Terah, Abraham's Father's Homeland and What He's Remembered For

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                  

They were immigrants in Ur.  Terah was Abram's  father.  He left the city of Ur of the Chaldees that sat near the Euphrates River to travel to the land of Canaan with Abram and his nephew, Lot.  On the way they settled in the town of Haran where Terah died.  The book, the Aggadah, depicts Terah as a devout idolator challenged in his beliefs by Abram, later to be called Abraham.  The land of Ur has become a city in Iraq!!!  One can conclude that the male line (Y haplotype is J1) as suggested by DNA and genealogy.  

Haplogroup J1 (J-M267) is a Y-chromosome haplogroup that originated in the Near East, specifically in the northern parts of West Asia around 20,000 years ago. The major branch, J1a1a1-P58, evolved later, around 9,500 years ago, in the Arabian Peninsula, southern Levant, and southern Mesopotamia. 

 Terah is listed as the son of Nahor and father of the patriarch Abraham. As such, he is a descendant of Shem's son Arpachshad. Terah is mentioned in Genesis 11:26–27, Book of Joshua 24:2, and 1 Chronicles 1:17–27 of the Hebrew Bible; and Noah's 3 sons Noah's three sons, according to the Bible, were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. These three sons, along with their wives, and Noah and his wife, were the only survivors of the flood and would repopulate the earth, according to Genesis 9:18-29.  and Luke 3:34–36 in the New Testament.

Terah was an idol-maker.  In the stories, he scolded Abram when he came home because he found one of the idols smashed, lying on the floor.  Abram told him that the idol had a fight with the other one near him, and lost.  His father told him that he knew better;  the idols were only clay and couldn't move or fight.  ah ha!

When they left Haran, The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country and the people of your father's family. Go to the land that I will show you.

2 I will cause your descendants to become a great nation. I will bless you. Everyone will know your name. You will bring my blessing to other people. 3 I will bless those people who bless you. But I will curse anyone who insults you. Through you, I will bless all the families of people on the earth.’

4 Abram did what the Lord had told him. He left Haran. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. Lot went with him. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot. He took everything that belonged to them. He also took the people that worked for them in Haran. They all left to go to the land of Canaan.
                                                                             

When they arrived in Canaan, 6 Abram walked through the land. He went as far as Shechem (renamed Nablus) , to the special oak tree of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites lived in this land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram there. He said, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’ So Abram built an altar in that place to worship the Lord. He did that because the Lord had appeared to him.

Later, Abraham had a conversation with the pharaoh of Egypt and told him that they were a family of sheep-herders, which they were.  He was asked by the Pharaoh to also tend the Pharaoh's few cattle along his sheep.  Cattle and sheep do not get along, foraging differently for food, but he did well.  

His father, Terah, had come from sheep herders east of the Euphrates River that was between that river and the Tigris River-land.  The land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers was historically known as Mesopotamia, which is a Greek term meaning "between rivers". This region is also part of the larger Fertile Crescent, a crescent-shaped area where some of the earliest civilizations developed. 

In Bible literature, sheepherders, or shepherds, were individuals who tended flocks of sheep or goats. Many important figures from the Hebrew Bible, including Abraham, Moses, and King David, were also shepherds. Shepherding was a common occupation, and shepherds were often nomads, known for their simple lives and connection to the land. King David ruled from 1010 BCE to 970 BCE; or from 3,035 to 2,995 years ago.  

Mesopotamia was home to several early civilizations, most notably the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians. The Sumerians are often considered the earliest civilization in Mesopotamia, and some believe they may have been the first human civilization. Other civilizations like the Akkadians and Babylonians later emerged in Mesopotamia, adopting and building upon aspects of Sumerian culture. 

As for Terah, it's likely that he came from the Babylonians of Mesopotamia since he found Ur a comfortable city to settle in, knowing the language and habits of thepeople.  Babylon was known as the land of Shinar or of the Kasdim (Chaldees). TheBook of Genesis regards it as the cradle of humanity and as the scene of man's firstrevolt against G0d as in "THE TOWER OF BABEL." 

       Evosheep,  cuniform writing about sheep telling how to be raised :   from the third millennium BCE to the second millennium BCE

Yes, Mesopotamia was generally good land for grazing sheep, particularly in the steppe regions. While the area was arid, sheep were well-adapted to surviving on limited resources, and areas like the steppe provided grazing land. They focused above all on the cultivation of cereals (particularly barley) and sheep farming, but also farmed legumes, as well as date palms in the south and grapes in the north.

