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The mythical King Erichthonius of Dardania was the son of Dardanus or Darda[citation needed], King of Dardania, and Batea, (although some legends say his mother was Olizone, descendant of Phineus). He is said to have enjoyed a peaceful and prosperous reign.

Fundamentally, all that is known of this Erichthonius comes from Homer, who says (Samuel Butler's translation of Iliad 20.215-234):

"In the beginning Dardanos was the son of Zeus, and founded Dardania, for Ilion was not yet established on the plain for men to dwell in, and her people still abode on the spurs of many-fountained Ida. Dardanos had a son, king Erichthonios, who was wealthiest of all men living; he had three thousand mares that fed by the water-meadows, they and their foals with them. Boreas was enamored of them as they were feeding, and covered them in the semblance of a dark-maned stallion. Twelve filly foals did they conceive and bear him, and these, as they sped over the fertile plain, would go bounding on over the ripe ears of wheat and not break them; or again when they would disport themselves on the broad back of Ocean they could gallop on the crest of a breaker. Erichthonios begat Tros, king of the Trojans,and Tros had three noble sons, Ilos, Assarakos, and Ganymede who was comeliest of mortal men; wherefore the gods carried him off to be Zeus' cupbearer, for his beauty's sake, that he might dwell among the immortals."
John Tzetzes and one of the scholia to Lycophron call his wife Astyoche, daughter of Simoeis. Apollodorus also adds Erichthonius' older brother Ilus, who died young and childless; presumably a doublet of the other Ilus, grandson of Erichthonius, eponym of Troy.

Strabo (13.1.48) records, but discounts, the claim by "some more recent writers" that Teucer came from the deme of Xypeteones in Attica, supposedly called Troes (meaning Trojans) in mythical times. These writers mentioned that Erichthonius appears as founder both in Attica and the Troad, and may be identifying the two.

Erichthonius reigned for forty six or, according to others, sixty five years and was succeeded by his son Tros.

In Greek mythology, Dardanus (Greek: ???da???, English translation: "burned up", from the verb da?d?pt? (dardapto) to wear, to slay, to burn up)[1] was a son of Zeus and Electra, daughter of Atlas, and founder of the city of Dardania on Mount Ida in the Troad.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus (1.61–62) states that Dardanus' original home was in Arcadia where Dardanus and his elder brother Iasus (elsewhere more commonly called Iasion) reigned as kings following Atlas. Dardanus married Chryse daughter of Pallas by whom he fathered two sons: Idaeus and Dymas. When a great flood occurred, the survivors, who were living on mountains that had now become islands, split into two groups: one group remained and took Deimas as king while the other sailed away, eventually settling in the island of Samothrace. There Iasus (Iasion) was slain by Zeus for lying with Demeter. Dardanus and his people found the land poor and so most of them set sail for Asia.

However another account by Virgil in his Aeneid (3.163f), has Aeneas in a dream learn from his ancestral Penates that "Dardanus and Father Iasius" and the Penates themselves originally came from Hesperia which was afterward renamed as Italy. This tradition holds that Dardanus was a Tyrrhenian prince, and that his mother Electra was married to Corythus, king of Tarquinia (Aeneid 7.195-242; 8. 596 ss. ; 9. 10; Servio, ad Vergilium, Aeneidos, 9.10).

Other accounts make no mention of Arcadia or Hesperia, though they sometimes mention a flood and speak of Dardanus sailing on a hide-raft (as part of the flood story?) from Samothrace to the Troad near Abydos. All accounts agree that Dardanus came to the Troad from Samothrace and was there welcomed by King Teucer and that Dardanus married Batea the daughter of Teucer. (Dionysius mentions that Dardanus' first wife Chryse had died.) Dardanus received land on Mount Ida from his father-in-law. There Dardanus founded the city of Dardania which became the capital of his kingdom. He later founded the city of Thymbra in honor of his friend Thymbraeus, who is said to have been killed by Dardanus. Dardanus waged war successfully against his neighbors, especially distinguishing himself against the Paphlagonians and thereby extending the boundaries of his kingdom with considerable acquisitions.

Dardanus' children by Batea were Ilus, Erichthonius, Idaea and Zacynthus. Ilus died before his father which Idaea married Phineas, an early Thracian king. According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus (1.50.3), Zacynthus was the first settler on the island afterwards called Zacynthus. Dardanus' sons by Chryse, his first wife, were Idaeus and Dimas. Dionysius says (1.61.4) that Dimas and Idaeus founded colonies in Asia Minor. Idaeus gave his name to the Idaean mountains, that is Mount Ida, where he built a temple to the Mother of the Gods (that is to Cybele) and instituted mysteries and ceremonies still observed in Phrygia in Dionysius's time. There are operas on the subject of Dardanus by Jean-Philippe Rameau (1739), Carl Stamitz (1770) and Antonio Sacchini (1784).

Dardanus reigned for sixty four or sixty five years and was succeeded by his son Erichthonius.

Judah/Yehuda was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Judah. Biblical scholars, such as J. A. Emerton view the narrative of Judah as a postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation.[1]

In Genesis chapter 38, Judah married the daughter of Shua the Canaanite.[2][3] The passage goes on to state that Judah and his wife had three children between them - Er, Onan, and Shelah - and that the first married Tamar; after Er died without any children, Tamar became Onan's wife in accordance with custom, but he too died without children. The narrative continues by stating that Judah decided that marriage to Tamar was cursed to be fatal, and so avoided letting Shelah marry her; this would have left Tamar unable to have children, so she managed to trick Judah into cohabiting with her, by pretending to be a prostitute. When Judah discovered that Tamar was pregnant, he intended to have her burnt, but when he discovered that he was the father, he recanted and confessed [4] that he had used a prostitute; she was pregnant with twins, and they were Pharez and Zerah, the fourth and fifth sons of Judah. (Genesis 38:1-30)

[edit] Selling JosephIn the Torah's Joseph narrative, when his brothers are jealous of Joseph and contemplate murdering him, Judah suggests that the brothers should sell Joseph to some passing Ishmaelites;[5] it is unclear from the narrative whether Judah's motives were to save Joseph, or to harm him but keep him alive but does clearly state that he sold him for 20 pieces of silver saying "how can we profit from selling our brother's blood?" The narrative goes on to state that the brothers dipped Joseph's coat in fresh goat's blood, and showed it to Jacob, after Joseph had gone, so that he would think that Joseph was dead; according to some classical rabbinical sources, Jacob suspected that Judah had killed Joseph,[6] especially, according to the Midrash Tanhuma, when Judah was the one who had brought the blood stained coat to Jacob.[7]


The children of Jacob sell their brother Joseph by Konstantin Flavitsky, 1855. Judah was the one who suggested that Joseph be sold, rather than killed.Since rabbinical sources held Judah to have been the leader of his brothers, these sources also hold him responsible for this deception, even if it was not Judah himself who brought the coat to Jacob.[7] Even if Judah had been trying to save Joseph, the classical rabbinical sources still regard him negatively for it; these sources argue that, as the leader of the brothers, Judah should have made more effort, and carried Joseph home to Jacob on his (Judah's) own shoulders.[8] These sources argue that Judah's brothers, after witnessing Jacob's grief at the loss of Joseph, deposed and excommunicated Judah, as the brothers held Judah entirely responsible, since they would have brought Joseph home if Judah had asked them to do so.[9] Divine punishment, according to such classical sources, was also inflicted on Judah in punishment; the death of Er and Onan, and of his wife, are portrayed in by such classical rabbis as being acts of divine retribution.[10]

[edit] Protecting BenjaminThe Biblical Joseph narrative eventually describes Joseph as meeting his brothers again, while he is in a position of power, and without his brothers recognising him; in this latter part of the narrative, Benjamin initially remains in Canaan, and so Joseph takes Simeon hostage, and insists that the brothers return with their younger brother (Benjamin) to prove they aren't spies.[11] The narrative goes on to state that Judah offers himself to Jacob as surety for Benjamin's safety, and manages to persuade him to let them take Benjamin to Egypt; according to classical rabbinical literature, because Judah had proposed that he should bear any blame forever, this ultimately led to his bones being rolled around his coffin without cease, while it was being carried during the Exodus, until Moses interceded with God, by arguing that Judah's confession (in regard to cohabiting with Tamar) had led to Reuben confessing his own incest.[7]

When, in the Joseph narrative, the brothers return with Benjamin to Joseph, Joseph tests whether the brothers have reformed by tricking them into a situation where he can demand the enslavement of Benjamin.[12] The narrative describes Judah as making an impassioned plea against enslaving Benjamin, ultimately making Joseph recant and reveal his identity;[13] the Genesis Rabbah, and particularly the midrashic book of Jasher, expand on this by describing Judah's plea as much more extensive than given in the Torah, and more vehement.[14][15]

The classical rabbinical literature goes on to argue that Judah reacted violently to the threat against Benjamin, shouting so loudly that Hushim, who was then in Canaan, was able to hear Judah ask him to travel to Egypt, to help Judah destroy it;[7] some sources have Judah angrily picking up an extremely heavy stone (400 shekels in weight), throwing it into the air, then grinding it to dust with his feet once it had landed.[16] These rabbinical sources argue that Judah had Naphtali enumerate the districts of Egypt, and after finding out that there were 12 (historically, there were actually 20 in Lower Egypt and 22 in Upper Egypt), he decided to destroy three himself, and have his brothers destroy one of the remaining districts each;[7] the threat of destroying Egypt was, according to these sources, what really motivated Joseph to reveal himself to his brothers.[7]

[edit] CriticismLiterary critics have focused on the relationship between the Judah story in chapter 38, and the Joseph story in chapters 37 and 39. Victor Hamilton notes some “intentional literary parallels” between the chapters, such as the exhortation to “identify” (38:25-26 and 37:32-33).[17] Emerton regards the connections as evidence for including chapter 38 in the J corpus, and suggests that the J writer dovetailed the Joseph and Judah traditions.[18] Derek Kidner points out that the insertion of chapter 38 “creates suspense for the reader ,”[19] but Robert Alter goes further and suggests it is a result of the “brilliant splicing of sources by a literary artist.” He notes that the same verb “identify” will play “a crucial thematic role in the dénouement of the Joseph story when he confronts his brothers in Egypt, he recognizing them, they failing to recognize him."[20] Similarly, J. P. Fokkelman notes that the "extra attention" for Judah in chapter 38, "sets him up for his major role as the brothers' spokesman in Genesis 44."[21]

J. A. Emerton notes that it is “widely agreed” that the story of Judah and Tamar “reflects a period after the settlement of the Israelites in Canaan.”[22] He also suggests the possibility that it contains “aetiological motifs concerned with the eponymous ancestors of the clans of Judah.”[23] Emerton notes that Dillman and Noth considered the account of the deaths of Er and Onan to “reflect the dying out of two clans of Judah bearing their names, or at least of their failure to maintain a separate existence.” However, this view was “trenchantly criticized” by Thomas L. Thompson.[23]

[edit] Jewish traditionThe text of the Torah argues that the name of Judah, meaning to praise, refers to Leah's intent to praise Yahweh, on account of having achieved four children, and derived from odeh, meaning I will give praise. In classical rabbinical literature, the name is interpreted as a combination of Yahweh and a dalet (the letter d); in Gematria, the dalet has the numerical value 4, which these rabbinical sources argue refers to Judah being Jacob's fourth son.[24] Since Leah was matriarch, Jewish scholars think the text's authors believed the tribe was part of the original Israelite confederation; however, it is worthy of note [7] that the tribe of Judah was not purely Israelite, but contained a large admixture of non-Israelites, with a number of Kenizzite groups, the Jerahmeelites, and the Kenites, merging into the tribe at various points.[7]

[edit] Classical rabbinical viewsClassical rabbinical sources refer to the passage "... a ruler came from Judah", from 1 Chronicles 5:2, to imply that Judah was the leader of his brothers, terming him the king.[25][26] This passage also describes Judah as the strongest of his brothers in which rabbinical literature portray him as having had extraordinary physical strength, able to shout for over 400 parasangs, able to crush iron into dust by his mouth, and with hair that stiffened so much, when he became angry, that it pierced his clothes.[27]

Classical rabbinical sources also allude to a war between the Canaanites and Judah's family (not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible), as a result of their destruction of Shechem in revenge for the rape of Dinah;[28][29][30][31][32] Judah features heavily as a protagonist in accounts of this war. In these accounts Judah kills Jashub, king of Tappuah, in hand-to-hand combat, after first having deposed Jashub from his horse by throwing an extremely heavy stone (60 shekels in weight) at him from a large distance away (the Midrash Wayissau states 177? cubits, while other sources have only 30 cubits);[7] the accounts say that Judah was able to achieve this even though he was himself under attack, from arrows which Jashub was shooting at him with both hands.[7] The accounts go on to state that while Judah was trying to remove Jashub's armour from his corpse, nine assistants of Jashub fell upon him in combat, but after Judah killed one, he scared away the others;[7] nevertheless, Judah killed several members of Jashub's army (42 men according to the midrashic Book of Jasher, but 1000 men according to the Testament of Judah).[7]

[edit] Dating JudahAccording to Classical rabbinical literature, Judah was born on the 15th of Sivan;[7] classical sources differ on the date of death, with the Book of Jubilees advocating a death at age 119, 18 years before Levi,[33] but the midrashic Book of Jasher advocating a death at the age of 129.[34] The marriage of Judah and births of his children are described in a passage widely regarded as an abrupt change to the surrounding narrative.[35] The passage is often regarded as presenting a significant chronological issue, as the surrounding context appears to constrain the events of the passage to happening within 22 years,[36] and the context together with the passage itself requires the birth of the grandson of Judah and of his son's wife,[37] and the birth of that son,[38] to have happened within this time (to be consistent, this requires an average of less than 8 years gap per generation). According to textual scholars, the reason for the abrupt interruption this passage causes to the surrounding narrative, and the chronological anomaly it seems to present, is that it derives from the Jahwist source, while the immediately surrounding narrative is from the Elohist.[7.

Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites. According to the Book of Genesis, Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, and Sarah was beyond childbearing years.

