Who Was Abraham and Where Did he Come from? A Few Remarks on Potential Traces of the Abrahamic Tradition
Janusz Adam Lemański
Wydział Teologiczny Uniwersytet Szczeciński , PolandAbstract
Who was the "historical" Abraham and where did he come from? It is difficult to find an unambiguous answer to these questions. The article focuses on analyzing the Egyptian text from the time of Sheshonq I which mentions a place sometimes identified as "Abram's field / fort." However, this interpretation is pointed out as being uncertain and even very questionable. The next two points of analysis are biblical texts (Deut 26:5a; Gen 11:27-32). The names of Abraham's family members are toponymic (male) or symbolic (female), constituting female nicknames associated with the worship of the moon god. Their analysis suggests the region of Charan, between the Euphrates and Habur rivers, where the worship of the moon god was very popular. These areas were previously inhabited by the Amorites, and then by the Arameans. The article concludes that the "historical" Abraham may have come from the vicinity of Charan and had Amorite roots, while identification with the Arameans was only a typological element resulting from the experience of the same fate (deuteronomist). It was only later reinterpreted in favor of Jacob (cf. Gen 46:1-7), and finally in favor of Abraham in the final edition.
Keywords:
Abraham, historicity, patriarchs, Sheshonq, CharanReferences
Aharaoni, Y., The Land of the Bible. A Historical Geography (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press 1979).
Aḥituv, Sh., Canaanite Toponyms in Ancient Egyptian Documents (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University 1984).
Albright, W.F., Od epoki kamiennej do chrześcijaństwa (tł. E. Zwolski) (Warszawa: Pax 1967).
Altmann, P.A., „Feast, Femine and History: The Festival Meal Topos and Deuteronomy 26,1-15”, Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 124 (2012) 555-567.
Andersen, K.T., „Noch einmal: Die Chronologie von Israel und Juda”, Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 3/1 (1989) 1-45.
Beek, M.A., „Das Problem des aramäisches Stammvaters (Deut XXVI 5)”, Oudtstamentische Studien 8 (1950) 193-212.
Beitzel, B.J., „The Old Assyrian Caravan Road in the Mari Royal Archives”, Mari in Retrospect. Fifty Years of Mari and Mari Studies (red. G.D. Young) (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns 1992) 35-57.
Berlejung, A., „Geschichte und Religionsgeschichte des antiken Israels”, Grundinformation Altes Testament (red. J.C. Gertz) (Göttngen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2006) 59-192.
Blenkinsopp, J., Abraham. The Story of a Life (Grand Rapids, MI – Cambridge: Eerdmans 2015).
Blum, E., Die Kompositon der Vätergeschichte (WMANT 57; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener 1984).
Bowman, R.A., „Arameans, Aramaic, and the Bible”, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 7 (1948) 65-90.
Brandscheidt, R., Abraham. Glaubenswanderschaft und Opfergang des von Gott Erwählten (Würzburg: Echter 2009).
Breasted, J.H., „The Earliest Occurrence of the Name of Abraham”, American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 21 (1904) 22-36.
Breasted, J.H., „The ‘Field of Abram’ in the Geographical List of Sheshonk I”, Journal of the American Oriental Society 31/3 (1911) 290-295.
Buber, M., „The Prayer of the First Fruits”, On the Bible (red. N. Glatzer) (New York: Schocken 1968), 122-130.
Buccellati, G., The Amorites of the Ur III Period (Pubblicazioni del Seminario di Semitistica, Richerche 1; Naples: Istituto Orientale di Napoli 1966).
Buccellati, G., „From Khana to Lagê: The End of Syro-Mesopotamia”, De la Babylonie à la Syrie, eu passant par Mari. Mélanges offerts à J-R. Kupper (red. Ö. Tunca (Liège: Université de Liège 1990) 229-253.
Christensen, D.L., Deuteronomy 21:10-34:12 (WBC 6B; Nashville, TN: Nelson 2002).
