Story of Abram and his children- biblical sources

Research and written by Aatef Khan

The story of the three great monotheistic religions of the world, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, starts from Abram, known as the friend of God.[1] Abram lived in a city called Ur of the Chaldees, in around 2,000 B.C. [2] Ur of Chaldees was a city near modern-day Iraq.[3] YHWH established His first covenant with Abram and renewed it with his children, Jacob, and Moses. YHWH is the name of the Hebrew God.[4] God also promised Abram’s second wife, Egyptian slave Hager, to make Ishmael’s children a great nation. Jacob’s children founded Judaism and Christianity while Ishmael’s offspring established Islam. God promised that if Abram and his children will obey YHWH, he will give them the fertile lands of Canaan, where they will live forever. Abram was a descendent of Noah. When God destroyed the world by a great flood, He saved Noah, his family, and the animals, riding his ark. Floods were a punishment from God. The waters covered the earth for one hundred fifty days, killing all the birds, animals, and all human beings.[5] After the floods, Noah’s children multiplied and spread throughout the world. People spoke one language, that time. Some of Noah’s children settled in the valley of Shinar. They learned the art of brickmaking and decided to make a great city with an enormous tower reaching the heavens. They wanted to make a name by making vast buildings throughout the world. The Tower was designed for idolatry and constituted an act of rebellion against God.[6] Their vanity provoked God. God confused them, and they failed to understand each other. The city project stopped, and God scattered them all over the world.[7] They were speaking different languages now. It was Babel where the great confusion happened.[8] The Tower of Babel is a turning point in history. It ended the era of universal monotheism which had existed since the beginning of time. [9] Time passed. Noah’s children reached different parts of the world. Abram’s father Terah settled in Ur of Chaldees. He had three sons, Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Lot was Haran’s son. Terah along with Abram, Abram’s wife Sarai, and Lot left his home in Ur of Chaldees and traveled towards Canaan. After reaching Haran, the family stayed there. [10]According to ancient commentary on Hebrew Scriptures,Terah started idol selling business. Abram had no liking for false gods. One day, when Terah was busy somewhere else, he asked Abram to attend the shop. Abram was at the shop when a customer came and asked about one idol. “How old are you”, Abram asked. “Fifty years, why” the customer replied in surprise. “You are fifty years old but want to worship a day-old object,” Abram asked.[11] One day he broke all of them and when his father asked he said the idols quarreled and broke into each other. Realizing the kid was making fun of idols. Terah became furious and took Abram to Nimrod.Nimrod was the king of the people who built a mighty tower of Babel in Shinar. [12] “Let us worship fire,” Nimrod commanded. “Let us rather worship water, which quenches fire,” Abram replied. “Let us worship water,” Nimrod demanded again.[13] “Let us rather worship the clouds which bear the water,” Abram argued. “Let us then worship the clouds,” Nimrod said. “Let us worship the wind which disperses the clouds,” Abram responded. The argument continued, and Nimrod realized the young man was mocking him. He felt awkward. Abram had challenged his authority, publically. “You are bending words,” Nimrod roared. He said if Abram will not worship fire, he will throw him in it. “Call your God to save you from the burning flames,” Nimrod said. Abram prayed and his God responded, miraculously saving him from the devastating fire of the furnace. After that incident, Abram started opposing idols openly. He became vocal in denouncing false gods and other worship objects like stars, sun, or fire. He confronted his father, family, even the king, convincing them not to worship anyone but the True God. His love for justice and hate for evil made him popular in the eyes of God. God made him a prophet. Abram was seventy-five years old when God, promising him a glorious reward, asked him to leave his home and go to a new place he will show.[14] Trusting God, Abram took his wife, nephew, servants, and belongings and migrated. When they reached Canaan, Lord said, Abram’s children will have that land. Delighted, Abram went to the hills east of Bethel, put up his tent, and built an altar to worship the Lord. Abram’s stay at Canaan proved temporary, as a severe famine hit the area soon. After a long and tiresome journey, he along with his family reached Gerar. Gerar was a city, on the way to Egypt, somewhere near modern-day Beersheba, Israel. Abram’s convoy was entering the city when an official noticed the exceptional beauty of his wife Sarai and reported it to the king. [15] To save his life, Abram told Sarai was his sister. Impressed with her elegance, King took Sarai as his wife and gave Abram sheep, cows, and camel. King never knew he was going to sleep with a married woman, a wife of a Prophet. God informed him about the blunder he was about to commit in his ignorance. “Now return Prophet’s wife. He will pray for you and you will live”, God ordered. King summoned Abram and asked for an explanation for telling a lie. Abraham clarified that his wife Sarai was his sister, because she was the daughter of his father, but not the daughter of his mother. [16] He said he found no fear of God in locals, that’s why he concealed his relationship with Sarai. King apologized to Abraham, and returned his wife, along with gifts, cattle, and wealth. Abram left the city for Canaan. During the journey, his shepherds quarreled with the shepherds of his nephew, Lot. His nephew left for Jordon, while Abram for Canaan. Time passed, one night God again came into Abram’s dream and repeated His promise of multiplying his offspring and giving him large land in Canaan forever. Politically, Canaan was in a turbulent state. Many kings kept fighting with each other. In one of those fights, 4 kings allied against the other 5 and took Abram’s nephew, Lot, and his family, hostage. Abram assembled an army of 318 strong and rescued his nephew and his people, defeating an alliance of 4 kings. He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people. When Abram was returning home, Melchizedek, the king of Salem, a priest of the Most-High- God, met him and presented him bread and wine. King blessed Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth of his wealth.[17]

