Abraham - an attempt to test the kernel of truth in the biblical story

The story of Abraham, like all the other stories of the ancestors, is a collection of stories passed down from generation to generation, which were used by some of the tribes. In the period after the exile of the Kingdom of Israel by Assyria, the stories were concentrated and put in the mouths of three people, and to maintain the framework it is claimed that they were a chain of three generations (Abraham Yitzchak and Jacob)

introduction
According to the latest studies, such as those cited in Israel Finkelstein's book "The Beginning of Israel" and other sources, the story of Abraham, like all the other stories of the ancestors, is a collection of stories passed down from generation to generation, which were used by some of the tribes. In the period after the exile of the Kingdom of Israel by Assyria, the stories were concentrated and put in the mouths of three people, and to maintain the framework it is claimed that they were a chain of three generations (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob).
The proofreading in those days was not the most successful and thus there remained double stories, prominent anachronists (ages that don't make sense).

Abraham's story begins in Genesis chapter 26 10 and ends in chapter 75. Our knowledge of his personality and work begins with his departure from Haran, when he was 175 years old, and ends with his death, when he was XNUMX years old, and his burial in the Cave of the Patriarchs. In such a small number of chapters, there is no way to describe the full activity of Avraham in Israel. The way that scripture tries to convey its messages is through the description of episodes during his life. Examining the events while comparing them to each other raises quite a few questions, because some of them lack internal cohesion and some of them raise questions, because there is no internal logic in them.

The departure from Haran
The verse that stands out in all that has to do with his departure from Haran is the dramatic sentence in which God says to Abraham, "Go away from your country and your homeland and your father's house and go to the land that I will show you... And Abram went when Jehovah spoke to him, and Lot went with him, and Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran" (Genesis 4:1-32 ). Has he really left Haran? And why ask such a question? The doubt in these verses arises because of what was said in chapter 31, where it is said "And Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran his son and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram his son, and they went out with them from Ur Kasdim to go to the land of Canaan and he came as far as Haran" (7:XNUMX-XNUMX). This doubt gains more validity in light of God's words to Abraham: "I am the Lord who brought you out of the light of the Chaldeans to give you this land to inherit" (Tou XNUMX). Lanor had a stated intention to reach Canaan. He cut himself off from his country, his homeland and his father's house and went to the same place that was promised to Abraham. Did he have some kind of revelation that directed him to this goal, or did he have far-reaching goals that the scriptures do not refer to, and if so, why in chapter XNUMX was given a divine promise to Abraham, when he followed his father to that region of land.
In chapter 5 75 it is said: "And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son and all their possessions that they had acquired and the souls that they had made in Haran and they left to go to the land of Canaan and they came to the land of Canaan." The scripture tells us that Abraham made his fortune in Haran. Capital accumulation requires years of investment. How many years did it take him? For this we will return to chapter XNUMX, according to the narrator he left Haran when he was already married. The scripture says that Sarai was barren. A combination of data and conclusions provides a basis for a more than reasonable hypothesis, that Avraham stayed in Haran, which for his father was nothing more than a stopover, for decades. The knowledge that he was XNUMX years old when he left Mahran strengthens this hypothesis. Haran, then, could not under any circumstances be neither his homeland nor his father's house.

