The historicity of the patriarchal narratives : the quest for the historical Abraham / Thomas L. Thompson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thompson, Thomas L., 1939-

Language:

English

German

Subjects (All):

Bible. Genesis.

Patriarchs (Bible).

Bible. Genesis--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Bible.

Physical Description:

x, 392 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Harrisburg, Pa. : Trinity Press International, [2002]

Summary:

This is a Book that has helped change the relationship between archaeology and biblical scholarship. In it, Thomas Thompson takes on a number of widely accepted arguments and proposes that archaeology can never be used to validate biblical stories. Thompson -- one of the most vocal and respected critics of biblical archaeology -- challenges the approach of archaeologists who go to the field, a copy of the Bible in hand, seeking to prove the truth of the biblical stories. Using the patriarchal narratives in Genesis -- the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- he demonstrates that archaeological research cannot historically substantiate such stories. Going further, Thompson also says that archaeological materials should not be dated or evaluated on the basis of written texts. Thompson concludes that the patriarchal narratives are not historical, nor were they intended to be. These are instead powerful literary traditions, written as expressions of Israel's relationship to God.

Contents:

A. Archaeology or Biblical Criticism? 1

B. The Biblical Chronologies for the Patriarchal Period 9

Chapter 2 The Names of the Patriarchs and the "Patriarchal Period"

B. The Names in Context: Abraham 22

C. Isaac, Israel, and Jacob 36

Chapter 3 Mari and the Patriarchs

A. "Littera gesta docet, quid credas allegoria ..." 52

B. "Benjamin" at Mari 58

Chapter 4 The Early West Semites of Mesopotamia and the "Patriarchal Period"

A. The "Amorites" of Ur III and Mari 67

B. Proto-Aramaeans 75

C. The Early West Semitic "Migration" from Ur to Harran 79

Chapter 5 The Early West Semites in Palestine and Syria

A. The "Patriarchal Period" 89

B. The Linguistic Material for Palestine from the Early Second Millenium 91

C. The Execration Texts and their Historical Setting 98

D. The Dating of the Execration Texts 106

E. The Execration Texts and the Political Organization of Palestine at the End of the Twelfth Dynasty 113

Chapter 6 Egypt and the Amorite Question

A. The Incursion of the Amorites into the Eastern Delta 118

B. The '[characters not reproducible]mw and the Amurru 121

C. The "Asiatics" of the Eastern Desert 123

D. Sinai and the Delta in Old and Middle Kingdom Records 134

E. The Incursion of the '[characters not reproducible]mw into Egypt during the First Intermediate Period 137

Chapter 7 EB IV/MB I: A Period of Amorite Semi-Nomadic Invasions?

A. The Influence of the Amorite Hypothesis on Archaeological Interpretation 144

B. The Evidence for an Invasion from the North 159

C. The So-called Nomadic Character of EB IV/MB I 165

Chapter 8 Abraham as a Caravaneer

A. The Thesis of C. H. Gordon and W. F. Albright 172

B. Some Chronological Notes on EB IV/MB I 175

C. Abraham the Caravaneer, and EB IV/MB I 180

D. Abraham and the Hapiru Caravans 184

Chapter 9 The Problem of Historicity and Genesis 14 187

Chapter 10 Nuzi and the Patriarchal Narratives

A. The Discovery of the Texts and their Dating 196

B. Nuzi Family Customs and the Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives 199

C. Gen 15[subscript 2-4] 203

D. Gen 11[subscript 29] 230

E. Gen 12[subscript 10-20] 20[subscript 1-18] and 26[subscript 6-11] 234

F. Gen 24 248

G. Gen 16 21[subscript 1-21] and 29[subscript 31]

30[subscript 24] 252

H. Gen 29[subscript 9-30] and 30[subscript 25]

31[subscript 54] 269

J. Gen 25[subscript 29-34] 280

K. Gen 27[subscript 1-45] 285

Chapter 11 Genesis 11[subscript 10]

12[subscript 9] and the Wanderings of Abraham

A. The Patriarchs and the Aramaeans 298

B. The Editorial Construction of the Wanderings of Abraham 308

C. Some Notes on the Structure of Genealogies and Sagas in Antiquity 311

A. The Historical Background of the Patriarchal Narratives 315

B. Historical and Christian Faith 326.

Notes:

Originally published: Berlin ; New York : W. de Gruyter, 1974. Beiheft zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ; 133. With additional material.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1563383896

OCLC:

49649531