UR OF THE CHALDEANS -
When in 1923 the English archaeologist Sir Charles Leonard Woolley began the excavations at Tell el-Maqayyar in Southern Mesopotamia, he had no doubt that the city he was bringing to light was Ur of the Chaldeans where, according to Genesis, Abraham was born. It had been the capital of one of the earliest and most cultured civilisations on earth, that of the Sumerians. It faded away at the end of the third millennium B.C. and exhibited a level of civilisation and refinement of customs not discovered in any other Middle-Eastern excavation sites in the area.
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To what locality does Genesis refers as Ur of the Chaldeans? The fact that the name is always accompanied by the modifier "of the Chaldeans" would seem to indicate that other "Urs" exist. However, since the only "Chaldeans" known to history are those of Babylon, it would seem that there can be no alternative but to conclude that Ur of the Chaldeans is in reality Ur of the Sumerians.
There are, however, various contrasting elements associated with this conclusion....
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The chronological frame of the Bible -
If it we accept that the leading figures in the Bible were in no way different from their contemporaries, it seems obvious that the most reliable criterion for studying the Pentateuch chronology is that based on the genealogy of those biblical characters; such a criterion is objective, verifiable and cannot be manipulated. It also offers the advantage of not requiring any interpretative effort, since we can accept the biblical text literally while heeding the warning regarding numbers.
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The genealogical lists, therefore, can be used to reconstruct Pentateuch times, by considering the generations in the same way as the growth-rings of tree-trunks (see fig. 2). By connecting together different genealogical lists in which the same persons appear, complete and reliable sequences from Abraham to the kings of Israel (the existence of whom can be accepted without reservation and dated with sufficient reliability), can be obtained.
Obviously, this method cannot guarantee absolute precision; but, if the genealogical sequences are not excessively long, any possible errors are sufficiently bounded and in any case do not exceed a few decades. This criterion, therefore, is quite sufficient to set with reasonable certainty the historical period in which the biblical events occur.
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WHO WAS ABRAHAM? - Abraham was born about two hundred and sixty years before the death of Rameses II, that is, within a period of time from the end of the reign of Tuthmosis II to the beginning of the reign of Tuthmosis III. In those times the Bedouins were numerous and often mentioned in Egyptian chronicles as "Sashu". They were by definition "the men who live on the sand". This appellative automatically excludes them from any relationship with Abraham, Isaac or Jacob, ... (read more)
TAREH ABRAHAM's FATHER -
The conclusions reached regarding the identity of Abraham do not match in any way with the classic figure of the unskilled bedouin, wandering in a never-ending search of pastures for his wretched herd of goats. According to the indications given by Genesis he was, on the contrary, the son of a great Mesopotamian prince; he came to settle in territory that was part of the Egyptian Empire, having been lured there by promises made by a Pharaoh. He later became a rich owner of livestock. So who in reality was Abraham? Also, who was this Pharaoh? Why did he make those promises? What in effect, did he promise him? To answer these questions it is obviously necessary to analyze the political situation and the historical events of that period.
First of all, let us establish what "nationality" Abraham and his family were, basing the investigation on the indications Genesis offers, reinforced with the knowledge of the area and the period in question, and what position or social level his family occupied in their place of origin.
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ABRAHAM IN PALESTINE - The Pharaoh, victorious, demanded concrete guarantees, such as the handing over of hostages, from the defeated Saushsha-Tar at Karkemish. Thus it was that Abraham took the road to Palestine, in the thirty-third year of Tuthmosis the Third's reign.
"So Abraham left Haran, as the Lord had told him. He was seventy-five. He took his wife Sarah, and his nephew Lot, his brother's son. They took with them all the possessions they had accumulated and the slaves they had acquired in Haran. They set out for the Land of Canaan and they arrived there. Abraham travelled through the land as far as the great tree of Moreh at Sechem. At that time the Canaanites were in that land. The Lord appeared to Abraham and said, 'This is the land I will give to you and to your offspring'. So in that place Abraham built an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him. From there he went on towards the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. Then he set out and continued towards the Negev" (Gen.12,6-9).What do these altars mean? ... (read more)
ABRAHAM'S INVESTITURE
During that period Tuthmosis III, while on his way to or coming back from one of his military campaigns in Asia, stopped over at Abraham's encampment. "That night Yahweh appeared to him and said, 'I am the God of your father. Do not be afraid, for I am with you and I will bless you(...). In that place (Abraham) built an altar and worshipped God. There he pitched his tent and there his servants dug a well" (Gen.26,23-25). The place is Beersheba, in the high valley of Gerar, along the road that unites Egypt with Palestine. It was here that Tuthmosis met Abraham and sealed a pact with him; this is confirmed by the altar raised there, the usual witness to an agreement. The verse at Genesis 26,23 emphasizes the fact that the meeting, for some unknown reason, took place at night.