Abram’s argument with God over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

Time passed. One day, when Abram was sitting outside his house, he saw three men. He took them as guests, serving them a freshly cooked meal of bread and tender calf. When the visitors finished their meal, Abram escorted them to some distance. They looked towards Sodom, and Abram became cautious. In the meantime, God disclosed the intention to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of people’s sins. “Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked”, Abram asked in surprise.[18] There could be, say, fifty righteous men in the city, will you not forgive the place for the sake of the fifty, Abram pleaded, arguing, it was not just to kill righteous people along with the wicked. “If I find fifty righteous men within the city, I will forgive the entire place,” God told him. Not satisfied, Abram implored again, more humbly this time. “Although I am dust and ashes, since you are speaking to me, what if there are not fifty but forty-five righteous men, will you destroy the entire city because of five,” Abram asked again.[19] “I will not destroy if I find there forty-five,” God assured him. “Please, let the Lord’s wrath not be kindled, and I will speak yet this time,” Abram continued to plead until God said he will not waste the land if it will have ten righteous people. The same evening, two angels descended in the lands of Sodom Abram’s nephew Lot saw them at the city entrance and took them to his house.When Lot was serving food to his guests, the entire city gathered around his house. All young and old wanted to have sex with the guests. Lot offered his two unmarried daughters as an alternate, but the people insisted to have men.[20] In anger, people tried to enter Lot’s house by breaking the door, but the angels made them blind. Angels asked Lot to gather his family, expected son-in-law, and his relatives, and leave the city immediately as they were to destroy the complete city. Lot approached his to-be relatives and asked them to leave with him, but they laughed in disbelief. When no one agreed to leave the city, Lot returned home. The Angels immediately transported Lot, his wife, and two daughters, to a faraway place. “Flee, do not look behind. Escape to the mountains, or you will perish,” the angels advised. Thanking God for saving him and his family, Lot asked permission to settle in a nearby city, instead of far-away mountains. The angels allowed him to go to one of the nearby cities. The next morning, a severe rain of fire and brimstone engulfed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was God’s punishment, which destroyed the cities and all the vegetation. When Lot looked towards the city of Sodom and Gomorrah, he saw smoke rising from the cities like the smoke of a furnace.[21] Despite all progress, modern scientists still not sure what destroyed the two cities. Was it a volcanic eruption, an earthquake, or some powerful meteor, it is still a mystery.[22] Days passed and Lord spoke to Abram again in a dream. He promised Abram safety and many gifts. But Abram had no desire for worldly gifts, as he was childless. “There is no gift I want, as I have no children and my servants will inherit my wealth,” Abram said sadly. God replied he will have as many children as the stars in the sky. Days passed. Abram and his wife were getting old. After spending 10 years in Canaan, Sarai lost all the hopes of becoming a mother. One day she permitted her husband to sleep with her Egyptian servant Hagar, to have kids. Abram agreed and took Hagar as his second wife.[23] After a due time when Hager became pregnant, Sarai, feeling arrogance in her attitude, mistreated her. The pregnant mother ran away. Tired and worried, she was near a stream when an angel appeared. The angel revealed God has heard her miseries and will bless her with a son. “Go back to your mistress and submit to her,” the angel commanded, pledging a reward. On angel’s advice, Sarai returned to her master. Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. ?

God’s covenant with Abraham

?I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be thou wholehearted, And I will make My covenant between Me and thee and will multiply thee exceedingly.

When Abraham turned 99, God made a covenant with him.God promised Abram will become a father of many nations, some of whom would be kings. But God put a condition, too. He demanded Abram and his offspring to obey God and the rules of the covenant. Abraham fell in surprise when God told him he will have a son from his wife Sarai.Considering his 90 years old wife and his age of 100, he asked God to bless Ishmael as his son, instead of a new child. “No, your wife Sarah will give birth to a son. You must name him “Isaac”, Lord said.God said He will bless Ishmael as well. He will have many children, out of whom, 12 would-be kings.But He will make a covenant with Isaac, and not with Ishmael.[24] YHWH pledged he would no longer a foreigner but would become a permanent resident of Canaan. God changed his name from Abram to Abraham and his wife’s name Sara from Sarai. Lord asked him to circumcise every male of his family, as a reminder to him and his generations about Abraham’s promise to God. After some time, Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to Isaac.One day, she saw Isaac sporting with Ishmael and became offended. She asked Abraham to send away Hager and her son, and not give them anything of the family. Abraham became sad, but God told him not to be sad and do whatever Sarah wants.“Your family’s descendants will come through Isaac, not Ishmael. But, because Ishmael is also your son, I will make his descendants become a great nation of people too”, God affirmed.[25] Abraham gave some food and water to Hager and sent her away with her son Ishmael. Hager traveled in the wilderness of Beersheba. In the heat of the desert, water could not last long, and the boy started crying from thirst. In the middle of nowhere, seeing her kid craving water was an extreme moment of helplessness for the mother. “I cannot watch the boy die”, she thought and pleaded so intensely that her cries reached the skies. “God has heard the boy. I will make him into a great nation,” angel spoke from the heavens. God guided him to a well. She filled a bottle and gave the drink to her son.[26] God not only provided them with water but also took care of the kid as he grew up.

