Abraham's Legacy
The legacy of Abraham -- the father of the Jews, the Muslims and the Christians -- carries on in religious wars, jealous stepmothers, feuding families, interracial families, genital mutilation and even child sacrifice.
Abraham's year of birth is unknown, but is likely to be around 1860 BC. He was born in Ur, southern Iraq, to Terah, a wealthy trader in religious idols, and was married to Sarah. Prone to visions and violent outbursts, young Abraham raised the wrath of the king with his religious beliefs and Terah was forced to move the whole family to Haran in Canaan.
In Haran, about ten years later, Abraham and Sarah remained childless and with a vision about numerous descendants he left his father's house, travels to Egypt and back, settles in Hebron, grows rich and distinguishes himself as a warrior king.
Childless and feeling a wretch of a man because of it, Abraham has a vision where his God appears as a smoking torch and commands him to inscribe in blood the sign of the Covenant on his body. The thought of an old man circumcising himself - without anaesthetic or surgical instruments - is frightening; but such was Abraham's belief that in doing so, God's promise about many descendants would come to pass.
In pity at her husband's despair, and what he had done to himself, Sarah offers her black Egyptian slave, Hagar, to Abraham for sex in the hope that a child would ensue, and c.1800 BC, when Abraham was about 60, a son, Ishmael, was born to Abraham and Hagar at Hebron.
Four years later, c.1796 BC, Sarah herself gave birth to the second son of Abraham, Isaac.
Sarah had Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, banished to Mecca but her fury increased when Abraham insisted upon visiting them regularly. He showered them with gifts and raised Hagar's position in the Meccan community to such an extent that she told all and sundry that her son, Ishmael, would sire a great nation of God's people through 12 sons - the 12 Arab tribes.
The tribes of Mecca were indeed the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar, and from one of these tribes came Mohammed, the founder of Islam. More well known, however -- thanks to Sarah's indoctrination process -- were the 12 tribes of Israel who descended from Isaac through Jacob and Judah, the founder of Judaism.
Basically, the bitter feud that continues today between Jews and Moslems started as a spat between two stepmothers who believed their sons were Abraham's 'favorite' and dutifully poisoned the minds of their sons who, in turn, dutifully poisoned the minds of their sons, ad infinitum.
What made Abraham's story go down in history rests solely upon his fabulous wealth. Sarah and Hagar, the two stepmothers, were more concerned about their status and their sons' inheritance than covenants with imaginary gods!
Abraham's year of birth is unknown, but is likely to be around 1860 BC. He was born in Ur, southern Iraq, to Terah, a wealthy trader in religious idols, and was married to Sarah. Prone to visions and violent outbursts, young Abraham raised the wrath of the king with his religious beliefs and Terah was forced to move the whole family to Haran in Canaan.
In Haran, about ten years later, Abraham and Sarah remained childless and with a vision about numerous descendants he left his father's house, travels to Egypt and back, settles in Hebron, grows rich and distinguishes himself as a warrior king.
Childless and feeling a wretch of a man because of it, Abraham has a vision where his God appears as a smoking torch and commands him to inscribe in blood the sign of the Covenant on his body. The thought of an old man circumcising himself - without anaesthetic or surgical instruments - is frightening; but such was Abraham's belief that in doing so, God's promise about many descendants would come to pass.
In pity at her husband's despair, and what he had done to himself, Sarah offers her black Egyptian slave, Hagar, to Abraham for sex in the hope that a child would ensue, and c.1800 BC, when Abraham was about 60, a son, Ishmael, was born to Abraham and Hagar at Hebron.
Four years later, c.1796 BC, Sarah herself gave birth to the second son of Abraham, Isaac.
Sarah had Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, banished to Mecca but her fury increased when Abraham insisted upon visiting them regularly. He showered them with gifts and raised Hagar's position in the Meccan community to such an extent that she told all and sundry that her son, Ishmael, would sire a great nation of God's people through 12 sons - the 12 Arab tribes.
The tribes of Mecca were indeed the descendants of Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar, and from one of these tribes came Mohammed, the founder of Islam. More well known, however -- thanks to Sarah's indoctrination process -- were the 12 tribes of Israel who descended from Isaac through Jacob and Judah, the founder of Judaism.
Basically, the bitter feud that continues today between Jews and Moslems started as a spat between two stepmothers who believed their sons were Abraham's 'favorite' and dutifully poisoned the minds of their sons who, in turn, dutifully poisoned the minds of their sons, ad infinitum.
What made Abraham's story go down in history rests solely upon his fabulous wealth. Sarah and Hagar, the two stepmothers, were more concerned about their status and their sons' inheritance than covenants with imaginary gods!
Labels: abraham, child sacrifice, families, feuding, hagar, inheritance, isaac, ishmael, jealous stepmothers, jews, mecca, mixed race, muslims, racism, sarah
