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  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] The Name "Joseph": Patriarchal Successions
  • Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2008 14:10:42 EST


Rev. Bryant J. Williams III :

1. You wrote: “Regarding Ishmael vs Isaac. The text of 22:2, 12, 16
contradict what you say about Isaac. In each of the verses God says of Isaac
to
Abraham,
22:2 ..."your only son, MT, 'et-yechidad 'asher-'ahabtat; LXX, TON
AGAPHTON
hON HGAPHSAS
22:12 ..."your only son, MT, 'et-yechidad; LXX, TOU AGAPHTOU
22:16 ..."your only son, MT, 'et-yechidad; LXX, TOU AGAPHTOU”

Yes, but that is after Sarah forced Abraham, with YHWH’s explicit approval,
to exile Ishmael in chapter 21 of Genesis. So with Ishmael seemingly out of
the picture at this point (having been exiled 12 long regular years ago),
Abraham
’s only remaining son, who was born either by Abraham’s main wife #1 or on
her behalf, is Isaac.

Yet note that Abraham is not stated in the text to be grieved or upset at the
imminent prospect of having to kill his “only son”, Isaac. And note that
Abraham had never thanked YHWH for Isaac’s birth. Abraham bargains with YHWH
for Ishmael in the text, but Abraham never bargains with YHWH for Isaac in
the
text, even in the harrowing binding incident.

Abraham makes the right decisions, for the right reasons, in selecting Isaac
over Ishmael. Abraham does that based on YHWH’s clear commands, and thus
Abraham is righteous. The very point of the binding incident, indeed, is to
confirm that Abraham is selecting Isaac over Ishmael for the right reasons,
namely
because YHWH has divinely told Abraham to do so, rather than Abraham
selecting
Isaac over Ishmael because Isaac is Abraham’s favorite son.

2. You wrote: “Furthermore, the text in 17:17-22 clearly indicates that
Sarah will give birth to a son well past the age of childbearing, that the
child's name will be
Isaac (Yitzhak) and that Ishmael will still be blessed, but not as the
firstborn
is normally blessed. In fact, Isaac is the focal point from this point on.”

Yes, I agree with that entirely. That in no way means that Isaac was Abraham’
s favorite son, however. The son who gets the ultimate blessing is always
the right choice, and is fully approved of by YHWH, but is never the
Patriarch’s
favorite son. Certainly you would agree that Esau was Isaac’s favorite son,
yet Isaac gives the great blessing to Jacob, not Esau, and Isaac does not
attempt to rescind that blessing of Jacob after the trickery of Rebekah and
Jacob
is revealed. And likewise, you would certainly agree that Joseph is Jacob’s
favorite son. Yet Jacob names Judah, not Joseph, to be the leader of the
next
generation of the new monotheists.

This is precisely the very point that I am driving at. It is quite unusual
for a leader to give the greatest honor, and sole leadership, to a
non-favorite
son, especially a non-favorite son who is not the leader’s firstborn son.
Yet that is exactly what happens in all three Patriarchal successions. The
author of the Patriarchal narratives is trying to tell us something important
here, if we will only pay close attention to what the received text actually
says.

3. You wrote: “Now, regarding the 14th Century BCE dating, I find that
Akhenaten does not fit the context of the Patriarchal narratives nor the
Mosaic
legislation especially the dating to ca. 1446-1407 BCE in which the dating
set
by the I Kings 6:1,
Judges 11:14-27 (especially 11:26 ("For three hundred years Israel occupied
Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the
Arnon...."). Since Jephthah was a judge ca. 1100 BCE according to most
scholars,
then to ignore both times listed (Solomon building the Temple and Jephthah's
remarks) is based not on facts but on a priori assumptions that cannot be
proved
especially with regards to JEDP.”

I may agree with most of your facts, but I entirely disagree with your
conclusion. True, the mid-14th century BCE may not fit any part of the Bible
except
the Patriarchal narratives, including not fitting well as a starting point
for computing the dates of the Exodus and Solomon. But that is not because
the
Patriarchal narratives are historically inaccurate. No, that is because both
the mid-1st millennium BCE Hebrews (including JEPD), and modern analysts of
the Bible as well, misunderstand the Patriarchal narratives, and the mid-14th
century BCE historical time period of the Patriarchal narratives.

Everything in the received text of the Patriarchal narratives matches
perfectly to the well-documented secular history of the mid-14th century BCE.

Archaeology may not have proven an historical Exodus or an historical
Solomon’s
Empire, but the archaeological facts do establish the historical beginnings
of
Judaism, in the mid-14th century BCE historical Patriarchal Age.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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