Ok . . . how important are Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph? (Part II)

This is going to be a little tough, that is to consolidate the New Testament verses concerning Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Even Isaac, whose story might not seem terribly remarkable in the Old Testament, is noted multiple times in the New Testament. It's also a little difficult to avoid some overlap with the New Testament study on Abraham. These names were closely linked in the minds of the Jewish people. "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" were and continue to be identified with a real heritage and a real God:

 

A Production of the Jewish Destiny Foundation

(Destiny Foundation website)

In turning from the Old Testament to the New Testament, this Jewish heritage is affirmed. In the midst of this heritage, Jesus Christ was born.


New Testament:

• Matthew 1:1-16, "The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers . . . Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David the king . . . Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah."
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• From the standpoint of one writing about a real Christ, what help is there in linking Him to ancestors who never lived?
• How would Christianity be destinguished from mythology if Christ's own ancestors were written down as mythical?
• If this Judaic genealogy is fabricated, why trace such a long line of descent? (I obviously abbreviated by excluding some names)
• If the genealogy simply points from Christ to metaphorical figureheads of David and Abraham, why identify the women Rahab and Ruth? The lineage is already being traced from father to son.
• Matthew 22:23-34, "On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, asking, 'Teacher, Moses said, "IF A MAN DIES HAVING NO CHILDREN, HIS BROTHER AS NEXT OF KIN SHALL MARRY HIS WIFE, AND RAISE UP CHILDREN FOR HIS BROTHER [in part in order to prevent the family name from dying out--see Deuteronomy 25:5-10--as well as to keep the widow from poverty]." Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. Last of all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.'
        But Jesus answered and said to them, 'You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: "I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB"? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.' When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.
        But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together."
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• When Christ says that the "I Am the God of . . ." statement means God is the God of the living, how can one still say that Isaac and Jacob never lived?
• If Isaac and Jacob were merely figurative, how is the resurrection of the dead more than figurative? Yet, Christ said that the Sadducees were mistaken.
• If in fact, Isaac and Jacob never lived, why did Christ assume that the only other option was that they were dead?
• How could Jesus silence the Sadducees with His argument, if they thought that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob never really lived in the first place?
• As the Son of God, One able to truly expound Scripture, and One able to see the thoughts in mens' hearts, how could Jesus be mistaken about whether Isaac and Jacob really lived?
• Luke 13:22-30, "And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, 'Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?' And He said to them, 'Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, "Lord, open up to us!" then He will answer and say to you, "I do not know where you are from." Then you will begin to say, "We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets"; and He will say, "I tell you, I do not know where you are from; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS." In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last."
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• How could an imaginary Isaac and Jacob be in the same kingdom as Christ's real disciples?
• How could Christ's listeners one day actually see Isaac and Jacob if these men never lived?
• How could the evildoing of Christ's unbelieving listeners be contrasted with the faith/righteousness of an imaginary Isaac and Jacob?
• How can those of the Christian faith from the east, west, north, and south participate in the same kingdom as a merely imaginary Isaac and Jacob?
• John 4:1-6, "Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. And He had to pass through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour."
• Jacob and Joseph - portrayed as historical men.
• Why did the author simply identify the ground as that which "Jacob gave to his son Joseph" if that exchange never took place?
• Why name a landmark, such as Jacob's well, after a man who never owned that landmark because he never lived?
• How could Jesus sit beside a well that really shouldn't exist because those stories of the patriarchs digging wells in Genesis was merely figurative?
• Why tell the location of this well if people might later do fact-checking to see if it really originally belonged to a real Jacob?
• If Jacob was a historical man, how could "his son Joseph" not be?
• Romans 9:1-16, "I [apostle Paul] am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons . . .whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
        But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: 'THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.' That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. For this is the word of promise: 'AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON.' And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac; for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, 'THE OLDER WILL SERVE THE YOUNGER.' Just as it is written, 'JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.'
        What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, 'I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.' So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy."
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• Why would sonship naturally "belong" to the Israelites, if their forefathers were imaginary?
• Why would Paul contrast "children of the flesh" with "children of the promise" if the forefather Israel (Jacob) was merely imaginary?
• If Abraham and Jacob were historical men, how could Isaac be just a name?
• How can one provide basis for the idea of "children of promise" by pointing back to an imaginary Isaac (the promised son of Abraham)?
• Why say "our father Isaac" in regard to an imaginary person? This would seem misleading.
• Why discuss God's real purpose and calling in regard to Jacob and Esau, if these men never lived?
• Hebrews 11:1-22, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks . . . By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac [see Genesis 22--Isaac was not killed], and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones . . . And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect."
• Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph - portrayed as historical men.
• How could faith be exemplified in "men of old", if those men never lived?
• Why would the author write that Abel, for example, "is dead", if Abel never lived?
• How could Abraham exemplify faith in offering up Isaac, if this instance never took place because Isaac never lived?
• What persuasion is there in refering back to an imaginary promise regarding an imaginary Isaac?
• How could Isaac exemplify faith regarding real things to come in blessing Jacob and Esau, if Jacob and Esau were imaginary?
• How could Joseph exemplify faith regarding the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, if he himself never lived?
• Why speak of the bones of a man (Joseph) who never lived?
• In writing, "so that apart from us they would not be made perfect", why would one draw a connection between real New Testament Christians and imaginary Jewish ancestors?

