Abraham Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==={{anchor|Renaming}} Origins of the narrative=== [[File:Abraham's Gate.jpg|thumb|[[Abraham's Gate|Abraham's Gate, Tel Dan, Israel]]]] Abraham's story, like those of the other patriarchs, most likely had a substantial oral prehistory{{sfn|Pitard|2001|p=27}} (he is mentioned in the [[Book of Ezekiel]]<ref>{{Bibleverse|Ezekiel|33:24}}</ref> and the [[Book of Isaiah]]<ref>{{Bibleverse|Isaiah|63:16}}</ref>). As with [[Moses]], Abraham's name is apparently very ancient, as the tradition found in the [[Book of Genesis]] no longer understands its original meaning (probably "Father is exalted" – the meaning offered in Genesis 17:5, "Father of a multitude", is a [[folk etymology]]).{{sfn|Thompson|2016|pp=23–24}} At some stage the [[oral tradition]]s became part of the written tradition of the [[Pentateuch]]; a majority of scholars believe this stage belongs to the Persian period, roughly 520–320 BCE.{{sfn|Ska|2009|p=260}} The mechanisms by which this came about remain unknown,{{sfn|Enns|2012|p=26}} but there are currently at least two hypotheses.{{sfn|Ska|2006|pp=217, 227–28}} The first, called Persian Imperial authorisation, is that the post-Exilic community devised the Torah as a legal basis on which to function within the Persian Imperial system; the second is that the Pentateuch was written to provide the criteria for determining who would belong to the post-Exilic Jewish community and to establish the power structures and relative positions of its various groups, notably the priesthood and the lay "elders".{{sfn|Ska|2006|pp=217, 227–28}} The completion of the Torah and its elevation to the centre of post-Exilic Judaism was as much or more about combining older texts as writing new ones – the final Pentateuch was based on existing traditions.{{sfn|Carr|Conway|2010|p=193}} In the [[Book of Ezekiel]],<ref>{{bibleverse-nb||Ezek|33:24|niv}}</ref> written during the Exile (i.e., in the first half of the 6th century BCE), [[Ezekiel]], an exile in Babylon, tells how those who remained in Judah are claiming ownership of the land based on inheritance from Abraham; but the prophet tells them they have no claim because they do not observe Torah.{{sfn|Ska|2009|p=43}} The [[Book of Isaiah]]<ref>{{bibleverse-nb||Isaiah|63:16|niv}}</ref> similarly testifies of tension between the people of Judah and the returning post-Exilic Jews (the "[[Golah|gôlâ]]"), stating that God is the father of Israel and that Israel's history begins with the Exodus and not with Abraham.{{sfn|Ska|2009|p=44}} The conclusion to be inferred from this and similar evidence (e.g., [[Ezra–Nehemiah]]), is that the figure of Abraham must have been preeminent among the great landowners of Judah at the time of the Exile and after, serving to support their claims to the land in opposition to those of the returning exiles.{{sfn|Ska|2009|p=44}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page