Now Abraham, at the command of God, was ordered by the angel Gabriel to
follow Nimrod to Babylon. He objected that he was in no wise equipped
to undertake a campaign against the king, but Gabriel calmed him with
the words: "Thou needest no provision for the way, no horse to ride
upon, no warriors to carry on war with Nimrod, no chariots, nor riders.
Do thou but sit thyself upon my shoulder, and I shall bear thee to
Babylon."
Abraham did as he was bidden, and in the twinkling of an eye he found
himself before the gates of the city of Babylon.[21] At the behest of
the angel, he entered the city, and he called unto the dwellers therein
with a loud voice: "The Eternal, He is the One Only God, and there is
none beside. He is the God of the heavens, and the God of the gods, and
the God of Nimrod. Acknowledge this as the truth, all ye men, women,
and children. Acknowledge also that I am Abraham His servant, the
trusted steward of His house."
Abraham met his parents in Babylon, and also he saw the angel Gabriel,
who bade him proclaim the true faith to his father and his mother.
Therefore Abraham spake to them, and said: "Ye serve a man of your own
kind, and you pay worship to an image of Nimrod. Know ye not that it
has a mouth, but it speaks not; an eye, but it sees not; an ear, but it
hears not; nor does it walk upon its feet, and there is no profit in
it, either unto itself or unto others?"
When Terah heard these words, he persuaded Abraham to follow him into
the house, where his son told him all that had happened—how in one day
he had completed a forty days' journey. Terah thereupon went to Nimrod
and reported to him that his son Abraham had suddenly appeared in
Babylon.[22] The king sent for Abraham, and he came before him with his
father. Abraham passed the magnates and the dignitaries until he
reached the royal throne, upon which he seized hold, shaking it and
crying out with a loud voice: "O Nimrod, thou contemptible wretch, that
deniest the essence of faith, that deniest the living and immutable
God, and Abraham His servant, the trusted steward of His house.
Acknowledge Him, and repeat after me the words: The Eternal is God, the
Only One, and there is none beside; He is incorporeal, living,
ever-existing; He slumbers not and sleeps not, who hath created the
world that men might believe in Him. And confess also concerning me,
and say that I am the servant of God and the trusted steward of His
house."[23]
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]