Ishmael became a fine archer and settled in the wilderness of Paran.Sometime later after the departure of Hager, God asked Abraham to take his son Isaac to the land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt at a mountain. Moriah is Mount Temple in Jerusalem.[27] There, Abraham built an altar, put the wood on it, and then tied his son Isaac. When Abraham was ready to kill his son as a sacrifice, an angel from the heavens stopped him from hurting the boy. “Isaac is your only son, and you are sacrificing him for me. Now I know you respect God and you obey him,” the angel said. Suddenly in that barren wilderness, Abraham saw a ram, with horns caught in bushes. Abraham killed the ram on the altar as a burnt offering to God. In that way, he sacrificed the ram instead of his son. His obedience pleased God, and he promised to bless Abraham with countless offspring, who will victorious against enemies and the cities of the enemies. Time passed, Sarah died at 127. Abraham took another wife, Keturah, who bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Abraham left his everything to Isaac, but gave gifts to his other sons, and sent them away to the land of the east. Abraham died at a good old age of 175. Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him beside his wife in a cave in Canaan.[28] Ishmael died at 137. His children lived in the lands from Havilah to Shur, near Egypt, towards Asshur. But they kept fighting with each other.

Isaac’s children- Jacob and Esau

Isaac married Rebekah at 40 but remained childless for a long. Isaac prayed, and finally, Rebekah conceived. Her pregnancy after a long wait gave her tremendous delight, but soon worry replaced excitement when her babies fought with each other inside her. “Why is this happening to me?” Rebekah cried to God. God replied she is feeling pain as there are two nations in her womb.[29] Rebekah gave birth to twins. The first baby had red skin. His body was covered with hair. He was named Esau. After him, his brother came out. His hand was holding the back of Esau’s foot. This was Jacob. Esau became an excellent hunter, and Jacob grew into a quiet man. Isaac liked to eat the meat from the animals that Esau killed. So he loved Esau. But Rebekah loved Jacob.

Jacob cheated his brother Esau

One day, Jacob was cooking a meal when Esau returned from a long journey, starving. He asked Jacob for food. Jacob demanded his birthright in return for food. Esau thought for a moment and then agreed to surrender his birthright to his brother.[30] Jacob provided him with food immediately. Time passed, and Isaac turned old. His eyes became weak. One day he called his older son, Esau, and asked to kill some wild animal and cook for him, so he could bless him.[31] Esau left for the country and when he was away, Rebekah thought to get her favorite son, Jacob, blessed, instead of Esau. She asked Jacob to kill a young goat. When Jacob hesitated to cheat, Rebekah said no curse will fall on him but her, as it was her idea. Jacob brought a goat, and she cooked a delightful meal. She covered Jacob’s hands with goat hair and clad him in Esau’s clothes. Jacob took the food to his father. “How did you find it so quickly, my son,” Isaac asked in surprise. “With God’s help,” Jacob replied. Isaac after touching him and smelling Esau’s garments blessed Jacob, thinking him Esau. When Esau returned from the hunt, he prepared a meal and took the food to his father. Isaac told him he already had the meal and had blessed the one who brought it, and Esau cried. “You must still have some blessing left for me, don’t you,” Esau begged in disbelief. Isaac replied he had made Jacob master over him and made all the relatives his servants. Jacob had stolen his blessings as well after taking his birthright. Esau cried loud and in anger, vowed to kill his brother after his father’s death.[32] Rebeka heard him. She told Jacob to leave home and return home when Esau forgot the matter. She sent Jacob to his brother, Laban, who lived in Haran. Isaac approved Rebekah’s suggestion. He advised Jacob to marry his uncle’s daughter. “Do not marry a Canaanite woman”, he insisted. He prayed that Jacob’s children turn into a large nation and he may get all the good things God promised to Abraham. When Esau came to know his father doesn’t like the Canaanite women, he went to his uncle, Ishmael, and married his daughter Mahalath. He, however, kept his Canaanite wives as well.[33]

God’s covenant with Jacob

After Abraham, God made a similar promise to Jacob.[34] During the journey from Beersheba to Haran, Jacob had a dream. He saw steps going up to the heavens, where God was standing at the top. “I am the Lord. I am the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of Isaac, your father. I will give this land to you and your children, who will be too many”, God spoke from the top of the steps. When Jacob woke up, he realized the sanctity of that place and named it Bethel. He took the stone and poured oil on top of it. Then Jacob made a promise to God that if Lord will provide him food and clothes, and keep him safe, he will give one-tenth of his wealth in God’s name.[35] Jacob continued his journey. When reached his destination, he saw a beautiful girl, at a well, and instantly fell in love with her. It was Rachel, her cousin. The news of Jacob’s arrival reached Laban, and he rushed to welcome him. He offered him work and agreed to marry his daughter Rachel to Jacob as a reward if he served him for seven years. Time passed. After due time, his uncle arranged the promised marriage. The next morning, when Jacob woke up, he found Leah in her bed and not Rachel. Leah was Rachel’s elder sister, weak and less attractive. He went straight to his uncle. “I served you seven years for Rachel, and you have deceived me”, he protested. [36] Laban explained he gave her Leah, as it was the custom to marry the elder daughter first. He offered his younger daughter as well if he could promise to work for another seven years. Jacob agreed, and after one week Laban gave Jacob Rachael as well. Time passed, Leah bore many children, but Rachel remained childless. She became so hopeless that one day she gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob to sleep with her and have kids.[37] After some time, god heard Rachael’s prayers and blessed her with a son Joseph. Joseph’s birth coincided with migration orders. Heavens advised Jacob to go where he was born. Jacob asked Laban’s permission to leave. First, Laban agreed, but when he realized his daughters, grandchildren, and cattle will leave him, he tried to cheat Jacob with cattle, but God rescued Jacob.

