Kim był Abraham i skąd pochodził? Kilka uwag na temat potencjalnych śladów tradycji o Abrahamie

Abstract

Who was the “historical” Abraham and where did he come from? It is difficult to find an unambiguous answer to these questions. The article focuses on analyzing the Egyptian text from the time of Sheshonq I which mentions a place sometimes identified as “Abram’s field / fort”. However, this interpretation is pointed out as being uncertain and even very questionable. The next two points of analysis are biblical texts (Deut 26:5a; Gen 11:27-32). The names of Abraham’s family members are toponymic (male) or symbolic (female), constituting female nicknames associated with the worship of the moon god. Their analysis suggests the region of Charan, between the Euphrates and Habur rivers, where the worship of the moon god was very popular. These areas were previously inhabited by the Amorites, and then by the Arameans. The article concludes that the “historical” Abraham may have come from the vicinity of Charan and had Amorite roots, while identification with the Arameans was only a typological element resulting from the experience of the same fate (deuteronomist). It was only later reinterpreted in favor of Jacob (cf. Gen 46:1-7), and finally in favor of Abraham in the final edition.