The Avos

1. The Avos Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov

2. Avraham Avinu • Where was he born? • When did he live? • What civilizations did he encounter? • Details of his life • Ur Kasdim • Haran • Mitzrayim • Sodom • The war between the four kings and the five • The destruction of cities of Sodom • Malkitzedek • Avimelech • Purchase of Ma’aras Hamachpelah from Ephron

3. Ur Kasdim אור כשדים • Avraham was born approximately 1813 or 1976 BCE • It is generally assumed to be the city of Ur in southern Mesopotamia since it is near what will be the Babylonian civilization its people are known in Hebrew as כשדים Kashdim • Ur had been one of the largest cities in the world. • It was well developed with several law codes having already been given by strong leaders Map of Middle East

4. Ur Kasdim אור כשדים • Until it was destroyed by the Elamites in about the year 2000 BCE • Somewhere between 24 and 187 years before Avraham was born • It was rebuilt but much smaller than previously • פרשת נח בראשית י"א ל"א • וַיִּקַּח תֶּרַח אֶת אַבְרָם בְּנוֹ וְאֶת לוֹט בֶּן הָרָן בֶּן בְּנוֹ וְאֵת שָׂרַי כַּלָּתוֹ אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם בְּנוֹ וַיֵּצְאוּ אִתָּם מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִּים לָלֶכֶת אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן וַיָּבֹאוּ עַד חָרָן וַיֵּשְׁבוּ שָׁם: • Terach took Avram his son and Lot the son of Haran his grandson and Sari his daughter-in-Law the wife of Avram and the left Ur Kasdim to go to the land of Canaan and the came until Haran and they settled there. Ur Ruins Including Reconstructed Ziggurat

5. Ur Kasdim אור כשדים • The Muslims have a tradition that Urfa in southern Turkey is the birth place of Avraham. • They have put a shrine on the site. • Urfa is very close to the agreed upon site of Harran. • Is that proof that Urfa is אור כשדים or not? • People did write in cuneiform the same language as in southern Mesopotamia Mosque in Turkey Set on the Site of Avraham Avinu’s Birth In Urfa, Southern Turkey

6. חרן ארם נהריים • The location of חרן is well established in southern Turkey • The larger area in which it is located is ארם נהריים since it is located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers • ארם is the name of a people living in this area of Syria at the time. City of Harran with typical beehive homes

7. חרן ארם נהריים • It was an important stop in the caravan routes from Mesopotamia to Anatolia and south to Israel and Egypt

8. Egypt AND THE Pharaohמצרים ופרעה • The Gemorah tells us that אברהם was 75 years old when he left חרן • He almost immediately leaves Israel for Egypt • When? • 1976BCE +75 = 1901BCE • 1813BCE +75 = 1738 BCE

9. Egypt and Pharaohמצרים ופרעה • In Egypt he claims שרה אמנו was his sister. • The Royal family practiced incest with half sisters. • Commoners did not but they did often refer to their wives as “sister.” King Tutankhamen His Father and Mother were siblings and he married his half-sister

10. Egypt and Pharaoh • Egyptian History • Early Dynastic period • Dynasties 1-2 • 3100 BCE – 2880 BCE • Old Kingdom • Dynasties 3 – 6 • 2686 BCE – 2134 BCE • First Intermediate Period • Dynasties 7 – 10 • 2134 BCE- 2030 BCE • Middle Kingdom • Dynasties 11- 12 • 2030 BCE – 1720 BCE • Second Intermediate Period • Dynasties 13 – 17 • 1720 BCE – 1550 BCE • New Kingdom • Dynasties 18- 20 • 1550 BCE – 1096BCE • Third Intermediate Period • Dynasties 21 – 25 • 1096BCE – 664BCE • Who was the Pharaoh when אברהם אבינו was there? • What was the political situation in the country?

11. According to the historians • Avraham was in Egypt 1901 BCE during the Reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat II • According to Wikipedia “Not much is known about his reign. He ruled Egypt for 35 years from 1929 BCE to 1895 BCE” • Or possibly during the reign of his successor Senusret II there is little relevant information about his reign either A Great sphinx thought to have been originally carved for Amenemhat II, now on display in the Louvre, Paris

12. According to חז"ל • Avraham was in Egypt in 1738 BCE • Which was in the Second intermediate period • According to Manetho the Hyksos invaded Egypt • The Hyksos invasion shattered the unity of the country • Smaller Egyptian provinces or Nomes fought back

13. According to חז"ל • Avraham was in Egypt in 1738 BCE • Which was in the Second intermediate period • According to modern historians the Hyksos peacefully migrated into Egypt • Lack of central government allowed unchecked immigration that changed the culture of Egypt in places and gave rise to Hyksos states A group of Asiatic peoples (perhaps the future Hyksos) depicted entering Egypt c.1900 BC from the tomb of a 12th dynasty official Khnumhotep under pharaoh Senusret II at BeniHasan

14. The war between the four kings and the five • There is no historical evidence for the war • There is also no historical evidence for the destruction of ערי הככר or Sodom and Gomorrah • However, as we have said lack of evidence does not mean that it did not happen. Salt Dunes Near the Dead Sea

15. Malkitzedek king of shalemJerusalem • ירושלים has been continually occupied since 3000 BCE • It lies on the road from the Red Sea to the north • It has a permanent water supply • It has a temperate climate and is close to arable land The tiny clay fragment – dating from the 14th century B.C.E. – found by Hebrew University archaeologists in excavations outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls contains the oldest written document ever found in Jerusalem. (Photo: SassonTiram)

16. Yitzach Avinu • Lived a private • The wells mentioned in the Torah do exist at the center of ancient cities • No other evidence of his life could be expected to remain מערת המכפלה Left over from the Avraham slides

17. Yaakov Avinu • Lived with לבן in Harran • Was a shepherd for a while • There is no evidence for Shimon and Levi’s attack on Shechem • However, Shechem was destroyed 22 times and rebuilt before 200 CE Mt. Ebal

18. Chronology of the Avos

19. Next time • Death of Yosef till Leaving Egypt • 146 years • חז"ל 1459-1313BCE • Historians 1622-1476 BCE • Exodus from Egypt • Bondage • Storehouses • Pharaoh of the Exodus • Conquest of Yehoshuah • Archeological evidence • The times of the Judges • The Jewish people in the Canaanite world