Sarah
How old was Sarah when Avraham arrived in Israel? In chapter 17 10 it is written that after God had promised him that his wife would give birth "And Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said in his white heart a hundred years will he be born, and if Sarah the daughter ninety years will she give birth?". The age difference between them is 65 years, so Sarah was 2 years old when they left Haran. Abraham and Sarah did not settle permanently in the land, but wandered throughout its length, but due to a severe drought they were forced to move to Egypt. This wandering journey, which lasted several years. And here the scripture tells something quite strange: the king of Egypt lusted after Sarah because of her beauty. She may have been really beautiful, but who would want to make love with an old woman and even more so, when it comes to a king. Kings in ancient times used to keep a harem and the pharaoh did not lack for beautiful young women to pamper him to sexual satisfaction. A similar story is told in chapter 90, about Abimelech Meler Gerer. With Abraham's arrival in Gerar, "And Abimelech the king of Gerar sent and took Sarah" (verse XNUMX). If these verses describe an event which chronologically occurred after the birth of Isaac, then Sarah is already over XNUMX years old. Did Abimelech lack women with whom he would like to get into bed? Why would he take a woman so old and older than him, who in terms of her age could have been his mother.
Regarding Sarah's inability to give birth, the scripture says two things. Already at the beginning of our acquaintance with Abraham, it was said that she was "barren, she had no child" (30:12), and when God gave Sarai a promise about the expected birth of a child, "And Abraham and Sarah will become old men in the days when Sarah will cease to be a guest of women and Sarah will laugh in her presence saying that after my period she was I have Edna and my master is old" (11:XNUMX-XNUMX). Sarah did not menstruate and as for Avraham, the scripture implies that he lost his virginity. As far as they were able to have offspring, their situation was quite bleak. In her youth, even if she wanted to, she could not conceive due to her infertility, but both of them could enjoy a normal sex life, and in their older years, both of them could no longer enjoy sex, since Abraham probably no longer had an erection.
At the same time, they both desired a child, the solution is found in the image of Sarah's slave girl, Hagar, and as the scripture indicates "And Sarai, Abram's wife, did not give birth to him, and she had an Egyptian slave girl named Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, Behold now, Jehovah, stop me from giving birth. Come, please, to my slave girl, maybe I will build from her and Abram will hear in the voice of a priest" (2-1). Her intention was to adopt the child that would be born. It is likely that this was a normative thing in antiquity. The obvious question is why this act was not done long before. Sarah probably had even less when they were in Ur Kasdim and Haran. Why then did she not take this step? This can be explained by two possibilities, one possibility that Abraham and Sarah still wanted a child and even several children of their own and without success. Only at the end of the years, after her period stopped and Abraham was also no longer young, he was 85 years old, they decided to help Hagar the slave. A second possibility is that Abraham did have at least one child, but it was in the period before their entry into the land, a period that the scriptures do not say anything about, and this is in the intention of the scriptures which wanted to show that the activity of the ancestors from Abraham onwards was all in the promised land. His son Yitzchak no longer has to leave his country, his homeland and his ancestral home.
The scripture tells us that Sarah was 127 years old when she died (1:137). Avraham was therefore 6 years old. After Sarah's death, Avraham took a wife named Ketura who bore him 2 children (Kah 1-12). A verse that raises questions in the light of what is said in chapter 6 5 in relation to Avraham's personality. The questioning is strengthened in chapter 175 verse 6-12: "And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac, and to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and he fought over Isaac his son while we were still alive, going forward to the land of old." The obvious questions here are four. First question, did the mistresses get pregnant from him as well? The figure of a strong man is depicted here, which does not agree with Sarah's allusion. A second question refers to a lesson from one of Ketura's sons: because "the son of Sheba and Didan and the sons of Didan were Assyrians and Tushes and Gentiles." Avraham had both grandsons and great-grandsons from Ketura, Ketura's mother was a young girl when Avraham took her as a wife, so he may have had time to see the young men as well, which in itself is probably impossible, after all Avraham was XNUMX years old when he died. Regarding Ketura Zemran's other children, Medin, Ishbak and Shoach, the scripture does not say anything, which raises the third question why does the scripture ignore them? A fourth question relates to chapter XNUMX: "And the sons of the concubines to whom Abraham gave gifts and fought over Isaac his son while we were still alive before to the land of old." Avraham naturally preferred Yitzchak, but in order to be fair to the children of his concubines, he compensated them with part of his property, he was clear that considering his extreme age his days were numbered and to prevent a war of succession he took this step, and he fought far and wide, so that no friction would arise in the future With Isaac, but where did he fight? Because according to the scripture Abraham was not in Canaan, but in the front, that is, to the east. The conclusion is that he fought much further east. Regarding Ishmael, Hagar's son, the scripture says: "And these are the accounts of Ishmael, son of Abraham, whom the Egyptian Hagar, Sarah's slave, bore to Abraham" (Ko XNUMX). And the next verse opens with the words "And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael". There is no concrete reference to Ishmael's life, what he did and when. why?
In chapter 1 67 it is written "And the life of Sarah will be one hundred years and twenty-seven years the years of Sarah's life." In chapter 40 XNUMX, Yitzchak introduces Rebekah to his mother and it is written "And Yitzchak brought Sarah his mother and took Rebekah and she became his wife and she loved him and Yitzchak comforted his mother." According to the chronological sequence, chapter XNUMX, which describes the journey of Abraham's servant to find a wife for Isaac, must be before chapter XNUMX. Because what does Isaac do, when Abraham's servant presents Rebecca to him? He introduces her to his mother and a short time later the mother passes away. According to the story, Yitzchak was XNUMX years old when he married Rebekah, a rather late age for that period, when they married at an early age, so he hurried to marry Rebekah even before his mother closed her eyes.