Jacob’s Genetic Engineering

After Joseph’s birth, Jacob asked Laban permission to return to his country.[38] Laban said since Jacob has worked hard for him and his flock increased greatly, he wanted to pay him. When Laban insisted, Jacob asked for every spotted cattle, as his wage. Laban agreed, but soon greed took over him. He sent all spotted cattle and sent them away with his son. On divine advice, Jacob employed some advanced genetic engineering methods. He took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood.[39] He placed the peeled branches near water. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. [40] Jacob separated strong animals from the flock and kept them for himself.[41] In this way, Jacob became prosperous and came to own large flocks, and female and male servants, camels, and donkeys. While returning to her husband’s home, Rachel took her father’s idols with her. Laban followed, searched everyone but could not find his idol. Jacob and Laban reached an agreement and with a heavy heart, Laban allowed Jacob to continue his journey, along with his family and all the livestock.

Jacob wrestles with God (Angel)

When Jacob’s convoy reached near his homeland, he sent few men with a lot of cattle and other gifts to his brother. He wanted to please his brother Esau and end old animosity. [42] But, Esau had forgotten the past. He welcomed his brother and his family. At night, when Jacob was alone, a man came and fought with him for a long time. The man, realizing he was not winning, made a severe blow to Jacob’s hip, which damaged his hipbone. When the man tried to leave at dawn, Jacob asked for his blessings. “What is your name?” he questioned. “Jacob,” he said. “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have won,” the man said. [43] After the man left, Jacob could not walk properly. Even today, the Israelites do not eat the meat of an animal where it joins to the hip, because God touched Jacob’s hip.[44] Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” [45]

Jacob’s Children- 12 tribes of Israel

Jacob settled in the land of Canaan. Ancient Canaan included what today are Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, north Western Jordan, and some Western areas of Syria. He had twelve sons, namely Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin, who later became heads of their own families, known as the twelve tribes of Israel.[46] Jacob had children from both Leah and Rachel. Joseph was one of his twelve sons and had a younger brother named Benjamin, who was the only other child of Rachel. He loved Joseph, a young man of seventeen, more than his other sons, as he was born to him at an old age and was an obedient child. When his brothers saw their father loved Joseph more than any of them, they became jealous.[47] Joseph’s dreams made his stepbrothers bitterer, as they predicted his superiority over them. [48] Once, Joseph saw he was at a field, with his brothers harvesting grain and his sheave (bundle of grain), stood upright in the middle of his brother’s sheaves, and theirs all bowed down to his. In another dream, Joseph saw the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowing down to him.[49] His brothers took their revenge by selling Joseph as a slave to passing merchants for twenty shekels of silver. The merchants took him to Egypt.[50] His brothers faked his death by rubbing goat’s blood on Joseph’s coat and told their father that some wild animal ate Joseph. The news devastated Jacob so much that he thought to mourn until he joins his son in the grave.[51] The merchants reached Egypt and sold Joseph to Potiphar, an official of the King of Egypt, the captain of the guard. Realizing the talents of Joseph, Potiphar appointed him in charge of his household. Joseph’s built and handsomeness attracted the wife of his master, and she desired to sleep with him. She seduced him, but he firmly refused to betray the trust of his master.[52] One day, while Joseph was busy in his work, and no servant was in the house, Potiphar’s wife caught him by his garment and insisted to sleep with her.[53] Joseph fled, leaving his garment in her hands. Out of frustration, she falsely accused Joseph of forcing her. When Potiphar heard her allegation, he became furious and prisoned Joseph. Sometime later, Pharaoh’s chief butler and baker offended their master, and he sent them to the same jail. Both had dreams, and Joseph predicted them accurately, requesting the butler to say some kind words to Pharaoh about him after his restoration. As per Joseph’s prediction, the butler got back his job, but he forgot to put in a kind word for Joseph until the Pharaoh had a dream and everyone failed to interpret it. On the recommendations of the butler, Joseph was summoned. Interpreting Pharaoh’s dream Joseph said there would be seven years of abundance, followed by seven years of famine. He advised Pharaoh to collect one-fifth of the produce during the seven years of plenty and store it up for the years of famine.[54] Realizing Joseph’s divine wisdom, Pharaoh appointed him to oversee the work of collecting and storing the produce throughout Egypt.[55] In authority, Joseph was next to the King, a Prime Minister, as some call him. Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh, the King of Egypt. [56] During, the seven years of abundance, Joseph collected all the food and stored up enormous quantities of grain. He stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.[57] After seven years of plenty, the great famine struck, and the world came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the famine was severe everywhere and only Egypt had grains. Jacob’s family in the land of Canaan was also facing famine. To buy some grains, Jacob sent his sons to Egypt. When they reached Egypt, they were taken to Joseph. They all bowed down with their faces to the ground, materializing the dream Joseph had in his childhood. Joseph recognized his brothers and through tactics brought his brothers and father to Egypt, with the permission of the King. Jacob hurried when he was told that his son was alive. While traveling to Egypt, from Canaan, when he reached a place called Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to God. The famine became severe and people from Egypt and Canaan came to Joseph to buy grain. Joseph collected all the money and gave it to Pharaoh. When the money was gone, people brought livestock to pay for the grain. Next year, they sold their lands for food. Joseph bought all the land of Egypt except priests, as Pharaoh fed them well. Joseph gave them the seed and told them to give one-fifth of the produce to Pharaoh, as the land belongs to the king.[58] People happily accepted and thanked him. Joseph made it a law that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. The law remained intact for a long time.

