A sojourner's footprint: A "wandering Aramean"

 AramTV Documentary - Part I

(Syria/Harran/Abraham)
(Dura-Europus archaelogical site recently suffured at least partial destruction by ISIS)

 Genesis 24:1-10, "Now Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in every way. Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, 'Please place your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but you will go to my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.' The servant said to him, 'Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?' Then Abraham said to him, 'Beware that you do not take my son back there! The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, "To your descendants I will give this land," He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this my oath; only do not take my son back there.' So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter. Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and set out with a variety of good things of his master’s in his hand; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor."

Aramean 2010 documentary continued:

• Part II: Aramean background
• Part III: Aramaic Nabataean trade route (mention of Aramaic/Egyptian Ishmaelite traders in Genesis 37:25-28), Petra & Palmyra & Hatra (now damaged/destroyed by ISIS), and Dead Sea Scrolls
• Part IV: Aramaic language & Abraham at Harran
• Part V: Edessa & Aleppo (same Aleppo now engulfed in Syrian Civil War)

Genesis 28:1-5, "So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him, 'You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and from there take to yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham.' Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau."

Deuteronomy 26:1-5, (Moses instructing the Israelites about to enter Canaan) "Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the LORD your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the LORD my God that I have entered the land which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’ Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God. You shall answer and say before the LORD your God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation. "

Facts, customs, & widespread beliefs:

• Distinct religious groups' testimony regarding Abraham:
• Christian beliefs: (Widespread - Christians number a nominal ~2.2 billion out of ~6.9 billion people worldwide in 2010)
• Luke 3:23-34, "When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi . . . the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor . . ."
• Hebrews 11:8-10, "By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God."
• Galations 3:6-9, (Paul writing to the churches of Galatia) "Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles [non-Jewish people] by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer."
• Jewish beliefs: (Widespread - Jews number a nominal ~14 million out of ~6.9 billion people worldwide in 2010)
• Considered Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel) to be their Patriarchs
• Abraham, son of Terach (Terah) was born "Abram" in Ur. He later traveled to Haran, and then Canaan where he was renamed Abraham ("Father of Many Nations").
• Abraham lived as a nomad moving from Ur, to Haran, to Canaan (Shechem, Bethel, Ai), to Egypt, to Canaan (Bethel & Ai again, Mamre, Gerar, Beersheba) 
• Line of descent was: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the Twelve Tribes (two through Jacob's son Joseph)
• References: Judaism 101 and Jewish Encyclopedia
• Muslim beliefs: (Widespread - Muslims number a nominal ~1.6 billion out of ~6.9 billion people worldwide in 2010)
• IslamReligion.com - Abraham was a migrant who left the land of his people for his monotheistic faith.
• Ibid. - Strength of Abraham's faith honored by Muslims' identifying their religion as the "Path of Abraham"
• Ibid. - Abraham was the son of Terah/Terakh, was born in/around Ur about 2166 B.C. (200 miles south of Baghdad, Iraq), migrated to Haran, and then departed to Canaan.

• Ancient - "Modern-time" endurance of the Israelite people:
• Below general timeline from Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• 1700-1601 BCE/B.C.: Jewish dating of the time of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob
• (Skipping some years for brevity's sake)
  
• 70 CE/A.D.: Roman Destruction of the 2nd Temple
• 313-636 CE/A.D.: Land ruled by Byzantines and Persians
• 636-1099 CE/A.D.: Land ruled by Arabs
• 1099-1291 CE/A.D.: Land dominated by the Crusaders
• 1291-1516 CE/A.D.: Land ruled by the Mamluks
• 1517-1917 CE/A.D.: Land ruled by Ottomans 
• 1918-1948 CE/A.D.: Land ruled by British
• The Holocaust (1933-1945): ~6,000,000 Jews (two thirds of Jews in Europe) are killed by the Nazis and their allies, resulting in the emigration of nearly 700,000 Jews to Israel during 1948-1951, the immediate aftermath of World War II.
• 1948-present: Self-rule by declaration of independence as the State of Israel
• War of Independence (May 1948 - July 1949): Israel survives against 4-5 Arab states.
• Admitted to United Nations in 1949
• Operation Magic Carpet (June 1949 - Sept. 1950): ~49,000 Yemeni, Aden, Djiboutian, and Eritrean Jews are airlifted to Israel.
• Operation Ezra & Nehemiah (1951-1952): ~125,000 Iraqi Jews are airlifted to Israel.
• Operation Yachin (1961-1964): Israel helps ~97,000 Moroccan Jews emigrate to Israel.
• Six-day War (June 1967): Israel fights successfully against Egypt, Jordan, and Syria gaining the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights
• War of Attrition (1968-1970): Israel survives fighting with Egypt, Jordan, PLO, and the allies of these nations.
• Yom Kippur War (Oct. 1973): Israel survives and repulses attack by Egypt, Syria, and an Arab coalition they led.
• 1970s Soviet Union Aliyah (largely 1969-1973): ~163,000 Soviet Jews emigrate to Israel.
• Operation Moses starts (1984): Israel evacuates ~8000 Jews from Ethiopia.
• 1990s Post Soviet Aliyah (1989-2006): ~979,000 Soviet Jews emigrate to Israel.
• Operation Solomon (1991): 14,325 Ethiopian Jews are airlifted to Israel in 36 hours of non-stop flights.
• Genesis 17:1-8, "Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him,
              'I am God Almighty;
              Walk before Me, and be blameless.
        I will establish My covenant between Me and you,
              And I will multiply you exceedingly.'
  Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,
        'As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you,
              And you will be the father of a multitude of nations.
        No longer shall your name be called Abram,
              But your name shall be Abraham;
              For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
  I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you. I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.'"