Ok . . . how important are Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph?

I got a little side-tracked from the broader Biblical story. My excuse is that the facts/customs/beliefs about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph seemed rather closely related (in more ways than one). The textual study of how Abraham is placed in Scripture is back in the March 25th and April 9th posts. But Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph are also more than just characters in Genesis. Their names do appear in other Old and New Testament books. So, what was Scripture saying about Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph before the onset of modern archaeology?

Map from Bible History Online of the Twelve Tribe Settlements

Old Testament:

• Exodus 3:3-6, "So Moses said, 'I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.' When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then He said, 'Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.' He said also, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God."
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• Why would you have a God of a historical Abraham who is at the very same time the God of an imaginary Isaac and Jacob?
• God speaking directly to Moses called Himself the God of Isaac and Jacob. Why would a real God identify Himself as the God of imaginary figures?
• Why would Moses be afraid of a God who identified Himself with mythology?
• Joshua 16:4-17:10, "The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim [direct sons--see Genesis 41:50-52--with Manassah being the firstborn], received their inheritance. Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. Then the border went westward at Michmethath on the north, and the border turned about eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. It went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan [River]. From Tappuah the border continued westward to the brook of Kanah, and it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families, together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages . . . Now this was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war . . . The border of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim. The border went down to the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh), and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook and it ended at the sea. The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the sea was their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east."
• Joseph - portrayed as a historical man.
• How do you have real cities defining the borders of imaginary tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (see the Twelve Tribes Settlement map above, and the following Google Map)?
• Why would the real river Jordan and the real Mediterranean Sea define borders of imaginary tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh?
• How can you say real tribes (Ephraim and Manasseh) are descendents of imaginary people (Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph)?
• Why would firstborn status be important for the tribe of Manasseh, if the story of Manasseh being the firstborn son of Joseph was simply imaginative?

