Search -
The Archaeological & Historical Background to the Patriarchal Narratives of the Old Testament: Part 1
The Archaeological Historical Background to the Patriarchal Narratives of the Old Testament Part 1 Author:Barry Blackwell Standing out in the history of the Christian, Hebrew, and Islamic faiths is the patriarchal father Abraham and his sons Ishmael, Isaac, and his grandson Jacob; these individuals are collectively known as the patriarchal fathers, within the context of these faiths. In Islam, Abraham and Ishmael are central; the Jewish and Christian faiths focus o... more »n Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham links all three of these faiths through descendency. All three faiths recognize him as the founding father of what our faith is today. We have in this book taken the period in which they lived and laid forth a thought pattern which I hope will lead people to seek further for themselves the study of these great men of God. This book strives to help readers come to a more open understanding of whether or not these men really existed, the environment in which they lived, and the way they lived. However, this is in no way meant to be an in-depth study, nor a complete, concise thesis on the subject. It is merely an overview to help us understand a little bit more about the possible culture, people groups, and trade routes around the time of the patriarchal narratives. Also, this book sets out to show, if it is reasonable to make an assumption based on the facts and evidence at our disposal at this time, that the patriarchal fathers were real people and not just myth and legend. This I leave to each reader to make their own assumptions and conclusions. We need to understand that people like Abraham were common enough characters in the societies that were around during the times we are examining in this book. A monotheistic faith system such as Abraham is believed to have followed is not as unusual as we would like to think in and around the time of Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, and Jacob.« less