Abraham's Origins

[existential mabel]

i got to thinking about Abraham and his early life before he was called out by God and how he must have been steeped in a culture that worshiped idols

 

Quote

http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2009/12/was-abraham-pagan.html
First, it is incorrect to apply the term “pagan” to Abraham since the term comes from ancient Rome. Pagan refers to adherence to the old gods after the Christianization of Roman towns. (I've written about the contribution of Biblical Anthropology in the determination of anachronisms

while i was checking to see what kind of idol worship went on in Haran i found this
 

Quote

http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2011/07/solar-imagery-of-proto-gospel.html
Most people think of Christianity as an off-shoot of Judaism, but the core belief that God would take on flesh, die and rise again were already evident among Abraham’s Horite Hebrew people who understood the dying and rising of God in terms of the sun’s rising and setting. They did not worship the sun as is erroneously stated in some books on ancient civilizations. Rather the sun served as the best analogy for the Creator who ruled over the whole world.

 

Quote

https://www.gotquestions.org/Abraham-religion.html
When God called Abraham (then called Abram) in Genesis 12:1, He told Abraham to leave his country, his kindred, and his father’s house. Everything familiar was to be left behind, and that included his religion.

and yet it was his father that left Ur to go to Haran
 

Quote

 

Gen:11:31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, who was the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, Abram's wife,

and with them he left the city of Ur in Babylonia to go to the land of Canaan. They went as far as Haran and settled there.

 

Oh gosh I thought that it was Abram who made the epic journey away from Ur in Babylonia.

 

 

Edited November 12, 2019 by existential mabel

[existential mabel]

Just now, existential mabel said:

http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2011/07/solar-imagery-of-proto-gospel.html
Most people think of Christianity as an off-shoot of Judaism, but the core belief that God would take on flesh, die and rise again were already evident among Abraham’s Horite Hebrew people who understood the dying and rising of God in terms of the sun’s rising and setting. They did not worship the sun as is erroneously stated in some books on ancient civilizations. Rather the sun served as the best analogy for the Creator who ruled over the whole world.

what are your thoughts about this. is this feasible?

[Michael37]

3 hours ago, existential mabel said:

I thought that it was Abram who made the epic journey away from Ur in Babylonia.

Hi mabel, It's interesting that the place Haran, over 6oo miles from Ur, has the same name as the person Haran who died before the journey was made. Apparently Haran was Abraham's older brother. Before he died in the presence of his father Terah, Haran had fathered Lot, Milkah, and Iskah. 

The places Ur of the Chaldees, and Haran of Padan-Aram were geographically not too dissimilar. Abraham's father, Terah didn't get far in his intention to go into the land of Canaan, possibly finding Haran a good place to die which he subsequently did.

Ur was a major centre of the moon god, Sin. The second major centre of Sin was Haran, which is in southeastern Turkey. [Answers.com]

No doubt idolatry was known to the family of Terah, but Abraham obviously had better things to do than be subject to it, as we learn in verse 8 below. 

Gen 12:1-9
(1)  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
(2)  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
(3)  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
(4)  So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
(5)  And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
(6)  And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
(7)  And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
(8)  And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.
(9)  And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.

[JohnD]

Terah took  charge, but Abram receieved the call and apparently reported it to his father.

IMHO no one would have followed him if he'd had the guts to go it alone.

"Come on, Sarai, God told me to leave our home and our life here in Ur."

"Where are we going, Abram?"

"I don't know."

"Yeah... right... uh, Abram, you must've had too much mhammmara for supper last night..."

 

[other one]

Interestingly, if one plots all the births and deaths one finds that Abraham was about 58 years old when Noah died...…    and Shem lived 35 years longer than Abraham did.

I think Abraham had some direct teaching from Noah himself concerning all the idol worshiping stuff.

[Who me]

Abraham was chosen by God. That in its self tells us a lot about Abraham. He was not an idol worshipper, he was alert to God speaking to him and was willing to put everything to one side to obey God.

[Justin Adams]

13 hours ago, existential mabel said:

Oh gosh I thought that it was Abram who made the epic journey away from Ur in Babylonia

We may have the wrong UR in our commentaries..

However, God had just dealt with Babel and the disobedient spirits (Psalm 82, Deut 32) and scattered the nations under the dubious care of those 70 erring principalities.

God chose a man and woman who could not have babies. He wanted to PROVE to all that He can raise up a nation supernaturally.. which He did. However, Ishmael was a bit of an issue, but Isaac was the 'monogenes' of Abraham and the promise for all nations.

After this for quite some time it was Israel vs the nations, and Yahweh vs the pantheons (disobedient spirits). Thus the Torah.. (another subject).

Often, Yahweh will demonstrate His Sovereign Love by doing things like this. He is God over all.

 

[omega2xx]

18 hours ago, existential mabel said:

what are your thoughts about this. is this feasible?

It would be nice if you gave some Scripture to support that the people of that time believed they would die and rise again. and that they did not worship the sun(I am not sure they did. I believe some cultures of that time did, and I think it is possible thy did as well).

[existential mabel]

2 hours ago, omega2xx said:

It would be nice if you gave some Scripture to support that the people of that time believed they would die and rise again. and that they did not worship the sun(I am not sure they did. I believe some cultures of that time did, and I think it is possible thy did as well).

i did!! that is what i was asking feedback from from that quote

[existential mabel]

Micheal37

Yes indeed I noticed that about the name Haran as well and had to double check to make sure I hadn’t imagined it