• Joshua 24:2-4, "Joshua said to all the people, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, "From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt."'"
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• Why would Joshua's parting speech to the Israelite people be about imaginary characters?
• How could the descendents of a real Abraham be multiplied through imaginary figures (Isaac and Jacob)?
• How could an imaginary Jacob travel to a real Egypt?
• I Kings 18:36-39, "At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, 'O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel [Jacob], today let it be known that You are God in Israel [nation] and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.' Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, 'The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.'"
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed a historical men.
• Why would Elijah call for aid from the God of imaginary figures?
• Why would God respond Elijah's request for real action after Elijah said He was the God of imaginary men?
• How could the people worship the real God of imaginary characters?
• I Chronicles 2:1-2, "These are the sons of Israel [Jacob]: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher."
• Jacob and Joseph - portrayed as historical men.
• Why would the twelve tribes (Many verses interchange Joseph with Ephraim and Manasseh. But Levi held no land, so the land-holding tribes still numbered twelve with Ephraim and Manasseh.) of Israel retain identical names to merely imaginary figures, such as Joseph? Wouldn't this grow old?
• Why would record be kept of the sons of an imaginary man Jacob?
• I Chronicles 29:10-19, "So David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, 'Blessed are You, O LORD God of Israel [Jacob] our father, forever and ever . . . But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours. Since I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You. O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You; and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes, and to do them all, and to build the temple, for which I have made provision.'"
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• Why would David identify the real Israelite people as sojourners just like imaginary forefathers?
• Why would David acknowledge that "all things" come from God based in part on the sojourner status of imaginary forefathers?
• Why would David call an imaginary  Isaac and Jacob fathers of the real nation of Israel?
• How could the God of imaginary forefathers preserve the hearts of a real people and David's own son?
• Why build a temple for the God of imaginary forefathers?
• How did David and the nation of Israel know God's name was holy, if all they ever heard were tales regarding God's involvement in the lives of imaginary forefathers?
• Jeremiah 33:14-26, "'Behold, days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David [Christ the Messiah] to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth' . . . The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 'Thus says the LORD, "If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. As the host of heaven [stars] cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me."' And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 'Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, "The two families which the LORD chose, He has rejected them"? Thus they despise My people, no longer are they as a nation in their sight. Thus says the LORD, "If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them."'"
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• How can the descendents of an imaginary man, Jacob, be as firmly established as nighttime and daytime?
• Why would the descendents of an imaginary Jacob be identified alongside those of a real King David, who is identified as the forefather of Christ (Branch of David)?
• Why would the name of an imaginary man, Isaac, be placed between those of two historical men, Abraham and Jacob?
• Amos 5:4-6, "For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel,
              'Seek Me that you may live.
        But do not resort to Bethel [Judges 1:22]
              And do not come to Gilgal [I Samuel 11:14-15],
              Nor cross over to Beersheba [II Chronicles 19:4];
              For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity
              And Bethel will come to trouble.
        Seek the LORD that you may live,
              Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph,
              And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel . . .'"
• Jacob and Joseph - portrayed as a historical men.
• Why say "house of Israel" if Israel/Jacob was an imaginary man?
• Why say "house of Joseph" if Joseph was an imaginary man?
• How could the descendents of an imaginary man Joseph live in real cities and later be taken into captivity?

New Testament: (this is getting a little long, so I'll postpone the New Testament verses)

A sojourner's footprint: Escaping Famine

Genesis goes into some detail regarding the family line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Famine ties all four generations together. How do their stories compare to modern thought?

Facts, customs, and widespread beliefs:

• Famine in Canaan & Abraham's sojourn in Egypt: 
• Famine during 2300-2000 B.C. - Previous blog post noted that between Muslim and Jewish accounts Abraham lived around 2166-1700 B.C.
• 4.2 kiloyear event - Famine in Egypt and Mesopotamia ~2200-2100 B.C., with resettlement of Northern Mesopotamian plains ~1900 B.C.
• New York Times - 300 year drought starting ~2200 B.C. may have caused fall of Akkadian empire in Mesopotamia.
• Yale - Same 300 year drought starting ~2200 B.C. in Mesopotamia linked to agriculture failure from the Greece to India (need to scroll halfway down page).
• Genesis 12:4-10, "So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran . . . and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan . . . Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev. Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land."
• Rachel's tomb
• Tourist website
• Israeli news article (Oct. 23rd, 2015)
• British-Muslim website - See bottom of page
• Washington Post article
• Jewish timeline of the Tomb
• Genesis 35:15-20, "So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel. Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor. When she was in severe labor the midwife said to her, 'Do not fear, for now you have another son.' It came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day." 

