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b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] Canaan as the Original Homeland of the Hebrews: Part I

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  • From: Yigal Levin <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
  • To: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Canaan as the Original Homeland of the Hebrews: Part I
  • Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:28:26 +0300

There you go again. I'll only reply to one (long) point at the moment:

6. You wrote: “The problem is, that when the details don’t all match, you
make some up. There is NO indication in the text that Terah was originally
from Canaan and was on his way ‘home’.”

Let me cite the text, which supports my view:

“And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and
Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them
from Ur of [Kasdim], to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto
Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and
Terah died in Haran.” Genesis 11: 31-32

It was Terakh’s plan to go to Canaan, not Abraham’s plan. Why would elderly
Terakh be trying to go to Canaan? It’s because Terakh was trying to get back
home to northern Canaan, after completing a one-time caravan trip way out to
Mesopotamia. Otherwise, why would elderly Terakh be trying to go to Canaan?

Are you claiming that Terakh was not trying to go to Canaan? That
contradicts what the text says.

On your view, why was elderly Terakh trying to go to Canaan? Terakh had had
no divine guidance from YHWH.

We must also ask why Terakh allows his precious firstborn grandson (Lot) of
his beloved, deceased firstborn son (Haran) to go to Canaan, leaving Terakh in
Harran. The answer is that Terakh was indigenous to Canaan, and Terakh wanted
precious Lot to return to the family homeland in northern Canaan. From Terakh
’s point of view (though not from our point of view), it was something of an
afterthought that Terakh’s youngest son Abraham perhaps could be of help in
leading Lot back to Canaan, and could also be of help in selling the commercial
luxury goods that the party had been purchasing on this long caravan trip way
out to Mesopotamia. Lot will come out of Egypt rich. Lot did not get rich in
Egypt because his aunt Sarah had a pretty face. No, Lot got rich in Egypt
from the sale of the valuable commercial merchandise that the party had acquired
on the long caravan trip way out to Mesopotamia. See how the text makes
perfect sense on this view?

Old Terakh wanted to go back to his homeland in northern Canaan with his
precious grandson Lot. But when Terakh proved to be too infirm to make it past
Harran, Plan B had to be devised, under which Lot would be guided back to Canaan
by Abraham, while middle son Nahor would stay on in Harran to care for Terakh.

What text can you cite that says that Terakh had never been in Canaan? There
is no such text. Genesis 11: 31-32 only makes logical sense if Terakh is
indigenous to Canaan and is trying to lead the whole family back to Canaan.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois


You see, it does say that Terah was on his way to Canaan. It does NOT say why he was on his way to Canaan. The idea that he was on his way BACK HOME to Canaan is entirely your invention. Maybe he was out of work and there was work in Canaan? Maybe he had bought a retirement condo in Ashdod? Maybe he was ultimately headed for Egypt? Maybe God told him to go? The author does not say that he was not originally from Canada, either. The details that are missing were apparently not important to the author - that does not give us lisence to "fill in the gaps" however we want to.

Yigal Levin




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