Why You Should Read More Than the Bible Part 5: Abram the Mesopotamian and the Transmission of the Pentateuch
In previous posts, we have spoken of the cognitive environment of the Biblical text and its authors (see more in the introductory post here). This understanding is especially poignant when it comes to Abram. The narratives woven through Genesis 11:27-25:11 relate how Abrams family migrates from Ur (most likely associated with city life in Babylonia) and then settles in Haran (upper Mesopotamia) en route to Canaan. According to Joshua 24:2, 14, Abram’s father Terah (and so probably Abram himself) worshiped the Mesopotamian gods of their native land. This would make them aware of the literature of those people and the accounts of their gods and creation narratives. It is also true, based on the accounts we find in the Pentateuch, that Abram interacted with Kings and Pharaoh of various lands (Gen 14:13; 20:2, 11-14; 21:22-24). And he enjoyed good relations with settled communities (Gen 23:10, 18 mentions the city gate). All of this would have shaped the transmission of the accounts that later became part of the Pentateuch.
When we communicate with people, especially people of various religious beliefs and languages, we tend to pick up on commonalities and differences, and the oral/written accounts of Abram most certainly would have used religious language and commonly shared “cognitive environment” attributes in order to communicate to the people of the Ancient Near East (ANE) truths about the Most High God, and His plans, even if elements of how that God operated would have been strange to these people in certain ways (for example, sending Abram on a long journey only to not see the promises He made come to pass until generations later). This is crucial because if God wanted to communicate with Abram, his family, and the ancient people He would have needed to do so in language and communication that would be understandable to those people. From what we find in the Pentateuch that is exactly the case.
This demonstrates then why it is important for us to look at ANE texts, artifacts, images, iconography, and the like to formulate, to the best of our abilities, the common cognitive environment of that world so that we in the modern era can properly understand these ancient texts we call Scripture.
Why You Should Read More Than the Bible Part 5: Abram the Mesopotamian and the Transmission of the Pentateuch
In previous posts, we have spoken of the cognitive environment of the Biblical text and its authors (see more in the introductory post here). This understanding is especially poignant when it comes to Abram. The narratives woven through Genesis 11:27-25:11 relate how Abrams family migrates from Ur (most likely associated with city life in Babylonia) and then settles in Haran (upper Mesopotamia) en route to Canaan. According to Joshua 24:2, 14, Abram’s father Terah (and so probably Abram himself) worshiped the Mesopotamian gods of their native land. This would make them aware of the literature of those people and the accounts of their gods and creation narratives. It is also true, based on the accounts we find in the Pentateuch, that Abram interacted with Kings and Pharaoh of various lands (Gen 14:13; 20:2, 11-14; 21:22-24). And he enjoyed good relations with settled communities (Gen 23:10, 18 mentions the city gate). All of this would have shaped the transmission of the accounts that later became part of the Pentateuch.
When we communicate with people, especially people of various religious beliefs and languages, we tend to pick up on commonalities and differences, and the oral/written accounts of Abram most certainly would have used religious language and commonly shared “cognitive environment” attributes in order to communicate to the people of the Ancient Near East (ANE) truths about the Most High God, and His plans, even if elements of how that God operated would have been strange to these people in certain ways (for example, sending Abram on a long journey only to not see the promises He made come to pass until generations later). This is crucial because if God wanted to communicate with Abram, his family, and the ancient people He would have needed to do so in language and communication that would be understandable to those people. From what we find in the Pentateuch that is exactly the case.
This demonstrates then why it is important for us to look at ANE texts, artifacts, images, iconography, and the like to formulate, to the best of our abilities, the common cognitive environment of that world so that we in the modern era can properly understand these ancient texts we call Scripture.