What happened that night? What were the exact terms of the agreement? The answers to these questions are to be found in Genesis 15: "'I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land, to take possession of it.'
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THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE SYRIAN KINGS - Hebron, situated among the hills in a wooded area, breezy and fresh, was probably Abraham's summer residence. During the winter he went back to Beersheba in the desert, where the climate was milder. So it must have been at the beginning of the hot season, when Abraham, in Hebron, received the news that Sodom had been sacked and Lot kidnapped. It had all started with a raid by "Amphrafel, king of Shinar, Arioch, king of Ellasar, Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goiim. These kings went to war against Bera, king of Sodom, Birsha, king of Gomorrah, Shinab, king of Admah, Shember, king of Zeboyim, and Zoar, king of, Bela. All these latter kings joined forces in the Siddim valley. They were five kings against four. The Siddim valley was then full of tar pits, and when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them, and the others fled to the hills. The victors seized all Sodom and Gomorrah’s goods and all their food, then left. They also carried off Abraham's nephew, Lot, and his possessions since he was living in Sodom. One escaped and reported this to Abraham, the Hebrew, who was living near the great trees of Mamre, the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abraham. When Abraham heard that his nephew was taken captive, he armed 318 of his trained servants, all born in his own house, and went in pursuit of these kings as far as Dan. Abraham divided his men into groups and during the night defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He recovered all the goods and brought back Lot and his possessions, together with the women, and the other people" (Gen. 14,1-16). ... (read more)
HAGAR -
"After this the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision: 'Do not be afraid, Abraham. I am your shield, your very great reward.' But Abraham said, 'O Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless? Now I am about to die and a servant in my household will be my heir.'" (Gen. 15,1-4).
An obvious problem for the newly-elected prince was how to procure a legal heir; in spite of all efforts, "Sarah, wife of Abraham, had not been able to give him children. But she had an Egyptian slave-girl named Hagar, so Sarah said to Abraham, 'The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maid servant; perhaps I can build a family through her.' Abraham accepted her suggestion. When Sarah gave her husband the slave-girl, Hagar the Egyptian, they had been living in the land of Canaan for ten years." The campaign against the four rebel princes had just ended.
Who was this Hagar? The term "slave" is certainly not appropriate.
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JACOB IN MESOPOTAMIA - Jacob arrived in Haran and followed his parents’ instructions to choose a wife from among his uncle Laban’s daughters. The details of his meeting with Rachel on the outskirts of the city are given in Genesis 29 2-12. This story is a “love at first sight” classic, and justifies the preference, which according to the narrator, the Patriarch showed for the younger of his two wives. It is the type of anecdotal love story that popular fancy loves to dwell on, often embellishing the facts with fanciful details. This particular story relates events that probably happened quite differently or in another epoch. When Jacob arrived in Haran, in fact, Rachel could not have been more than six to eight years old. ... (read more)
THE FLIGHT FROM HARAN -
After twenty years Jacob fled from Mesopotamia to return to Canaan. He must have worked out a plan in advance, that would permit him to leave Haran without leaving behind the fruits of twenty years' work. There were two major obstacles to the realization of his plan. The first concerned Laban and his relatives, who certainly had no interest in allowing Jacob to take all that accumulated wealth out of Mesopotamia, and who would have done everything possible to prevent him from doing so. The second and by far more serious obstacle was Esau, who hated his brother. It was expected that he would try to avenge himself in some way or at least prevent Jacob's return to Palestine, where he would be able to claim the rights to Isaac's heritage. This was, in fact, the unsolved bone of contention between the two brothers.
The plan, that Jacob put into effect to avoid the first of these two obstacles, was simple and can be reconstructed precisely on the basis of the account.
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Jacob’s meeting with his brother Esau -
Before beginning an examination of Jacob's time in Palestine, it is of interest to analyze an episode which has had a fundamental influence upon the subsequent fate of Israel. Laban was the first obstacle Jacob encountered along the track to Palestine but he overcame that fairly easily, without much trouble. The nature of the second obstacle, Esau, was very different and Jacob could expect a far greater reprisal from him. Eloquent proof of this is the drastic change of tone in Genesis between the two episodes. Laban, after all, was the father of Jacob's wives and grandfather of his children. However badly Jacob may have behaved towards him, the most he would have likely suffered at the hands of his father-in-law would have been economic sanctions. He would certainly have had no fear for his life or those of his children; in fact, he discussed the matter with Laban as an equal. He quarreled, shouted, answered the charges with counter-charges, and finally he concluded a covenant without ceding so much as a goat. Rachel did not even stand up when her father came into her tent.
