c. BC · Abner, the son of Ner, was King Saul's cousin and the able com mander of his army....

Umlialnm Abner

tavid's bodyguard and was second-in-ommand to Joab. He aided Joab i n the uthless slaying o f Abner in revenge for he death o f their brother Asahel, and ommanded a part o f Joab's army in In victorious battle against the A m m o -lites who had insulted King David's iiessengers o f g o o d w i l l . He saved the ing's life when David joined his men i n

ut i le against the Philistines and Ishbi-ienob, the giant, tr ied to k i l l h i m w i t h is great spear. I n one battle Abishai is redited w i t h having kil led single-landcd 300 o f the enemy. Loyal to ).ivid in the civi l war caused by Absa-:>m, Abishai joined in the pursuit o f heba son o f Bichri and later helped to rush the last vestige o f rebellion against ).ivid who then became king again o f a nited Israel. H e seems to have died icfbre Joab as his name does not appear

I t he death o f Dav id nor at the inaugura-lon of his son K i n g Solomon. (1 Sam. 6; 1 Sam. 3:30; 10:10; 16:9; 18:12; 9:1 1 ; 20:6; 21:17; 2 3 : I 8 ; 1 Chr. 2:16; 1:2o; 18:12; 19:11, 15]

kbishalom (Heb. 'father o f peace') c. o century B C . Father-in-law o f K i n g Lehoboam o f Judah, and the father o f

l . i . H the king's favourite wife. Also ailed Absalom and Uriel . [1 Kgs. 15:2, o ; 2 Chr. 11:20; 13:2]

ibllhua (Heb. 'father o f deliverance') . 1. 16 century B C . Son o f Bela and a r.unison o f Benjamin. [1 Chr. 8:4] . dale unknown. Son o f Phinehas and real grandson o f Aaron , the high priest, C was .111 ancestor o f Ezra. [1 Chr. 6:4, , jo 1 Ezra 7:5]

ihisliur (Heb. 'father o f protection') ate unknown. Son o f Shammai and a l d l ' " I | I K I 1 I 1 , he married Abihai l and

a<l two V I M S . 11 Chr. 2:28]

Lbital (Heb, 'fathei of dew') c. t o cen-I I \< A Wile of Kni| ' , I ) a v u l a n i l the tothi 1 ol Shephatiah, one ol the lix

sons of Dav id born to h im i n Hebron . [2 Sam. 3:4; 1 Chr . 3:3]

A b i t u b (Heb. 'father of goodness') date unknown. Son o f Shaharaim and a leader of the tr ibe o f Benjamin. [1 Chr. 8:11]

Abner (Heb. 'father of light') c. n cen­tury B C . Abner, the son o f Ner , was King Saul's cousin and the able com­mander of his army. After Saul's death in battle, Abner retired eastward across the river Jordan w i t h the remnant o f his forces, set up his camp at M a h a n a i m , and there proclaimed Saul's weak son Ishbosheth as k ing .

Abner advanced again into the terr i ­tory of Benjamin and at the Pool o f Gibeon, north-west o f Jerusalem, he met the army o f Dav id under his commander Joab. Abner and Joab agreed on a t r ia l o f strength between twelve picked men f rom either side. When all these men were ki l led leaving the issue stil l unde­cided, general fighting broke out in which Abner's army was routed.

In their f l ight, Abner himself was pur­sued by Asahel, Joab's youngest brother. Abner shouted to h im to leave h i m alone: ' W h y should I smite you to the ground? H o w then could I l i f t up my face to your brother Joab ?' (2 Sam. 2:22) Asahel persisted and Abner was forced to k i l l h i m .

Abner became angry w i t h Ishbosheth who accused h i m of misconduct w i t h one of Saul's concubines. Disillusioned w i t h the weakl ing he had himself made king, Abner sent messengers to make his peace w i t h D a v i d : 'Make your covenant w i t h me, and behold, my hand shall be w i t h you to br ing over all Israel to you . ' (2 Sam. 3:12) Dav id made one condi t ion , that his wife M i c h a l , Saul's daughter, should be returned to h i m , and Abner forced her brother Ishbosheth to agree.

Before seeing David , Abner conferred with the leaders of the northern tribes, and agreed w i t h them to unite the

Abraham Abraham

country under Dav id . The union was sealed when Abner and twenty men went to Hebron to tell David . Dav id gave him and his retinue a feast and then Abner went off to rally all o f Israel to the banner o f Dav id .

When Joab returned from an expedi­t ion , he tr ied w i t h o u t success to t u r n David against Abner. Joab then sent a messenger after Abner asking h i m to return and k i l led h i m in revenge for Joab's brother Asahel.

David was angry and shocked when he heard the news. Abner was buried at Hebron and Dav id ordered a public fu­neral for h i m . The k ing himself walked behind the coffin, wept over the grave, and fasted. A l l the country understood that David had had no hand in Abner's murder. [1 Sam. 14:50; 17:55-8; 20:25; 26:13-16; 2 Sam. 2-4 ; 1 Chr. 26:28, 27:20]

Abraham (Heb. 'father is exalted') c. 18-16 centuries B C . First patriarch, Abra­ham was the founder of the Hebrew nation. In Jewish, Christian and Mos lem tradit ion, he emerges as a father-figure - dignified, firm in his faith, humane, respected by the local rulers wherever he went. He moves slowly and majesti­cally across the Near Eastern w o r l d of nearly four thousand years ago, f r o m Mesopotamia to Egypt. The main set­ting for his story is the central h i l l country in the Land o f Canaan promised to him and his seed by God.