Jacob migrates to Egypt

At Beersheba, God spoke to him in a dream and encouraged him to go to Egypt, where they will become a great nation.[59] Jacob reached Egypt and settled in Goshen. Jacob lived in Egypt for seventeen years and died at 147. Near death, he called his son Joseph and asked to bury him in Canaan beside his father. When Jacob died, Joseph asked Pharaoh’s permission to bury his father in the land of Canaan. King not only permitted him but also sent all the dignitaries of his court along with him. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household, leaving back only children and their flocks and herd. Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a large convoy. [60] Jacob’s sons buried him in the cave in Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought as a burial place.[61] After burying his father, Joseph and his brothers returned to Egypt. Insecure after the death of their father, his brothers bowed again before Joseph seeking forgiveness of their past deeds. Joseph reassured his brothers with kind words. Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with his father’s entire family. He lived a hundred and ten years. Near his death, he asked his brothers, to carry his bones to Canaan, when they go back. The entire family of Jacob was seventy, who migrated to Egypt. Years passed and Joseph and all his brothers died, but the Israelites continued to multiply and grew into a nation, the nation of Israel. Time passed, and things changed. A new King came into power. He had no appreciation for Joseph’s services for Egypt. Seeing the growing numbers of Israelites, he feared they may rebel against his throne and may join his enemies. He oppressed them with forced labor and made them built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for him. [62] But the more they oppressed, they multiplied and spread. The Egyptians became ruthless and burdened them with more vigorous labor. In a desperate attempt, Pharaoh ordered to kill every Israelite male child.[63]

Moses- Godsend Savior of Israelites

Moses was the fourth one with whom God promised Canaan, after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God said the Israelites were his people and they must listen to God and obey His laws. God chose Moses to lead Israelites towards Promised Land in a journey full of miracles. Moses’ survival was a miracle itself. Seeing Israeli strength, a threat to his government, the king had ordered to kill every Hebrew male child. To save her newborn from killing, Moses’s mother put him in a basket and floated it in the river Nile. Pharaoh’s sister discovered the basket. She adopted the baby and named the child Moses, which meant draw out.[64] Moses grew up in the Egyptian palace until one day, when, seeing an Egyptian furiously beating a Hebrew slave, he lost control. He punched him, which proved fatal. Moses fled from Egypt to Midian. There, by chance, he helped a daughter of a high priest. The priest gave him his daughter Zipporah as a wife. He lived there in Midian as a shepherd, until one day grazing his cattle he reached Horeb, the mountain of God, where an angel appeared in a flame of fire from a bush. And then Moses heard a voice, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” God said and shy Moses hid his face.[65] Concerned for the suffering of the Israelite, God confided Moses, his plans of relocating Israelite to Canaan—the promised land - a land flowing with milk and honey”.[66] On God’s instructions, he returned to Egypt and invited the King to worship One God. But the Pharaoh refused and instead increased the workload for the Israelites. God, as a punishment, sent many plagues to the land.?Before each plague, Moses demanded Pharaoh to release his people, but each time the King denied. The tenth plague was much severe. It killed all the firstborn males in Egypt. Finally, Pharaoh gave up and released over Israelites who plundered the Egyptians’ wealth.[67] Moses left Egypt on God’s command and marched towards the Promised Land with a large convoy. The seventy family members of Jacob’s family during the 430 years grew into six hundred thousand men on foot besides women and children who migrated with Moses.[68] Pharaoh soon changed his mind and sent his army of chariots after Moses, but on God’s command, the Red Sea parted to give way to Moses and his people, but as soon as they crossed, the sea started flowing again, drowning the chasing whole Egyptian army.[69] Witnessing the miracle, the people decided to trust Moses. But their optimism was brief. The journey into the desert was very tough and consuming. Just after one and half months, the people complained to Moses of hunger. Lord answered Moses’s prayers by raining food from the heavens. It was quails and Manna, a white coriander seed, which tasted like wafers made with honey and a miraculous fountain to quench their thrust.[70] After traveling through the desert for nearly three months, they reached Mount Sinai and camped there. There, God told Moses to convey to his nation that if they will obey Him, and keep His covenant, they would be treated as the treasured possession among all the peoples. [71] When people promised they will do fulfill God’s commands, God asked Moses to bring few elders with him to the mountain after three days, so they could witness God’s conversation with Moses.[72] God, however, warned Moses, to approach the mountain only after they hear a loud sound.? On the designated day, as morning dawned, there was thunder and lightning. A dense cloud covered the mountain. Suddenly, people heard a?deafening sound, a very loud trumpet blast, and they all trembled in their camps.[73] Mount Sinai was covered in smoke because the Lord descended on it. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. [74] As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. God gave specific instructions to Moses and his people to not worship any God other than him, not to carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. He ordered them to honor their parents and forbade murder, adultery, stealing, and false witness. He told them not to desire a neighbor’s wife or his wealth. God asked the nation to work six days and observe Sabbath on the seventh day. [75] God also asked them to build an altar of earth and sacrifice their offerings. He gave him them, 613 commandments or mitzvot, containing instructions regarding servants, violence, animal control, property, morality, and justice.