Dossin, G. – Jean, Ch.-F. (red), Archives epistolaires de Mari (Archives Royales de Mari 26/1.2; Paris: Librairie Oriemtaliste Guetner 1988).
Durrand, J.-M., „Réalités amorrites et traditions bibliques”, Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale 92 (1998) 3-39.
Finkelstein, I. – Römer Th., „Comments on the Historical Background of the Abraham Narrative. Between ‘Realia’ and ‘Exegetica’”, Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel 3 (2014) 3-32.
Fleming, D.E., „Mari and the Possibilities of Biblical Memory”, Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale 92 (1998) 41-78.
Frayne, D., „In Abraham’s Footsteps”, The World of the Aramaeans. Biblical Studies in Honour of Paul-Eugène Dion (red. M. Daviau – J.W. Wevers – M. Weigl) (Sheffield: Academic Press 2001) I, 216-236.
Gelb, I.J., „The Early History of the West Semitic Peoples”, Journal of Cuneiform Studies 15 (1961) 27-47.
Gibson, J.C.L., „Light from Mari on the Patriarchs”, Journal of Semitic Studies 7 (1962) 44-62.
Gibson, J.C.L., „Observations on Some Important Ethnic Terms in the Pentateuch”, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 20 (1961) 217-238.
Godd, C.J., „Inscribed Prisms of Sargon II from Nimrud”, Iraq 16 (1954) 173-201.
Grabbe, L.L., Ancient Israel. What Do We Know and How Do We Know It (New York – London: Continuum 2007).
Hayes, J.H. – Hooker, P.K., A New Chronology for the Kings of Israel and Judah (Atlanta, GA: Knox 1988).
Hendel, R., Remembering Abraham. Culture, Memory, and History in the Hebrew Bible (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2005).
Herzog, Z., „Tel Beersheba”, The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (red. E. Stern) (New York: Simon & Schuster 1993) I, 167-173.
Hoch, J.E., Semitic Words in Egyptian Texts of the New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 1994).
Huffmon, H.B., Amorite Personal Names in the Mari Texts: A Structural and Lexical Study (Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press 1965).
Janowski, B. – Wilhelm, G. (red.), Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testament. Neue Folge, (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus 2005-2006) II-III (= TUAT NF).
Jericke, D., Die Ortsangaben im Buch Genesis. Ein historisch-topographischer und literarisch-topographischer Kommentar (FRLANT 248; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2013).
Kitchen, K.A., The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100-650 B.C.E.) (Warminster: Aris & Phillips 1986).
Köckert, M., Vätergott und Väterverheissungen: Eine Auseinandersetzung mit Albrecht Alt und seinen Erben (FRLANT 142; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 1988).
Köckert, M., „Wie wurden Abraham- und Jakobüberlieferung zu einer «Vätergeschichte» verbunden?”, Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel 3 (2014) 43-66.
Koehler, L. et al. (red), Wielki słownik hebrajsko-polski i aramejsko-polski Starego Testamentu (Warszawa: Vocatio 2008) I-II (=KBL).
Kratz, R.G., „Die Verheissungen an die Erzväter. Die Konstruktion ethnischer Identität Israels”, The Politics of the Ancestors (red. M.G. Brett – J. Wöhrle) (FAT 124; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2018) 35-66.
Kreuzer, S., Die Frühgeschichte Israels in Bekenntnis und Verkündigung des Alten Testaments (BZAW 178; Berlin – New York: de Gruyter 1989).
Kyle, M.G., „The ‘Field of Abram’ in the Geographical List of Shoshenq I”, Journal of the American Oriental Society 31/1 (1911) 86-92.
Kwiatkowski, B., Poczet faraonów. Życie, legenda, odkrycia (Warszawa: Iskry 2002).
Lemański, J., „Abraham versus Jakub”, Collectanea Theologica 88/4 (2018) 35-51.
Lemański, J., Księga Rodzaju. Rozdziały 1-11 (NKB.ST 1/1; Częstochowa: Święty Paweł 2013).
