Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

Karl:
 
1.  You wrote:  “Genesis 12 already mentions possessions (as in cattle) and 
slaves, as they left Haran, before going down to Egypt.”
 
(a)  The “possessions” are primarily the lapis lazuli that Abraham’s father 
Terakh had bought (on behalf of all of Terakh’s relatives, not just for 
Terakh’
s sons) at the wholesale center for buying lapis lazuli in the ancient world: 
 Ur.  That is the economic basis for how Abraham and his relatives came out 
of Egypt rich.
 
(b)  The “souls” are not slaves.  Those are Abraham’s young male relatives 
who guarded the caravan out to Ur and back.  Abraham and Lot in effect 
inherited those guys when Abraham’s father Terakh proved too old and weak to 
make it 
back to Canaan from Harran.
 
(c)  There’s no way that anyone would drive a herd of cattle from Harran to 
Canaan!  No way.  Let’s use some common sense, and go with the actual 
geography, and then you’ll see that everything makes perfect sense.
 
2.  You wrote:  “Genesis 12 mentions that Abraham travelled throughout the 
land unto the Negev, before going to Egypt.”
 
The text says nothing of the sort.  Rather, it says that Abraham went south 
from Beth-el “by stages” through southern Canaan, before making a beeline for 
Egypt.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

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