Nor is there any agreed opinion on the existence of Abraham himself, on his social and ethnic origins, on his history and chronology, above all on his relationship to the enigmatic chapter 14 of Genesis. The specialist literature debating all these questions has recently grown considerably. In view of the impossibility of providing the reader with any consensus it seemed best to write of the excavations at Ur at this time without mention of Abraham.
He and his people were unknown to the scribes of Ur whose tablets have so far been recovered from the site. Even then, however, problems persist. For one thing, as seen above, we know next to nothing of the history and ethnic and geographical background of the Chaldeans before their appearance in Neo-Assyrian records in the ninth century BC.
Presently, we have no real way of definitively answering these questions until we can know something more about the Chaldeans before their arrival in Mesopotamia. At the same time, however, problems persist for the book of Abraham. But the evidence at this point, admittedly, does not definitively settle the debate one way or the other.
Additionally, even if it disputes the conclusions codified by Woolley, the book of Abraham should be given more than incidental deference as admissible evidence in this discussion. I therefore think the wisest course for now is caution and open-mindedness. The latter is especially crucial, for if we are going to satisfactorily answer this question, we must be willing to admit new evidence into the discussion if or when it surfaces, no matter how much it might challenge the scholarly consensus or a venerated tradition.
Stephen O. Smoot is a graduate student at the University of Toronto, where he studies Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations with a concentration in Egyptology. Biblical citations for this article are drawn from the New Revised Standard Version.
Wayne T. Michael D. Kyle McCarter Jr. Hershel Shanks Washington, D. Bernhard W. Soulen and R. Kendall Soulen, Handbook of Biblical Criticism, 4th ed. Louisville, Ky. Some approaches to this issue include Karl C. Robert L. Cyrus H. John A. Victor P. Eerdmans, , John M. Millet and Kent P. Edwin M. Wilson, ed. Steven A. Hunt Grand Rapids, Mich. Eerdmans, , 22— Donl Peterson and Charles D. Tate Jr. John E. London: Herbert Press, Theodor H. David Noel Freedman, 6 vols.
New York: Doubleday, , —67; J. Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, 5 vols. Nashville: Abingdon Press, —9 , — Van de Mieroop, Ancient Mesopotamian City, 94— Soraia Tabatabai London: Routledge, , Woolley, Excavations at Ur, —40; E. Donald W. Parry and Stephen D. Ricks Provo, Utah: Neal A.
London: Routledge, , — Potts Hoboken: Blackwell Publishing, , Berlejung and M. Streck Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, , Mark W. Chavalas and K. Lawson Younger Jr. Woolley, Abraham, ; compare Woolley, Ur of the Chaldees, 67— Hamilton, Book of Genesis, n. Speiser, Genesis, vol. Winton Thomas and W. Truman G. Jack M. Sasson, 4 vols. See Kevin L. While the name itself appears only after the time of Abraham, most notably in Genesis 39, the formula used to render it potentially dates to the Middle Kingdom, and thus to the time of Abraham.
See the discussion in James K. Robert K. Gary P. Gillum, vol. Paul Y. Hoskisson, vol. His quick dismissal notwithstanding, the evidence is fairly impressive, and much more persuasive than Woods is willing to admit. Haran is not so far out of the way in the east that it would be a great impediment to any subsequent migration southward. In fact, if Abraham was trying to escape not only the famine that had overtaken his home Abr. And indeed, this appears to be precisely what is depicted in Abraham — Bokovoy, Authoring the Old Testament, —74 n.
John 26 Dec. Luke 27 Dec. Luke 28 Dec. Hebrews 29 Dec. Hebrews 30 Dec. Hebrews 31 Dec. Genesis - 2 Jan. Genesis 3 Jan. Genesis 4 Jan. Genesis 5 Jan. Genesis 6 Jan. Genesis 7 Jan. Genesis 8 Jan. Genesis 9 Jan. Genesis 10 Jan. Genesis 11 Jan. Genesis ,32 12 Jan. Genesis 13 Jan. Genesis , 15 Jan. Genesis 16 Jan. Genesis 17 Jan. Genesis , 18 Jan. Genesis 19 Jan. Genesis 20 Jan. Genesis 21 Jan. Genesis 22 Jan. Genesis 23 Jan. Genesis 24 Jan. Genesis 25 Jan.
