Patriarchs

Patriarchs

  • Submitted By: zjbobic
  • Date Submitted: 04/21/2012 1:49 PM
  • Category: Religion
  • Words: 1574
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UNIT 1 - INTRODUCING THE OLD TESTAMENT LESSON 3 THE PATRIARCHS

From the broad canvas of the beginnings of world history, we turn to the beginnings of redemption. God's redemptive purposes for mankind were to be concentrated on a single nation, and the beginnings of that nation must now be traced. In the stories of the Patriarchs, ("Fathers" or "rulers of a family or tribe", in this case, referring specifically to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph), we find the anticipation of the nation Israel, through God's promises to Abraham and their later repetition to the other patriarchs. In the 19th century, some scholars expressed doubts about whether the Patriarchs had ever lived, and about the reliability of the stories concerning them in Genesis. In the present century, archaeologists have made discoveries which support the picture Genesis gives of life in the Patriarchal era. Particularly interesting are the Nuzu tablets, which were discovered in 1925 at Nuzu in Northern Iraq. These tablets date from the 15th century B.C. In them, we find recorded many domestic incidents similar to those in Genesis. One tablet reveals that at Nuzu, childless people could adopt a son as their heir, but if a natural son was born to them, after the adoption, the latter became the heir (cf. Genesis 15). The childless Sarah's action in giving her handmaid Hagar, to Abraham as a second wife (Genesis 16), is reflected in another tablet. Relationships between Esau and Jacob, and Laban and Jacob, are also illuminated by these tablets. For additional reading, consult the article "Archaeology" in the New Bible Dictionary. Also John Bright, "The History of Israel" page 63. The Christian is prepared to accept the Biblical record as trustworthy. What the above evidence does, is to give support to the text of Genesis by showing that the domestic incidents recorded concerning the Patriarchs, fit naturally into the period about 2,000 to 1,500 B.C. In no sense does archaeology "prove" the Bible, but...

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