Resource:

https://archeorient.hypotheses.org/24818

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Mesopotamia

On the Road to Canaan was Gaza

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                       

Abram or Abraham, as he was later called, faced the same problems back in 1948 BCE (20th millennium BCE) that many men of today are facing;  that of being fed up with their environment and planning to move to the countryside with their new family. This was about 4,000 years ago.                                           

Abram lived in a congested city of Ur, actually far enough away from the city of Babylon, (land of Shinar or of the Kasdim (Chaldees) which had become a den of iniquity.  "A den of iniquity" refers to a place where illegal or immoral activities take place. It's a phrase often used to describe a location with a reputation for wrongdoing, such as a brothel or a secret gambling den. The term can also be used figuratively to describe situations or organizations where wicked actions or unfair practices are prevalent. " Babylon influenced the Uranian people who were trying to copy their way of life. They sacrificed people  when they needed something from their many gods.  Abram's father, Terah, was an idolmaker.                                                                   

One day Terah had come home to find his latest work lying in shambles on the floor and was angry.  He questioned Abram about it, who said that they had argued and fought. You ought to know better than that!" said Terah.  It was then that Abram decided to take his father andfamily and leave for the hinterland of Canaan. When Abram left Ur (Haran) for Canaan, he was accompanied by his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all of their possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, according to the biblical account in Genesis 12. While his father Terah also initially left Ur with them, he settled in Haran and died there. Therefore, the number of people heading for Canaan from Haran with Abram was at least four: Abram, Sarai, Lot, and the unspecified number of household members they had acquired in Haran. 

                                          Tell es-Sakan in September 2017

Tell es-Sakan in Gaza was inhabited by the Canaanites from approximately 2600 BCE to 2300 BCE, reinhabiting an earlier Egyptian settlement.  Tell es-Sakan was the first archaeological site discovered in Gaza to that dates from the end of the Early Bronze Age I and Early Bronze Age II to III periods (spanning the 4th and 3rd millennia B.C.E.) – a poorly represented span in the region's archaeological record. Just think;  Abram was born in the 2nd millennium!                        

Gaza (2 miles from the sea)  was later populated by traders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, mentioned in Egyptian documents, later captured by the Philistines and built 5 cities, temple of Dagon, later allotted to tribe of Judah by Joshua, city where Samson lived and died, by 720 BCE annexed by Sargon II of Assyria-Sargon II, king of Assyria (721-705 BC) Sargon II ascended to the Assyrian throne in the midst of a countrywide rebellion. He built a lavish new residence city, Dur-Šarruken, but died on the battlefield just one year after its completion. Sargon (flourished 23rd century bce) was an ancient Mesopotamian ruler who reigned around 2334–2279 bce. He was one of the earliest of the world's great empire builders, conquering all of southern Mesopotamia as well as parts of Syria, Anatolia, and Elam (western Iran);  in 521BCE by Cambyses of Persia-Cambyses I (flourished 6th century bce) was a ruler of Anshan c. 600–559 bce. Cambyses was the son of Cyrus I and succeeded his father in Anshan (northwest of Susa in Elam) as a vassal of King Astyages of Media..  Alexander the Great recolonized it as a hellenistic city in 332 BCE-Alexander the Great lived from 356 BC to 323 BC. He was born in Pella, Macedonia, and died in Babylon. .  Annexed again by Antiochus III of Syria in 198 BCE-In 198 BCE, Antiochus III, the Seleucid king of Syria, defeated Scopas at the Battle of Panium, securing control of southern Syria and the end of Ptolemaic rule in Judea. He also used this time to expand his influence in Asia Minor.  Alexander Yannai captured it in 96 BCE-Alexander Yannai (Jannaeus) was the Hasmonean ruler of Judea (103–76 B.C.E.), son of John Hyrcanus; was high priest and king. According to Josephus, Yannai was hated by his father and for this reason was forced to spend his childhood in Galilee. When his eldest brother, Aristobulus, inherited the high priesthood from their father, he was imprisoned together with other brothers and his mother for fear they would attempt to seize power. Upon the death of Aristobulus, his widow, Salome Alexandra, designated Yannai as the successor, and the new high priest married his sister-in-law, in accordance with the Jewish rite of levirate., Pompey did not free Gaza in 61 BCE. In fact, he incorporated Gaza into the Roman Empire in 63 BCE, not 61 BCE.  Pompey's actions ended Jewish rule in Gaza and brought it under Roman control.  Following its conquest by Pompey, Gaza was rebuilt by the Roman governor Aulus Gabinius. 

