Abraham

The century of Abraham – the hundred years from his birth to the birth of his son and successor Isaac – was thus the century that witnessed the rise and fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur…..

In spite of numerous studies concerning Abraham , the fact remains that all we really know about him is what we find in the Bible . Belonging to a family that traced its ancestry to the line of Shem , Abraham – then called Abram – was the son of Terah , his brother being Harran and Nahor .When Harran died at an early age , the family was living in ” Ur of the Chaldees . ” There , Abram married Sarai ( later renamed Sarah ) .

Then ” did Terah take Abram his son and Lot his grandson , the son of Harrah , and Sarai his daughter – in- law the wife of Abram his son; and they left and went forth from Ur of the Chaldees to go to the land of Canaan ; and they went as far as Harran , and dwelt there . “
Because Abrahams family directly continued the line of Shem , Abraham has been considered a Semite , one whose background , cultural heritage , and language were Semitic .

And all the people of great Mesopotamia were descended of Shem , ” Semite ” and ” Sumerian ” alike .
Alfred Jeremias , a leading Assyriologist and professor of the history of religion at the Leipzig University , announced in the 1930 edition of his master work Das Alte Testament im Lichte des Alten Orients that ” in his intellectual makeup Abraham was a Sumerian . ” Abraham , he suggested , headed the Faithful whose reformation sought to raise Sumerian society to higher religious levels .

The Old Testament , in fact ( Genesis 17:1-16 ) , provides us with the time and manner in which Abraham was transformed from a Sumerian nobleman to a west Semitic potential , under a covenant between him and his God .

Amid a ritual of circumcision , his Sumerian name AB:RAM ( ” Father Beloved ” ) was changed to the Akkadian/Semitic Abraham ( ” Father of a Multitude of Nations ” ) and that of his wife SARAI ( ” Princess ” ) was adapted to the Semitic Sarah . It was only when he was ninety – nine years old that Abraham become a ” Semite . “

No explanation is given in the Bible for leaving Ur , and there is no time stated , but we can guess the answer , if we relate the departure to the events in the Mesopotamia in general , but Ur in particular. Though silent concerning Abrahams mission , the Old Testament is clear regarding his destination : Moving expeditiously to Canaan , Abraham and his wife ; his nephew Lot , and their entourage continued swiftly southward .
There was a stopover at Shechem , where the Lord spoke to Abraham . “

Then he removed from there to the Mount , and encamped east to Beth – El ; and he build there an altar to Yahweh and called the name of Yahweh . ” Beth – El , whose name meant ” Gods House ” – a site to which Abraham kept coming back – was in the vicinity of Jerusalem and its hallowed Mount , Mount Moriah ( ” Mount of Directing ” ) , upon whose Sacred Rock and the Ark of the Covenant wes placed when Solomon build the Temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem .

The century of Abraham – the hundred years from his birth to the birth of his son and successor Isaac – was thus the century that witnessed the rise and fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur…..

Subsequent narrative inform us that Abraham had military allies in the region and that his entourage included an elite corps of several hundred fighting men . The biblical term for them – Naar – has been variously translated as “retainer ” or simply ” young man ” ; but studies have shown that in Hurrian the word denoted riders or cavalrymen .In fact , recent studies of Mesopotamian texts dealing with military movements list among the men of the chariots and the cavalry LU.NAR ( ” Nar-men ” ) who served as fast riders .

We find an adentical term in the Bible ( 1 Samuel 30: 17 ) : after King David attacked an Amalekite camp , the only ones to escape were ” four hundred Ish-naar ” – literally , ” Nar-men ” or LU.NAR – ” who were riding the camels …

In describing Abrahams fighting men as Naar men , the Old Testament thus informs us that he had with him a corps of cavalrymen , in all probability camel riders rather than horsemen .

The emerging image of Abraham not as a shepherding nomad but as an innovative commander of royal descent may not fit the customary image of this Hebrew patriarch , but it is in accord with ancient recollection of Abraham .Thus , quoting earlier sources concerning Abraham , Josephus ( first century ad. ) wrote of him :

” Abraham reigned at Damascus , where he was a foreigner , having come with an army out of the land above Babylon ” from which , ” after a long time , the Lord got him up and removed from that country together with his men and he went to the land then called the land of Canaan but now the land of Judea . “

~ by vittidk on December 1, 2008.