Isaac was the only Biblical patriarch whose name was not changed, and the only one who did not leave Canaan. Compared to those of Abraham and Jacob, Isaac's story relates fewer incidents of his life. He died when he was 180 years old, making him the longest-lived patriarch.
EtymologyThe anglicized name Isaac is a transliteration of the Hebrew term Yi??aq which literally means "He laughs/will laugh."[2] Ugaritic texts dating from the 13th century BCE refer to the benevolent smile of the Canaanite deity El.[3] Genesis, however, ascribes the laughter to Isaac's mother Sarah rather than El.[3] According to the Biblical narrative, Sarah laughed privately when Elohim imparted to Abraham the news of their son's eventual birth. Sarah laughed because she was past the age of childbearing; both she and Abraham were advanced in age.[4][5]

[edit] Isaac in GenesisThe account of Isaac from the Book of Genesis

Isaac is mentioned by name 80 times in Genesis.

[edit] Birth of IsaacIt was prophesied to the patriarch Abraham that he would have a son and that his name should be called Isaac. When Abraham became one hundred years old, this son was born to him by his first wife Sarah.[6] Though this was Abraham's second son[7] it was Sarah’s first and only child.

On the eighth day from his birth, Isaac was circumcised, as was necessary for all males of Abraham's household, in order to be in compliance with Yahweh's covenant.[8]

After Isaac had been weaned, Sarah saw Ishmael mocking, and urged her husband to banish Hagar and Ishmael so that Isaac would be Abraham's only heir. Abraham was hesitant, but at God's order he listened to his wife's request.[9]

[edit] Binding of IsaacMain article: Binding of Isaac
See also: Abraham and Isaac
At some point in Isaac's youth, his father Abraham brought him to mount Moriah. At Yahweh's command to Abraham, he was to build a sacrificial altar and sacrifice his son Isaac upon it. After binding his son to the altar and drawing his knife to kill him, in the very last moment an angel of Yahweh prevented Abraham from proceeding. Rather, he was directed to sacrifice a nearby ram instead. This event served as a test of Abraham's faith to Yahweh, not as an actual human sacrifice.[10]


The birth of Esau and Jacob, as painted by Benjamin West[edit] Family lifeWhen Isaac was 40, Abraham sent Eliezer, his steward, into Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac, from his nephew Bethuel's family. Eliezer chose Rebekah for Isaac. After many years of marriage to Isaac, Rebekah had still not given birth to a child and was believed to be barren. Isaac prayed for her and she conceived. Rebekah gave birth to twin boys, Esau and Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when his two sons were born. Isaac favored Esau, and Rebekah favored Jacob.[11]

[edit] OccupationAround the age of 75, Isaac moved to Beer-lahai-roi after his father died.[12] When the land experienced famine, he removed to the Philistine land of Gerar where his father once lived. This land was still under the control of King Abimelech as it was in the days of Abraham. Like his father, Isaac also deceived Abimelech about his wife and also got into the well business. He had gone back to all of the wells that his father dug and saw that they were all stopped up with earth. The Philistines did this after Abraham died. So, Isaac unearthed them and began to dig for more wells all the way to Beersheba, where he made a pact with Abimelech, just like in the day of his father.[13]


Isaac blessing his son,as painted by Giotto di Bondone[edit] BirthrightIsaac grew old and became blind. He called his son Esau and directed him to procure some venison for him, in order to receive Isaac's blessing. While Esau was hunting, Jacob deceptively, after listening to his mother's advice misrepresented himself as Esau to his blind father and obtained his father's blessing, making Jacob Isaac's primary heir, and leaving Esau in an inferior position. Isaac sent Jacob into Mesopotamia to take a wife of his own family so, he can start a family of his own. After 20 years working for Laban, Jacob returned home, and reconciled with his twin brother Esau, then he and Esau buried Isaac when Isaac died at the age of 180.[5][14]

[edit] Other references[edit] Isaac in the New TestamentIn the New Testament, there are references to Isaac having been "offered up" by his father, and to his blessing his sons.[15] Paul contrasted Isaac, symbolizing Christian liberty, with the rejected older son Ishmael, symbolizing slavery;[3][16] Hagar is associated with the Sinai covenant, while Sarah is associated with the covenant of grace, into which her son Isaac enters.The Epistle of James chapter 2, verses 21-24[17] states that the sacrifice of Isaac shows that justification (in the Johannine sense) requires both faith and works.[18]

In the early Christian church, Abraham's willingness to follow God's command to sacrifice Isaac was used as an example of faith[19] and of obedience.[20][21] The Epistle to the Hebrews chapter 11, verse 19[22] views the release of Isaac from sacrifice as analogous to the resurrection of Jesus, the idea of the sacrifice of Isaac being a prefigure of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

[edit] Isaac in the Qur'anLike many of the biblical Hebrew patriarchs and prophets, the Qur'an mentions Isaac as a righteous man of God. Isaac (and Jacob) are mentioned as being bestowed upon Abraham as gifts of God, who then worshipped God only and were righteous leaders in the way of God:

And We bestowed on him Isaac and, as an additional gift, (a grandson), Jacob, and We made righteous men of every one (of them).
And We made them leaders, guiding (men) by Our Command, and We sent them inspiration to do good deeds, to establish regular prayers, and to practise regular charity; and they constantly served Us (and Us only).
—Qur'an, sura 21 (Al-Anbiya), ayah 72-73[23]
[edit] Testament of IsaacMain article: Testament of Isaac
The Testament of Isaac is a pseudonymous text which was most likely composed in Greek in Egypt after 100 CE. It is also dependent on the Testament of Abraham. In this testament, God sends the archangel Michael to Isaac in order to inform him of his impending death. Isaac accepts God's decree but Jacob resists. Isaac in his bed-chamber tells Jacob of the inevitability of death. Isaac has a tour of heaven and hell shortly before his death in which God's compassion to repentant sinners is emphasized. In this testament, Isaac also talks with the crowds on the subjects of priesthood, asceticism, and the moral life.[24]

[edit] World views
Isaac embraces his father Abraham after the Binding of Isaac, early 1900s Bible illustrationThe early Christian church viewed Abraham's willingness to follow God's command to sacrifice Isaac as an example of faith and obedience. For Christians, Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son is a "type and shadow" of God's willingness to sacrifice his only son, Jesus.

Islam considers Isaac as a prophet of Islam, and describes him as the father of the Israelites and a righteous servant of God.

Some academic scholars have described Isaac as "a legendary figure", while others view him as "a figure representing tribal history, though as a historical individual" or as "a seminomadic leader".[25]

[edit] Documentary hypothesisThe name Isaac occurs 32 times in the Hebrew Bible.[2] Variations of the formula "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" occur 23 times in the Hebrew Bible.[24] According to the documentary hypothesis, use of names of God indicates authorship, and form critics variously assign passages like Genesis chapter 26, verses 6-11[26] to the Yahwist source, and Genesis chapter 20 verses 1-7, chapter 21, verse 1 to chapter 22, verse 14 and chapter 22, verse 19[27] to the Elohist source; this source-critical approach has admitted problems, in that the name "Yahweh" appears in Elohist material.[28] According to the compilation hypothesis, the formulaic use of the word toledoth (generations) indicates that Genesis chapter 11, verse 27 to chapter 25, verse 19[29] is Isaac's record through Abraham's death (with Ishmael's record appended), and Genesis chapter 25, verse 19 to chapter 37, verse 2[30] is Jacob's record through Isaac's death (with Esau's records appended).[31]

[edit] Jewish views
Isaac Blessing Jacob, painting by Govert Flinck (Rijksmuseum Amsterdam)In rabbinical tradition the age of Isaac at the time of binding is taken to be 37 which contrasts with common portrayals of Isaac as a child.[32] The rabbis also thought that the reason for the death of Sarah was the news of the intended sacrifice of Isaac.[32] The sacrifice of Isaac is cited in appeals for the mercy of God in later Jewish traditions.[21] The post-Biblical Jewish interpretations often elaborate the role of Isaac beyond the Biblical description and largely focus on Abraham's intended sacrifice of Isaac, called the aqedah ("binding").[3] According to a version of these interpretations, Isaac died in the sacrifice and was revived.[3] According to many accounts of Aggadah, unlike the Bible, it is Satan who is testing Isaac and not God.[33] Isaac's willingness to follow God's command at the cost of his death has been a model for many Jews who preferred martyrdom to violation of the Jewish law.[32]

According to the Jewish tradition Isaac instituted the afternoon prayer. This tradition is based on Genesis chapter 24, verse 63[34] ("Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide").[32]

Isaac was the only patriarch who stayed in Canaan during his whole life and though once he tried to leave, God told him not to do so.[35] Rabbinic tradition gave the explanation that Isaac was almost sacrificed and anything dedicated as a sacrifice may not leave the Land of Israel.[32] Isaac was the oldest of the Biblical patriarchs at the time of his death, and the only patriarch whose name was not changed.[3][15]

Rabbinic literature also linked Isaac's blindness in old age, as stated in the Bible, to the sacrificial binding: Isaac's eyes went blind because the tears of angels present at the time of his sacrifice fell on Isaac's eyes.[33]

[edit] Islamic viewsMain article: Islamic view of Isaac
Isaac (Arabic:??????, Ishaq) is revered by Muslims to be a prophet and the patriarch of Islam. Isaac, along with Ishmael, is highly important for Muslims for continuing to preach the message of monotheism after his father Abraham. Among Isaac's children was the follow-up Israelite patriarch Jacob, who too is venerated an Islamic prophet.

Isaac is mentioned fifteen times by name in the Qur'an, often with his father and his son, Jacob[36]. The Qur'an states that Abraham received "good tidings of Isaac, a prophet, of the righteous", and that God blessed them both (XXXVII: 12). In a fuller description, when angels came to Abraham to tell him of the future punishment to be imposed on Sodom and Gomorrah, his wife, Sarah, "laughed, and We gave her good tidings of Isaac, and after Isaac of (a grandson) Jacob" (XI: 71-74); and it is further explained that this event will take place despite Abraham and Sarah's old age. Several verses speak of Isaac as a "gift" to Abraham (VI: 84; XIX: 49-50), and XXIX: 26-27 adds that God made "prophethood and the Book to be among his offspring", which has been interpreted to refer to Abraham's two prophetic sons, his prophetic grandson Jacob, and his prophetic great-grandson Joseph. In the Qur'an, it later narrates that Abraham also praised God for giving him Ishmael and Isaac in his old age (XIV: 39-41).

Elsewhere in the Qur'an, Isaac is mentioned in lists: Joseph follows the religion of his forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (XII: 38) and speaks of God's favor to them (XII: 6); Jacob's sons all testify their faith and promise to worship the God that their forefathers, "Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac", worshiped (II: 127); and the Qur'an commands Muslims to believe in the revelations that were given to "Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Patriarchs" (II: 136; III: 84). In the Qur'an's narrative of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son (XXXVII: 102), the name of the son is not mentioned and debate has continued over the son's identity, though many feel that the identity is the least important element in a story which is given to show the courage that one develops through faith[37].

[edit] Western scholarly viewsSome scholars have described Isaac as "a legendary figure" while others view him "as a figure representing tribal history, though as a historical individual" or "as a seminomadic leader."[25]

The stories of Isaac, like other patriarchal stories of Genesis, are generally believed in liberal Western scholarship to have "their origin in folk memories and oral traditions of the early Hebrew pastoralist experience."[38] Conservative Western scholarship believes the stories of Isaac, and other patriarchal stories in Genesis, to be factual. The Cambridge Companion to the Bible makes the following comment on the Biblical stories of the patriarchs:

Yet for all that these stories maintain a distance between their world and that of their time of literary growth and composition, they reflect the political realities of the later periods. Many of the narratives deal with the relationship between the ancestors and peoples who were part of Israel’s political world at the time the stories began to be written down (eighth century B.C.E.). Lot is the ancestor of the Transjordanian peoples of Ammon and Moab, and Ishmael personifies the nomadic peoples known to have inhabited north Arabia, although located in the Old Testament in the Negev. Esau personifies Edom (36:1), and Laban represents the Aramean states to Israel’s north. A persistent theme is that of difference between the ancestors and the indigenous Canaanites… In fact, the theme of the differences between Judah and Israel, as personified by the ancestors, and the neighboring peoples of the time of the monarchy is pressed effectively into theological service to articulate the choosing by God of Judah and Israel to bring blessing to all peoples.”[39]
According to Martin Noth, a scholar of the Hebrew Bible, the narratives of Isaac date back to an older cultural stage than that of the West-Jordanian Jacob.[25] At that era, the Israelite tribes were not yet sedentary. In the course of looking for grazing areas, they had come in contact in southern Palestine with the inhabitants of the settled countryside.[25] The Biblical historian, A. Jopsen, believes in the connection between the Isaac traditions and the north and in support of this theory adduces Amos 7:9 ("the high places of Isaac").[25]

Albrecht Alt and Martin Noth hold that, "The figure of Isaac was enhanced when the theme of promise, previously bound to the cults of the 'God the Fathers' was incorporated into the Israelite creed during the southern-Palestinian stage of the growth of the Pentateuch tradition."[25] According to Martin Noth, at the Southern Palestinian stage of the growth of the Pentateuch tradition, Isaac became established as one of the Biblical patriarchs, but his traditions were receded in the favor of Abraham.[25]

[edit] In artThe earliest Christian portrayal of Isaac is found in the Roman catacomb frescoes.[40] Excluding the fragments, Alison Moore Smith classifies these artistic works in three categories:

"Abraham leads Isaac towards the altar; or Isaac approaches with the bundle of sticks, Abraham having preceded him to the place of offering .... Abraham is upon a pedestal and Isaac stands near at hand, both figures in orant attitude .... Abraham is shown about to sacrifice Isaac while the latter stands or kneels on the ground beside the altar. Sometimes Abraham grasps Isaac by the hair. Occasionally the ram is added to the scene and in the later paintings the Hand of God emerges from above."[40].

