An Examination of Scriptural and Archaeological Evidences for the Historicity of Biblical Patriarchs
Keywords:
Patriarch, Archaeology, Customs, Religion, NarrativesAbstract
The term Patriarch is the designation given to the three major ancestors of the Israelites. The ancestors are: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. However, the twelve sons of Jacob are sometimes refers to as Patriarchs, especially with the significance role played by Joseph for the sustenance of the race. The life and experiences of the Patriarchs are recorded in the book of Genesis. The stories of these Patriarchs were traditional tales which were handed down through many generations before the Old Testament writers collected them in the book of Genesis. The historicity of the Old Testament narratives about the Patriarchs has been a major debate among biblical critics, while archaeological finds has also tends to shed light on some of the events and customs attributed to the Patriarchs in the narratives. Hence, the writer in this paper will present the scriptural positions on the three Patriarchs, the archaeological discoveries that have aid the historicity of the Patriarchal narratives, and hence considered the consonance and the dissonance between the scriptural positions and archaeological discoveries that has shed light on the historicity of the Patriarchs.
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References
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