Lemański, J., Księga Rodzaju. Rozdziały 11,27-36,43 (NKB.ST 1/2; Częstochowa: Święty Paweł 2014).
Lemański, J., „W poszukiwaniu tradycji o Izaaku”, Colloquia Theologica Ottoniana 2 (2013) 63-76.
Lemche, N.P., „Ḫabiru, Ḫapiru”, The Anchor Bible Dictionary (red. D.N. Freedman) (New York: Doubleday 1992) III, 6-10.
Lemche, N.P., The Israelites in History and Tradition (London – Loiusville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press 1998).
Lipiński, E., „Hittites et Hourittes dans la Bible”, The Biblical Annals 2/1 (2012) 9-25.
Lipiński, E., Studia z dziejów i kultury starożytnego Bliskiego Wschodu (Kraków: Nomos 2013).
Luckenbill, D.D., „The ‘Wandering Aramaean’”, American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 36 (1919-1920) 281-312.
Lundbom, J.R., Deuteronomy. A Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI – Cambridge: Eerdmans 2013).
Malamat, A., Mari and the Early Israelite Experience (Oxford: Oxford University Press 1989).
Mayes, A.D.H., Deuteronomy (Grand Rapids, MI – London: Eerdmans 1981).
Mazar, B., „The Campaign of Pharao Shishak to Palestine”, Volume du Congrès. International pour l’Étude de l’Ancien Testament, Strassbourg 1956 (VTSup 4; Leiden: Brill 1957) 57-66.
Mazar, B., „Pharaoh Shishak’s Campaign to the Land of Israel”, The Early Biblical Period: Historical Studies (red. S. Ahituv – B.A. Levine) (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society 1986) 39-50.
Mazar, A., Archaeology of the Land of the Bible 10,000-586 B.C.E. (New York: Doubleday 1990).
Morenz, L.D., „Reconsidering Sheshonk’s Emblematic List and His War in Palestine”, Moving across Borders. Foreign Relations, Religion and Cultural Interactions in the Ancient Mediterranean (red. P. Kosoulis – M. Magliveras) (OLA 159; Löwen: Peeters 2007) 101-118.
Mühling, A., „Blickt auf Abraham euren Vater”. Abraham als Identifikationsfigur des Judentums in der Zeit des Exils und des Zweiten Tempels (FRLANT 236; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 2011).
Murphy-O’Connor, J., Przewodnik po Ziemi Świętej, wyd. 2 (Warszawa: Vocatio 1999).
Negev, A. (red.), Encyklopedia archeologiczna Ziemi Świętej (tł. O. Zienkiewicz) (Warszawa: Da Capo 2002).
Nelson, R.D., Deuteronomy. A Commentary (Louisville, KY – London: Westminster John Knox Press 2002).
Nielsen, E., Deuteronomium (HAT 1/6; Tübingen: Mohr & Siebeck 1995).
Norin, S., „Ein Aramäer, dem Umkommen Nahe – ein Kontext der Forschung und Tradition”, Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 8 (1994) 87-104.
Noth, M., „Die Wege der Pharaonenheere in Palästina und Syrien: Untersuchungen palästinischen und syrischen Städte IV: Die Schoschenkliste”, Aufsätze zur biblischen Landes und Altertumskunde (red. H.W. Wolf) (BTG; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag 1971) 79-93.
Otto, E., Deuteronomium 23,16-34,12 (HThKAT; Freiburg – Basel – Wien: Herder 2017).
Pikor, W., Rola ziemi w przymierzu Boga z Izraelem. Studium historyczno-teologiczne Księgi Ezechiela (Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL 2013).
de Pury, A., „Abraham, the Priestly Writer’s ‘Ecumenical’ Ancestor”, Rethinking the Foundations. Historiography in the Ancient World and in the Bible. FS. J. Van Seters (red. S.L. McKenzie – Th. Römer) (BZAW 293; Berlin – New York: de Gruyter 2000) 163-181.