Genesis 26 Jan. Genesis 27 Jan. Genesis 28 Jan. Genesis , 29 Jan. Genesis ,, 30 Jan. Genesis ,, 31 Jan. Genesis February Old Testament readings 1 Feb. Genesis 2 Feb. Genesis ,, 3 Feb. Genesis 4 Feb. Genesis 5 Feb. Genesis 6 Feb. Genesis ,13, 7 Feb. Genesis 8 Feb. Genesis 9 Feb.
Genesis 10 Feb. Genesis 11 Feb. Genesis , 12 Feb. Genesis 13 Feb. Genesis 14 Feb. Genesis 15 Feb. Genesis 16 Feb. Genesis 17 Feb. Genesis 18 Feb. Genesis 19 Feb. Genesis 20 Feb. Genesis 21 Feb. Genesis 22 Feb. Genesis 23 Feb. Genesis 24 Feb. Genesis , 25 Feb. Genesis ,, 26 Feb.
Genesis 27 Feb. Exodus 28 Feb. Exodus March Old Testament readings 1 Mar. Exodus 2 Mar. Exodus 3 Mar. Exodus 4 Mar. Exodus 5 Mar. Exodus 6 Mar. Exodus 7 Mar. Exodus 8 Mar. Exodus 9 Mar. Exodus 10 Mar. Exodus 11 Mar. Exodus 12 Mar. Exodus 13 Mar. Exodus 14 Mar. Exodus 15 Mar. Exodus 16 Mar. Exodus 17 Mar. Exodus 18 Mar. Exodus ,31 19 Mar. Exodus 20 Mar. Exodus 21 Mar. Exodus 22 Mar. Exodus , 23 Mar. Exodus 24 Mar. Exodus 25 Mar. Exodus 26 Mar. Exodus ,33 27 Mar.
Exodus 28 Mar. Exodus 29 Mar. Exodus , 30 Mar. Exodus , 31 Mar. Leviticus 1; April Old Testament readings 1 Apr. Numbers 2 Apr. Numbers 3 Apr. Numbers 4 Apr. Numbers 5 Apr. Numbers 6 Apr. Numbers 7 Apr. Numbers 8 Apr. Numbers 9 Apr. Numbers 10 Apr. Numbers 11 Apr. Numbers 12 Apr. Numbers 13 Apr. Numbers 14 Apr. Numbers 15 Apr. Numbers 16 Apr. Numbers 17 Apr. Numbers 18 Apr.
Numbers , 19 Apr. Numbers 20 Apr. Numbers , 21 Apr. Deuteronomy 22 Apr. Deuteronomy 23 Apr. Joshua 24 Apr. Joshua 25 Apr. Joshua 26 Apr. Joshua , 27 Apr. Joshua 28 Apr. Joshua 29 Apr. Joshua 30 Apr. Joshua May Old Testament readings 1 May.
Joshua 2 May. Joshua 3 May. Joshua 4 May. Joshua 5 May. Joshua ,, 6 May. Joshua 7 May. Joshua ,21,28, 8 May. Joshua ,, 9 May. Joshua 10 May. Judges , 11 May. Judges , 12 May. Judges 13 May. Judges 14 May. Judges 15 May. Judges , 16 May. Judges 17 May. Judges 18 May. Judges 19 May. Judges 20 May. Judges 21 May. Judges 22 May. Judges 23 May. Judges 24 May. Judges 25 May. Judges , 26 May. Judges 27 May.
Judges , 28 May. Judges 29 May. Judges 30 May. Judges 31 May. Daniel 26 Oct. Daniel ,, 27 Oct. Daniel ,, 28 Oct. Daniel ,, 29 Oct. Daniel ,, 30 Oct. Daniel 31 Oct. Daniel November Old Testament readings 1 Nov. Ezra 2 Nov. Ezra 3 Nov. Ezra 4 Nov. Ezra , 5 Nov. Ezra , Ezra ,, 7 Nov. Nehemiah , 8 Nov. Nehemiah 9 Nov. Nehemiah 10 Nov. Nehemiah ,, 11 Nov. Nehemiah 12 Nov. Nehemiah 13 Nov. Esther 14 Nov. Esther 15 Nov. Esther 16 Nov. Esther 17 Nov. Esther 18 Nov. Esther 19 Nov. Second, the criticism concerning the Negev holds no weight at all.
The Negev is mentioned in Genesis ; ; ; and These verses do not require any form of permanent settlements. There is a good chance that the region at the time of the patriarchs was mostly filled with nomadic people so any kind of archaeological evidence from the Early Bronze Age may not exist.