 
Official Trailer for Patterns of Evidence Documentary

• Joseph's Famine:
• Semitic Hyksos dynasty in Egypt - Evidence of influx of Semitic people from ancient Palestine into Egypt during ~1800-1700 BC, and Semitic "kings" over Egypt
• Egyptian tourist website - Hyksos capital at Avaris/Tell el-Dab'a
• Some archaeological finds - Including Syro-Palestinian dignitary's statue and Syro-Palestinian "traders".
• 2nd source citing same archaeological finds 
• Journal Article - Details archaeology of the "Joseph"/Asiatic statue for those with access to JSTOR (keeping a copy of this).
• "The figure is approximately one and a half times life size. On the back of the right shoulder the top right corner of a back support is still visible, thus making its placement and height certain. Emerging from the fragment of the fist tiny traces of the throw-stick or crook can be detected, thus clearly placing it in the right hand." (Schiestl 176)
• "Larger than life size statuary of non-royal Egyptians in the middle Kingdom is very unusual, but rare examples do exist throughout the 12th Dynasty, both from tombs and from temples. They seem to be limited, however, to families of highest ranks." (Schiestl 176)
• "The skin is painted yellow and its combination with red hair constitutes the Egyptian ethnic code for Asiatic people. Parallels for these features are well known in Middle Kingdom art, such as for example on a relief from the pyramid complex of Sesostris I from Lisht (Hill 1995, 153) or the representations of Asiatic group from Beni Hasan tombs 2 (Griffith 1900, pl. XXIII, 3) and 3 (Newberry 1891, pl. XXX)." (Schiestl 176-177)
• Head of another Asiatic/Syro-Palestinian statue 
• Detailed discussion from a Jewish-Christian standpoint 
• Genesis 42:1-5, "Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, 'Why are you staring at one another?' He said, 'Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die.' . . . So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also."
• Genesis 45:25-26, "Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. They told him, saying, 'Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.'"
• Genesis 47:4-6, "They said to Pharaoh, 'We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.' Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is at your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock.'"
• From Abraham & his Canaan famine to Joseph in Egypt and his 7 year famine: 25 years (after Abraham's famine Isaac is born) + 60 years (Jacob is born) + ~80 years (Joseph is born in Jacob's "old age") + 30 years (Joseph placed 2nd in command to Pharaoh) + 7 years (7 years of plenty before famine) = ~202 years from Abraham's famine to Joseph's 7 year famine
• Genesis 21:1-5, "Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him."
• Genesis 25:24-26, "When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them."
• Genesis 37:2-3, " . . . Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father. Now Israel [Jacob] loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic."
• Genesis 41:44-46, "Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “'Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.' Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt. Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt."

This always gets longer than I expect.

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.'"

A sojourner's footprint.

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."

 Facts, widespread beliefs, and customs seen today, and how they compare to Scripture:

• Geographical places involving Abraham/Isaac/Jacob/Joseph:
• Ur of the Chaldees
• National Geographic, placing Ur of Chaldees at the Great Ziggurat of Ur in Iraq based on recent archaeology, with some extra-Biblical speculation
• Encyclopaedia Britannica identifying Chaldea with Southern Iraq
• All About Turkey tourist guide, placing Ur of Chaldees at Urfa, Turkey with added local legends
• Muslim Urfa legends (extra-Biblical, but illustrate traditional Muslim beliefs about this being the Ur of Abraham): Pool of Abraham, Cave of Abraham
• Jewish views on the location of Ur Kaśdim/Ur of the Chaldees in south-eastern Turkey (in region of Urfa): A History of Israel, and Jewish Virtual Library



From Great Ziggurat of Ur (Iraq) to Harran/Haran (Turkey) - Suggested by archaeologist Leonard Woolley's claimed discovery of Ur in 1930's



From Sanliurfa/Urfa (Turkey) to Harran/Haran (Turkey) - A ~30 mile journey held by local, Jewish, and Muslim tradition, and more direct route toward Canaan

• Genesis 11:27-32, "Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran; and Haran became the father of Lot. Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans . . . Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there. The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran."
• Haran/Harran (city)
• National Geographic, with some extra-Biblical speculation



Traditional "beehive" shaped houses in Harran, built to relieve dwellers from hot climate.