Abraham whose birth name was Abram, is the modern eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. According to both the Hebrew Bible[2] and the Qur'an, Abraham is the forefather of many tribes, including the Ishmaelites, Israelites, Midianites, Edomites, and others.[2] Abraham was a descendant of Noah's son, Shem.[3][4] Christians and Muslims believe Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, while Muslims believe that Muhammad was also a descendant through Ishmael.[5]

The Book of Genesis narrative that records the life of Abraham presents his role as one that could only be fulfilled through a monotheistic covenant established between him and God.[6] The Qur'an has stories about Abraham and his offspring that are similar to the Bible's.[7] In Islam, Abraham is recognized as a prophet, patriarch, and messenger, archetype of the perfect Muslim, and reformer[8][9] of the Kaaba.[10]

There is a growing consensus among biblical scholars that the Genesis story of Abraham originated from literary circles of the 6th and 5th centuries BCE,[11] where it served to assure the Israelites in exile that despite the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple and the Davidic kingship, God's dealings with their ancestors provided a historical foundation on which hope for the future could be built.[12] Abraham's association with Mamre and Hebron, in the south, in the territory of Jerusalem and Judah, suggest that this region was the original home of his cult.[13]

EtymologyAbraham first appears as Abram in the book of Genesis until he is renamed by the Lord in Genesis 17:5. The narrative indicates that abraham means “the father of a multitude" (Hebrew: 'a?-hamôn goyim).[14] However, scholars do not accept the narrative's definition to be the etymology of Abraham because, though "ab-" means "father", "-hamon" is not the second element, and "-Raham" is not a word in Hebrew. The word in Hebrew for "multitude" is rabim. Johann Friedrich Karl Keil suggested that there was once a word raham (?????) in Hebrew that meant "multitude", on analogy with the Arabic ruhâm which does have this meaning, but there is no evidence to support this;[15] another possibility is that the first element should be abr-, which means "chief", but this yields a meaningless second element, "-aham". David Rohl suggests the name comes from the Akkadian "the father loves",[16] but scholars would prefer an origin based on Hebrew.

[edit] ChronologyThe standard Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible places Abraham's birth 1,948 years after the Creation, or 1948 AM (Anno Mundi, "Year of the World"). The two other major textual traditions have different dates, the translated Greek Septuagint putting it at 3312 AM and the Samaritan version of the Torah at 2247 AM. All three agree that he died at the age of 175.[17] There have been over two hundred attempts to match the biblical chronology to dates in history, two of the more influential being the traditional Jewish dates (Abraham lived 1812 BCE to 1637 BCE), and those of the 17th century Archbishop James Ussher (1976 BCE to 1801 BCE); but the most that can be said with some degree of certainty is that the standard Hebrew text of Genesis places Abraham in the earlier part of the second millennium BCE.[18]

[edit] Historicity and originsIt is generally recognised by scholars that there is nothing in the Genesis stories that can be related to the history of Canaan of the early 2nd millennium: none of the kings mentioned is known, Abimelech could not be a Philistine (they did not arrive till centuries later), Ur could not become known as "Ur of the Chaldeans" until the early 1st millennium, and Laban could not have been an Aramean, as the Arameans did not become an identifiable political entity until the 12th century.[19] Joseph Blenkinsopp, Emeritus Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Notre Dame, notes that the past four or five decades have seen a growing consensus that the Genesis narrative of Abraham originated from literary circles of the 6th and 5th centuries BCE as a mirror of the situation facing the Jewish community under the Babylonian and early Persian empires.[20] Blenkinsopp describes two conclusions about Abraham that are widely held in biblical scholarship: the first is that, except in the triad "Abraham, Isaac and Jacob," he is not clearly and unambiguously attested in the Bible earlier than the Babylonian exile (he does not, for example, appear in prophetic texts earlier than that time); the second is that he became, in the Persian period, a model for those who would return from Babylon to Judah.[21] Beyond this the Abraham story (and those of Isaac and Jacob/Israel) served a theological purpose following the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple and the Davidic kingship: despite the loss of these things, Yahweh's dealings with the ancestors provided a historical foundation on which hope for the future could be built.[22] There is basic agreement that his connection with Haran, Shechem and Bethel is secondary and originated when he became identified as the father of Jacob and ancestor of the northern tribes; his association with Mamre and Hebron, on the other hand (in the south, in the territory of Jerusalem and Judah), suggest that this region was the original home of his cult.[23]

[edit] Narrative in GenesisThe life of Abraham is recorded in Genesis 11:26-25:10 of the Hebrew Bible.


Abraham's Departure, by József Molnár[edit] Birth of Abram
Abram Journeying into the Land of Canaan (engraving by Gustave Doré from the 1865 La Sainte Bible)Terah, the tenth in descent from Noah, fathered Abram, Nahor and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot. Haran died in his native Ur of the Chaldees, and Abram married Sarai, who was barren. Terah, with Abram, Sarai and Lot, then departed for Canaan, but settled in a place named Haran, where Terah died at the age of 205. (Genesis 11:27-11:32)

[edit] Abram's callingGod told Abram to leave his native land and his father’s house for a land that God would show him, promising to make of him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, bless those who blessed him, and curse those who cursed him. (Genesis 12:1–3) Following God’s command, at age 75, Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and the wealth and persons that they had acquired in Haran, and traveled to the terebinth (KJV: plain) of Moreh, at Shechem in Canaan. (Genesis 12:4–6) God appeared to Abram to tell him that God would give the land to his heirs, and Abram built an altar to God. (Genesis 12:7) Abram then moved to the hill country east of Bethel and built an altar to God there and invoked God by name. (Genesis 12:8) Then Abram journeyed toward the Negeb (the south.) (Genesis 12:9)


Abram’s Counsel to Sarai (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)[edit] Abram and SaraiThere was a sore famine in the land of Canaan, so that Abram and Lot and their households, travelled south to Egypt. En route, Abram told his wife Sarai, to say that she was his sister, so that the Egyptians would not kill him. (Genesis 12:10–13) When they entered Egypt, the princes of Pharaoh praised Sarai's beauty to the Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace, and Abram was given provisions: "oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels." However, God afflicted the Pharaoh and his household with great plagues, (Genesis 12:14–17) and after discovering that Sarai was really Abram's wife, the Pharaoh wanted nothing to do with them. He demanded that he and his household leave immediately, along with all their goods. (Genesis 12:18–20)

[edit] Abram and Lot separateMain article: Abraham and Lot's conflict
When they came back to the Bethel and Hai area, Abram's and Lot's sizeable numbers of livestock occupied the same pastures, ("and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.") This became a problem for the herdsmen who were assigned to each family’s cattle. The conflicts between herdsmen had become so troublesome that Abram graciously suggested that Lot choose a separate area, either on the left hand or on the right hand, that there be no conflict amongst "brethren". But Lot chose to go east to the plain of Jordan where the land was well watered everywhere as far as Zoar, and he dwelled in the cities of the plain toward Sodom. Abram went south to Hebron and settled in the plain of Mamre, where he built another altar unto the Lord. (Genesis 13:1-18)

[edit] Abram and ChedorlaomerMain article: Battle of the Vale of Siddim

Meeting of Abram and Melchizedek (painting circa 1464–1467 by Dieric Bouts the Elder)During the rebellion of the Jordan River cities against Elam, (Genesis 14:1–9) Abram’s nephew, Lot, was taken prisoner along with his entire household by the invading Elamite forces. The Elamite army came to collect booty from the spoils of war, after having just defeated the King of Sodom’s armies. (Genesis 14:8–12) Lot and his family, at the time, were settled on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Sodom which made them a visible target. (Genesis 13:12)

One person that escaped capture came and told Abram what happened. Once Abram received this news, he immediately assembled 318 trained servants. Abram’s elite force headed north in pursuit of the Elamite army, who were already worn down from the Battle of Siddim. When they caught up with them at Dan, Abram devised a battle strategy plan by splitting his group into more than one unit, and launched a night raid. Not only were they able to free the captives, Abram’s unit chased and slaughtered the Elamite King Chedorlaomer at Hobah, just north of Damascus. They freed Lot, his household, possessions, and recovered all of the goods from Sodom that were taken. (Genesis 14:13–16)

Upon Abram’s return, King Bera of Sodom came out to meet with him in the Valley of Shaveh, the "king's dale." Also, Melchizedek king of Salem (Jerusalem), a priest of God Most High, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram and God. Abram then gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything. The king of Sodom then offered to let Abram keep all the possessions if he would merely return his people. Though he released the captives, Abram refused any reward from the King of Sodom, other than the share his allies were entitled to. (Genesis 14:17–24)

[edit] Abrahamic covenant
The Vision of the Lord Directing Abram to Count the Stars (woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Bible in Pictures)YHWH appeared to Abram in a vision and repeated the promise of land and descendants as numerous as the stars. Abram and YHWH made a covenant ceremony, and YHWH told of the bondage of Israel in Egypt. YHWH described to Abram the land that his offspring would claim: "the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”(Genesis 15)

[edit] Abram and HagarSee also: Hagar

Sarah Presenting Hagar to Abraham (1699 painting by Adriaen van der Werff)Abram and Sarai were trying to make sense of how he will become a progenitor of nations since it has already been 10 years of living in Canaan, and still no child has been born from Abram's seed. Sarai then offered her Egyptian handmaid, Hagar, for Abram to consort with her so that she may have a child by her, as a wife. Abram consented and had intercourse with Hagar. The result of these actions created a hostile relationship between Hagar and her mistress, Sarai. (Genesis 16:1-6)

After a harsh encounter with Sarai, Hagar fled toward Shur. In route, an angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar at the well of a spring. He instructed her to return to Sarai for she will bear a son who “shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” She was told to call her son: Ishmael. Hagar then referred to God as “El-roi,” meaning that she had gone on seeing after God saw her. From that day, the well was called Beer-lahai-roi. She then did as she was instructed by returning to Abram in order to have her child. Abram was eighty-six years of age when Ishmael was born.(Genesis 16:7-16)

[edit] Abraham and SarahGenesis 17 records the inauguration of Abram into the Lord’s covenant that was initiated thirteen years ago, as was stated in Genesis 15. Abram is now ninety-nine when God declares Abram’s new name: “Abraham, a father of many nations.” Abram then received the instructions for the inauguration rite into God’s covenant because the time was approaching for him to have a son by his wife, Sarai. The initiation rite was that in order to be part of this “great nation”, whether by bloodline or inducted, every male must be circumcised otherwise it was a breach of contract. Then God declared Sarai’s new name: “Sarah” and blessed her. Immediately after Abram’s encounter with his God, he had his entire household of men, including himself and Ishmael, circumcised. (Genesis 17:1-27)

[edit] Abraham's three visitors
Abraham and the Three Angels (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)Not long afterward, during the heat of the day, Abraham had been sitting at the entrance of his tent by the terebinths of Mamre. He looked up and saw three men in the presence of God. Then he ran and bowed to the ground to welcome them. Abraham then offered to wash their feet and fetch them a morsel of bread of which they assented. Abraham rushed to Sarah’s tent to order cakes made from choice flour, then he ordered a servant-boy to prepare a choice calf. When all was prepared, he set curds, milk and the calf before them waiting on them, under a tree, as they ate. (Genesis 18:1–8)

One of the visitors told Abraham that upon his return next year, Sarah would have a son. While at the tent entrance, Sarah overheard what was said and she laughed to herself about the prospect of having child at their ages. The visitor inquired to Abraham why Sarah laughed at bearing a child for her age as nothing is too hard for God. Frightened, Sarah denied laughing.

[edit] Abraham's pleaMain articles: Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot (Biblical)

Abraham Sees Sodom in Flames (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)After eating, Abraham and the three visitors got up. They walked over to the peak that overlooked the Cities of the Plain to discusses the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah for their detestable sins that were so great, it moved God to action. Because Abraham’s nephew was living in Sodom, God revealed plans to confirm and judge these cities. At this point, the two other visitors leave for Sodom. Then Abraham turned to the Lord and pleaded with him that 'if there were at least ten righteous men found in the city, would not God spare the city?' For the sake of ten righteous people, God declared that he would not destroy the city. (Genesis 18:17-33)

When the two visitors got to Sodom to conduct their report, they planned on staying in the city square, more than likely to see how they would be received by the locals. However, Abraham’s nephew, Lot, met with them and strongly insisted that these two “men” stay at his house for the night. This is the first subtle indication that it would be unsafe for anyone, especially outsiders, to be in the public eye. As it turns out, a rally of men stood outside of Lot’s home and demanded that they bring out his guests so that they may “know” them. However, Lot objected and offered his virgin daughters to be “known” by the rally of men instead. They rejected that notion and sought to break Lot’s doors down to get to his male guests,[24] thus confirming the “outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah” and sealing their doom. (Genesis 19:12-13)

Early the next morning, Abraham awoke and went to the elevation that looked over the River Jordan plain, at the very spot where he stood before God, the day prior. From his vantage point, he saw what became of the cities of the plain as “dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.” (Genesis 19:27-29) This meant that there was not even ten righteous people in any of those cities. (Genesis 18:32) This was the last recorded event that Abraham had anything to do with his nephew, Lot.