Rom-Shiloni, D., „When an Explicit Polemic Initiates a Hidden One: Jacob’s Aramaic Identity”, Words, Ideas, Worlds. FS Y. Amit (red. A. Brenner – F.H. Polak) (Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press 2012) 206-235.
Rose, M., 5. Mose. Teilband 2: 5 Mose 1-11 und 26-34. Rahmenstücke zum Gesetzeskorpus (ZBK.AT 5.2; Zürich: Theologischer Verlag 1994).
Rösel, H.N., Joshua (HCOT; Leuven – Paris – Walpole, MA: Peeters 2011).
Schneider, Th., Leksykon faraonów (Warszawa – Kraków: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN 2001).
Schüle, A., Israels Sohn – Jahwes Prophet. Ein Versuch zum Verhältnis von kanonischer Theologie und Religionsgeschichte anhand der Bileam-Perikope (Num 22-24) (ATM 7; München: LIT 2001).
Ska, J.-L., „Essai sur la nature et signification du cycle d’Abraham (Gn 11,27-25,11)”, Studies in the Book of Genesis. Literature, Redaction and History (BETL 155; Leuven: University Press 2001) 153-177.
Spiegelberg, W., Aegyptologische Randglossen zum Alten Testament (Strassburg: Schlesier & Schweikhardt 1904).
Thompson, T.L., The Historicity of the Patriarchs Narratives: The Quest for the Historical Abraham (BZAW 133; Berlin: de Gruyter 1974).
Tigay, J.H., Deuteronomy (JPS Torah Commentary; Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society 1996).
Van Seters, J., Abraham in History and Tradition (New Haven, CT – London: Yale University Press 1975).
de Vaux, R., The Early History of Israel (Philadelphia, PA: Westminister Press 1978).
Warzecha, J., Historia dawnego Izraela (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo UKSW 2005).
Weinfeld, M., The Promise of the Land (Barheley, CA: University of California Press 1993).
Weippert, M., Historisches Textbuch zum Alten Testament (Grundrisse zum Alten Testament 10; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck &Ruprecht 2010).
Wevers, J.W., Notes on the Greek Text of Deuteronomy (SBL.SCSS 39; Atlanta, GA: Scholars 1995).
Wilson, K.A., The Campaign of Pharao Shoshenq I into Palestine (FAT 2/9; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2005).
Wypych, S., Księga Jozuego (NKB.ST 6; Częstochowa: Święty Paweł 2015).
Zakovitch, Y., „‘My Father Was a Wandering Aramean’ (Deuteronomy 26:5) or ‘Edom Served My Father’?”, [w:] Mishneh Todah. Studies in Deuteronomy and Its Cultural Environment. FS. J.H. Tigay (red. N.S. Fox et al.) (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns 2009) 133-137.
Wydział Teologiczny Uniwersytet Szczeciński
prof. dr hab. Autor ponad 100 artykułów i 11 monografii, tym komentarzy naukowych do Księgi Rodzaju oraz Wyjścia, dwutomowego wprowadzenia do profetyzmu starotestamentalnego.
License
- Pursuant to the Act on Copyright and Related Rights of February 4, 1994, the Author of the publication grants to the Publisher of the journal „The Biblical Annals” e a non-exclusive and royalty-free license to use the Work submitted for publication, without time and territorial restrictions in the following fields of use:
a) record the Work and copy it by means of any technique (including printing and electronic recording) on all known data carriers (including IT, electronic and polygraphic), and in all IT systems (in particular those available online);
b) enter the Work into computer memory, disseminate the Work and its copies, as well as market the Work and its copies;
c) publicly perform, replay, display and screen the Work, as well as lend, rent and lease the Work and its copies;
d) make available, market and disseminate the Work and its copies via IT networks, and in particular via the Internet, including the promotion or advertising of the Work, the journal or the Publisher. - The Author shall further grant his/her consent for the Publisher to use and dispose of derivative works.
- The Publisher may sublicense the work.
- Third parties may use the articles and other materials containing the Works, or developed on the basis of the Works in line with the model Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (also referred to as CC BY 4.0).