• Encyclopaedia Brittanica, current population ~7375 (2013)
• Turkey Travel Planner site
• Genesis 12:1-5, "Now the LORD said to Abram [Abraham],
              “Go forth from your country,
              And from your relatives
              And from your father’s house,
              To the land which I will show you . . .
              So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan."
• Shechem/Oak of Moreh
• Jewish Virtual Library: stopping point in Abraham's journey, Jacob's well, Joseph's tomb, and Mt. Gerizim
• Near East Tourist Agency: Jacob's well near Shechem
• Chabad.org: Notes Joseph's Tomb at Shechem is a confirmed historic site.
• General 2nd source for Mount Gerizim at Nablus/Shechem
• Genesis 12:6, "Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land."
• Genesis 37:12-13, "Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. Israel [Jacob] said to Joseph, 'Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.' And he said to him, 'I will go.' Then he said to him, 'Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.' So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem."
• John 4:5-6, "So He [Jesus] came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour."
• Joshua 24:31-32, "Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the LORD which He had done for Israel. Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of money; and they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons."
• Joshua 8:30-33, "Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal . . . All Israel with their elders and officers and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as the native. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had given command at first to bless the people of Israel."
• The Negev
• General Source
• Genesis 13:1, "So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, he and his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot with him."
• Hebron/possible Oak of Mamre
• General Source
• Official Palestine Tourist Site
• Genesis 13:18, "Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the LORD."
• Sodom & Gomorrah
• Ebla Tablets
• Bryant G. Wood, Ph.D. 
• Steve Austin, Ph.D.
• Genesis 13:10-13, "Lot lifted up his eyes and saw all the valley of the Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere—this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah—like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose for himself all the valley of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward. Thus they separated from each other. Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled in the cities of the valley, and moved his tents as far as Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked exceedingly and sinners against the LORD."
• Genesis 19:23-25, "The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground."

--Ok, I should break here until next time.

"Children of Abraham"?

"You Are I Am" by Mercy Me

Exodus 3:14-15, "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."' God, furthermore, said to Moses, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you." This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.'"

Isaiah 48:12, "Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called;
            I am He, I am the first, I am also the last."

"Abraham"--in the New Testament there is another wealth of verses wherein this name appears. I cannot, right now, look at them all with the length they deserve. But let me see what I find. What came to mind when people in the New Testament wrote or spoke of Abraham?

• Matthew 1:1-17, "The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers . . . Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations."
• Abraham - portrayed as a historical man.
• Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--the genealogical list remains identical in the New Testament.
• How could the Messiah, Jesus, be the descendant of Abraham, if Abraham was only figurative/imaginary/theological?
• Why would the historical deportation/exile of the Israelite people be noted in a merely figurative genealogy?
• Why would the generations be counted, if some of the individuals were simply figurative? Who would count a figurative generation?
• John 8:37-40, "'I know that you [Jews] are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.' They answered and said to Him, 'Abraham is our father.' Jesus said to them, 'If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.'"
• Abraham - portrayed as a historical man.
• Why would Jesus contradict Himself by saying that these Jews were figurative descendants of Abraham, but did not act as his children/descendants?
• Why would Jesus tell the Jews to "do the deeds" of an imaginary man, whom they might object was too idealized to imitate?
• How would the Jews feel rebuked by being called antagonists toward the truth in a manner that their merely figurative forefather never was?
• When you say someone doesn't follow in their parents' footsteps, you are talking about their real-life parents--in the Jews case, this was a well-remembered ancestor.
• John 8:52-59, "The Jews said to Him, 'Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, "If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death." Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?' Jesus answered, 'If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, "He is our God"; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.' So the Jews said to Him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.' Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple."
• Abraham - portrayed as a historical man.
• The Jews believed Abraham died/tasted death. How could a merely figurative man die?
• Why would the Jews respect the name of Abraham if they believed the stories about him were made up?
• How could a figurative man rejoice to foresee the real coming of Christ?
• Why would the Jews point out Jesus' apparently young age in arguing that he couldn't have lived during the time of a figurative Abraham?
• How could a figurative person be born?
• Why would Jesus claim to be in existence before a figurative ancestor?
• Acts 7:2-8, "And he [Stephen, defending himself before the Jewish Council] said, 'Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, "LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME INTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU." Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, even when he had no child, He promised that HE WOULD GIVE IT TO HIM AS A POSSESSION, AND TO HIS DESCENDANTS AFTER HIM. But God spoke to this effect, that his DESCENDANTS WOULD BE ALIENS IN A FOREIGN LAND, AND THAT THEY WOULD BE ENSLAVED AND MISTREATED FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS. "AND WHATEVER NATION TO WHICH THEY WILL BE IN BONDAGE I MYSELF WILL JUDGE," said God, "AND AFTER THAT THEY WILL COME OUT AND SERVE ME IN THIS PLACE." And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.'"
• Abraham - portrayed as a historical man.
• Why would Stephen say that the real God appeared to a figurative man living in a real land?
• How could a figurative man move to the real land in which the Jews of Stephen's day were living?
• Why would Stephen take note of promises to a figurative ancestor--as if these promises were somehow translated into reality and passed onto the people of Israel?
• Why would Stephen and the Jewish people revere the God of a figurative ancestor?
• Romans 9:3-8, "For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren . . . who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons . . . and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants, but: 'THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED.' That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants."
• Abraham - portrayed as a historical man.
• Why would Abraham's descendants be called "children of the flesh"/natural birth if Abraham was merely figurative?
• Why would one say that the descendants of a figurative Abraham were not really all figurative children of Abraham? How can you contrast figurative with figurative?
• What meaning is there in saying that the children of God are children of a figurative promise (i.e. a promise to a figurative Abraham about his descendants being named through Isaac)?