[edit] Abraham and AbimelechAbraham settled between Kadesh and Shur in the land of the Philistines. While he was living in Gerar, Abraham openly mentioned that Sarah was his sister. Upon discovering this news, King Abimelech had her brought to him. Later, God came to Abimelech in a dream and declared that taking her would result in death because she was a married woman to a prophet of God. Abimelech had not laid hands on her, so he inquired if he this God would slay an innocent man, especially since it was told to him that Abraham and Sarah were siblings. In response, God told Abimelech that he did indeed have a blameless heart and that is why he continues to exist. However, should he not return the wife of Abraham back to him, God would surely destroy Abimelech and his entire household. (Genesis 20:1-7)

Early next morning, Abimelech informed his servants of his dream and approached Abraham inquiring as to why he had brought such great guilt upon his kingdom. Abraham stated that Gerar of Philistia had no fear of God in them and the only way for this kingdom to recognize the fear of God was to do what he had done. Then Abraham justified what was said as not being a lie at all: "And moreover she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and so she became my wife." (Genesis 20:12) Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham, then gave him sheep, oxen, and slaves, and invited him to settle wherever he pleased in Abimelech’s lands. Further, Abimelech gave Abraham a thousand pieces of silver to serve as Sarah's vindication before all. Abraham then prayed in behalf of Abimelech and the women in his household, so that they bore children, since God had stricken the women with infertility because of the taking of Sarah. (Genesis 20:8–18)

After living for some time in the land of the Philistines, Abimelech and Phicol, the chief of his troops, approached Abraham because of a dispute that resulted in a violent confrontation at a well. Abraham then reproached Abimelech due to his Philistine servant's aggressive attacks and the seizing of Abraham’s well. Abimelech, however, acted in ignorance. Then Abraham offered a pact by providing sheep and oxen to Abimelech. Further, to attest that Abraham was the one who dug the well, he also gave Abimelech seven ewes for proof. Because of this sworn oath, they called the place of this well: Beersheba. After Abimelech and Phicol headed back to Philistia, Abraham planted a tamarisk tree to invoke God’s name. (Genesis 21:22-34)

[edit] Abraham and IshmaelAbraham was fond of his son Ishmael who had grown up to be fourteen years old when Isaac was born. However, with Sarah, things were never the same with Ishmael's mother, Hagar, back in her life. Now that Sarah has finally bore her own child, she could no longer stand the sight of either Hagar or Ishmael. When the teenager was jesting around, Sarah told Abraham to send the two of them away. She declared that Ishmael would not share in Isaac's inheritance. Abraham was greatly distressed by his wife's words and sought the advice of his God. The Lord told Abraham not to be distressed but to do as his wife commanded. The Lord reassured Abraham that "Isaac shall seed be called to thee." (Genesis 21:12) He also said that Ishmael would make a nation, "because he is thy seed", too. (Genesis 21:9-13)

Early the next morning, Abraham brought Hagar and Ishmael out together. He gave her bread and water and sent them away. The two wandered the wilderness of Beersheba until her bottle of water was completely consumed. In a moment of despair, she burst in tears. The boy then called to God and upon hearing him, an angel of God confirmed to Hagar that he would become a great nation. A well of water then appeared so that it saved their lives. As the boy grew, he became a skilled archer living in the wilderness of Paran. Eventually his mother found a wife for Ishmael from her native country, the land of Egypt. (Genesis 21:14-21)


Abraham Sacrificing Isaac, by Laurent de La Hire, 1650 (Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans)[edit] Abraham and IsaacMain article: Binding of Isaac
See also: Isaac#Binding of Isaac
At some point in Isaac's youth, Abraham was commanded by God to offer his son up as a sacrifice in the land of Moriah. The patriarch traveled three days until he came to the mount that God taught him. He commanded the servant to remain while he and Isaac proceeded alone to the mountain, Isaac carrying the wood upon which he would be sacrificed. Along the way, Isaac repeatedly asked Abraham where the animal for the burnt offering was. Abraham then replied that God would provide one. Just as Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, he was prevented by an angel, and given on that spot a ram which he sacrificed in place of his son. As a reward for his obedience he received another promise of numerous descendants and abundant prosperity. After this event, Abraham did not return to Hebron, Sarah's encampment, but instead went to Beersheba, Keturah's encampment, and it is to Beersheba that Abraham's servant brought Rebecca, Isaac's patrilineal parallel cousin who became his wife.[25]

[edit] Later yearsSarah is said to have died at the age of 127, and Abraham buried her in the Cave of the Patriarchs (also called the Cave of Machpelah), near Hebron which he had purchased, along with the adjoining field, from Ephron the Hittite.

After the death of Sarah, he took another wife, or concubine, named Keturah, who bore Abraham six sons: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.[26]

Abraham is said to have died at the age of 175 years. Jewish legend says that he was meant to live to 180 years, but God purposely took his life because he felt that Abraham did not need to go through the pain of seeing Esau's wicked deeds.[citation needed] The Bible says he was buried by his sons Isaac and Ishmael in the Cave of the Patriarchs.[27]

Sons of Abraham by wife in order of birth
Hagar Ishmael (1)
Sarah Isaac (2)
Keturah Zimran Jokshan Medan Midian Ishbak Shuah




[edit] Narrative in the Qur'anThis is a summary of all the references to Abraham in the Qur'an

There are numerous references to Abraham in the Qur'an, including, twice, to the Scrolls of Abraham (LXXXVII: 18; LIII: 36); in the latter passage, it is mentioned that Abraham "fulfilled his commandments" (LIII: 36), a reference to all the trials that Abraham had succeeded in. In a whole series of chapters, the Qur'an relates how Abraham preached to his community as a youth and how he specifically told his father, named Azar in VI:74, to leave idol-worship and come to the worship of God (XXXVII: 83-98; XXVI: 69-89).[28] Some passages of the Qur'an, meanwhile, deal with the story of how God sent angels to Abraham with the announcement of the punishment to be imposed upon Lot's people in Sodom and Gomorrah (LI: 24-34; XV: 51-60).[29] Other verses mention the near-sacrifice of Abraham's son (XXXVII: 100-111), whose name is not given but is presumed to be Ishmael as the following verses mention the birth of Isaac.[30] The Qur'an also repeatedly establishes Abraham's role as patriarch and mentions numerous important descendants who came through his lineage, including Isaac (XV: 53),Jacob (XIX: 49)[31] and Ishmael (II: 132-133). In the later chapters of the Qur'an, Abraham's role becomes yet more prominent. The Qur'an mentions that Abraham and Ishmael were the reformers who set up the Kaaba in Mecca as a center of pilgrimage formonotheism (II: 124:141; III: 65-68, 95-97).[32] The Qur'an consistently refers to Islam as the "religion of Abraham" (millat Ibrahim) (II: 135) and Abraham is given a title as Hanif (The Pure; III: 67). The Qur'an also mentions Abraham as one whom God took as a friend (Khalil; IV: 125), hence Abraham's title in Islam, Khalil-Ullah (Friend of God). Other instances in the Qur'an which are described in a concise manner are the rescue of Abraham from the fire into which he was thrown by his people (XXXVII: 97; XXI: 68-70); his pleading for his father (XIX: 47); his quarrel with an unrighteous and powerful king (II: 58) and the miracle of the dead birds (II: 260).

All these events and more have been discussed with more details in Muslim tradition, and especially in the Stories of the Prophets and works of universal Islamic theology.[33] Certain episodes from the life of Abraham have been more heavily detailed in Muslim literature, such as the arguments between Abraham and the evil king Nimrod, the near-sacrifice of his son, and the story of Hagar and Ishmael, which Muslims commemorate when performing pilgrimage in Mecca. Some believe in some cases, these legends in Muslim literature may have influenced later Jewish tradition.[34]

[edit] Abraham in religious traditionsIn Islamic and Jewish traditions, Abraham is referred to as "our Father", (Hebrew: Avraham Avinu, Arabic: abeena Ibraheem[35]).

In Islamic tradition, Abraham is considered a prophet of Islam, the ancestor of Muhammad, through his firstborn son, Ishmael whose mother’s name is nowhere mentioned in the Qu'ran.

In Jewish tradition, Abraham is also the father of the Israelites through his second born child, Isaac whose mother was Sarah. Accordingly, the mother of his firstborn son, Ishmael is identified as Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian handmaiden.

In Christian tradition, God's promise to Abraham would be fulfilled, in its entirety, through Jesus Christ who provides the opportunity for all mankind to be under the same covenant that was offered to Abraham and all of his people. Just as Israelite men were circumcised to identify themselves as part of the Abrahamic covenant, Christians today are identified through baptism.


Jews praying in front of the Tomb of Abraham on the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron[edit] JudaismAbraham’s life can be read in the weekly Torah reading portions, predominantly in the Parashot: Lech-Lecha ( ????-???? ), Vayeira ( ???????? ), Chayei Sarah ( ?????? ?????? ), and Toledot ( ????????? )

[edit] Abraham in the Writings of Second Temple JudaismSecond Temple Judaism refers to the religion of Judaism during the period between the construction of the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem in 515 BCE, and its destruction by the Romans in 70 CE This period witnessed major historical upheavals and significant religious changes. The origins of the authority of scripture, of the centrality of law and morality in religion, of the synagogue and of apocalyptic expectations for the future all developed in the Judaism of this period. The primary literary sources for information about late Second Temple Judaism are the Apocrypha, Old Testament pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the works of Josephus and Philo.

Philo

In the Works of Philo, chapters 16-22 focus on the life of Abraham and his family.[36] The titles of the chapters are:

16 On the Migration of Abraham 19 On Flight and Finding 21 On Dreams, That They are God-Sent
17 Who is the Heir of Divine Things? 20 On the Change of Names 22 On Abraham
18 On Mating with the Preliminary Studies

[edit] Abram’s birthplace disputedSee also: Noach (parsha)
11th and 12th century Rabbis Rashi and Abraham ibn Ezra agree that Abram’s native homeland was Ur Kasdim, better known as Ur of the Chaldees, a Mesopotamian location settled by the descendants of Ham (son of Noah).[37] Some modern Jewish studies identify this location to be the same as the Sumerian city-state of Ur.[38][39] However, this Persian Gulf city in Iraq is only a candidate among others to be the actual Ur Kasdim, as well as the most popularly debated one since 1927.[40]

Rabbi Nahmanides, known as the Ramban, was a medieval Jewish scholar of the 13th century who disagreed with Rashi and Ibn Ezra concerning Abram’s birthplace. The Ramban states that because Ur Kasdim was settled by Ham’s descendants, this could not be Abram’s birthplace as he was a descendant of Shem. However, everyone does agree that Abram’s family under the headship of his father, Terach, had all lived in Ur Kasdim before being called to move to Canaan.[37]

The three Rabbis also agree that Terach’s native homeland was Charan, the biblical place known as Haran in Genesis 11:31,32, where the House of Terach was located.[Gen.12:1] [37] Since this settlement was established by Shem’s descendants, only Ramban assumed that Charan had to be Abram’s birthplace. He further concluded that Terach and his three sons eventually moved from Charan to Ur Kasdim, then later by God’s command, they headed to Canaan. Of course, they stopped back at Terach’s hometown of Charan, where the father stayed there rather than going to Canaan after all.[37]

[edit] Christianity This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2011)


The Abraham stained glass window at St. Matthew's German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charleston, South CarolinaIn the New Testament Abraham is mentioned prominently as a man of faith (see e.g. Hebrews 11), and the apostle Paul uses him as an example of salvation by faith, as the progenitor of the Christ (or Messiah) (see Galatians 3:16).

The New Testament also sees Abraham as an obedient man of God, and Abraham's interrupted attempt to offer up Isaac is seen as the supreme act of perfect faith in God. "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called', concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense." (Hebrews 11:17-19) The imagery of a father sacrificing his son is seen as a type of God the Father offering his Son on Golgatha.

The traditional view in Christianity is that the chief promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12 is that through Abraham's seed all the people of earth would be blessed. Notwithstanding this, John the Baptist specifically taught that merely being of Abraham's seed was no guarantee of salvation.[41] The promise in Genesis is considered to have been fulfilled through Abraham's seed, Jesus. It is also a consequence of this promise that Christianity is open to people of all races and not limited to Jews.[citation needed]

The Roman Catholic Church calls Abraham "our father in Faith", in the Eucharistic prayer of the Roman Canon, recited during the Mass (see Abraham in the Catholic liturgy). He is also commemorated in the calendars of saints of several denominations: on August 20 by the Maronite Church, August 28 in the Coptic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East (with the full office for the latter), and on October 9 by the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. He is also regarded as the patron saint of those in the hospitality industry.[42]

The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates him as the "Righteous Forefather Abraham", with two feast days in its liturgical calendar. The first time is on October 9 (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, October 9 falls on October 22 of the modern Gregorian Calendar), where he is commemorated together with his nephew "Righteous Lot". The other is on the "Sunday of the Forefathers" (two Sundays before Christmas), when he is commemorated together with other ancestors of Jesus. Abraham is also mentioned in the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, just before the Anaphora. Abraham and Sarah are invoked in the prayers said by the priest over a newly married couple at the Sacred Mystery of Crowning (i.e., the Sacrament of Marriage).

[edit] IslamMain article: Islamic views on Abraham
Main article: Islamic view of Abraham
Abraham ("Ibrahim") is an important figure in the Quran, mentioned in 25 chapters, briefly or in detail.[43] Muslims regard him as a prophet and patriarch, the archetype of the perfect Muslim, and the revered reformer of the Kaaba in Mecca.[10]

[edit] Baha'iBahá'u'lláh, the founder, affirms the highest religious station for Abraham and generally for prophets mentioned among the other Abrahamic religions,[44] and has claimed a lineage of descent from Abraham through Keturah and Sarah.[45][46][47] Additionally Bahá'u'lláh actually did lose a son, Mírzá Mihdí.[48] Bahá’u’lláh, then in prison, eulogized his son and connected the subsequent easing of restrictions to his dying prayer and also compared it to the intended sacrifice of Abraham’s son.[49]

[edit] Abraham in the Arts[edit] PaintingsPaintings on the life of Abraham tend to focus on only a few incidents: The sacrifice of Isaac; Meeting Melchizedek; Entertaining the three angels; Hagar in the desert; and a few others.[50] Many artists have been inspired by the life of Abraham: Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), Caravaggio (1573–1610), Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669) created at least seven works on Abraham, Petrus-Paulus Rubens (1577–1640) did several, Donatello, Raphael, Philip van Dyck (Dutch painter, 1680–1753), Marc Chagall did at least five on Abraham, Gustave Doré (French illustrator, 1832–1883) did six, Claude Lorrain (French painter, 1600–1682), James Jacques Joseph Tissot (French painter and illustrator, 1836–1902) did over twenty works on the subject.[50]

[edit] Sculpture
Cast of the Sacrifice of Isaac. The hand of God originally came down to hold Abraham's knife (both are now missing).
Plaster cast of the Sarcophagus of Junius BassusThe Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus depicts a set of biblical stories, including Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac. These sculpted scenes are on the outside of a marble Early Christian sarcophagus used for the burial of Junius Bassus. He died in 359. This sarcophagus has been described as "probably the single most famous piece of early Christian relief sculpture."[51] The sarcophagus was originally placed in or under Old St. Peter's Basilica, was rediscovered in 1597,[52] and is now below the modern basilica in the Museo Storico del Tesoro della Basilica di San Pietro (Museum of Saint Peter's Basilica) in the Vatican. The base is approximately 4 × 8 × 4 feet. The Old Testament scenes depicted were chosen as precursors of Christ's sacrifice in the New Testament, in an early form of typology. Just to the right of the middle is Daniel in the lion's den and on the left is Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac.