Israelites violate covenant with God

God promised Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses that He will make Israelites a great nation and would give them a Promised Land, forever. In return He only demanded the children of Abraham to worship him alone and not to make any associate. But, when God was blessing Moses at Mount Sinai, the sons of Jacob violated the covenant by committing idolatry. Anxious about Moses’s prolonged stay at the mountain, they urged his brother, and assistant, Aaron, to erect them a god, to whom they could worship. When Moses comes down from the mountain after forty days, he saw a calf dancing. To see that Aaron and the Israelite had erected an idol- a golden calf- in his absence in an obvious violation of the Ten Commandments, he became furious and threw the tablets and burned the calf in the fire, grounding it to powder. This blatant violation made God angry, and he called them stiff-necked people. On Moses’s plea, God did not harm his people. Moses, however, ordered killing all three thousand men who rebelled. This was the first punishment of apostasy in the known history. God continued to shower his countless blessings on the Israelites. On the orders of God, Moses pitched a tabernacle where God talked with Moses. During the journey, through the Ark of the Covenant, Israelites received divine instructions to travel or stop. There are traditions that the Ark cleared the path for the nation by burning snakes, scorpions, and thorns with two jets of flame that shot from its underside.[76] According to another Midrash, the Ark lifted its carriers inches high above the ground and helped them during wars, especially during the conquest of Canaan. The Ark had more spiritual significance since it was a manifestation of god’s presence on earth. It was through Sakinah that priests asked for forgiveness for themselves and the nation. God blessed the nation of Israel with countless Bounties during their entire journey. He provided them food from the heavens, water from miraculous sources, protection, and guidance, but Israelites committed many mistakes. Their continued errors displeased God, and He made them wander for 40 years. Although Moses was following God’s direct orders, Israelites rebelled at every step. Instead of thanking God for pulling them out of slavery and inhuman conditions in Egypt, they grumbled. It was not only the public who rebelled against Moses, but his close associates also lost control and patience and conspired to replace him. When Moses married a Cushite woman, Miriam and Aaron criticized him and questioned why God speak through Moses and not through them. This displeased God, and he summoned them to the Tent of His presence. God told them He reveals himself to his prophets in visions and speaks to them in dreams. “How dare you speak against my servant Moses” the Lord said. When the meeting was over, Miriam’s skin immediately turned as white as snow, under a dreaded disease.[77] However, the most severe mistake of Israelites, according to Bible commentators and Quran, was their refusal to fight the Canaan people on the command of God. On God’s command, Moses sent spies to explore the strength and population and strength of Canaan. The spies traveled about 250 miles. After 40 days, they came back and reported that the land does flow with milk and honey, but the residents were powerful and cities were large and fortified. Only two of the twelve spies, Joshua and Caleb, believed they could overtake the Canaanites with God’s help. The other ten spies reported that the people of Canaan were too big and strong to overcome. [78] On hearing the report from the spies, the entire community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. All the Israelites railed against Moses and Aaron and preferred to go back instead of fighting a mighty army. Even when Moses reminded his people of God’s miraculous help he provided throughout the journey, they remained unconvinced. The repeated disobedience displeased God, and He barred the Israelites from entering the Promised Land. “Not one of these - not one of this evil generation - shall see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors”, God said. The only exceptions were Caleb and Joshua, the spies who encouraged people to take possession of the land. [79] God also barred Moses from entering the land because of a mistake. At the Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin, when his nation was crying for water, God told Moses to speak to the rock in the presence of his people, but Moses, instead, stroked the rock twice with his staff and displeased God. People anguished and mourned bitterly when they were told that they could not enter the Promised Land.[80] In retaliation, they disobeyed again. To enter the Promised Land anyway, they advanced toward the high hill country, but the Amalekites and Canaanites, the locals, came down and pushed them down to Hormah furiously.[81] Finally, when the time came, Moses warned his people they were about to take possession of Canaan, but if they will make any image or do any evil, God will remove them surely and swiftly. “Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the shape of anything the Lord has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God,” he said. [82] He stressed that in case of any corruption or idolatry, God will destroy and scatter them among the peoples, and only a few of them will survive. But, in the meantime, he reminded his people of God’s mercy and said they will find him if they seek him with all their heart and soul. “Your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, whom he confirmed to them by oath,” Moses said.[83] Before his death, God showed Moses a panoramic view of the Promised Land, at Mount Nebo, east of the river Jordan. Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and Jacob, I will give it to your offspring, I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there,” God told Moses. [84] Moses died in the land of Moab.

Israelites Enter Canaan- The Promised Land

After Mosses’ death, Joshua led the Jewish people into Canaan. Crossing the Jordan River was another miracle, a divine help. Before proceeding on the orders of Joshua, people cleaned themselves and their clothes and refrained from sex. The next day, as per his orders, all assembled half a mile behind the Ark of the Covenant. The Levite priests carried the ark to the Jordan River, and the swollen river, overflowing its banks, stopped flowing and piled up in a heap. Priests carried the Ark to the middle of the river and stopped there until the entire nation crossed over on the dry ground. They were finally in the Promised Land God promised to Abraham. During the next two centuries, the Israelites conquered most of the Land of Israel and became farmers and artisans; and established them economically and socially. After the war, the Israeli tribes allied to make a kingdom, United Monarchy, under Saul, David, and Solomon. David reigned 40 years and established an empire in Syria-Palestine in around 1000 BCE.

Solomon builds First Temple

David’s son Solomon succeeded him as king, although he was not the eldest son. He attended to international relations instead of spreading his empire. He built a magnificent temple of God, known as Solomon’s Temple, but he also married seven hundred princesses and also had three hundred concubines, which made him away from God.[86] Bible says he worshiped Astarte, the goddess of Sidon, and Molech, the disgusting god of Ammon. [87] He sinned against the Lord and was not as true to him as his father David had been. God appeared to Solomon twice and commanded him not to worship foreign gods, but Solomon continued and God became angry. “Because you have deliberately broken your covenant with me and disobeyed my commands, I promise I will take the kingdom away from you and give it to your servants,” God announced his verdict.[88] But Lord was still kind and for the sake of his father David, he did not took away his kingdom during his life. Solomon remained in Jerusalem as king of Israel for forty years. He died at 60. After his death, his son Rehoboam succeeded him. Bible tells us Israelites indulged in idol worship from time to time. Incidents of Idol worship starts from Jacob. She stole her father’s idols. Israelites crafted a cow and worshiped it when Moses was on Sinai. After conquering Canaan and settling there, the Jews continued to worship false gods. Prophets from time to time, pulled children of Jacob out of moral and religious degradation but for a short period of time.

