The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)Patriarchs and Matriarchs

The Family Tree

(c. 2100-1700 BC)

Hagar + Abram(Abraham) + Sarai (Sarah)

Ishmael Esau Isaac +

Rebekah

Leah (and Zilpah) + Jacob(Israel) + (Bilhah and)

Rachel

Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dinah Dan,

Napthali Issachar, Zebulun, Gad,

Asher Joseph, Benjamin

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)

Tribal nomads

Nomads vs. Farmers

Life in the Fertile Crescent c. 1800 BCziggurats, calendar, astrology

1st Babylonian Empire: Hammurabi

For more info:chttp://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/03/wam/ht03wam.htm

http://visav.phys.uvic.ca/~babul/AstroCourses/P303/mesopotamia.html

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)

Names of God

El – god, singular, family/tribal protector

Elohim – god, plural (royal form)

El Shaddai – god of the heights, God Most High

YHWH – proper name of Israelite god, unpronounced

Adonai – LORD, used to refer to YHWH

At the time of the patriarchs/matriarchs the Israelites

worshipped only YHWH but still accepted that there

were other gods.

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)

The Formation of the Pentateuch

c. 1800-1400 lived experiences, tribal period c. 1400 – 1200 lived experiences, Egyptian

sojourn, early oral cycles c. 1200-1000 lived experiences, settlement period,

continued oral traditions, earliest written texts

c. 1000-600 continuing oral tradition, J & E textual traditions develop (scribes)

c. 600 Deuteronomist , continuing textual development (scribes)

c. 550-500 Priestly tradition weaves together extant

textual traditions c. 500-300 final redaction of textual

traditon

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)

The Covenant in Gen. 11.27-12.3

“Go . . . I will make you a great nation . . . and I will bless you”

Name changesExtreme AgeWhere is Ur?

IronyBlessings and Curses

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)

Back to the Family Tree

Gen. 16 Sarah and Hagar

The curse of barrenness

Surrogate motherhood, a revered tradition

The significance of names

Narrative as tribal memory

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)

The Covenant of CircumcisionGen. 15 & 17

Hittite suzerainity pacts

Blood rituals

Why circumcision?

Abraham's faith

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)

The Birth of Isaac Gen. 18.1-15, 21.1-8

Hospitality

Divine messengers

Sarah's laughter

Sarah's beauty

Abraham's character

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)

Sodom & Gomorrah / Hagar & Ishmael Gen. 18.16-19.38 Gen. 21.9-

21

Lot's family

The sins of Sodom

Narratives of tribal memory Related but

Other

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)

The Testing of Abraham / The Binding of Isaac

Gen. 22.1-14

Your son, your only son, the one whom you love

Child sacrifice in the Ancient Levant

Redemption

The Role of Isaac

The Death and Burial of Sarah

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)

Isaac and RebekahGen. 24

Eliezar the servant of Abraham

RebekahMaiden at the Well

Laban, the avaricious brother

His mother's tent

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)

Jacob and EsauGen. 25.19-34, 27.1-45

Struggle in the Womb

Birthright traded

The stolen blessing

Another narrative of tribal memory

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)

Jacob becomes IsraelGen. 28.10-29.30, 32.22-33

Laban

Leah

Rachel

Concubines

Jacob's visions: Bethuel and Peniel

The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures)

The Joseph Narrative CycleGen. 37, 39-47

Jealous brothers: robe, dreams, slavery

Joseph the Slave

Joseph, Lord of Egypt

Israel comes to Egypt

The Hyksos