241:. Thompson, a literary scholar, argued on the lack of compelling evidence that the patriarchs lived in the 2nd millennium BCE, and noted how certain biblical texts reflected first millennium conditions and concerns, while Van Seters examined the patriarchal stories and argued that their names, social milieu, and messages strongly suggested that they were
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The fact is that we are all minimalists -- at least, when it comes to the patriarchal period and the settlement. When I began my PhD studies more than three decades ago in the USA, the 'substantial historicity' of the patriarchs was widely accepted as was the unified conquest of the land. These days
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in biblical scholarship and archaeology, which gradually led scholars to no longer consider the patriarchal narratives as historical. Some conservative scholars attempted to defend the
Patriarchal narratives in the following years, but this position has not found acceptance among scholars.
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argued that although the texts described by the documentary hypothesis were written centuries after the patriarchal age, archaeology had shown that they were nevertheless an accurate reflection of the conditions of the 2nd millennium BC. According to
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mentioned in
Mesopotamian texts. According to Albright, Abraham was a wandering Amorite who migrated from the north into the central highlands of Canaan and the Negev with his flocks and followers as the Canaanite city-states collapsed. Albright,
654:, not any historical situation in the "Age of Abraham". To be sure, these stories are set in an earlier theoretical context that may have some historical verisimilitude; but in their present form, they are clearly fictitious.
339:. 2023. p. 38. ISBN 9781628375138. “In sum, it cannot be proven or excluded that there have been historical persons named Abraham, Sarai, Ishmael, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Rachel, Leah, and so on.”
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Following
Albright's death, his interpretation of the Patriarchal age came under increasing criticism: such dissatisfaction marked its culmination with the publication of
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What Did the
Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It?: What Archeology Can Tell Us About the Reality of Ancient Israel
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There are a few sporadic attempts by conservative scholars to "save" the patriarchal narratives as history, such as
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By the beginning of the 21st century, archaeologists had given up hope of recovering any context that would make
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218:"We can assert with full confidence that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were actual historical individuals."
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154:. Using this method, it appears that the Bible places the patriarchal age in the first half of the
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301:"Between the Biblical Story and History: Writing an Archaeological History of Ancient Israel"
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The
Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives: The Quest for the Historical Abraham. Text
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All these stories reflect the geopolitical situation of the
Israelite monarchy in the
89:. Based on this chronology and the Rabbinic tradition, ancient Jewish sources such as
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58:, although Joseph is not one of the patriarchs). It is preceded in the Bible by the
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The Bible contains an intricate pattern of chronologies from the creation of
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Most scholars view the historicity of the biblical patriarchs as uncertain.
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By and large, however, the minimalist view of
Thompson's pioneering work,
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The Bible provides relative dates for the patriarchal period.
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it is quite difficult to find anyone who takes this view.
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Some Recent Issues in the Study of the
History of Israel
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between 2100 and 1500 BCE. Abraham would have been born
150:, these relative dates can be converted into estimated
369:. How to Read Series. InterVarsity Press. p. 90.
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Grabbe, Lester L. (2007). Williamson, H. G. M (ed.).
165:, and Jacob and his family would have moved to Egypt
54:12–50 (these chapters also contain the history of
245:creations. Van Seter and Thompson's works were a
303:. In Keimer, Kyle H.; Pierce, George A. (eds.).
200:from the northeast whom he identified with the
327:Frevel, Christian. History of Ancient Israel.
567:The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives
447:sfn error: no target: CITEREFMooreKelle2011 (
389:John Bright, "History of Israel", 1972, p.91.
224:The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives
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522:. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 313.
549:. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 98.
442:
462:Moorey, Peter Roger Stuart (1991-01-01).
307:. Taylor & Francis. pp. 71–72.
142:lived in Egypt for 430 years. Using the
27:Biblical era of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
519:On the Reliability of the Old Testament
491:"The Patriarchal Age: Myth or History?"
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593:10.5871/bacad/9780197264010.001.0001
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635:Has Archaeology Buried the Bible?
465:A Century of Biblical Archaeology
50:, according to the narratives of
543:Dever, William G. (2001-05-10).
419:Abraham in History and Tradition
234:Abraham in History and Tradition
134:480 years after the Exodus, and
468:. Westminster John Knox Press.
349:Jewish Virtual Library: Abraham
638:. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
422:. Echo Point Books and Media.
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516:Kitchen, K. A. (2006-06-09).
265:credible historical figures.
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399:Thompson, Thomas L. (1974).
496:Biblical Archaeology Review
305:The Ancient Israelite World
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632:Dever, William G. (2020).
180:The most eminent of early
489:Kitchen, Kenneth (1995).
416:Seters, John Van (1975).
108:) and place the death of
34:is the era of the three
299:Faust, Avraham (2022).
190:Intermediate Bronze Age
182:biblical archaeologists
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678:Biblical archaeology
176:Biblical archaeology
138::40 states that the
126::1 states that King
117: 1506 BCE
106: 1813 BCE
587:. British Academy.
366:How to Read Genesis
186:William F. Albright
36:biblical patriarchs
229:Thomas L. Thompson
156:2nd millennium BCE
93:date the birth of
18:Patriarchal period
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602:978-0-19-173494-6
556:978-0-8028-2126-3
529:978-0-8028-0396-2
475:978-0-664-25392-9
445:, pp. 18–19.
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683:Prehistory
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620:Dever 2001
502:2021-07-12
286:References
280:Prehistory
275:Nuzi texts
130:built the
64:The Exodus
337:SBL Press
136:Exodus 12
124:1 Kings 6
363:(2005).
269:See also
243:Iron Age
202:Amorites
97:to 1948
333:Georgia
329:Atlanta
255:Abraham
148:Assyria
140:Hebrews
128:Solomon
95:Abraham
52:Genesis
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83:Israel
73:Dating
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259:Isaac
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87:Judah
48:Jacob
44:Isaac
640:ISBN
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524:ISBN
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309:ISBN
231:and
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