Decline of United Monarchy

The death of Solomon marked the first decline for the Israelites. The United Monarchy was divided into two, with Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Jeroboam, an official who had rebelled against King Solomon and taken refuge in Egypt, became King of the northern kingdom and made Shechem his capital. Rehoboam, son of Solomon, kept his center at Jerusalem. Both the states remained turbulent because of a large population that seldom agreed on anything, Israel however, remained more unstable and suffered a prolonged period of internal warfare until 876 B.C, when an army officer Omri secured the throne and built a new capital at Samaria. Because of his compromising policies, people adopted various polytheistic practices of the neighboring communities. The traditional monotheism further deteriorated when Omri’s son Ahab married a Phoenician princess, Jezebel, and she encouraged the Canaanite fertility cult and the worship of Baal. Some claim it was afalse god with powers over lightning, wind, rain, and fertility. People continued to worship idols despite the warnings of prophets, Elijah and Elisha, and the cult of Baal and the associated rituals of licentious dances continued to attract Israelites. In 721 B.C the Assyrian armies, under king Sargon, attacked and plundered Samaria, killing thousands of people and scattering remaining in his eastern provinces, ending the status of the northern kingdom as an independent nation. Over time, the Southern state also saw oral degradation, and they too indulged in idol-worship and transgressions of the Divine Law. Isaiah tried to reform his people during the period 740 B.C. to 700 B.C., “Book of Isaiah” of the Old Testament carry his warnings and prophecies. During the year 627 B.C. to 587 B.C. Prophet Jeremiah preached against idolatry and apostasy. The “Book of Jeremiah” in the Old Testament has details of his teachings. On March 15, 597 B.C., after a siege of three months, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia, entered the Holy City and plundered the Temple of Solomon. [89] Nebuchadnezzar appointed the king’s uncle Zedekiah as Judah’s ruler but he soon conspired. The Babylonian king attacked the city in anger. This time the city remained under siege for 18 months, and the conditions deteriorated so much that some inhabitants had to eat human flesh. Jerusalem surrendered on July 9, 587 B.C. The forces arrested the vassal king and, as a punishment, slaughtered his son in front of him. [90]He was then blinded and taken in chains to Babylonia, where he died in prison. Nebuchadnezzar ordered to make an example of the city. His army killed thousands and shipped many to Babylonia as captives. They demolished the walls of the city and buildings and burned the Temple and the palace. The legendry Ark of the Covenant is missing since then.

Revival

The second rise of Jews came when Cyrus, laid down the foundations of the Great Persian Empire, after conquering Media and Lydia. Cyrus allowed the Jews in Mesopotamia to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple at the expense of the royal treasury.[91] He appointed Sheshbazzar, to rule Judah as a semi-independent state. The new ruler led the first group of Jews back to their homeland. The rebuilding of the Temple could not progress beyond the laying down of its foundations because of many reasons. It was completed 18 years later, in 515 B.C. Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in 398 B.C. He ordered all Jews males to divorce their pagan wives and banned future mixed marriages.[92] He demanded strict adherence to Sabbath and the dietary laws. He took a pledge from his people to worship God, only. Ezra re-compiled the five Books of Moses, lost during the destruction of Jerusalem. Rabbinic tradition holds that he was an ordinary member of the priesthood. Some Muslim historians believe Uzair was a prophet of God. However, some reportedly claim he falsified Torah.[93] Quran mentions Jews revered Uzair as the son of God. [94] Jewish revival suffered after the defeat of the Persians by Alexander in 333 B.C. After Alexander’s death, his generals divided the kingdom among them. Egypt came under the control of Ptolemy, companion, and historian of Alexander the Great, who became a pharaoh of Egypt from 305 B.C to his death. Seleucus the Victor established his rule over Babylonia and Syria, whereas Antiochus III incorporated Palestine into this kingdom in 198 B.C.[95] Alexander, during his rule, started a policy of implanting the Greek culture, called Hellenism, in his under-control lands. His successors continued the policy after his death. Resultantly, the Jews became split into two groups. Those living in Egypt or areas outside Judah, called “Jews of the Dispersion,” started adopting Greek ideology, language, and lifestyle and forgot their original language, Hebrew. They adopted the Hellenistic belief that different nations worshipped the same God with different names. Mixed marriages became popular, and circumcision disappeared. The second group of Jews persisted with their original beliefs and culture, as per the teachings of Ezra. In 175 B.C., Antiochus IV became the King. He promoted Greek customs and ideas with the help of his 41 aristocratic Jewish collaborators. He wiped out monotheism and the Mosaic Law. [96] His government encouraged pagan altars, banned religious celebrations, and declared possession of the Torah, a capital crime. Terming the new laws against the Divine commands, the orthodox group rebelled. An elderly priest, Mattathias along with his five sons, started a revolt. Soon, some zealous Jews joined him.[97] The small rebel group soon turned into an army of devoted Israelites who launched an organized revolutionary struggle against the Syrians. The rebel called the “Maccabee” uprising ultimately led to the establishment of the “Great Maccabee Empire,” marking the second phase of rising and domination for the Israelites. Soon, the craving for material comforts and wealth replaced religious fervor and passion. Internal conflicts and the demise of morality pushed them to the second era of decline, when Pompey, after taking over the old Seleucid Empire of Syria, turned towards Jerusalem in 63 B.C. During the three-month-long siege of Jerusalem, thousands of Jews perished. Julius 42 Caesar’s murder in 44 B.C resulted in a civil war.

