Is Learned

The description of Iyov as “whole-hearted, upright, God-fearing and turning from evil” is more expansive than the description of Avraham as simply “God-fearing.”