 Jews lived in Gaza throughout the Middle Ages;  captured by Napoleon in 1799, center of Sabbetaism in 17th century, Jews left in 1917, some returning in Arab disturbances in 1929.  By 1949 it had a population of 30,000-swollen by many refugees.  Captured in November 1956 by Israel forces who remained there until March 1957. It was under Israeli rule during Six-Day War in  1967.  Census later in 1967 found 119,000.  From October to December 1948, Israel drove out Egyptians except the Gaza Strip.  It stayed in Egyptian rule from 1949 to November 1956 when captured by Israeli forces, returned in March 1957.  May 1967 Nasser withdrew the UN force with Israel.  By 1967 census showed 352,260 in Gaza Strip (172,520) were refugees. They have stayed and multiplied many times over.                                      

Canaan :  was an ancient Semitic-speaking civilization and region of the Southern Levant during the late 2nd millennium BCE, which is when Abram was born.   Canaan had significant geopolitical importance in the Late Bronze Age Amarna Period (14th century BCE) as the area where the spheres of interest of the Egyptian, Hittite, Mitanni, and Assyrian Empires converged or overlapped. Much of present-day knowledge about Canaan stems from archaeological excavation in this area at sites such as Tel Hazor, Tel Megiddo, En Esur, and Gezer.

Canaan, the name used then for today's Syria in the 15th to 13th century BCE (1500 BCE-1300 BCE),  while Abram left much earlier in about the 2000 BCE.  The native people were thoughto be descended from Canaan, son of Ham, son of Noah.  They had divided into 11 differentpeoples who occupied the area between the Nile and the Euphrates (Gen.10:15-19).  They became a mixture of Horites, Hittites, and Hebrews, dating back to the Hyksos period of the17th century BCE.  

 The description of ancient Gaza as being made up of "little city states" primarily refers to its time as part of the Philistine Pentapolis during the Iron Age, roughly from the 12th to 7th centuries BCE. 

In the Bible, Canaan is described as a land, often referred to as the "Promised Land," which God promised to Abraham and his descendants. It's characterized by fertile land and strategic location, but also inhabited by various peoples who were seen as a challenge to the Israelites' faith.                                                         

The Abraham Accords:  The Abraham Accords are a series of diplomatic agreements normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. They were signed on September 15, 2020, at the White House, with Donald Trump as a witness. The agreements aim to foster mutual understanding, cooperation, and peace in the region through diplomatic relations, trade, and cultural exchange. 

Resource;

The New Standard Jewish Encylopedia

The Man Who Dug Up Abraham's UR, Sir Leonard Woolley and His Excavations at Ur

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

     Ur of the Chaldees (Kasdim in Hebrew), in its heyday.  before Abram in 3rd millennium BCE. Abram was born in about 1948 BCE (2nd millennium) The Chaldeans were a Semitic tribe that migrated in S. Babylonia and adopted the ancient Babylonian culture.  Gradually, they gained  supremacy over the native people their name, Chaldees, was used for the entire area.  Their astrologers became famous, even after they were gone. The Assyrians' Nebuchadnezzar in 7th century BCE came along and established an empire. This is the group evidently that Abram was originally from.   

Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (17 April 1880 – 20 February 1960) was a British archaeologist best known for his excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia. He is recognized as one of the first "modern" archaeologists who excavated in a methodical way, keeping careful records, and using them to reconstruct ancient life and history.  He was the son of a clergyman, so should have wondered about Abraham's city that he was born and raised in by Terah.  Abraham is mentioned in the Editor's preface, p. 8 &9.  Woolley has written a whole book about him called "Abraham."  

Sumer was humanity's first great civilization. Sumeria was a part of Babylonia that was not Semitic.  Even in today’s society you can still find traces of Sumerian inventions in agriculture, language, mathematics, religion and astronomy. Names like Nimrod and Cush  are connected to Sumerian tradition.  

Woolley (right) and T. E. Lawrence with a Hittite slab at Carchemish during excavation, between 1912 and 1914.

He gained experience by working  with TE Lawrence at the Hittite city of  Carchemish, the location of an important battle, about 605 BCE, between the Babylonians and Egyptians, mentioned in the Bible (Jer. 46:2). in Syria and Armarna in Egypt; The city was established in 1346 BC, built at the direction of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, and abandoned shortly after his death in 1332 BC. among other places.  Then he went to Ur, Abram's birth city where he lived before departing for Haran of ancient Babylonia. Woolley's finds will show Ur had a highly civilized nature of rich artwork made of gold and silver and other beautiful jewels as well as evidence of having a flood at an earlier date. "Woolley was one of the first archaeologists to propose that the flood described in the Book of Genesis was local after identifying a flood-stratum at Ur "400 miles long and 100 miles wide; but for the occupants of the valley that was the whole world". 

                         Woolley in Syria 1912

Woolley led a joint expedition of the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania to Ur, beginning in 1922, which included his wife, the British archaeologist Katharine Woolley. There, they made important discoveries, including the Copper Bull and the Bull-Headed Lyre, 4 lyres in a pit holding a massive group of people with the queen, as if at a party, and each holding a cup as if to drink wine or poison, we don't know.  Was it a death party or were they tricked in dying with each other-including oxen and their wagons.  It was a shocking find that included all their gold and silver goods as well, a burial site unknown to the many looters of that period.                                

