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Home THE BIBLE UNEARTHED: THE MAKING OF A RELIGION -- ILLUSTRATED SCREENPLAY & SCREENCAP GALLERY |
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The geography of the three Patriarchs led Martin Noth to suggest a reading of the Bible that was different to the traditional one.
[Jacques Briend, Catholic University of Paris] On the basis of these geographical sites [Samaria, Jerusalem, Hebron, Beersheba] it is understandable that an attempt was made to link them to each other. As history developed, an understanding was sought of how these groups of humans related to each other. This led to a sort of Patriarchal genealogy with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
[Thomas Romer, University of Lausanne] It was quite obvious that there were originally THREE QUITE SEPARATE TRADITIONS. THE PATRIARCHS WERE, IN FACT, NOT RELATED. In the North, the story of Jacob was told. In Hebron, the story of Abraham. And in Beersheba, the story of Isaac. The idea that these three Patriarchs were from one and the same family was, in fact, an invention, after the fact, by those who wrote the Bible. They wanted to show that there was a link between these three Patriarchs, whereas in fact there was none.
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