Abraham's Farewell to Ishmael by George Segal. The artist created figural sculptures by molding plastered gauze strips over live models. The human condition was central to his concerns. On several occasions, Segal turned to the Old Testament as a source for his imagery. This sculture depicts the dilemma faced by Abraham when Sarah demanded that he expel Hagar and Ishmael. In the sculpture, the father's tenderness, Sarah's rage, and Hagar's resigned acceptance portray a range of human emotions. The sculpture was donated to the Miami Art Museum after the artist's death in 2000. This footnote provides a link to a picture of the sculpture.[53]

[edit] LiteratureFear and Trembling (original Danish title: Frygt og Bæven) is an influential philosophical work by Søren Kierkegaard, published in 1843 under the pseudonym Johannes de silentio (John the Silent). Kierkegaard wanted to understand the anxiety [54] that must have been present in Abraham when God asked him to sacrifice his son.[55]

[edit] MusicBob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" [56] is the title track for his 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song as number 364 in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[57] The song has five stanzas. In each stanza, someone describes an unusual problem that is ultimately resolved on Highway 61. In Stanza 1, God tells Abraham to "kill me a son". God wants the killing done on Highway 61. Abram, the original name of the biblical Abraham, is also the name of Dylan's own father.

Sarah or Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai. According to Genesis 17:15 God changed her name to Sarah as part of a covenant after Hagar bore Abraham his first son, Ishmael.

The Hebrew name Sarah indicates a woman of high rank and is sometimes translated as "princess". It also means "lady."

Sarah was the wife of Abraham, as well as being his half-sister, the daughter of his father Terah (Genesis 20:12). The Talmud [2] identifies Sarai with Iscah, daughter of Abraham's deceased brother Haran (Genesis 11:29), so that Sarah turns out to be the niece of Abraham and the sister of Lot and Milcah. She was considered beautiful to the point that Abraham feared that when they were near more powerful rulers she would be taken away and given to another man. Twice he purposefully identified her as being only his sister so that he would be "treated well" for her sake.[3] It is apparent that she remained attractive into her later years. Despite her great beauty, she was barren for an unknown reason.[4] She was originally called "Sarai" which is translated "my princess." Later she was called "Sarah" i.e., princess."[5] In Biblical times, the changing of one's name was significant and used to symbolize the binding of a covenant. In this case, God promised to put an end to her barrenness and give her a child (Isaac).[6]

[edit] In Pharaoh's harem
Sarah, as depicted on Promptuarii Iconum InsigniorumOn the journey to Egypt, Abraham hid his wife[7] in a chest in order that no one might see her. At the frontier the chest had to pass through the hands of certain officials, who insisted on examining its contents in order to determine the amount of duty payable. When it was opened a bright light proceeded from Sarai's beauty. Every one of the officials wished to secure possession of her, each offering a higher sum than his rival.[8] When brought before Pharaoh, Sarai said that Abraham was her brother, and the king thereupon bestowed upon the latter many presents and marks of distinction ("Sefer ha-Yashar," l.c.). As a token of his love for Sarai the king deeded his entire property to her, and gave her the land of Goshen as her hereditary possession: for this reason the Israelites subsequently lived in that land (Pir?e R. El. xxxvi.). It is likely that she acquired her Egyptian maidservant Hagar during this stay. Sarai prayed to God to deliver her from the king, and He thereupon sent an angel, who struck Pharaoh whenever he attempted to touch her. Pharaoh was so astonished at these blows that he spoke kindly to Sarai, who confessed that she was Abraham's wife. The king then ceased to annoy her ("Sefer ha-Yashar," l.c.). According to another version, Pharaoh persisted in annoying her after she had told him that she was a married woman; thereupon the angel struck him so violently that he became ill, and was thereby prevented from continuing to trouble her (Genesis Rabbah xli. 2). According to one tradition it was when Pharaoh saw these miracles wrought in Sarai's behalf that he gave her his daughter Hagar as slave, saying: "It is better that my daughter should be a slave in the house of such a woman than mistress in another house"; Abimelech acted likewise (Genesis Rabbah xlv. 2). Sarai treated Hagar well, and induced women who came to visit her to visit Hagar also. Hagar, when pregnant by Abraham, began to act superciliously toward Sarai, provoking the latter to treat her harshly, to impose heavy work upon her, and even to strike her (ib. xlv. 9).

[edit] Relations with Hagar
Banishment of Hagar, Etching. À Paris chez Fr. Fanet, Éditeur, Rue des Saints Pères n° 10. XVIIIth century. Sarah is seen on the left side, lookingSome believe Sarai was originally destined to reach the age of 175 years, but forty-eight years of this span of life were taken away from her because she complained of Abraham, blaming him as though the cause that Hagar no longer respected her (R. H. 16b; Genesis Rabbah xlv. 7). Sarah was sterile; but a miracle was vouchsafed to her (Genesis Rabbah xlvii. 3) after her name was changed from "Sarai" to "Sarah" (R. H. 16b). According to one myth, when her fertility had been restored and she had given birth to Isaac, the people would not believe in the miracle, saying that the patriarch and his wife had adopted a foundling and pretended that it was their own son. Abraham thereupon invited all the notabilities to a banquet on the day when Isaac was to be weaned. Sarah invited the women, also, who brought their infants with them; and on this occasion she gave milk from her breasts to all the strange children, thus convincing the guests of the miracle (B. M. 87a; comp. Gen. R. liii. 13). None of this is Biblical, however, except for the fact that Abraham organized a celebration when Isaac was weaned. It was during this banquet that Sarah happened upon the then teenaged Ishmael "mocking" her son[9] and was so disturbed that she requested that both he and Hagar be removed from their company.[10]

[edit] DeathLegends connect Sarah's death with the attempted sacrifice of Isaac,[11] there being two versions of the story. According to one, Samael came to her and said: "Your old husband seized the boy and sacrificed him. The boy wailed and wept; but he could not escape from his father." Sarah began to cry bitterly, and ultimately died of her grief.[12] According to the other legend, Satan, disguised as an old man, came to Sarah and told her that Isaac had been sacrificed. She, believing it to be true, cried bitterly, but soon comforted herself with the thought that the sacrifice had been offered at the command of God. She started from Beer-sheba to Hebron, asking everyone she met if he knew in which direction Abraham had gone. Then Satan came again in human shape and told her that it was not true that Isaac had been sacrificed, but that he was living and would soon return with his father. Sarah, on hearing this, died of joy at Hebron. Abraham and Isaac returned to their home at Beer-sheba, and, not finding Sarah there, went to Hebron, where they discovered her dead.[13] According to the Genesis Rabba, during Sarah's lifetime her house was always hospitably open, the dough was miraculously increased, a light burned from Saturday evening to Saturday evening, and a pillar of cloud rested upon the entrance to her tent.[14]

[edit] New Testament referencesThe First Epistle of Peter praises Sarah for obeying her husband.[15] Other New Testament references to Sarah are in Romans,[16] Galatians[17] and Hebrews.[18]

[edit] Sarah in IslamSarah (Arabic: ????, Sara), the wife of the patriarch and Islamic prophet Abraham and the mother of the prophet Isaac is an honoured woman in the Islamic faith. According to Muslim belief, she was Abraham's first wife. Although not mentioned by name in the Qur'an, she is referenced and alluded to via the story of her husband. She lived with Abraham throughout her life and, although she was barren, God promised her the birth of a prophetic son, Isaac.

Muslim tradition holds that Sarah and Abraham had no children. Abraham, however, prayed constantly to God for a son. Sarah, being barren, subsequently gave him her Egyptian handmaiden,[19] Hajar (Hagar), to wed as his second wife. Hagar bore Isma'il (Ishmael), when Abraham was 86,[20] who too would become a prophet of God like his father. Thirteen years later, God announced to Abraham, now a hundred,[21] that barren Sarah would give birth to a second son, Isaac, who would also be a prophet of the Lord. Although the Qur'an does not mention Sarah by name, it mentions the annunciation of the birth of Isaac. The Qur'an mentions that Sarah laughed when the angels gave her the glad tidings of Isaac, which is perhaps why the name Isaac has the root meaning of 'laughter'.[22]

There came Our messengers to Abraham with glad tidings. They said, 'Peace!' He answered, 'Peace!' and hastened to entertain them with a roasted calf.
But when he saw their hands went not towards the (meal), he felt some mistrust of them, and conceived a fear of them. They said: "Fear not: We have been sent against the people of Lut.
And his wife was standing (there), and she laughed: But we gave her glad tidings of Isaac, and after him, of Jacob.
She said: "Alas for me! shall I bear a child, seeing I am an old woman, and my husband here is an old man? That would indeed be a wonderful thing!"
—Qur'an, Sura 11 (Hud), ayat 69-72[23]
[edit] Tomb of Sarah
Mausoleum of Sarah, Abraham's wife in the Mosque of AbrahamSarah is believed to be buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs (known by Muslims as the Sanctuary of Abraham). The compound, located in the ancient city of Hebron, is the second holiest site for Jews (after the Temple Mount in Jerusalem), and is also venerated by Christians and Muslims, both of whom have traditions which maintain that the site is the burial place of three Biblical couples: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah. According to the book of Genesis, Abraham purchased the plot of land for her tomb from a man named Ephron the Hittite.[24] Although some Jews alternatively also believe this to be the burial place for Adam and Eve, this is a view not usually adopted by Christians or Muslims.

Jewish tradition[edit] Terach's occupationTerach was a wicked [7] idolatrous priest[8] who manufactured idols.[9][10] In Jewish tradition, Avram is considered to be the eldest of three sons who was opposed to his father’s idol shop. After having smashed his father’s idols and chased customers away, Terach brought his unruly son before Nimrod, who threw him into a fiery furnace, yet miraculously escaped.[11] The Zohar says that when God saved Avram from the furnace, Terach repented [12] and Rabbi Abba B. Kahana said that God assured him that his father Terach had a portion in the World to Come.[13]

Rabbi Hiyya's relates this account:

Terach left Avram to mind the store while he departed. A woman came with a plateful of flour and asked Avram to offer it to the idols. Avram then took a stick, broke the idols, and put the stick in the largest idol’s hand. When Terach returned, he demanded that Avram explain what he'd done. Avram told his father that the idols fought among themselves and the largest broke the others with the stick. “Why do you make sport of me?” Terah cried, “Do they have any knowledge?” Avram replied, “Listen to what you are saying!”
[edit] Leader of the journeyTerach is identified as the person who arranged and led the family to embark on a mysterious journey to Canaan. It is shrouded in mystery to Jewish scholars as to why Terach began the journey and as to why the journey ended prematurely. It is suggested that he was a man in search of a greater truth that could possibly be found in the familiar[14] land of Canaan, and it was by Avram who picked up the torch to continue his father's quest that he himself was unable to achieve. [15]

[edit] When Avram leaves CharanIt is believed that Avram left Charan before Terach died as an expression that he would not be remiss in the Mitzvah, of honoring a parent, by leaving his aging father behind.[16] The significance of Terach not reaching Canaan, was a reflection of his character, a man who was unable to go “all the way”. Though on a journey in the right direction, Terach fell short at arriving to the divine destination. In contrast to Avram, who did follow through and achieved the divine goal, he was not bound by his father’s idolatrous past. By following God’s command for Avram to leave his father, this absolved him from the Mitzvah of honoring parents. He would go on to create a new lineage unrelated to his ancestors.[17]

[edit] Islamic traditionIn Islam, Abraham's father is believed to have been a highly evil, ignorant and wicked man[18], who refused to listen to the constant advice of his wise son. In fact, the earliest story involving Abraham in the Qur'an is his discussion with his father. The name given for this man in the Qur'an [19] is Azar (Arabic: ????), though Arab genealogists related the name of Abraham's father as Tara? (Arabic: ?????). Even though the name is different in Islamic tradition to that in the Hebrew Bible, there is no doubt that the same figure is spoken of in both texts.

[edit] Abraham's adviceAs a father, Azar required his son's most sincere advice. Abraham, after receiving his first revelations from God, invited his father to the way of Islam. Abraham explained to him the faults in idolatry[20], and why he was wrong to worship objects which could neither hear nor see[21]. Abraham told his father that he had indeed received revelations from God, knowledge which his father did not possess[22], and told him that belief in God would grant him immense rewards in both this life and the hereafter. Abraham concluded his preaching by warning Azar of the grave punishment he would face if he did not mend his ways[23]. When Abraham offered his father the guidance and advice of God, he rejected it, and threatened to stone him to death[24]. Abraham prayed for his father[25] to be forgiven by God, and although he continued to seek forgiveness,it was only because of a promise that he had made earlier to him. When it became clear that Azar's unrelenting hatred towards pure monotheism would never be fought, Abraham dissociated himself from him[26].

[edit] Wreckage of the idolsThe Qur'an makes it clear that the people of Abraham were idolaters. When Abraham had become older, he decided to finally teach his community a lesson. He told his people that he had plan for their idols, whilst they would be gone away[27]. The Qur'an goes onto narrate that Abraham subsequently broke the idols, all except the largest, which he kept intact[28]. When the people returned, they began questioning each other over the wreckage, until some of the people remembered that the youth, Abraham, had spoken of the idols earlier[29]. When Abraham arrived, the people immediately began to question him, asking him whether he had anything to do with the broken idols. Abraham then, in a clever taunt, asked the people as to why they don't ask the largest of the idols, which, they believed, could indeed hear and speak[30]. The people of Abraham were then confounded with shame, and admitted that the idols were incapable of anything[31].

[edit] Abraham is thrown into the fireAfter the incident of the idol wreckage, the people of Abraham, while having admitted their fault, are said to have ignored Abraham's warning and instead retaliated by throwing him into a fire and exclaiming "protect your gods"[32]. Although the natural nature of fire is one of intense heat, God commanded the flame to be cool and peaceful for Abraham[33]. Abraham, as a result, remained unhurt both physically and spiritually, having survived the fire of persecution. The people continued to taunt and persecute him, but to no result, as the Qur'an says that it was they "that lost most"[34].

[edit] Christian traditionThe Christian views of the time of Terah is founded from a passage in the New Testament at Acts 7:2-4 where Stephen said two things that contrast with Jewish Rabbinical views. He said that God appeared to Abraham in Mesopotamia and directed him to leave the Chaldeans. Whereas most Rabbinical commentators see Terah as the one who directed the family to leave Ur Kasdim from Genesis 11:31: “Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan.”.

