Term Papers on Patriarchal Age

Term Paper Title	Patriarchal Age
# of Words	1385
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	5.54

Patriarchal Age

Essay #1

     The time period referred to as the "Patriarchal Age" centered around the Book of Genesis.  The
narratives of Genesis document both the personal stories and family history of Abram, Isaac, and
Jacob/Israel and his twelve sons.  The pre-Exodus account of the Patriarchs traced the sojourn of Adam and
his descendants from the land of Mesopotamia to their habitation of Canaan, and culminated with their
eventual enslavement by the Pharaoh of Egypt.  The chronological calculations recorded in the Bible
placed the Patriarchal era between the years 2091 and 1876 B.C.E.  The dating suggested by the narrative,
however, has been problematic for scholars.  Therefore, the Patriarchal Age has become the subject of
controversial and probing inquiry.  Many theories have been posited by modern scholars.  Of particular
interest, is the evolving debate put forth by both Biblical Scholars and Archeologists as they attempted to
clarify the most likely date and authenticity for the period of the pa!
triarchs.  New perspectives for the study of the Patriarchal Age emerged in an attempt to reconcile the
contradictions between archaeological evidence and the historical tradition preserved in the Bible.
Essentially, views based on the findings of Tel Beer-sheba contributed to the brewing controversy.
     William Albright and his pupils originally set the patriarchal period in the Middle Bronze Age.
Recent scholarship, however, has challenged Albright's school of thought.  One of the new schools of
thought posited the biblical account of the Patriarchs was nothing more than an aetiology.  An assignment
of origin necessarily defined the amalgamating tribes of the new city-state.  With the crystallization of
various traditions, the Israelite monarchy gave birth to their own history.  This illustration, assembled
during the reign of David and Solomon, and thus became what is known today as the Book of Genesis.
     Another next view denies any relationship between the Tel Beer-sheba and the Genesis Beer-
sheba.  The rejection of a parallel provides for the discrepancy which exists in the dating of the Patriarchs.
"The archaeological record indicates that the area of Tel Beer-sheba was not settled before the end of the
Late Bronze Age" (Mazor,22).  However, the strong geographical connection, linguistic similarity, and
discovery of the Beersheba well discounts the possibility of this supposition.
     Turning to the excavation of Tel Beer-sheba, the authenticity of the Patriarch's was brought to life.
Yohanan Aharoni claimed to have sufficient evidence placing the settlements of the Beersheba region at the
end of the 13th century B.C.  The consequence of Aharoni's inquiry confronted and refuted the chronology
of the biblical narrative which placed the patriarchal period between 2091 and 1876 B.C.  "According to
Aharoni the only possible settlement of the Patriarchs was found in Strata VIII and IX . . . there is no
evidence of any earlier habitation at Tel Beer-sheba" (BAR,15).
     Additional evidence appeared with the excavation of an ancient well found at Beer-sheba.  The
well appears to have been dug during the same Strata VIII and IX.  There is a strong possibility the ancient
well found by Aharoni was the same well dug by Abraham and later Isaac in Genesis 26.  Furthermore, the
Bible continually characterized the Patriarchs as pastoralists.  The pre-urban site revealed irregular pits, 10
feet in depth.  These pits were possibly used for the storage of cultivated and wild grains.  The granaries co-
exist with additional pits, smaller in size, and quite possibly represent areas for dwelling.  The discovery of
pottery sherds, charred wood, and bones indicates a prolonged usage of the Tel.  "The pottery leads us to
believe this stratum had been occupied in the 13th and 12th centuries B.C."(BAR,8).
     The findings of stratum VIII further supported Aharoni's thesis.  The inhabitants of this era re-used
and then eventually re-built the area into the "first fortifie...

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