Abraham As Paradigm in the Priestly History in Genesis‪.‬

The intent of this essay is to argue that the story of Abraham, as an important segment of the Priestly History in the Hexateuch (Genesis to Joshua), (1) was composed with the purpose of providing those who survived the disaster of 586 B.C.E. with a religious basis on which they could rebuild their lives. More specifically, the component of the History dealing with Abraham was intended to provide a paradigm or model for those who aspired to return, or actually did return, to Judah once this became possible after the fall of the Babylonian empire in 539 B.C.E. I am aware that the considerable amount of ritual law in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers associated with or in secondary derivation from this narrative source is an important aspect of the theological profile of P. But since all biblical law is presented in the context of an unfolding historical process, an understanding of the function and intent of the legal material will require, or at least be greatly facilitated by, a prior understanding of the History. I therefore propose to deal with the legal material only where it impinges directly on the understanding of the History and the Abraham segment of the History in particular. I. THE P HISTORY