Abraham

[Tom 1]

Hello - anyone here with particular views regarding what period of the Sumerian civilisation Abraham lived in? It’s something I’ve just started looking into and there are a few different theories

Tom

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

Abraham is said to come from Ur of the Chaldees.

Ur was at its height during Ur III period, the Neo-Sumerians. This seems the most plausible on Biblical timelines for Abraham, if we are to argue for his historicity. His name seems West Semitic, not Eastern though. There is old Sumerian artwork depicted a ram caught in undergrowth, so older cultural currents are also at play here.

 

[Tom 1]

His name seems West Semitic, not Eastern though.

Thanks for your response - what is the significance of this do you think?

I also wonder to what extent some
degree of faith in or knowledge about the one true God was passed on from Noah through to Terah over the generations. I know there are some people who believe that the genealogy in Genesis 11 is literal, i.e that Noah and Shem for example were still alive in Abraham’s day, which seems unlikely. I tend to agree with the idea that this is a representative genealogy, with the number 10 as in 10 generations being symbolic in some way. That said it doesn’t seem too much of a stretch to think that Terah had at least some idea that had been passed on about the God of his fathers.

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

Thanks for your response - what is the significance of this do you think?

I also wonder to what extent some
degree of faith in or knowledge about the one true God was passed on from Noah through to Terah over the generations. I know there are some people who believe that the genealogy in Genesis 11 is literal, i.e that Noah and Shem for example were still alive in Abraham’s day, which seems unlikely. I tend to agree with the idea that this is a representative genealogy, with the number 10 as in 10 generations being symbolic in some way. That said it doesn’t seem too much of a stretch to think that Terah had at least some idea that had been passed on about the God of his fathers.

Abraham and much of the patriarchal narrative is highly Aetiological in nature. As such, it is difficult to separate the historical from it and establish a timeframe. Even if we are to look for an historical person, he would not appear as "Abraham" in records. Abraham as 'Father of Multitudes' would likely be a later form within the stories of the West Semitic peoples.

 

[Erik Nelson]

www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/766977/jewish/Is-There-Evidence-of-Abrahams-Revolution.htm

 

[Tom 1]

Thanks all for the info