(approximately 1550–1450 BC)
After the descendants of Noah and the forefathers of Egypt had created and developed integrated societies, we saw the emergence of Abraham. It is believed that Abraham, who was originally called Abram, was a skilled trader and warrior. It was also believed (much like Noah) that he was a chosen man of God and a prophet to the people. In the accounts of Abraham it is said that he had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. He had a wife whose name was Sarah or Sarai, her name also changing halfway through the accounts. Abraham’s father was a man by the name of Terah, and died early on in the recordings. Abram was also an “uncle” to the legendary Lot, who chose the opposite way of Abraham in the recorded scripture.
Abraham is an important figure in history as his two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, are forefathers of the Jewish and Islamic people. The people of Abraham were skilled warriors and hard workers, skilled in the trades and combat. The kingdom of Egypt was threatened by his people as they were the largest force at the time. Abraham’s political influence in the land was great and he was respected among all people, which may be the reason for peace during his time.
After the death of his father Terah, God said to him, get out of your Country, froM your faMIly and froM your father’s house, to a land that I wIll s how you. I wIll Make you a great natIon; I wIll Bless you and Make your naMe great; and you shall Be a BlessIng. I wIll Bless those who Bless you. and I wIll Curse hIM who Curses you; and In you all the faMIlIes of the earth shall Be Blessed.
GeNesis 12:1–3 (NKJV)
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After this, Abraham went into the land of Egypt and dwelt there for a time. The land of Egypt was enduring a great famine at the time, and Abraham had grain and goods to offer the people. Since Abraham was a man of God and a prophet, he offered his goods to the people at fair prices and helped Egypt through this troubled time. Remember the men of Abraham where the chosen people of the time and were skilled in many trades.
abraM was Very rich iN liVestocK, iN silVer, aNd iN Gold.
GeNesis 13:2 (NKJV)
or do they envy MankInd for what allah hath gIven theM of hIs Bounty? But we had already gIven the PeoPle of aBrahaM the Book and wIsdoM, and Conferred uPon theM a great kIngdoM.
surah 4:54 (al Nisa’)1
MentIon In the Book aBrahaM: he was a Man of truth. a ProPhet.
surah 19:41 (MaryaM)2
The skills and trades of Abraham’s people were recognized throughout the Egyptian lands and caught the attention of the pharaoh. Abraham was invited to go before the pharaoh and feast and drink with him.
The wife of Abraham, Sarah was a woman of great beauty and intelligence; the princes and the pharaoh desired her greatly. Because the desire for Sarah was so great, the pharaoh took her back to his palace and attempted to court her. It is said that Abraham was treated well because he said that she was his “sister” at the time. Abraham was shown around the lands of Egypt and when he returned, Sarah had been taken to the palace of the pharaoh. Abraham grew extremely angry at this news and the lands of Egypt began to be cursed.
Pharaoh knew that he was cursed and returned Sarah with anger in his heart; he said that he believed that she was his sister. Sarah was Abraham’s wife, and sister in faith, and may have even been cousins or half-siblings, as they would be the son and daughter of God, according to their faith. In essence because Abraham was guided by God, he and 1
Ibid.
2
Ibid.
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Sarah were essentially children of God. Perhaps the concept or saying of sister misled the Egyptians to misunderstand.
Lot was also a skilled man and a worthy trader and had established a relationship with the people of Egypt and the men of Abraham. Lot followed Abraham as he left Egypt and sought trade with other far and distant lands. Since Lot was a respected man also, he began to challenge the prophecies of Abraham and his decisions; Abraham not wanting strife between them two said,
Please let there Be no strIfe Between you and Me, and Between your herdsMen and My herdsMen; for we are Brethren. Is not the whole land Before you? Please seParate froM Me. If you take the left, then I wIll I wIll go to the rIght; or, If you go to the rIght, then I wIll go to the left.
GeNesis 13:8–9 (NKJV)
This passage also reinforces the statement that many men, women, and children traveled with Abraham and Lot at the time. References to herdsmen and brethren as being plural entities and not singular ones help prove this. Lot agreed and cast his gaze upon all the valley of Jordan and journeyed east. So Abraham took the north, south, and west and was told by God that his people would prosper and be strong, and stand as a chosen people among all the lands.
and I wIll Make your desCendants as the dust of the earth; so that If a Man Could nuMBer the dust of the earth, then your desCendants also Could Be nuMBered.
GeNesis 13:16 (NKJV)
Time passed and eventually the colonies of Abraham and Lot grew to be the envy of all the surrounding kingdoms. The nearby kings grew jealous of this and planned an attack against the forces of Lot. The kings assembled their armies and raided the colonies of Lot and captured Lot himself in the raids. The recordings state that a runner or servant had escaped capture and told Abraham what fate had befallen his kin, Lot. Abraham heard this and raised his forces in pursuit of the enemies of Lot.
Abraham fought against the surrounding forces and retrieved the 81
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stolen goods and captured prisoners from them. The surrounding kings who were defeated agreed to pay a tithe or a gratuity to Abraham’s people, making them exceedingly wealthy in all the lands. Abraham led the battle personally and earned the respect of all the surrounding kings of the land. This may have eventually led to the persecution of Moses, as his culture was envied by the surrounding kings and people.
“Blessed Be aBraM of god Most hIgh, Possessor of heaven and earth; and Blessed Be god Most hIgh, who has delIvered your eneMIes Into your hand.”
