וַיִּקְחוּ אֶת לוֹט וְאֶת רְכֻשׁוֹ בֶּן אֲחִי אַבְרָם וַיֵּלֵכוּ... וַיָּבֹא הַפָּלִיט וַיַּגֵּד לְאַבְרָם הָעִבְרִי -- And they took Lot, the nephew of Avram, and his possessions and left...And the runaway brought the news to Avram the Ivri. (Genesis 14:12, 13)
Modern translations define 'the Ivri/הָעִבְרִי' as “the Hebrew,” and, in fact, this use of the word is the origin of name for the language of the Bible – Hebrew. But, what does the word mean? The root letters ע.ב.ר have the meaning of 'to cross,' 'to pass,' 'to traverse' – each meaning can be seen as applicable to Avraham who crosses the River Euphrates on his journey to the Land of Canaan. And yet, Avraham is only referred to as Ivri when described in the perspective of a non-Israelite....the runaway. Either by his appearance or by his reputation of practice is Avraham identified as different. There is one more possibility of explanation as to why the runaway labels Avraham the Ivri: one who transgresses the law is an עברין – an offender of social norms.