Nahor is listed as the son of Serug.[v.22] He was born and raised in the Sumerian city-state of Ur on the Euphrates River of lower Mesopotamia, about four Millenia ago.[1] He lived to be 148 years old [v.24,25] and had a son, Terah at the age of 29.[v.24] He was also the grandfather of Abraham, Nahor II and Haran, all descendants of Shem.[v.10,25-27][2]

[edit] Jewish traditionIn Jubilees, Nahor's mother was Milcah daughter of Kaber. Nahor also married 'Iyoska, daughter of Nesteg of the kin of Ur Kasdim, a son of Arpachshad for whom Ur was named.

Serug was the son of Reu and the father of Nahor, according to Genesis 11:20-23. He is also the great-grandfather of Abraham.

In the Masoretic text that modern Bibles are based on, he was 30 when Nahor was born, and lived to the age of 230. The Septuagint and Samaritan Pentateuch texts state that he was 130 on fathering Nahor, and the Septuagint accordingly gives his age at death as 330.

He is called Saruch in the Greek version of Luke 3:35.

Further details are provided in Jubilees, where it gives the names of his mother, Ora (11:1), and wife Milcah (11:6). It also states that his original name was Seroh, but that it was changed to Serug in the time when Noah's children began to fight wars, and the city of Ur was built, where Serug lived. It says this Serug was the first of the patriarchal line to abandon monotheism and turn to idol worship, teaching sorcery to his son Nahor.

Reu or Ragau (Hebrew: ?????, Re'u ISO 259-3 R?u "Behold") in Genesis was the son of Peleg and the father of Serug, thus being Abraham's great-great-grandfather.

He was 32 when Serug was born and lived to the age of 239 (Genesis 11:20), according to the Masoretic text. The Septuagint and Samaritan Pentateuch state that his age on fathering Serug was 132, and the Septuagint thus gives age at death as 339.

The Book of Jubilees names his mother as Lomna of Shinar (10:28), and his wife as Ora, daughter of Ur Kesed (11:1). He is said to have been born at the time when the Tower of Babel was begun.

Peleg (Modern Péleg / Páleg Tiberian Péle? / Pale? ; "division") is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two sons of Eber, an ancestor of the Israelites, according to the so-called "Table of Nations" in Genesis 10-11 and 1 Chronicles 1. Peleg's son was Reu, born when Peleg was thirty, and he had other sons and daughters. According to the Hebrew Bible, Peleg lived to the age of 239 years. (Genesis 11:16-19)

In the Septuagint and some Christian Bibles derived from it, Peleg is called Phaleg and his father is called Heber. His son is called Ragau, born when Phaleg was 130 years old, and he had other sons and daughters. According to the Septuagint, Phaleg lived to an age of 339 years. (Septuagint Genesis 11:16-19) Modern translations generally use the names and dating as in the Masoretic Hebrew text. (compare Genesis 11:16-19)

Peleg is a common surname in Israel, also being the root lettering for sailing (lahaflig ??????) and a military half-bivouac tent (peleg-ohel ??? ????). The meaning of Peleg in English is "brook", a little river.

[edit] "And the Earth was divided"According to Genesis 10:25 and 1 Chronicles 1:19, it was during the time of Peleg that "the earth was divided" – traditionally, this is often assumed to be just before, during, or after the failure of Nimrod's Tower of Babel. The meaning of the earth being divided is usually taken to refer to a patriarchal division of the world, or possibly just the eastern hemisphere, into allotted portions among the three sons of Noah for future occupation, as specifically described in the Book of Jubilees, Biblical Antiquities of Philo, Kitab al-Magall, Flavius Josephus[1], and numerous other antiquarian and mediaeval sources, even as late as Archbishop Ussher, in his Annals of the World.[2]. One account, the Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan, states that "In the days of Phalek (Peleg), the earth was divided a second time among the three sons of Noah; Shem, Ham and Japheth" — it having been divided once previously among the three sons by Noah himself.[3]

A theory current in some modern creationist schools of thought[4] interprets this verse to suggest that Peleg lived at the time the continent of Pangaea split into modern continents, although some other creationist geologists[5] contend that such an event had happened during the Flood, five generations before Peleg.

Eber s an ancestor of the Israelites, according to the "Table of Nations" in Genesis 10-11 and 1 Chronicles 1. He was a great-grandson of Noah's son Shem and the father of Peleg born when Eber was 34 years old, and of Joktan. He was the son of Shelah a distant ancestor of Abraham. According to the Hebrew Bible, Eber died at the age of 464 (Genesis 11:14-17) when Jacob was 20. The Hebrew Calendar synchronises this date with 1817 BC.

In the Septuagint and other Christian Bibles derived from it, Eber is called Heber and his father is called Sala. His son is called Phaleg, born when Heber was 134 years old, and he had other sons and daughters. Heber lived to an age of 404 years. (Septuagint Genesis 11:14-17)

In Jewish tradition, Eber, the great-grandson of Shem, refused to help with the building of the Tower of Babel, so his language was not confused when it was abandoned. He and his family alone retained the original human language, Hebrew, a language named after Eber (Heber), also called lingua humana in Latin. (There are different religious positions on this issue; see also Adamic language.)

The name "Ever" ??? (Hebrew root letters ayin ?, bet/vet ? and reish ?, transliterated in English to "Eber" or "Heber") are considered by Biblical scholars[citation needed] to be the roots of the word "Hebrew" (ivri ???? and ivrit ?????, in Hebrew), with "ever" most often meaning "side" or "beyond", but also region beyond or across, opposite side, or passage, as in me'ever ???? and maavar ???? in both Biblical and Modern Hebrew as spoken in Israel today.

[Genesis 10:21] Also to Shem, the father of all the Children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born. (NASB)
In some translations of the New Testament, he is referred to once as Heber ([Luke 3:35] ...the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Salah...); however, he should not be confused with the Heber of the Old Testament (different Hebrew spelling ???), grandson of Asher ([Genesis 46:17] The sons of Asher: Imnah and Ishvah and Ishvi and Beriah and their sister Serah. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel).

Two years after the flood, when Shem was
100 years old, he became the father of
Arphaxad. And after he became the father
of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and
had other sons and daughters.
When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he
became the father of Shelah. And
after he became the father of Shelah,
Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other
sons and daughters.
--Genesis 11:10-13.

Shem He is most popularly regarded as the eldest son, though some traditions regard him as the second son. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity in each to have yielded different translations. The verse is translated in the KJV as "Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder, even to him were children born.". However, the New American Standard Bible gives, "Also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, and the older brother of Japheth, children were born."

Genesis 11:10 records that Shem was still 100 years old at the birth of Arpachshad, (but nearly 101 - see Chronology note,) two years after the flood, making him barely 99 at the time the flood began; and that he lived for another 500 years after this, making his age at death 600 years.

The children of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram, in addition to daughters. Abraham, the patriarch of the Hebrews and Arabs, was one of the descendants of Arpachshad.

Islamic literature describes Shem as one of the believing sons of Noah. Some sources even identify Shem as a prophet in his own right and that he was the next prophet after his father.[2] One Muslim legend narrates that Shem was one of the people that God made Jesus resurrect as a sign to the Children of Israel.[3]

The 1st century historian Flavius Josephus, among many others, recounted the tradition that these five sons were the progenitors of the nations of Elam, Assyria, Syria, Chaldea, and Lydia, respectively.

Terms like "Semite" and "Hamite" are less common now, and may sometimes even be perceived as offensive, because of their "racial" connotations. The adjectival forms "Semitic" and "Hamitic" are more common, though the vague term 'Hamitic' dropped out of mainstream academic use in the 1960s. Semitic is still a commonly used term for the Semitic languages, as a subset of the Afro-Asiatic languages, denoting the common linguistic heritage of Arabic, Aramaic, Akkadian, Ethiopic, Hebrew and Phoenician languages.

'Semitic' also appears in the phrase "anti-Semitic" to refer to racial, ethnic or cultural prejudice aimed exclusively at Jews.

According to some Jewish traditions (e.g., B. Talmud Nedarim 32b; Genesis Rabbah 46:7; Genesis Rabbah 56:10; Leviticus Rabbah 25:6; Numbers Rabbah 4:8.), Shem is believed to have been Melchizedek, King of Salem whom Abraham is recorded to have met after the battle of the four kings.

In a few of the many extra-biblical sources that describe him, Shem is also credited with killing Nimrod, son of Cush.

Shem is mentioned in Genesis 5:32, 6:10; 7:13; 9:18,23,26-27; 10; 11:10; also in 1 Chronicles 1:4.

A rabbinic document that surfaced in the 17th century, claiming to be the lost "Book of Jasher" provides some names not found in any other source. Some have reconstructed more complete genealogies based on this information as follows:

Shem. Also Sem. Literal meanings are named or renown (father of the Semitic races - Shemites). The sons of Shem were:

Elam "eternity" (sons were Shushan, Machul and Harmon)[4] - (Elamites, Khuzestanis)[5]
Asshur "a step" or "strong" (sons were Mirus and Mokil)[6] - (Assyrians)
Arphaxad (sons were Shelach, Anar and Ashcol)[6] - Hebrews (Israelites, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Ishmaelites, And Qahtanites)
Ziezi - son of Shem and a grandson of Noah. His name is mentioned in the excerpt Ziezi ex quo vulgares meaning "Ziezi, of whom the Bulgars" but being regarded by some as the first European reference to the Bulgars as a people. (Ancient Thracians, Ancient Bulgarians, Thracians)
Lud "strife" (sons were Pethor and Bizayon)[7] - (Ludim, Lubim, Ludians, Ludu, Lydians, and other related groups in Asia Minor.
Aram "exalted" (sons were Uz, Chul, Gather and Mash)[7] - (Aramaeans).
[edit] Other proposed lineages from ShemAccording to The Bible, Genesis 10:22-31

22 The children of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad and Lud and Aram. 23 And the children of Aram; Uz and Hul, and Gether and Mash. 24 And Arphaxad begat Salah and Salah begat Eber. 25 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan. 26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah. 27 And Hadoram, and Uzal and Diklah, 28 And Obal, and Abimael and Sheba, 29 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan. 30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east 31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

From Genesis 11: 10-31

Shem begat Arphaxad ( and begat sons and daughters), Arphaxad begat Salah (+sons & daughters), Salah begat Eber (+sons & daughters), Eber begat Peleg (+sons & daughters), and Peleg begat Reu (+sons & daughters), and Reu begat Serug (+sons & daughters), and Serug begat Nahor, and Nahor begat Terah (+sons & daughters), and Terah begat Abram (his wife was Sarai) ,Nahor, and Haran, and Haran begat Lot.

[edit] EuropeansSome believe that from Shem descend the whole of the European peoples. Ernest L. Martin writes, "...[The] Shemite tribes (people who were descendants of Shem and including some peoples who came from Abraham) later colonized the whole of southern Europe and replaced the people of JAVAN and his four descendants. JAVAN'S people were pushed mainly into the northern areas of Europe where in turn they migrated farther east into Asia (along with GOMER the firstborn son of JAPHETH and his descendants). Indeed, in prophecies dealing also with the End-Time, we find the people of JAVAN no longer in Europe, but they are now associated with TUBAL [Ezekiel 38: & 39 end time prophecy] (another son of JAPHETH) who became an eastern Mongolian type of people...though the name JAVAN still retained its geographical hold on the southern region of Europe, particularly in Greece)...It is not uncommon for people to give a name to a region and then the original people move on to other areas (or are killed off) and the original geographical name becomes associated with completely different people" [8]

[edit] GermanicSome scholars have claimed that the Anglo-Saxons are the descendants of Shem. "Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons [b. 849 A.D.] was... the son [descendant] of Sem [Shem]" (Church Historians of England, vol. 2, p. 443). Proponents of this theory also claim that Alfred the Great was a descendant of Shem because he claimed to descend from Sceafa, a marooned man who came to Britain on a boat after a flood.[citation needed]

Le Petit, a writer in 1601 mentioned King Adel, said to be descendant of Shem, ruler of Britain having 3 children that migrated to India.

Further, it is said[who?] that Tuitsch a German patriarch is none other than Shem himself (see Assyrian-German theory).

[edit] Hellenistic (Greek)A text from the Islamic world claims that the Greeks derived from Shem: Tabari II:11 “Shem, the son of Noah was the father of the Arabs, the Persians, and the Greeks;...”

In the Chronicles of George the Monk and Symeon Logothetes, the following genealogy occurs: "To the lot of Shem fell the Orient, and his share extended lengthwise as far as India and breadthwise (from east to south) as far as Phinocorura, including Persia and Bactria, as well as Syria, Media (which lies beside the Euphrates River), Babylon, Cordyna, Assyria, Mesopotamia, Arabia the Ancient, Elymais, India, Arabia the Mighty, Coelesyria, Commagene, and all Phoenicia."[9]

[edit] Indo-IraniansAccording to Abulgazi, Shem's original land was Iran while Japheth's was the country called "Kuttup Shamach," said to be the name of the regions between the Caspian Sea and India.[10]

According to Armenian tradition, Dr. Hales is quoted saying, "To the sons of Shem was alloted the middle region of the earth viz., Palestine, Syria, Assyria, Samaria (Shinar?) Babel (or Babylonia), Persia and Hedjaz (Arabia).[11]

In Mystery of the Ages, by Dr. James Modlish, it is said that that north-west part of South Asia is inhabited by Shemites.[12]

Hisham Ibn Al-Kalbi, a 19th century Arab historian, states that al-Hind and al-Sind are of Ophir, the son of Joktan.[13] Isidore of Seville (c. 635) had also made Joktan the ancestor of the natives of north-west part of South Asia; his material was based on earlier enumerations made by Jerome and Josephus, who had stated that Joktan's descendants "inhabited from Cophen, an Indian river, and in part of Asia adjoining to it."

[edit] AfricanIn Genesis, while Sheba and Seba are listed among descendants of Cush son of Ham in 10:7, another Sheba is listed as a son of Joktan, son of Eber in 10:28. These names are associated with Semitic tribes on both sides of the Red Sea in Yemen and Eritrea (See Sabaeans). This situation may reflect a combined Hamito-Semitic ancestry postulated for Ethiopian peoples.

Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark.[1] He is also mentioned as the "first husbandman" and in the story of the Curse of Ham. Noah is the subject of much elaboration in later Abrahamic traditions.

Noah was the son of Lamech who named him Noah, saying, "This same shall comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, which cometh from the ground which the LORD hath cursed."[2] In his five hundredth year Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. In his six hundredth year God, saddened at the wickedness of mankind, sent a great deluge to destroy all life, but instructed Noah, a man "righteous in his generation," to build an ark and save a remnant of life from the Flood.

After the Flood, "Noah was the first tiller of the soil. He planted a vineyard; and he drank of the wine." Noah's son Ham saw his father naked in his father's tent, and told his brothers, and so Noah cursed Ham's son Canaan, giving his land to Shem.[3]

Noah died 350 years after the Flood, at the age of 950,[4] the last of the immensely long-lived antediluvian Patriarchs. The maximum human lifespan, as depicted by the Bible, diminishes rapidly thereafter, from as much as 900 years to the 120 years of Moses.

The righteousness of Noah is the subject of much discussion among the rabbis.[5] The description of Noah as "righteous in his generation" implied to some that his perfection was only relative: In his generation of wicked people, he could be considered righteous, but in the generation of a tzadik like Abraham, he would not be considered so righteous. They point out that Noah did not pray to God on behalf of those about to be destroyed, as Abraham prayed for the wicked of Sodom and Gomorrah. In fact, Noah is never seen to speak; he simply listens to God and acts on his orders. This led such commentators to offer the figure of Noah as "the man in a fur coat," who ensured his own comfort while ignoring his neighbour. Others, such as the medieval commentator Rashi, held on the contrary that the building of the Ark was stretched over 120 years, deliberately in order to give sinners time to repent. Rashi interprets his father's statement of the naming of Noah (in Hebrew ????) “This one will comfort (in Hebrew– yeNaHamainu ??????????) from our work and our hands sore from the land that the Lord had cursed”,[6] by saying Noah heralded a new era of prosperity, when there was easing (in Hebrew – nahah - ???) from the curse from the time of Adam when the Earth produced thorns and thistles even where men sowed wheat and that Noah then introduced the plow.

(Luke17:26), compares Noah's Flood with the coming Day of Judgement: “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man.” Noah is called a "preacher of righteousness" in 2 Peter 2:5, and the First Epistle of Peter compares the saving power of baptism with the Ark saving those who were in it. In later Christian thought, the Ark came to be compared to the Church: salvation was to be found only within Christ and his Lordship, as in Noah's time it had been found only within the Ark. St Augustine of Hippo (354-430), demonstrated in The City of God that the dimensions of the Ark corresponded to the dimensions of the human body, which corresponds to the body of Christ; the equation of Ark and Church is still found in the Anglican rite of baptism, which asks God, "who of thy great mercy didst save Noah," to receive into the Church the infant about to be baptised.

Noah's three sons were generally interpreted in medieval Christianity as the founders of the populations of the three known continents, Japheth/Europe, Shem/Asia, and Ham/Africa, although a rarer variation held that they represented the three classes of medieval society - the priests (Shem), the warriors (Japheth), and the peasants (Ham). In the 18th and 19th centuries the view that Ham's sons in general had been literally "blackened" by the curse of Noah was cited as justification for black slavery.

Noah is highly important figure in Islam, and is seen as one of the most significant prophets of all. The Qur'an contains 43 references to Noah in 28 chapters and the seventy-first chapter, Chapter Noah, is named after him. Noah's narratives largely consist around his preaching as well the story of the Deluge. Noah is also the first prophet in the Qur'an whose narrative lays the prototype for many of the subsequent prophetic stories, which begin with the prophet warning his people and then the community rejecting the message and facing a punishment. Noah has several titles in Islam, based primarily on praise for him in the Qur'an, including True Messenger of God (XXVI: 107) and Grateful Servant of God (XVII: 3). The Qur'an further states that God chose Adam, Noah, the family of Abraham and the family of Amram above all mankind (III: 33).

The Qur'an focuses on several instances from Noah's life more than others, and one of the most significant events is the Deluge. God makes a covenant with Noah just as with Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad later on (XXXIII: 7). Noah is later reviled by his people and reproached by them for being a mere human messenger and not an angel (X: 72-74). Moreover, the people of Noah mock Noah's words and call him a liar (VII: 62) and even suggest that Noah is possessed by a devil when the prophet ceases to preach (LIV: 9). Only the lowest in the community join Noah in believing in God's message (XI: 29), and Noah's narrative further describes him preaching both in private and public. The Qur'an narrates that Noah received a revelation to build an Ark, after his people refused to believe in his message and hear the warning. The narrative goes onto describe that waters poured forth from the Heavens, destroying all the sinners, including one of Noah's own sons, who refused to believe his father. After the Great Flood ceased, the Ark rested atop Mount Judi (XI: 27-51).

[edit] Latter-day Saint viewsIn Latter-day Saint theology, the angel Gabriel lived in his mortal life as the patriarch Noah. Gabriel and Noah are regarded as the same individual; Noah being his mortal name and Gabriel being his heavenly name.[7]

[edit] Gnostic viewsGnosticism was an important development of (and departure from) early Christianity, blending Jewish scriptures and Christian teachings with traditional pagan religion and esoteric Greek philosophical concepts. An important Gnostic text, the Apocryphon of John, reports that the chief archon caused the flood because he desired to destroy the world he had made, but the First Thought informed Noah of the chief archon's plans, and Noah informed the remainder of humanity. Unlike the account of Genesis, not only are Noah's family saved, but many others also heed Noah's call. There is no ark in this account; instead Noah and the others hide in a "luminous cloud".

[edit] Baha'i viewsThe Bahá'í Faith regards the Ark and the Flood as symbolic.[8] In Bahá'í belief, only Noah's followers were spiritually alive, preserved in the ark of his teachings, as others were spiritually dead.[9][10] The Bahá'í scripture Kitáb-i-Íqán endorses the Islamic belief that Noah had a large number of companions, either 40 or 72, besides his family on the Ark, and that he taught for 950 (symbolic) years before the flood.[11]

[edit] Scholarly viewsAccording to the documentary hypothesis, the first five books of the Bible (Pentateuch/Torah), including Genesis, were collated during the 5th century BC from four main sources, which themselves date from no earlier than the 10th century BC. Two of these, the Jahwist, composed in the 10th century BC, and the Priestly source, from the late 7th century BC, make up the chapters of Genesis which concern Noah. The attempt by the 5th century editor to accommodate two independent and sometimes conflicting sources accounts for the confusion over such matters as how many pairs of animals Noah took, and how long the flood lasted.

More broadly, Genesis seems to contain two accounts concerning Noah, the first making him the hero of the Flood, the second representing him as a husbandman who planted a vineyard. This has led some scholars to believe that Noah was believed by the ancients to be the inventor of wine, in keeping with the statement at Genesis 5:29 that Lamech "called his name Noah, saying, 'Out of the ground which the Lord has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the toil of our hands.'"[12]

grandfather Enoch, according to Genesis 5:24, at the end of his 365 years, "walked with God, and was not, for God took him." The prevalent Hebrew understanding of the text meaning that he was taken to heaven to be with God.[who?] Of Enoch, the only of the ten pre-Flood Patriarchs not reported to have died, it is not explicitly stated where he is taken in Genesis. However, Hebrews 11:5 states that "by faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God." Enoch and Elijah (in 2Kings 2:1: "the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind") are two people described as experiencing assumption (not seeing death). In a late Apocryphal tradition, Methuselah is reported to have visited Enoch at the end of the Earth, where he dwelt with the angels, immortal. The details bring to mind Utnapishtim, a figure from the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh - the hero Gilgamesh, after long and arduous travel, finds Utnapishtim living in the paradise of Dilmun / Bahrain at the end of the Earth, where he has been granted eternal life by the gods. (Gilgamesh's reason for seeking out Utnapishtim, incidentally, is to learn the secret of immortality - like Methuselah, he comes close to the gift but fails to achieve it). Utnapishtim then tells how he survived a great flood, and how he was afterwards granted immortality by the gods. It has been suggested that the Flood story may originally have belonged to Enoch.[12]

Lamech's statement that Noah will be named "rest" because "out of the ground which the Lord has cursed this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the toil of our hands," has another faint parallel in Babylonian mythology: the gods grew tired of working, digging the channels of the rivers, and so the god Enki created man from clay and blood and spit to do the work for them. Enki fell in love with his creation, and later warned Utnapishtim that the other gods planned to send a flood to destroy all life, and advised him on how to construct his ark.

Noah is also often compared to Deucalion, the son of Prometheus and Pronoia in Greek mythology. Like Noah, Deucalion is a wine maker or wine seller; he is forewarned of the flood (this time by Zeus); he builds an ark and staffs it with creatures - and when he completes his voyage, gives thanks and takes advice from the gods on how to repopulate the Earth. Deucalion also sends a pigeon to find out about the situation of the world and the bird return with an olive branch. This and some other examples of apparent comparison between Greek myths and the "key characters" in the Old Testament/Torah have led recent Biblical scholars to suggest a Hellenistic influence in the composition of the earlier portions of the Hebrew Bible.[citation needed].

Lamech is a character in the genealogies of Adam in the Book of Genesis. He is the sixth generation descendant of Cain (Genesis 4:18); his father was named Methusael, and he was responsible for the "Song of the Sword." He is also noted as the first polygamist mentioned in the Bible, taking two wives, Ada and Tselah. He is not to be confused with the Lamech in Genesis 5.

Sandwiched between two genealogical lines, the passage describing Lamech, son of Methushael, descendant of Cain and his children is fairly substantive:

The older Septuagint, unlike the Masoretic Text, has the name Tubal rather than Tubal-Cain.

Translating the names as well, it is possible to read the text of the story of Lamech as:

God's servant took two wives, light and darkness. The light brought forth the shepherd, who was the father of tent-dwellers, and herdsmen, and his brother was the musician, who was the father of harpists and pipers. But the darkness brought forth the blacksmith, the forger of brass, and of iron, and his sister was pleasure.
[edit] InterpretationWhen fully translated, the text has a strong resemblance simply to a basic mythology concerning the origin of the various forms of civilisation, the shepherds and musicians being products of the day, and pleasure being a product of the night. Blacksmiths, in carrying out their trade, are also associated with the darkness. Thus, in a sense, Lamech could be interpreted as a culture hero. Some of the names also appear to demonstrate punning - Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal rhyme, and appear to be derived from the same root - JBL (YVL in modern Hebrew): to bring forth, (also) to carry. A similar description existed amongst Phoenicians.

The names are instead interpreted in the Midrash as an attack on polygamy. Adah is there interpreted as the deposed one, implying that Lamech spurned her in favour of Zillah, whose own name is understood to mean she shaded herself [from Zillah at Lamech's side]. The Midrash consequently regards Adah as having been treated as a slave, tyrannised by her husband, who was at the beck and call of his mistress, Zillah. It further goes on to claim that part of the immorality, which had led God to flood the earth, was the polygamy practised by Lamech and his generation.

The rabbinical tradition is just as condemning of Naamah. While a minority, such as Abba ben Kahana, see Naamah as having become Noah's wife, and being so named because her conduct was pleasing to God, the majority of classical rabbinical sources consider her name to be due to her singing pleasant songs in worship of idols.

[edit] Song of the SwordThe last part of the tale of Lamech (Genesis 4:23-24), takes the form of a brief poem, which refers back to the curse of Cain. In the poem, Lamech's stance resembles that of a supreme warrior, able to avenge himself absolutely. However, no explanation of who Lamech supposedly killed is ever given in the Tanakh. Some scholars have proposed that it is connected to the invention, contextually by Tubal-Cain, of the sword, for which reason the poem is often referred to as the Song of the Sword. The poem may originate from the mysterious Book of the Wars of the Lord, though the greater context for it is likely to remain obscure.

However, this paucity of context did not stop a rabbinical tradition growing up around it. The Talmud and Midrash present an extensive legend, told, for example, by Rashi, in which Lamech first loses his sight from age, and had to be led by Tubal-Cain, the seventh generation from Cain. Tubal-Cain saw in the distance something that he first took for an animal, but it was actually Cain (still alive, due to the extensive life span of the antediluvians) whom Lamech had accidentally killed with an arrow. When they discovered who it was, Lamech, in sorrow, clapped his hands together, which (for an unclear reason) kills Tubal-Cain. In consequence, Lamech's wives desert him. A similar legend is preserved in the pseudepigraphic Second Book of Adam and Eve, Chapter XIII; in this version Tubal-Cain is not named, but is instead referred to as "the young shepherd." After Lamech claps his hands he strikes the young shepherd on the head. To ensure his death, he then smashed his head with a rock.

An alternate form of this negative attitude towards Lamech (such as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan) claims that even though Lamech did not kill anyone, his wives refused to associate with him and denied him sex, on the grounds that Cain's line was to be annihilated after seven generations. The poem is then given by Lamech to allay their fears. Other classical sources, such as Josephus, see the word seventy-seven as the number of sons which Lamech eventually had.

Extending on this classical view of Lamech is the Book of Moses, regarded in Mormonism as scripture. According to this Latter-day Saint text, Lamech entered into a secret pact with Satan, as had Cain before him, becoming a second Master Mahan. When Irad (an ancestor of Lamech) learned his secret and began to publicise it, Lamech murdered him. News of the murder was spread by Lamech's two wives, leading to his being cast out of society.


Then Lamech took for himself two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah. And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute. And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah[1].
Then Lamech said to his wives:

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!
For I have killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man for hurting me.
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
—Genesis 4:19-24 (NKJV.)

Methuselah "Man of the dart/spear", or alternatively "when he dies/died, it shall be sent/has been sent"[citation needed]) is the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656 (Anno Mundi, after Creation), at the age of 969, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood.[1] According to Rashi on Genesis 7:4, God delayed the Flood specifically because of the seven days of mourning in honor of the righteous Methuselah. Methuselah was the son of Enoch and the grandfather of Noah.

The name Methuselah is commonly used to refer to any living creature reaching great age.