Abraham's attitude to human life
The picture that emerges regarding Avraham's attitude to life as a value in itself is not entirely clear. He knows how to confront God, because he will spare the lives of the inhabitants of Sodom, when it wants to be destroyed due to their sins. Avraham negotiates with him in relation to the minimum number of righteous people, thanks to whom the city will not be destroyed, and even comes out with a categorical call against him, that there is no such thing as "Will the righteous perish with the wicked?" (23 16). A call that resonates throughout history to this day. This is a debate that can testify to a basic humanistic approach inherent in his personality. He invested all his energy and strength when he heard that his brother Lot had been captured following a war that was going on in the Valley of the Palms, Abraham pursued Lot's captives as far as Damascus, and in his war with them he freed not only Lot personally but also everyone who was with him, and returned Lot's property (Yid 14-13). When he went down to Egypt and came in his wanderings to Hagar, he asked his wife to introduce herself as his sister, he hoped that in this way her life and his life would be saved. He takes a cunning way, his cunning is indeed revealed, but the kings of these places see to it that no harm befalls Sarah. After Isaac's birth, Sarah reveals her jealousy for fear that Ishmael will share the inheritance with Isaac. She demands that Avraham expel Hagar and Ishmael. Abraham was reluctant to do so, because after all it was about his son, but he agreed to it, after God reassured him that Hagar and Ishmael would not commit any evil, and that he too would be a great Gentile, since he came from his seed (XNUMX:XNUMX). Against all these, when God decides to test him and demands that he sacrifice his only son, Avraham responds without a hint of hesitation, Avraham does not argue, why? He knows how to confront God, in order to have mercy on strangers, even if they are not righteous. But when it comes to his only son, there is only silence and a willingness to carry out a cruel and impossible order? This ambivalent attitude towards the value of life raises serious questions. And perhaps the story of the Akedah was neither created nor created, but rather a parable for Abraham's faith in God.

Abraham's wanderings and fortune
As we have already seen, Abraham came out of Haran with a lot of property and he increased his property when he returned from Egypt as it is written "And Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and the lot with him was taken away, and Abram was very heavy in his wealth with silver and gold" (2-1). He did not sit a permanent session anywhere. His entire stay in Canaan was a wandering journey. He stayed in Alon Morah (6), from there he moved east to Bethel (8) to the Negev (9), and due to the famine that struck the land, he went down with his family to the Egyptians, upon his return to the land, crossed the Negev and camped between Bethel and the Hai ( 4 18), from there he moved to Eloni from Mera in Hebron (1 34), and went down south and lived between Kadesh and Shur in the land of Gerar (4 2), Tzafin and lived in the land of the Philistines (14 XNUMX). How do you manage to keep not only money, but also money and gold during so many wandering journeys, and the latter are more likely to be kept in a closed place that can be kept more efficiently. Lot, on the other hand, moved to a permanent residence (XNUMX-XNUMX-XNUMX), were they both motivated by personality differences that caused them to lead such different and even contradictory lifestyles? How did Avraham manage in his many wanderings to provide for the members of his household and they were many. A hint of the size of his house can be found in his pursuit of Kader'Omer to Damascus in order to free Lot, when Abraham heard of his brother's captivity "and he spat out his apprentices of the natives of his house, eighteen and three hundred, and he pursued as far as Dan" (Yid XNUMX).