Third, archaeological evidence cannot tell us the exact years when a city was destroyed unless there is some document or tablet which dates that destruction to a historical event. No such documents or tablets have been discovered in the layers of these five sites. However, it is reasonable to conclude using the evidence presented by Wood and Shea that these five sites are, in fact, the Cities of the Plain. Fourth, the argument that biblical chronology cannot be stretched back to the Early Bronze Age is based upon the validity of the standard chronology.
As noted throughout this paper the standard chronology of the ancient world has been criticized and, as a result, biblical chronology can, in fact, reach back into the Early Bronze Age because the Early Bronze Age chronology has been brought down to the patriarchal period. This article began with the goal to discover the Mesopotamian background of the life of Abraham. However, with the chronology of the ancient world coming under scrutiny it is only natural that the historical background of Abraham must be redated.
It also provides creationist historians and archaeologists with an anchor point for studying the rich pre-Abrahamic period of the Ancient Near East. Aalders, G. Genesis: Volume I. Translated by William Heynen. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan. Albright, W. The biblical period from Abraham to Ezra: An historical survey. Archer, G. A survey of Old Testament introduction , revised and expanded. Chicago, Illinois: Moody Publishers.
Archi, A. Ebla texts. In The Oxford encyclopedia of archaeology in the Near East , vol. Meyers, pp. Ashton, J. Unwrapping the pharaohs: How Egyptian archaeology confirms the biblical timeline. Green Forest, Arkansas: Master Books. Astour, M. An outline of the history of Ebla part 1. In Eblaitica: Essays on the Ebla archives and Eblaite language , vol.
Gordon and G. Rendsburg, pp. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. A reconstruction of the history of Ebla part 2. Bermant, C. Ebla: A Revelation in Archaeology. Bimson, J. Archaeological data and the dating of the patriarchs. In Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives , eds. Millard and D. Wiseman, pp. Bright, J. A history of Israel , 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pennysylvania: Westminster Press. Crawford, H. Freedman, D. The real story of the Ebla tablets: Ebla and the Cities of the Plain.
Biblical Archaeologist 41, no. Gelb, I. Thoughts about Ibla: A preliminary evaluation. Syro-Mesopotamian Studies 1, no. Ebla and the Kish civilization.
In La Lingua di Ebla , ed. Cagni, pp. Habermehl, A. Where in the world is the Tower of Babel? Answers Research Journal — Halley, H. Hamilton, V. Genesis Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Hansen, D. Hinz, W. Persia c. In The Cambridge ancient history , vol.
Edwards, C. Gadd, and N. Hammond, pp. Hoerth, A. Archaeology and the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books. James, P. Kokkinos, R. Morkot, J.
Frankish, I. Thorpe and C. Centuries of darkness. Jastrow, M. The civilization of Babylonia and Assyria: Its remains, language, history, religion, commerce, law, art, and literature. Philadelphia, Pennysylvania: J. Lippincott Co. Jones, F. The chronology of the Old Testament. King, L. A history of Babylon: From the foundation of the monarchy to the Persian conquest.
Kitchen, K. On the reliability of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. Eerdmans Publishing Co. LaSor, W. Hubbard, and F. Old Testament survey: The message, form, and background of the Old Testament , 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. Leupold, H. Exposition of Genesis , vol. Margueron, J-C. Martin, H.
Matthiae, P. Ebla: An empire rediscovered. McClellan, Matt. Ancient Egyptian chronology and the book of Genesis. Pettinato, G. The archives of Ebla: An empire inscribed in clay. Ebla: A new look at history. Postgate, J. Abu Salabikh. Ray, P. The duration of the Israelite sojourn in Egypt. Bible and Spade 20, no. Rogers, R.
A history of Babylonia and Assyria , vol. Rooker, M. Dating of the patriarchal age: The contribution of ancient Near Eastern texts. In Giving the sense: Understanding and using Old Testament historical texts , eds.
M Howard Jr. Grisanti, pp. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications. Sayce, A. Primer of Assyriology. Revell Company. Shea, W. Two Palestinian segments from the Eblaite geographical atlas. In The Word of the Lord shall go forth , eds. Meyers and M. Winckler, H. The history of Babylonia and Assyria.
Wood, B. Digging up the sin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Bible and Spade Joshua D.
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