|
A fundamentalist would tell you no, Adam was the first person in the Bible. Eve was second and Cain third. Of course there were no writers around to record the life and times of Adam and Eve, so we rely on the Genesis record for what it's worth. Genesis has traditionally been credited to Moses but scholarly study has revealed at least three different authors for the entire Pentateuch. The Pentateuch consists of the first five books of the Bible.
The Bible attempts to put together a genealogy from Noah's sons and wives. Biblical scholars doubt that the name Shem refers to an actual son of Noah. Shem means "Semite" and likely refers to a tribe or racial group that we now know as Hebrews and Arabs. In the Old Testament, people were identified by a corporate personality, which identified them with their ancestors or their city of birth. It follows that the sons of Shem were known as "Shem" or Shemite. It can't be stated with certainty that Shem was an actual person, but is a representative name standing for "son of Shem".
There is no certainty about the origin of the Hebrew people in the Middle East. They likely started out as a primitive Bedouin tribe, wandering around the desert and scraping together a living. There were already established civilizations in Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt. The Hebrews, as a people, became noticed as a group in around 2000 BC In comparison to Egypt and Babylon, they were backward nomadic shepherds who had no fixed address. No doubt, many of these sons of Shem settled and mixed with the peoples of Egypt and Babylon for many years. The attraction of a stable city life must have been a great lure to these nomadic herders.
When the Hebrews come upon the scene of ancient history, they are situated in the city of Ur, in modern Iraq. Terah, Abraham's father, left Ur and moved the family, including Lot, to Haran in what is now Turkey. There were Canaanites already established near where Abraham finally settled between the towns of Bethel and Ai.
Is Abraham the first actual historical figure in the Bible? Probably. The first eleven chapters of Genesis deal with a lot of subject matter that is a prologue to the rest of the Bible. From Adam to Babel we are shown the world as God intended it to be and then what happened to that "good" creation. Abraham, as God's choice for the patriarch of a new group, is a step towards forming a God's own people. We'll never know why God chose Abraham, but he is the important spiritual grandfather of Christians, Jews and Muslims. Another large group of experts prefers to begin with Moses as the first actual historical figure. Without Abraham and the Patriarchs though, Moses might not have had a mission to perform.
As we continue reading Genesis from the twelfth chapter on, we get a sense that we are actually following a sober considered account of Abraham and his offspring. Part of that feeling comes from the telling of many of the mundane details of life. The other is the willingness of the writers to note many of the flaws of these characters. There is no archeological evidence for Abraham, or any of the Patriarchs. Almost all of Genesis had to be passed down orally. Naturally, the stories were probably embellished to make them more exciting or to accent a certain theological point.
Before writing became the common tool of the Hebrews and scribes were entrusted with copying all texts, oral tradition was the only tool for linking the present to the past. Someone in the tribe was told the story repeatedly until they could recite it by heart. So, many of the stories may have been exaggerated but most bible scholars believe that there is enough substance there to consider Abraham a "real" person. Although he may not resemble the person we read about in today's Bible.
Some things are certain: That Abraham's people did move from somewhere in Mesopotamia to Palestine; that they lived a nomadic lifestyle in that area for centuries; and that they fled to Egypt where they stayed for some time. The stories were repeated from generation to generation because these people had a firm conviction that God had a plan and chose them to carry it out. So, Abraham was a historical figure as far as being the one God called to help establish a tribe and then a people. There is a lot of evidence in the form of the writings of Jews and Muslims. Many later Biblical contributors would refer to Abraham in a matter of fact way, without doubt.
What is most important is that the Bible as a whole is intended to teach us readers something about God and how God is dealing with us. All of the stories about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have a religious purpose, a moral lesson. The stories about Abraham may not be accurate, but the Bible is not a history book. The Bible is a theological text and is concerned with God's call on Abraham and Abraham's response.
|
| |