GeNesis 14:19–20 (NKJV)
Abraham then wished and longed for an heir to his empire, and consulted God on this. God came to him in a vision by saying,
“do not Be afraId, aBraM. I aM your shIeld, your exCeedIngly great reward.”
GeNesis 15:1 (NKJV)
After a time, peace returned to the kingdom; the defeated kings offered a tithe of their possessions to Abraham and his people. Abraham began to prosper as his empire continued to expand. He was longing for an heir to his empire and to continue the lineage of his body. He prayed to the Lord, and the Lord responded that a child would come. Since Abram and Sarah were advanced in age, he doubted that this revelation would be true and that he and Sarah would bear children.
After a time, Sarah wanted to have and raise children; she told Abraham to impregnate her maidservant Hagar, who was an Egyptian.
So Abraham slept with Hagar and they ended up conceiving and bearing forth a son. Political and socioeconomic factors played a huge part in maintaining order and peace among the people. If the son of the chosen prophet was not of same ancestry, division among the people would occur. Shortly after the birth of his son Ishmael, Sarah became jealous and wished to have a child herself. Abraham slept with Sarah and they also had a son by the name of Isaac.
Abraham had prophetic visions of Ishmael being the descendants of princes in what is known as Persia, and Isaac was to be a king to the people of Israel. Since Sarah was of a more direct descent both economically and politically, her offspring would be the chosen one to 82
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take heir to the lands of the Jewish people. Ishmael was given the Persian lands as a gift to his descendants and generations where he was to dwell as a stranger among the lands, meaning only that he would not be king of Israel. Since the “promised land” was promised to Abraham and his descendants, we must acknowledge that this land also belongs to Ishmael and his descendants, who is also a descendant of Abraham.
for all the land whICh you see I gIve to you and your desCendants forever.
GeNesis 13:15 (NKJV)
Further adding evidence, and proving the prophetic prophecies of Abraham, are the two evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. During Abraham’s travels he and Lot went to these two cities; many corruptions and atrocities were taking place there. Acts like rape, murder, and mass corruption were present in these cities. It is also written that toward the end of the visit, Abraham and Lot were accosted by men there. Abraham warned the people of these cities to change their ways and avoid this path or a great devastation will fall upon the cities. Many people argued with Abraham asking, “Will he punish the innocent for the price of the wicked?”
“BeCause the outCry agaInst sodoM and goMorrah Is great, and BeCause theIr sIn Is very grave,…”
GeNesis 18:20 (NKJV)
It is unclear to how these cities were destroyed, whether Abraham himself attacked these cities, or natural phenomena destroyed them.
The Qur’an speaks of great earthquakes that occurred along with a possible volcanic eruption. This would cast down “great stones of fire” and decimate the populations of these two cities. Also recorded references to great stones of fire may be fiery boulders that were launched by catapult-type artillery. There is further evidence to suggest that a meteor type of impact that has occurred in Egypt before may have been the cause of the destruction of these cities.
for we wIll destroy thIs PlaCe, BeCause the outCry agaInst theM
has grown great Before the faCe of the lord, and the lord has sent us to destroy It.
GeNesis 19:13 (NKJV)
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The meteor would have super-exploded just above the earth’s surface, causing a bomb-like explosion that would be the size of the atom bombs that were dropped on Japan in World War II. This would cause a huge sheet of glass (super-heated sand) to be present, which can still be seen in Egypt. This would have devastated the area for years and completely and utterly destroyed the entire landscape, leaving no evidence that the cities ever existed. This theory is improbable, but not impossible; this phenomenon has occurred on earth and can in fact occur again.
Whether war or natural phenomena was the cause for the destruction of these cities is not the issue; Abraham had a prophecy that war would occur with these cities, and that they were in fact a people corrupt and immoral. Abraham can be considered the first father of Israel.
Although this term is usually given to Isaac and Jacob, Abrahamic law is considered to be the first governing laws of Israel, in which the original Jewish religion was created.
Since much of the ancient scripture is destroyed, Judaic scripture and law is said to have come from Moses. Remember that the word is an evolution of God, and the compilation of these texts comes from recognized prophets and leaders; therefore even Moses built off the teachings of Abraham and so forth. This is a main reason that ancient lineage and tradition was so important among family backgrounds. Many people of ancient cultures when stating their name would give a brief history of their lineage (Moses of Abraham, Augustus of Julius, etc.) Abrahamic law is not derived from scripture, but instead comes from the ancient teachings of the forefathers of Abraham. Abrahamic law is derived from the concepts of karma and certain statutes that dictate morality. These statutes are called virtues, and virtue can be said to be the description of love. In essence the more virtuous you are, the more loving you are. Virtues are traits or characteristics that are moral and just, such as wisdom, kindness, truth, honor, understanding, compassion, and knowledge. These virtues are characteristics of a loving person or society. In essence, the more loving or virtuous you are, the more karma will favor you or your people.
THE REASON FOR LIVING IS LOVE, OTHERWISE WHY
WOULD WE LEAVE PERFECTION?
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It is not just nature that dictates us to be virtuous, for we as a people have a choice whether or not to be moral. Morality is what gives us reason and establishes us as greater than animals. For we also have a choice to be immoral or nonvirtuous; love is also a choice. These virtues can only be described by words, and religion is the teachings that help us understand and achieve these virtues. Abrahamic law is the teaching of love and virtue, which are the founding principles of any true religion. These teachings were passed on to Abraham through the forefathers of mankind.