Jacob's behavior in the subsequent episode was a far different story. Regarding Esau, he was panic-stricken; he did nothing to hide his anguish. He prayed. He was desperate. He gave away a fortune, immense for those times, with no guarantees. He even prostrated himself on the ground, together with his wives and children, muttering excuses, humbly imploring. Without doubt it was the worst and most critical moment of his life.
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THE STRUGGLE WITH THE ANGEL -
Before the meeting with Esau, Jacob was the protagonist in a mysterious episode that biblical scholars usually try to explain in a symbolical-magical way: “So Jacob was left alone, and an angel wrestled with him till daybreak. When he saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip, so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with him. Then the man said: 'Let me go, for it is daybreak.' Jacob replied, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me'. The man asked him, 'What is your name?' 'Jacob,' he answered. Then the angel said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with Elohim and with men and you have overcome.’” (Gen 32, 24-28).
It is quite clear from the context that this is the description of an event which really happened. An accurate analysis of the text can help us understand what really occurred. Beginning with the time and place of the event, we find it happened immediately prior to Jacob's meeting with Esau, at Peniel, on the right bank of the Jabbock.
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JACOB MOVES FROM PALESTINE TO EGYPT -
Jacob's sojourn in Palestine was a prosperous period of tranquillity, marked almost exclusively by the usual family vicissitudes that span the life of every person...births, deaths, the stories of children and so on, which will be briefly summarized here.
As soon as he left Esau, Jacob crossed the Jordan ford and made his way to the small Palestine tribe that was waiting for him, perhaps at Bethel. Then, for him began the daily routine of a wealthy livestock owner, whose flocks and herds were taken to pasture by sons and servants in central Palestine. This was an area roughly corresponding to that which, following Joshua’s conquest, was to become the domain of Ephraim and Benjamin.
It was during these first years that the escapade of Reuben and Bilhah occurred, which was to cost Reuben his birthright.
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THE ADVENTUROUS LIFE OF JOSEPH -
Jacob was born during Amenhophis the Third's twelfth or thirteenth year of reign and that he moved to Egypt 67 years later, give or take 2 years. Over this great span of time, the following Pharaohs came to the throne of Egypt: Akenhaton, Smenkare, Tutankhamen, Ay and Haremhab. The length of the reigns of Tutankhamen, Ay, and Haremhab are not known with certainty, and the duration of the co-regency of Amenhophis the Third and Akenhaton is one big question mark--some historians do not even consider it, while C. Aldred gives it as much as eleven years. Biblical data are consistent with this second theory, to which we also adhere. The story of Joseph, therefore, occurs during the reign of Haremhab.
Haremhab was a soldier, not of royal blood, who had spent most of his career in the Asian provinces of the Empire. When he took over the throne, he swept away corrupt functionaries and those associated with the previous pro-Hittite policy, installing new men, some of whom came from these Asian provinces. This is exactly what happens in the story of Joseph, wherein high-ranking officials are put on trial and a non-Egyptian is raised to a position of authority.
It does not seem, however, that the two events can be seen as related to each other because of a time gap which is difficult to justify.
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THE TRUE STORY OF ESAU -
In Genesis 32, 11 Jacob affirms that he “had only his staff when he crossed the Jordan” to get to Haran. This means that he possessed nothing and that all his wealth was accumulated in Mesopotamia. The fact that he was destitute is proven not only by the foregoing quotation but also by the fact that he had to pay for his wives, working for his father-in-law without pay. This happened only to penniless people, who could offer nothing else.
So what about the highly praised birthright and the nomination to universal heir? To whom was Isaac's immense wealth and property left? Genesis is careful to avoid this subject, but in view of the circumstances, it is not difficult to understand how things turned out. Let us turn back to the moment of Jacob’s blessing. Esau was the firstborn and considered himself the legal heir; he was also a very proud man. It may be that the loss of material goods was less important for him than the intolerable situation of having to serve his younger brother. Bursting into tears, he implored, “Do you have only one blessing, father? Bless me too, my father!” (Gen 27, 36). Clearly he was not calling for words of comfort, but more down-to-earth things such as a heritage--a piece of land however small, where he could live as his own master without the humiliation of having to bow to his brother's will.
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REBEKAH AND DEBORAH -
Not all Esau's relatives and subjects followed him to Seir. Certainly some of his people went in the opposite direction, to Central Palestine, presumably finding asylum with princes of Mithani origin; these included the previously mentioned Abdi-Khepah, Lord of Salem (Jerusalem), and another Aryan, Birashshena, lord of Shechem. An indication that this happened lies in the fact that Deborah, Rebekah's “nurse,” rejoined Jacob right after his return to Palestine; surely she was accompanied by others as well.
It is very significant that Deborah was close to Rebekah; this circumstance gives us an idea, not completely unfounded, of what Rebekah did after her favorite son departed. She was a highly capable and energetic woman who apparently played an influential role in the governing of the principality before her husband died.
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