Abraham's family
The scripture tells us that Abraham's father was Terah and that Terah had three sons, Abraham, Nahor and Haran. If this order expresses the order of their birth, Avraham was the eldest and the youngest among the brothers was Haran. In chapter 28 31 it is told about a tragedy that befell the family, "and Haran died in front of his father Terah". The family lost their oldest son. The cause of death is unknown. Haran had a son and two daughters and they are Lot, Malka and Viska. Nahor married his niece from Haran's side and she is a queen. Regarding Sarah's father's house, Abraham's wife, nothing was given. The only one from the family who remained in Aram Nahraim is Nahor (Yid 29), and this is where he built his home. The scripture says that Nahor had a son named Bethuel, and a grandson and a granddaughter, and they were Rebekah and Laban (15:12). The messenger who came on behalf of Abraham went all the way to Aram Narayim at the commandment of his Lord to find a wife for Abraham's son Isaac in the family circle. In the story of Abraham's life, we have two testimonies of intra-family marriages. We feel strongly here a strong desire to preserve the family framework, both in Canaan and in Aram Naharim, not to assimilate into the environment. This desire reaches extremes in the story of Lot. Lot received a warning from God to flee the city before it was destroyed, according to the story Lot had a wife, sons and two married daughters (31:38). Only part of the family survived the escape and they are Lot and the two daughters. Regarding the woman, the scripture says that she became a salt commissioner, and nothing is said about the sons and sons-in-law, which indicates that they perished. The girls were full of life, and their father was an old man. The eldest of his daughters said to her sister, "Our father is old and there is no one in the land to come to us like the way of the whole land" (31:XNUMX). The destruction was complete and no one was left alive. They take an unprecedented step, they make their father drunk with wine and sleep with him, each on a different night in order to conceive and give birth to children (XNUMX:XNUMX-XNUMX).

Hospitality customs at Avraham and Lot's
Both Abraham and Lot receive visitors. The reasons for their visit are different. Abraham's visitors are three people who come to inform him that his wife Sarah is about to give birth, and they come to warn Lot that he must leave Sodom as soon as possible before it is destroyed. The visit to Avraham opens with the verse "And the Lord looked at him with an oak from a mirror and he was sitting at the door of the tent like the heat of the day" (1:1). The visit to Lot opens with the verse, "And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening and Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom" (45:3). Both verses inform the reader about the meeting place and the time of the visit. With Avraham, the visit takes place at noon and with Lot, the visit takes place near sunset. Abraham is visited by three people and Lot is visited by two angels. Are these the same type of visitors, although with different names or different types of visitors and why Lot's visitors are informed of the news. From the moment Abraham notices the visitors, he runs towards them and bows before them, while Lot stands up in their honor and bows before them twice. Both ask the guests to enter their place of residence and honor them with the same customs of hospitality. Avraham asks them to "please take a little water and wash your feet and rest them under the tree, and take a mouthful of bread and feast your hearts after you pass, because that is why you have transgressed against your servant" (XNUMX:XNUMX), and asks for a favor to prepare a hearty meal for them. It is said about Lot, "And he made them a feast and unleavened bread and they ate" (XNUMX:XNUMX), the intriguing difference between Abraham and Lot is the unleavened bread. Matzos "meet" at the time of the Exodus when the Israelites did not have enough to prepare bread and instead baked matzos. What was it to Lot that he needed to hurry, what's more, the number of visitors was smaller than Abraham's visitors, and therefore the time to prepare the food was shorter? It is also possible that Lot's story was written down after the book of Exodus was written, which makes it possible to use the word matzot.
We read about a similar custom of welcoming guests in chapter 33, in which the welcome to Abraham's messenger is described in the house of his brother Nahor. This messenger came here to find a wife for Abraham's son Isaac. Nahur gave the messenger and those who came with him water to wash their feet and honored them with food (Kid 32-XNUMX).

Summary
As you can see, Abraham's life story is fragmented and full of chronological gaps, what's more, we know almost nothing about what he did in his first 75 years. The whole issue of the advanced age of Avraham and his wife and the circumstances in which his children were born from his wife Sarah and his families lacks any biological logic. The basic question that is asked is why Abraham was blessed with God's revelation and his father did not stay, who was on his way to the land of Canaan anyway. Abraham is depicted as a wealthy man with a high status among the peoples who lived in Canaan, but is this enough to justify the revelation he had. What was that stature that made him considered the father of the nation? It is possible that the creators of the Book of Genesis added original stories to each other and also appropriated other legends for the benefit of Abraham, in such a way that glorified his name far beyond its natural dimensions. Thus they created a larger-than-life figure, to create some kind of starting point for the people of Israel, as the one from whom everything began.