Abraham in History and Tradition
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Abraham in History and Tradition is a book by John Van Seters, published in 1975 by Yale University Press of New Haven, Connecticut, in the United States.
It proved a landmark book in Near Eastern Studies and Biblical Archaeology, since it rebutted the previously commonly accepted theories of William Foxwell Albright that the patriarchal narratives of Genesis fit comfortably in the milieu of Mesopotamia c.1800 BC. Van Seters pointed out that many of the parallels were too vague, and many of them fit other regions than Mesopotamia and other times than c.1800 BC. Specially devastating was the analysis of Genesis 14: Van Seters demonstrated easily that the political situation of Genesis 14 of a Near East dominated by a coalition led by Elam and including Hatti, Assyria and Babylonia, simply is not confirmed by any monuments, king lists, or any historical documents.
The kings mentioned in Genesis 14 are:
- Amraphel king of Shinar - the latter being an old name for Mesopotamia. The name Amraphel is found in Canaan but not in Mesopotamia. At one time Amraphel was thought to be Hammurabi, but this theory is now discredited.
- Arioch king of Ellasar (may perhaps be identified with a Hurrian king named Ariukki).
- Chedorlaomer king of Elam. In Elamite, his name would be Kudur Lagamar. It is doubtful whether a king of this name existed. But if one did, he did not control a vast empire including Mesopotamia, Hatti and Canaan.
- Tidal king of Goyim. Tidal is commonly identified with Tudhaliya, the name of a Proto-Hittite and of a Hittite king.
Goyim can be translated as "ethnic groups," "nations," or "peoples." In modern Hebrew it means "gentiles."
- Bera king of Sodom. No mention of this king exists outside of Genesis 14, and no trace of Sodom has ever been found.
- Birsha king of Gomorrah. Again, this king and his city are totally unknown outside of Genesis 14.
- Shinab king of Admah. The name of this king may mean "Ivory." The name of his city may mean "ground, soil." They also are totally unknown to history and archaeology.
- Shemeber king of Zeboiim. Again, an unknown king of an unknown city.
- The (unnamed) king of Bela, which is Zoar. We have two names for the city, none for the king. The city has not been identified.
On the basis of other features of the story, for example the purchase of land for money, the presence of Philistines, the use of iron, and the widespread use of camels, Van Seters shows that the story cannot be located any earlier than the mid iron age II period, a date now commonly accepted by most non-fundamentalist Biblical scholars. The story of Abraham and Lot is now accepted as being a largely legendary epynymous ancestor tale for the origin of people of Israel and the surrounding area (Lot for the Moabites and Ammonites, Abraham for Arabs and Jews, Isaac for Jews and Edomites).
- Melchizedek king of Salem. Unlike the other kings, he is not mentioned at the start of the chapter, but only towards the end of it. He is mentioned elsewhere in the Bible and in the Judeo-Christian tradition, but not outside of it.