Second Temple and its Destruction

The Romans appointed a Jew named Herod as the new Israeli ruler. During his 33 year rule, Herod not only cleverly patronized the Jewish religious groups but also displayed loyalty to Cesar by promoting the Greco-Roman culture. To win the sympathies of the Jewish religious hierarchy, he ordered the reconstruction of the second Temple.[98] During his period, the largest and most magnificent building complex of the ancient world came into being,[99] but the moral degeneration of the Jews reached its lowest ebb.[100] After Herod’s death, his three sons, Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip, divided the kingdom among them. In 70 C.E. General Titus’s army besieged and captured Jerusalem. It destroyed the city and the Second Temple. The Jews had to exile once again. After oppression and exile of almost 500 years, Jews were allowed to enter Jerusalem when Muslim Caliph Omar conquered the holy city in around 638. Omar allowed and encouraged Jews to settle in Jerusalem.[101] In 720, the Jews were banned from worshiping on the Temple Mount, due to administrative reasons, and the same policy continued for the next 1000 years.

[1] Abraham’s title is Friend of God in Judaism and Islam. (Quran 4:125)(Isaiah 41:8)(2 Chronicles 20:7)

[2](Genesis 7:21-24)

[3](Rendall 531)

[4](D. Knight)

[5](Genesis 7:21-24)

[6](Talmud)

[7](Genesis 11:5-8)

[8](Rabbi Dr. H. Freedman 310)

[9](Bard)

[10](Genesis 11:31)

[11](Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 38:13)

[12](Menner 1938)

[13](https://www.sefaria.org/Bereishit_Rabbah.38.13?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en, Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 38:13)

[14](Genesis 12:1-4)

[15](Genesis 12:14-15)

[16](Genesis 20:12)

[17](Genesis 14:20)

[18](Genesis 18:23)

[19](Genesis 18:27)

[20](Genesis 19:8)

[21](Genesis 19:28)

[22](Mack)(V. Trifonov, The Bible and geology: destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah)

[23](Genesis 16:1-3)

[24](Genesis 17:20-21)

[25](Genesis 21:13 )

[26](Genesis 21:19 )

[27](Brant Pitre)

[28](Genesis 25:7 )

[29](Genesis 25:23)

[30]?(Genesis 25:33)

[31](Genesis 27:1-4)

[32](Genesis 27:41)

[33](Genesis 28:6 )

[34](Genesis 28:13)

[35](Genesis 28:20-22)

[36](Genesis 29:25)

[37](Genesis 30:3)

[38](Genesis 30:25)

[39](Genesis 30:37- 42)

[40](Genesis 30:39)

[41](Genesis 30:40)

[42](Genesis 32:14-19)

[43](Genesis 32:19)

[44](Genesis 32:33)

[45](Genesis 32:28)

[46](Genesis 49:3-28)

[47](Genesis 37:8)

[48](Genesis 37:8-11)

[49](Genesis 37:9 )

[50](Genesis 37:28)

[51](Genesis 37:35)

[52](Genesis 39:6-8)

[53](Genesis 39:12)

[54](Genesis 41:26-38)

[55](Genesis 41:38-40)

[56](Genesis 41:46)

[57](Genesis 41:49 )

[58](Genesis 47:24)

[59](Genesis 46:3)

[60](Genesis 50:9)

[61](Genesis 50:13)

[62](Exodus 1:11)

[63](Exodus1:16)

[64](Exodus 2:10)

[65](Exodus 3:6)

[66](Exodus 3:8)

[67](Exodus Chapter 12:35-36)

[68](Exodus 12:37)

[69](Exodus 14:21-27)

[70](Exodus 16:31)

[71](Exodus Chapter 19:5)

[72](Exodus 19:9)

[73].Some claim Moses God was an alien and he landed in a spaceship at the Mount Sinai, which made the thunder and loud blast. People were told not to look at the sight as they could perish because of emissions from the alien jet. Some believe aliens descended on the earth and created humans by manipulating monkey genes. However, the consipacy theorists fail to answer, If aliens descended on earth to manipulate it makes them a specie, a creation,they can’t be the creator of the universe. (Fischer)

[74](Exodus Chapter 19:18)

[75](Exodus 20:7)

[76](T. VaYakhel, 7)

[77](Numbers 12:1-12 )

[78](Numbers 1-3, 13-14)

[79](Numbers 13:30)

[80](Number 14:39)

[81](Numbers 14:45)

[82](Deuteronomy 4:24)

[83]

[84](Deuteronomy 34:1-12)

[85](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ark_of_covenant_replica.jpg)

[86](1 Kings Chapter 11:3)

[87](1 Kings 11:5)

[88](1 Kings 11:11)

[89](2 Kings 25:8-9)

[90](2 Kings Chapter 25:7)

[91](Ezra Chapter 1:1-11)

[92](Ezra 7:1-10:44 NIV)

[93](Lazarus Yafeh)

[94] Quran 9:30 Yusuf Ali Translation: The Jews call Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth;(in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth

[95](Whiston)

[96](Whiston)

[97](G. A. Knight)

[98]

[99](Ezra 1:1–4)(2 Chronicles 36:22-23)

[101](Hoyland, Seeing Islam As others Saw It 128)

[102](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Second_Temple.jpg)