Hebrew term "fathers" is fairly general and refers
typically to the previous generation - at times it refers to three early ancestors
(Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) or to those who came out of Egypt
"Patriarch" means either "first father" or
"ruling father"
Historicity of the Patriarchs
Most would date the patriarchal accounts in Genesis as reflecting the
second millennium B.C.E.
Others disagree due to the following:
Patriarchs as nomads
Evidence against
Camels and tents are more appropriate to 1st millennium
B.C.E. desert nomads
Cattle belonged to a more sedentary life and the patriarchs possess
them indicating they are not primarily nomadic
Isaac is admired as a farmer (Gen. 26:12ff) and Laban and Jacob have
large flocks which their sons care for while the family remains in one place
Abraham's wanderings do not reflect the seasonal movements of a nomad
Accounts do reflect a rural, pastoral setting but not that of a 2nd
millennium B.C.E. desert nomad
Personal names, people, and places
Name "Abraham" is not found in 2nd millennium
B.C.E.
Close relationship in the text between Arameans and northern Arabs
and patriarchs reflects situation of mid-1st millennium B.C.E.
Names used for people of Canaan are 2nd millennium B.C.E.
but are not used to reflect historical realities
Customs of the patriarchs
Many have argued the customs of the patriarchs fit only a 2nd
millennium B.C.E. date
In reality some sources that were consulted have revealed that
supposed customs never existed and some of the customs believed to be only 2nd
millennium B.C.E. are also attested from the 1st millennium B.C.E.
We can at least say the following about the patriarchs based on the
text:
Patriarchs were heads of extensive groups, including family,
relatives, and servants
Their wealth was measured in terms of wives, sons, and cattle
Patriarch was chief decision maker for the clan - decided whom his
sons would marry and which one would succeed him as patriarch
Typically the oldest son succeeded his father
Archaeology and the patriarchs
Archaeology is helpful to some extent although excavations at
Beersheba (a city associated with the patriarchs) have indicated it was not occupied until
the Iron Age, substantially after the 2000-1500 B.C.E. typical date for the patriarchs
Thus far, archaeology has not "proven" the existence of the
patriarchs
Patriarchs in world events
Few patriarchal accounts mention the wider events of their day
Gen. 14 does but the figures mentioned are unknown and may reflect a
1st millennium B.C.E. date
Joseph account mentions no Pharaoh's name but the customs seem to
reflect 1st millennium B.C.E. Egyptian customs
Three possible approaches
Accounts of the patriarchs are completely true in every detail -
archaeology and historical research simply have not yet found the right evidence
Accounts of the patriarchs have been formed into a unified literary
composition which makes the stories appear to be the history of one family
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were not related as a series of
successive generations of one family
Each group of tribes in Israel had its own "father" - e.g.,
Abraham and Isaac for the southern tribes, Jacob for the central tribes
When the tribes united, their ancestors were united literarily into
one family
Although the patriarchal stories reflect a particular historical
period, they are interested primarily in presenting theology - historical questions should
not prevent the theological messages from coming through
Religion of the Patriarchs
Albrecht Alt
Two forms of worship
Worship of El in various forms at various local shrines - each
particular El was tied to a particular shrine
Worship of the "God of the fathers"
Each patriarch founded their personal cult (e.g., God of Abraham, God
of Isaac, God of Jacob)
As these groups settled in the land and joined together, they merged
their cults with the local cult and El
Eventually the three cults were combined as one
Alt did see the three patriarchs as real figures rather than a
literary creation although they had been drawn together by literary methods
Some basic ideas
Patriarchs acted as their own priests (with exception of Abraham
using Melchizedek in Gen. 14:18-20)
Built their own altars
Offered their own sacrifices
Religion was very personal and God was very often very immediate
either by voice or vision
God was assumed to be near to the patriarch and able to travel with
him and the clan even into foreign nations - yet God was not really a universal deity, he
belonged to the patriarch
Some Theological Points
The promises made to Abraham in Gen. 12:1-9 provide the controlling
theme for all of the patriarchal accounts
The promises are:
New land
Numerous descendants
Blessing for patriarch
Blessing of the nations through the patriarch
However, the promises are constantly threatened - the journey of
faith for each patriarch is very difficult
Barrenness always plagues the wives of the patriarchs - the question
constantly arises as to how God plans to give each patriarch numerous descendants if their
wives are always barren - other women who are not involved in the promise, however, are
always fertile
A number of times the lives of the patriarchs and sometimes their
wives are placed in jeopardy, sometimes by God (Gen. 22) and sometimes by the patriarchs
themselves (Gen. 12:10-20) - the question is always what will happen to the promises if
the bearers of the promise are dead
The promises are never passed down to the oldest son - God constantly
reverses the natural order of society - the first becomes last, the last becomes first
The promises survive because God makes the promises survive - Israel
has a history because God allows Israel to have a history