Methuselah is mentioned in one passage in the Hebrew Bible, Genesis 5:21–27, as part of the genealogy linking Adam to Noah. The genealogy is repeated, without the chronology, at 1 Chronicles 1:3, and also appears at Luke 3:37.

(21) And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: (22) And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and Methuselah begat sons and daughters: (23) And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: (24) And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him. (25) And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech: (26) And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters: (27) And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.

The verses are available in three manuscript traditions, the Masoretic, the Septuagint and the Samaritan Torah. The three traditions do not agree with each other. The differences can be summarized as follows:[2]

Text Age at son's birth Remainder of life Methuselah Age at death Comment
Masoretic 187 782 969 Methuselah died in 1656 AM, the year of the Flood at the age of 969
Septuagint (Alexandrinus) 187 782 969 Methuselah dies in 2256 AM, six years before the Flood (2262 AM)
Septuagint (Vaticanus) 167 802 969 Methuselah dies in 2256 AM, fourteen years after the Flood (2242 AM)
Samaritan 67 653 720 Methuselah dies in the year of the Flood (1307 AM)

There have been numerous attempts to account for these differences – the most obvious being accidental corruption by copyists and translators. Some errors may be the result of mistaken attempts to correct previous errors. Gerhard Larsson has suggested that the rabbis who translated the Septuagint from Hebrew to Greek in Alexandria around the 3rd century BC, aware that the Egyptian historian Manetho makes no mention of a Deluge, lengthened the patriarchs' ages to push back the time of the flood to before the first Egyptian dynasty.[3]

[edit] Extra-Biblical mentionsMethuselah appears in two important Jewish works from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. In the Book of Enoch,[4] Enoch (as the narrator) tells Methuselah of the coming worldwide flood and of the future Messianic kingdom. The Book of Jubilees names Methuselah's mother and his wife – both are named Edna – and his daughter-in-law, Betenos, Lamech's wife.

The 17th century midrashic Sefer haYashar ("Book of Jasher"),[5] describes Methuselah with his grandson Noah attempting to persuade the people of the earth to return to godliness.[6] All other very long-lived people died, and Methuselah was the only one of this class left.[7] God planned to bring the flood after all the men who walked in the ways of the Lord had died (besides Noah and his family).[8] Methuselah lived until the ark was built, but died before the flood, since God had promised he would not be killed with the unrighteous.[7] The Sefer haYashar gives Methuselah's age at death as 960[9] and does not synchronize his death with the flood.

The Sumerian king list mentions a character named Ubaratutu who seems almost identical to Methuselah. He was the son of Enmunderana the Sumerian Enoch, and king of Sumeria until the flood swept over the land. Although their ages are different their father and year of death remain the same.[citation needed]
The meaning of Methuselah's age has engendered considerable speculation, but no widely accepted conclusions. These speculations can be discussed under four categories and their combinations: literal, mistranslation, symbolic, and fictional interpretations.

[edit] LiteralLiteral interpretations take Methuselah's 969 years to be exactly 969 solar years. This conflicts with the fact that a lifespan of multiple centuries is not currently possible. Some literalists suggest possible naturalistic explanations: the patriarchs had a better diet, or a water vapor canopy protected the earth from radiation prior to the Flood.[10] Others introduce theological causes: man was originally to have everlasting life, but sin was introduced into the world by Adam and Eve, its influence became greater with each generation, and God progressively shortened man's life.[11]

[edit] MistranslationSome believe that Methuselah's extreme age is the result of an ancient mistranslation that converted "months" to "years", producing a more credible 969 lunar months, or 78½ years,[12] but the same calculation applied to Enoch would have him fathering Methuselah at the age of 5[13] using numbers from the Masoretic Text. Using the Septuagint numbers, Enoch's 165 months in a ten month calendar would be 16½ years, and Methuselah's 969 months would be 96.9 years.[14]

[edit] SymbolicSymbolic interpretations begin with the observation that the Biblical chronology routinely uses numbers for their symbolic value: for example, 10 symbolizes completion, 8 symbolizes the mundane world, and 7 the divine. So Methuselah's father Enoch, who does not die but is taken by God, is the seventh patriarch, and Methuselah, the eighth, dies in the year of the Flood, which ends the ten-generational sequence from Adam to Noah, in whose time the world is destroyed.[15]

[edit] FictionalAmong those who believe that all the numbers of Genesis 5, including Methuselah's age, have no meaning at all, Kenneth Kitchen calls them "pure myth",[16] Yigal Levin believes they are intended simply to speed the reader from Adam to Noah,[17] and Claus Westermann believes they are intended to create the impression of a distant past.[18].

Enoch is a figure in the Generations of Adam. Enoch is described as Adam's greatx4 grandson, through Seth, and the text reads—uniquely in the Generations—that Enoch "walked with God: and he was not; for God took him," avoiding the mortal death ascribed to Adam's other descendants. Additionally, Enoch is described as the father of Methuselah and great-grandfather of Noah (Genesis 5:22-29). Enoch is the son of Jared.

Despite the brief descriptions of him, Enoch is one of the main two focal points for much of the 1st millennium BC Jewish mysticism, notably in the Book of Enoch. Additionally, Enoch is important in some Christian denominations: He is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church on July 26. He also features in the Latter Day Saint movement.

Enoch in the Book of GenesisEnoch appears in Genesis as the seventh of the ten pre-Deluge Patriarchs. The function of the Patriarchs is primarily to mark the passage of immense periods of time[citation needed]: each lives for several centuries, has a son, lives more centuries, and dies. Enoch is unique in the series on two counts: his life-span of 365 years is extremely short in the context of his long-lived peers, and he does not die, the Bible noting rather that "he was not, for God took him." (Genesis 5:22-29).

[edit] Enoch in JudaismIn the Septuagint the phrase "God took him" is rendered with the Greek verb metatithemi (µetat???µ?)[1] a common Greek verb for moving from one place to another.[2]

Ecclesiasticus 44:16 states "Enoch pleased God and was translated into paradise that he may give repentance to the nations."

[edit] The Books of EnochThree extensive apocryphal works are attributed to Enoch:

1st Book of Enoch, or simply the Book of Enoch, an apocryphal book in the Ethiopic Bible that is usually dated between the third century BC and the first century AD.
2nd Book of Enoch, an apocryphal book in the Old Slavonic Bible usually dated to the first century AD.
3rd Book of Enoch, a Kabbalistic Rabbinic text in Hebrew usually dated to the fifth century AD.
These recount how Enoch is taken up to Heaven and is appointed guardian of all the celestial treasures, chief of the archangels, and the immediate attendant on God's throne. He is subsequently taught all secrets and mysteries and, with all the angels at his back, fulfils of his own accord whatever comes out of the mouth of God, executing His decrees. Enoch was also seen as the inventor of writing, and teacher of astronomy and arithmetic, all three reflecting the interpretation of his name as meaning initiated. Much esoteric literature like the 3rd Book of Enoch identifies Enoch as the Metatron, the angel which communicates God's word. In consequence, Enoch was seen, by this literature, and the ancient kabbala of Jewish mysticism, as having been the one which communicated God's revelation to Moses, in particular, the dictator of the Book of Jubilees.

[edit] Enoch in classical Rabbinical literatureIn classical Rabbinical literature, there are divergent opinions of Enoch. After Christianity and Judaism had separated, the prevailing view regarding Enoch was that of Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, which thought of Enoch as a pious man, taken to Heaven, and receiving the title of Safra rabba (Great scribe).

However, while Christianity was separating from Judaism, the Jewish view of Enoch was he was the only pious man of his time and was taken away before he would become corrupted.[citation needed]

According to Rashi[3] [from Genesis Rabba[4]], “Enoch was a righteous man, but he could easily be swayed to return to do evil. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, hastened and took him away and caused him to die before his time. For this reason, Scripture changed [the wording] in [the account of] his demise and wrote, ‘and he was no longer’ in the world to complete his years.”

Among the minor Midrashim, esoteric attributes of Enoch are expanded upon. In the Sefer Hekalot, Rabbi Ishmael is described as having visited the 7th Heaven, where he meets Enoch, who claims that earth had, in his time, been corrupted by the demons Shammazai, and Azazel, and so Enoch was taken to Heaven to prove that God was not cruel. Similar traditions are recorded in Ecclesiasticus. Later elaborations of this interpretation treated Enoch as having been a pious ascetic, who, called to mix with others, preached repentance, and gathered (despite the small number of people on Earth) a vast collection of disciples, to the extent that he was proclaimed king. Under his wisdom, peace is said to have reigned on earth, to the extent that he is summoned to Heaven to rule over the sons of God. In a parallel with Elijah, in sight of a vast crowd begging him to stay, he ascends to Heaven on a horse.

Enoch is often confused with Enos. However, Enos is grandson to Adam (Genesis 5:5-6), and great-great-grandfather of Enoch (Genesis 5:9-18).

[edit] Enoch in Christianity
Elijah and Enoch - an icon 17th cent., Historic Museum in Sanok, Poland[edit] New TestamentThe New Testament contains 3 references to Enoch. The first is a brief mention in Luke's genealogy of the ancestors of Jesus (Luke 3:37).

The second mention is where the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews writes, "By faith Enoch was transferred, that he should not see death, and was not found, because God had transferred him; for before his transference he had the witness that he had pleased God well." (Hebrews 11:5)

The third mention is in the Epistle of Jude (1:14-15) where the author attributes to "Enoch, the Seventh from Adam" a passage unknown in the Old Testament. The quotation is believed by most modern scholars to be taken from 1 Enoch 1:9 which exists in Greek, in Ethiopic, as part of the Ethiopian Orthodox canon, and also in Aramaic among the Dead Sea Scrolls.[5][6] Though the same scholars recognise that 1 Enoch 1:9 itself is a midrash of the words of Moses "he came from the ten thousands of holy ones" from Deuteronomy 33:2.[7][8][9][10][11] The introductory phrase "Enoch, the Seventh from Adam" is also found in 1 Enoch (1 En. 60:8), though not in the Old Testament.[12] In the New Testament this Enoch prophesies "to"[13] ungodly men, that God shall come with His holy ones to judge and convict them (Jude 1:14-15).[14]

[edit] Early ChristianityEarly Christianity contains various traditions concerning the "translation" of Enoch.

Regarding the quotation in Jude, most of early Christianity considered it an independent quotation pre-dating the flood. Regarding the Book of Enoch itself Origen, Jerome and Augustin mention it, but as of no authority. Justin, Athenagoras, Irenaeus, Clemens Alexandrinus, Lactantius, and others borrowed an opinion out of this book of Enoch, that the angels had connection with the daughters of men, of whom they had offspring ('the giants of the past'). Tertullian, in several places, speaks of this book with esteem; and would persuade us, that it was preserved by Noah during the deluge.

[edit] Medieval and ReformationAccording to the Figurists (a group of Jesuit missionaries mainly led by Joachim Bouvet into China at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century and based on ideas of Matteo Ricci 1552 to 1610),[15][16][17] Fu Xi in China's ancient history is actually Enoch.[18][19][20]

[edit] Modern ChristianityEnoch is not counted as a saint in Roman Catholic tradition, though Enoch has a saints day, July 26, in the Armenian Apostolic Church. The "St. Enoch" in the place name St. Enoch's Square, Glasgow, is a corruption from the site of a medieval chapel to Saint Teneu, the legendary mother of Saint Mungo, and unconnected with Enoch.

Enoch is revered in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the Enochic texts Jubilees and 1 Enoch regarded as the 13th and 14th books, respectively, of the Tewahedo Old Testament canon.[21] Most churches, including the Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Protestant churches, do not accept the books.

Some Evangelical commentators consider Enoch to be one of the Two Witnesses in the Book of Revelation due to the fact that he did not die according to Genesis 5:24. Two televangelists holding this view, for example, are Perry Stone and John Hagee.

[edit] Enoch in IslamMain article: Idris (Islamic Prophet)
In the Quran, Enoch is sometimes identified with Idris, as for example by the History of Al-Tabari and the Meadows of Gold.[22] The Quran contains two references to Idris; in Surah Al-Anbiya (The Prophets) verse number 85, and in Surah Maryam (Mary) verses 56-57:

(The Prophets, 21:85): "And the same blessing was bestowed upon Ismail and Idris and Zul-Kifl, because they all practised fortitude."
(Mary 19:56-57): "And remember Idris in the Book; he was indeed very truthful, a Prophet. And We lifted him to a lofty station".
Idris is closely linked in Muslim tradition with the origin of writing and other technical arts of civilization,[23] including the study of astronomical phenomena, both of which Enoch is credited with in the Testament of Abraham.[24]

Nonetheless, even aside from the identification of Idris and Enoch, many Muslims still venerate Enoch as one of the earliest prophets, regardless of whether they equate him with Idris or not[25].

[edit] Enoch in LDS theologyAmong the Latter Day Saint movement and particularly in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Enoch is viewed as having founded an exceptionally righteous city, named Zion, in the midst of an otherwise wicked world. This view is encountered in the Mormon scripture (see Standard Works), the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants, which states that not only Enoch, but the entire peoples of the city of Zion, were taken off this earth without death, because of their piety. (Zion is defined as "the pure in heart" and this city of Zion will return to the earth at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.) The Doctrine and Covenants further states that Enoch prophesied that one of his descendants, Noah, and his family, would survive a Great Flood and thus carry on the human race and preserve the Gospel. The Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price has several chapters that give an account of Enoch's preaching, visions and conversations with God. In these same chapters are details concerning the wars, violence and natural disasters in Enoch's day, and notable miracles performed by Enoch. The Book of Moses is itself an excerpt from Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible, which is published in full, complete with these chapters concerning Enoch, by Community of Christ, as the Holy Scriptures/Inspired Version of the Bible, where it appears as part of the Book of Genesis. D&C 104:24 (CofC) / 107:48-49 (LDS) states that Adam ordained Enoch to the higher priesthood (now called the Melchizedek, after the great high priest) at age 25, that he was 65 when Adam blessed him, and he lived 365 years after that until he was translated, so making him 430 years old when that occurred.

Additionally in LDS theology, Enoch is implied to be the scribe who recorded Adam's blessings and prophecies at Adam-ondi-Ahman, as recorded in D&C 107:53-57 (LDS) / D&C 104:29b (CofC).