The Call of Abraham: A Detailed Examination of Genesis 12:1-20 (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Abraham Narratives in Genesis 12-25: Literature Review
Currents in Biblical Research 17.2, 2019
The Abraham narratives in Genesis 12-25 have long been the focus of interest of scholars and general readers. The stories about Abraham and his family have influenced, directly or indirectly, the foundational texts of the three major monotheistic religions. This article attempts to trace the development of exegesis of Genesis 12-25 in scholarly works published since 2000. Five types of studies are introduced and briefly evaluated: (i) commentaries on the biblical pericopes in question; (ii) works discussing the historical formation of the Abraham narratives; (iii) synchronic and theological studies; (iv) reception studies; as well as (v) other detailed studies of Genesis 12-25. The article presents a wide range of methodological approaches to biblical texts, and aims to delineate current trends in the study of Genesis.
The Book of Genesis, 2012
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. When we read in the Bible about the conflict between the twin brothers Jacob and Esau, it is easy to feel some sympathy for the older brother Esau. His brother Jacob took advantage of him in a moment of weakness. Esau came in from the field tired and hungry, and Jacob offered him food on only one condition: that he sell his birthright, that is, that he give up his right to be called the firstborn and all the privileges that went with that right. Many years later, when father Isaac was going to give a special blessing to Esau, Jacob stepped in the way again. He went so far as to pretend that he was Esau. He deceived his old, blind father and received the blessing Isaac wanted to give to Esau. One can hardly think of a more despicable act. In bitter anger Esau said: "Is he not rightly named Jacob (Supplanter)? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing." We may think to ourselves at this point that Esau certainly had a right to be bitter and angry. Jacob kept on cheating him and taking things away from him. In our minds Esau may seem to be "the good guy" and Jacob "the bad guy." Now what does God say in the Bible about Jacob and Esau? Jacob's sins are certainly not minimized, and the troubles that came to him as a consequence of his sins are spelled out in full detail. Yet Jacob is portrayed, together with his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac, as a hero of faith. In fact, God involved these three specifically in the declaration of His own name when He called Himself "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." He also changed Jacob's name to Israel, for He said: "You have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." What about Esau? What does God say about him? In our text from Hebrews 12 Esau is described as a "profane person." This morning we shall consider what this means as we learn WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT THAT PROFANE PERSON ESAU. What exactly is a profane person? A person who uses profanity? No, it means much more than that in this text. Basically, the description of being profane is applied to someone who has no special regard or respect for God or for the things of God. The example of Esau's profanity (or profaneness) mentioned in our text is that he "for one morsel of food sold his birthright." THE THINGS OF GOD DID NOT INTEREST ESAU. Jacob, on the other hand, was vitally interested in that birthright. No doubt, his mother Rebekah had told him that God had said, even before he was born: "The older shall serve the younger." Yet Jacob was not satisfied with this word and promise of God. He wanted to make sure for himself that the blessing would be his. So Jacob "cooked a stew," the Bible says, and when "Esau came in from the field," he wanted some of that stew, for he was weary and hungry. Jacob saw his opportunity and made his bargain. "Sell me your birthright," he said. Esau replied "Look, I am about to die; so what profit shall this birthright be to me?" I'm about dead from hunger; I want to eat. What do I care about a birthright? "Thus Esau despised his birthright," the Bible says. Esau was more concerned about the immediate satisfaction of his physical needs. The here and now was of more concern to him than the far-off future. Esau did not consider how the birthright might have had the potential of giving to Esau the special blessing that he would pass down in his family the promise of the coming Savior. As And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?" And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals." And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. It is clear that the most important thing in the lives of Abraham, his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob was the promise God made to them concerning the Savior of the world. When God identified Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as the ancestors of the Messiah, He gave them the same promise in almost identical words: "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." Jacob had twelve sons from four different mothers. Which one of these sons was going to receive the promise of the Savior in that special way of being identified as the next link in the Messianic line of descent? Would it be Reuben, his oldest? In those days it was common for the oldest son to receive a double portion of the inheritance.
ON THE INTERPRETATION OF ABRAHAM IN GENESIS
Abraham is a founding figure in the tradition of revelation. Three major religions trace their spiritual roots to his distinctive relation to his God: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In order to understand ourselves in the modern world we need to understand these two pillars of the tradition and the contribution that the figure of Abraham makes to that tradition. These notes consist of: thoughts on Abraham and His God; thoughts on The Binding of Isaac (Akedah); and a detailed textual analysis of the Biblical representation of Abraham (Genesis 11:26 – 25:18).
All admit the importance of the Abrahamic Covenant in understanding biblical revelation, but not all agree on its interpretation. Genesis 12 is a pivotal statement of the covenant because it contains God's first recorded speech to Abraham. There God promises to make Abraham a great nation, to bless him, and to make his name great. Genesis 15 makes clear that the LORD took upon Himself alone the responsibility for fulfilling the covenant. Genesis 17 adds the revelation that the covenant would be everlasting. Genesis 18 and 22 restate terms of the covenant in connection with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the offering of Abraham's son Isaac. Exodus through Deuteronomy describe the initial outworking of the Abrahamic Covenant. The elements of the covenant are threefold: making Abraham into a great nation, blessing Abraham personally, and blessing all nations in Abraham. The promises of the covenant are unconditional. The rest of the OT repeatedly refers back to God's oath to Abraham in the Torah. The NT does the same by pointing out that Jesus Christ, Abraham's seed, will make possible the final fulfillment of that covenant in the future.
Genesis 1-4: The Genesis of Old Testament Instruction
See version of paper in "Biblical Theology: Retrospect and Prospect" Ed. Scott Hafemann, Zondervan.
Instead, I suggest that the Old Testament text is a literary and theological unit in its final post-exilic shape (Law, Prophets, and Writings). As a textual unit the Old Testament has an introduction which sets the stage for the rest of the text and serves as the hermeneutical lens through which to read the Old Testament. I propose that Genesis 1-4 serves as this theological introduction to the Scripture. These chapters create the theological prototypes for the Old Testament, which are repeated and elaborated upon through the Law, Prophets, and Writings. The repetition of these theological prototypes provides more detail and clarification of OT instruction. As a Christian, whose Scripture includes the New Testament, the trajectory of theological concepts must be followed into the New Testament to complete the scriptural perspective.
The Book of Abraham and the Bible
The Book of Abraham is one of the Mormon scriptures in the Pearl of Great Price. It purports to be translated from a book that Abraham himself wrote. This paper discusses the Book of Abraham’s literary dependence on Genesis in the KJV, the Book of Abraham’s unbiblical teachings, and the superiority of the Bible to the Book of Abraham.
Wrangling with Abraham: An Evaluation of Recent Studies on Genesis 12–25
Australian Biblical Review 67 (2019), 13–30, 2019
This article evaluates recent trends in scholarship on the Abraham narratives in Genesis 12–25 based on a selection of works published over the last eighteen years. Four main issues are discussed here: the current lack of consensus on the nature of the oral and written traditions underlying the Book of Genesis, a need for methodological restraint in the historical-critical scholarship, new approaches to the historical study of Genesis 12–25 and current directions in the theological study of the ancestral narratives.