  

Why would a man be given a new name?

The Old Testament genealogies continue to stretch onward. The next well known name in the list is that of Abram, or Abraham. In order to begin research into his background, I'll again start with the primary source, the Biblical account. This starts in Genesis 11:26, but I will skip a few verses to Genesis 12:1-9:

Now the LORD said to Abram,
            “Go forth from your country,
            And from your relatives
            And from your father’s house,
            To the land which I will show you;
And I will make you a great nation,
            And I will bless you,
            And make your name great;
            And so you shall be a blessing;
And I will bless those who bless you,
            And the one who curses you I will curse.
            And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called upon the name of the LORD. Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev.

Transition to Genesis 17:1-5:

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."

But the name of Abraham is not confined to Genesis alone. Other books in the Old Testament name him (the following instances are not exhaustive, and this does not include the New Testament yet). There is no mistake about the name being belonging to one with a different story:

• Exodus 2:23-24, "Now it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died. And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
• Abraham - portrayed as a historical man.
• Why would God remember a covenant with a man who never lived?
• Why would God relate a detailed covenant of blessing and land (Genesis 12:1-9) to a man who never lived?
• Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--this list of names is replicated numerous times in the Old Testament, indicating that the names must have been rather important to the Israelite people, and to God in speaking with the nation.
• Why would God hearing the groanings of Israel under bondage have anything to do with men (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) who never lived?

• Exodus 3:3-6, "So Moses said, 'I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.' When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then He said, 'Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.' He said also, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God."
• Abraham - portrayed as a historical man.
• God identifies Himself as both the God of Moses' own father, and the God of Abraham.
• How could the father of someone be paralleled with a man who never lived?
• Why would Moses fear if God was identifying himself as the God of imaginary people? Who would fear the lord of an imaginary world?
• Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--again the same genealogical list. 

• Exodus 6:1-5, "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land.' God spoke further to Moses and said to him, 'I am the LORD; and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them. I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned. Furthermore I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.'"
• Abraham - portrayed as a historical man.
• Why would God say He had appeared to imaginary individuals as Almighty God through their imaginary lives?
• Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--again the same genealogical list.
• Why would God Himself reference the sojournings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when these stories were imaginary?
• Why would God Himself say that He made a covenant with imaginary people?

• Deuteronomy 1:6-8, "'The LORD our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Turn and set your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negev and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them."'"
• Abraham - portrayed as a historical man.
• Why would God map out a land promised in an imaginary covenant/with imaginary people?
• Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--again the same genealogical list. 
• Why would the nation of Israel be identified as the descendants of imaginary men?
• How could the sons of Israel possibly be motivated to go and conquer a land promised to them merely through men whom they knew to be fictitious?
• How could the nation of Israel really look upon a land promised to imaginary individuals?

• Deuteronomy 9:25-29, "'So I fell down before the LORD the forty days and nights, which I did because the LORD had said He would destroy you. I prayed to the LORD and said, "O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or their sin. Otherwise the land from which You brought us may say, 'Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.' Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm."'"
• Abraham - portrayed as a historical man.
• Why would Moses, the current leader of Israel, plead with God turn aside His wrath by remembering imaginary individuals? How could this possibly be a persuasive argument on Moses' part?
• Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--again the same genealogical list. 
• Why would Israel be considered God's people, if so rebellious, unless the stories about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were real?
• Why would the land of Canaan/the Canaanites be likely to mock that God was unable to fulfill promises He never made, or made merely to imaginary people?