[b-hebrew] Genesis 12: 5: Are "Souls" Slaves?
JimStinehart at aol.com
JimStinehart at aol.com
Sat Nov 17 23:24:55 EST 2007
Kenneth Greifer:
You wrote: “You said Abraham was gathered to his people in Canaan, so he
was from Canaan. Jacob was gathered to his people in Egypt in Genesis 49:33,
Aaron in Numbers 20:24 outside of Canaan and Egypt (?), and Moses in
Deut.32:50. How do you explain how they were gathered to their people outside of Israel
(or Canaan)?”
1. Abraham was gathered to his people/“am” in Hebron, Canaan.
“And Abraham expired, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of
years; and was gathered to his people [“am”]. And Isaac and Ishmael his sons
buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar
the Hittite, which is before Mamre [at Hebron, in Canaan]”. Genesis 25:
8-9
On the traditional view that not a single one of Abraham’s ancestors ever
stepped foot in Canaan at any time, Genesis 25: 8-9 is nonsensical. But since
in fact the Hebrews are indigenous to Canaan, and are portrayed as such in
the Patriarchal narratives, Genesis 25: 8-9 makes perfect sense. Abraham was
gathered to his people/”am” in Hebron, Canaan.
1. Isaac was gathered to his people/“am” in Hebron, Canaan.
“And Jacob came unto Isaac his father to Mamre, to Kiriatharba--the same is
Hebron--where Abraham and Isaac sojourned. …And Isaac expired, and died, and
was gathered unto his people [“am”], old and full of days; and Esau and
Jacob his sons buried him.” Genesis 35: 27, 29
1. Although Jacob/“Israel” died in Egypt, Jacob was buried at, and
gathered to his people/“am” at, Hebron, Canaan.
“And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet
into the bed, and expired, and was gathered unto his people [“am”]. …And
Joseph went up [from Egypt to Canaan] to bury his father; and with him went up
all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of
the land of Egypt….For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and
buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the
field, for a possession of a burying-place, of Ephron the Hittite, in front of
Mamre [in Hebron, Canaan].” Genesis 49: 33; 50: 7, 13
1. I’ll let you guys talk about Aaron and Moses. What I am saying is
that all three Patriarchs are portrayed in the Patriarchal narratives as being
buried at, and gathered to their people/“am” at, Hebron, Canaan.
If no ancestor of Abraham ever stepped foot in Canaan, it would not make
sense for the text to be stating that all three Patriarchs were gathered to
their people/“am” in Hebron, Canaan.
1. Please note that the word “am”, which includes the concept of
ancestors, is never used when anyone is in Mesopotamia in the Patriarchal
narratives. Rather, references to relatives at Ur or Harran are exclusively in terms
of mowledeth/kindred/father’s descendants, a term that never includes
ancestors. That’s because Terakh’s ancestors never stepped foot in Mesopotamia.
They were indigenous to northern Canaan/Lebanon.
1. Why do you guys keep thinking that the Patriarchal narratives would
try to lead us astray as to where the Hebrews came from? Modern
archaeologists have determined that the Hebrews were indigenous to Canaan or greater
Canaan. The Patriarchal narratives have been saying that for 3,500 years now.
1. In my opinion, it is not fair to reinterpret the Patriarchal
narratives in terms of later books of the Bible. For example, Genesis 15: 13, 16 has
tremendous historical accuracy if it is interpreted in terms of the
Patriarchal narratives, rather than being interpreted in terms of the Book of Exodus.
Do you think that Abraham learned broken Hebrew at age 75? Didn’t YHWH
speak to Abraham in Hebrew at Harran? Don’t you think the author of the
Patriarchal narratives realized that people in Mesopotamia in the Patriarchal Age
did not speak a language like Hebrew?
If we would jettison the Ezekiel-era reinterpretation/misinterpretation of
the Patriarchal narratives, we would discover that the Patriarchal narratives
have breathtaking historical accuracy, from the secular historical viewpoint
of the mid-14th century BCE. That’s what I’m saying.
When the Patriarchal narratives tell us that all three Patriarchs were
gathered to their people/“am” at Hebron, Canaan, that means that the Hebrews were
indigenous to Canaan, a different part of Canaan than Hebron, namely
northern Canaan/Lebanon.
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois
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