        Ur:  The editors say in the book's preface,  that contrary to the view consistently argued by Woolley, there is no actual proof that Tell el-Mukayyar, the Ur of his book, Ur, was identical with "Ur of the Chaldees' in Genesis 11:29-32.  Nor is there any agreed opinion on the existence of Abraham himself with these non-Jewish researchers, but we are aware of their disbeliefs. We're lucky that Wooley had a religious background and was curious.                                                                                      

Ur and its ziggurat, now in Iraq,  dedicated to the moon god , Nanna.  The city's patron deity was Nanna (in Akkadian, Sin), the Sumerian and Akkadian moon god, and the name of the city is in origin derived from the god's name, UNUG^KI, literally "the abode (UNUG) of Nanna". The site is marked by the partially restored ruins of the Ziggurat of Ur, which contained the shrine of Nanna, excavated in the 1930s. The temple was built in the 21st century BC (short chronology), during the reign of Ur-Nammu and was reconstructed in the 6th century BC by Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon. The ruins cover an area of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) northwest to southeast by 800 metres (2,600 ft) northeast to southwest and rise up to about 20 metres (66 ft) above the present plain level.  As with many Mesopotamian gods, Nanna was incorporated into the Assyrian pantheon and, when the Neo-Assyrian Empire fell in 612 BCE, a great number of these deities lost favor. Nanna continued to be recognized, however, and was still worshiped in the region of Syria as late as the 3rd century CE when he was replaced by the Christian God.  In 637, Babylonia was conquered by the Arabs who followed Mohammad (d: 632  CE)  

These tombs, which date to the Early Dynastic IIIa period (approximately in the 25th or 24th century BCE), contained an immense treasure of luxury items made of precious metals and semi-precious stones imported from long distances (Ancient Iran, Afghanistan, India, Asia Minor, the Levant and the Persian Gulf). This wealth, unparalleled up to then, is a testimony of Ur's economic importance during the Early Bronze Age.           

"Ur was the burial site of what may have been many Sumerian royals. The Woolleys discovered tombs of great material wealth, containing large paintings of ancient Sumerian culture at its zenith, along with gold and silver jewelry, cups and other furnishings. The most extravagant tomb was that of "Queen" Pu-Abi. Amazingly enough, Queen Pu-Abi's tomb was untouched by looters. Inside the tomb, many well-preserved items were found, including a cylindrical seal bearing her name in Sumerian. Her body was found buried along with those of two attendants, who had presumably been poisoned to continue to serve her after death. Woolley was able to reconstruct Pu-Abi's funeral ceremony from objects found in her tomb."

 Gold helmet of Meskalamdug, ruler of the First Dynasty of Ur, 26th century BCE.

"It is thought that Ur had a stratified social system including slaves (captured foreigners), farmers, artisans, doctors, scribes, and priests. High-ranking priests apparently enjoyed great luxury and splendid mansions. Tens of thousands of cuneiform texts have been recovered from temples, the palace, and individual houses, recording contracts, inventories, and court documents, evidence of the city's complex economic and legal systems.

                                 

              Typical lyre of today  "The lyre has its origins in ancient history. Lyres were used in several ancient cultures surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The earliest known examples of the lyre have been recovered at archeological sites that date to c. 2700 BCE in Mesopotamia."

I am left with Woolley's description of finding the huge party of dead people who joined the queen either willingly or by her plan of awe and shock with their deaths as well.  They all seemed to be dressed in their party clothing and jewelry, with their oxen and wagons, all dead in their natural repose.  4 lyres, their music accompanied them in death, giving us a real glimpse into their last moments.  Those people must have walked down a path to a lower level and that level gave way for the huge vaulted area below it.  Egypt had its pyramids above ground and Sumeria had theirs below ground. So shocking to me and for those poor people.  No wonder Abram wanted to leave this town of wealth.  

Abraham was originally from the Semitic tribe of Chaldea/Chaldees and settled in Ur, populated by a non-Semitic people.  They eventually became the dominant group, but by the time Abram was a young married man, of deplorable morals according to Abraham's beliefs.  The question now is--where did this tribe come from which we understand was in the East somewhere?  This is why we signify Ur as Ur of the Chaldees, different from any other Ur.  

Resource:

https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/chaldeans-kaldu-west-semitic-tribes#:~:text=CHALDEANS%20(Kaldu)%2C%20West%20Semitic,in%20the%20population%20of%20Babylonia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEtasd52cfg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur

Book: UR "of the Chaldees", a revised and updated edition of Sir Leonard Woolley's Excavations at Ur, by PRS Moorey.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sumer