Western Civ. 1-5: Hebrew history, from Abraham to Moses

Hebrew history, from  Abraham to Moses

    The biblical narrative of the patriarchs and the exodus is a highly compelling one from a historical perspective. The biblical narrative itself has religious significance and is known by Jew and Christian alike. In this blog, I hope to summarize this period of history for the reader while adding some notes to suggest the reliability of the text.

    The story of Abraham begins in the city of Ur, often wrongly translated as Ur of the Chaldeans. This is incorrect, however. Many scholars now believe Ur refers to the city of Ur-Kasdim, a city in southern Turkey.  The story continues with God promising him a son and imposing a covenant with Him. Abraham was to leave with his nephew lot and wife Sarah for the land of Cannan where they would found a great nation. After a season of waiting for this child, they become distraught and Abraham seeks to produce an heir through his slave Hagar. This union produces Ishmael. Later Issac is born and Ishmael is cast into the desert, allegedly founding the Arabic peoples. As the story continues God demands Abraham sacrifice his son, but provides a ram instead. This ram is the image of christ sacrificed for our sins. When his wife dies he buys a cave for burial in Hebron. at the end of his life, he sends his servant to find a wife among his own people, and he returns with Rebecca to marry Issac. 

    The life of Issac is less detailed, but the bible records him living in Cannan and becoming so wealthy he was driven out by the people around him. He also had diplomacy with the kings of the area. During a famine, he went to the philistines on the coast and relived the steps of his father before him. Much like Abraham, he told them she was his sister so they would not kill him over her beauty. After he became too wealthy in the land the philistines feared him and drove him away. He went to the valley of Gerar and dug three wells. Each time he dug a well he was forced off the land. Finally, he was allowed to camp. After that, he went to Beersheba and the covenant was reaffirmed. King Abimelech approached him and made peace there too. When he was old his son Esau married two Hittite women which grieved him and his wife much. 

    The story of Jacob begins with the birth of the twins. Sarah prays to God and he tells her she will birth two nations and the older will serve the younger. The Bible chronicles that Esau was born first and Jacob last. Jacob lived among the tents and Esau became a great hunter. After returning from the wilderness  Jacob extorted his brother out of a birthright for a bowl of stew. A few chapters later as Issac is blind on his deathbed he prepares to give his blessing to Esau, who is told to prepare a meal. Instead, Rebecca helps Jacob deceive his father and receive the right instead. In order to escape his brother Jacob flees to his uncle Laban beyond the Euphrates. On his way, he receives a vision from the lord and builds an altar. While he is with his uncle he spends 14 years laboring for his wives Rachel and Leah. After he left that land his brother found out and began looking for him. In order to save his family, he split his caravan into droves all as presents for his brother. After his family crossed over the Jabbock he was left alone and was forced to wrestle with a stranger all night. in the morning the man dislocated his hip and revealed he was God. Because of this, He praised God for this. Jacob was surprised to have a peaceful reunion with his brother. After going to live in Shechem the son of Hamor was so attracted to his daughter Dinah that he raped her. On account of this Hamor asked the sons of Jacob to intermarry with them so there would be no shame. In return, Jacob required them to be circumcised which they agreed to. On the third day after this occurred, the sons of Jacob rushed into the city, took back their sister, and killed every man there. this was a curse on the family. Jacob's name was changed to Israel after a few chapters. 

    When Israel had twelve sons he favored the youngest, Joseph. Joseph prophecied and was given a cloak, for these reasons his brothers hated him and sold him into slavery. In Egypt, he became the servant to the aristocrat Potepher, but was accused of rape and sent to prison. In prison, he became the warden's right-hand man and interpreted dreams for the prisoners. After a cupbearer to the Pharoah was pardoned Jacob was summoned to interpret a dream. Jacob predicted seven years of prosperity followed by a seven-year famine. Jacob was made the man second to the Pharoh and saved for the famine. During this time his brothers were sent to buy grain and return to their father. Through this Jacob was able to reveal himself to his brothers and was reunited with his father, who came to live in Egypt. 

    After 400 years in Egypt, there was a new pharaoh who made the descendants of the family slaves or at least pressed subjects in the region of Goshen. When all of the babies were ordered to be killed one boy was sent down the Nile by his mother to preserve them. this boy was Moses. He was adopted by the pharaoh's daughter as a prince but still took interest in his people. One day he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and killed him. He fled to the Negev desert to avoid punishment. He had a family there but one day God appeared to him in a burning bush that commanded him to deliver his people out of Egypt to the promised land. He returned to Egypt and demanded Pharoh let his people go. When Pharoh refused God sent ten plagues after which he relented. The Hebrews went away and crossed the dead sea into Sinia where they wandered for two generations. during that time Moses gave the law and the ten commandments. Moses' death marked the time for the Hebrews to enter the holy land.