Abram (as he was first called) came originally f r o m ' U r of the Chaldeans' (Gen. 11:28), a Sumerian city i n the Euphrates valley, near the head o f the Persian Gulf. W i t h his father Terah, his wife Sarai (later Sarah) and his nephew Lot, he moved up the river t i l l they came to rest i n Haran , a trading centre in northern A r a m (as Syria was then called). The family settled in this area, and here Terah died.

At I Iaran the Lord appeared to Abram and to ld h im to leave for 'the

land that I w i l l show you' (Gen. 12:1) where he w o u l d make of A b r a m 'a great nat ion ' (Gen. 12:2).

W i t h Sarai and Lot he travelled to Canaan, and reached Shechem (the modern Nablus) . Abram bui l t an altar there, and another near Bethel (a l itt le north of Jerusalem). The L o r d again appeared to h i m and said: ' T o your descendants I w i l l give this land. ' (Gen. 12:7) This promise was repeated dur ing Abram's l i fetime.

There was a famine i n the land, and Abram's party continued to the south­west unt i l they arrived in Egypt, then the granary o f the region.

Sarai was a beautiful w o m a n and Abram passed her off as his sister for fear that he might otherwise be k i l led because of her. Reports o f her looks reached Pharaoh, who had her brought into his household, generously compen­sating her 'brother ' w i t h servants and livestock. The L o r d intervened w i t h plagues, and when Pharaoh learnt the t ruth he reproachfully returned Sarai to her husband and urged them to leave. (Later, A b r a m had a similar experi­ence w i t h Abimelech, k ing o f Gerar, a Philistine city, near Gaza.)

They returned f rom Egypt to the hills north of Jerusalem. Both A b r a m and Lot had by this t ime acquired large herds of cattle, and there was strife between their herdsmen over the l imited grazing. Uncle and nephew agreed to part amica­bly and L o t , given the choice by A b r a m , headed eastward to the 'Jordan valley' (Gen. 13:10), where stood the t w o cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. A b r a m h i m ­self settled i n the plain of M a m r e outside Hebron.

The L o r d revealed to A b r a m that he intended to destroy the wicked cities o f Sodom and Gomorrah . Abram pleaded w i t h H i m to spare the cities for the sake of the good men who might be among the inhabitants, and after some bargain­ing, the required m i n i m u m number of righteous men was fixed at ten. But in

A b r a h a m Abraham

the end even this number was not found. Abram knew that his compassionate pleas had not helped when he saw the smoke rising f rom the stricken cities.

Sodom and Gomorrah were attacked by four kings f rom the n o r t h , and Lot was among those taken captive. Setting out in pursuit , Abram carried out a night assault near D a n , chased the enemy to a point near Damascus, and returned w i t h the liberated captives. He restored the plunder to the king of Sodom, refusing to accept any o f i t for himself. A b r a m was a man o f peace and this rescue of Lot was his only recorded mart ia l ex­ploit .

I S A A C A N D I S H M A E L

As Abram and Sarai had remained w i t h ­out issue, she proposed that he should have a chi ld w i t h her Egyptian maid Hagar, w h o bore h im a son called Ish-mael. When A b r a m was ninety-nine and Sarai ninety, the Lord appeared to h i m again and said that henceforth his name would be Abraham, 'for I have made you the father o f a multitude o f nations' (Gen. 17:5). Sarai's name was changed to Sarah ('princess'). As a physical token of Abraham's covenant w i t h h i m , the Lord instructed h i m to circumcise h i m ­self and all members of his household, and thereafter every male infant when he was eight days o ld . (The ' b r i t h mi l lah ' - covenant of the circumcision -has been religiously observed by Jews to this day.)

When the L o r d to ld the aged Abra­ham that Sarah would give b i r t h to a son, he 'fell on his face and laughed' (Gen. 17:17). One hot day Abraham sat in the doorway of his tent at M a m r e and saw three strangers approaching. He went forward to offer them hospital-it y. They were angels who t o l d h i m once more that Sarah would bear h i m a ion , Sarah overheard this f rom w i t h i n the tent, and she too laughed as she was well past child-bearing age. But in due course Isaac (meaning 'he laughed') was born, as had been foretold.

Abraham gave a great feast when the infant was weaned. Sarah was stung by the mockery o f Hagar and her son Ish-mael, and demanded that Abraham cast them out . Being a kindly man he was greatly troubled, but the L o r d to ld h im to do as Sarah had asked, at the same time reassuring h im that his descendants through Ishmael would also be a great nation. Abraham provided Hagar w i t h a supply o f bread and water and she left w i t h the boy.

Abraham journeyed southward again, into the terr i tory of Abimelech, the Phil­istine k ing of Gerar. Trouble over a well (a vital matter in this ar id area) brought the t w o men together in a pact of friendship, consecrated by a solemn swearing ceremony. The place where this happened was named Beersheba (the 'Wel l o f the Swearing').

Abraham's obedience to God was now put to an agonizing test. He was commanded to slay his beloved son Isaac at a distant mountain top as a burnt-offering to the Lord . Abraham set out on his ass, taking w i t h h i m Isaac, two young servants and some f irewood. O n the t h i r d day they neared the place. Abra­ham left the t w o servants w i t h the ass, and continued on foot w i t h Isaac. O n the way the puzzled lad said to his father 'Behold, the fire and the w o o d ; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering ?' (Gen. 22:7) The old man evaded the question by saying the L o r d w o u l d provide the lamb.

When they reached the indicated spot Abraham bui l t an altar, placed the bound boy upon the firewood, and took up the knife. A t this dread moment the voice of an angel was heard saying: ' D o not lay your hand on the lad . . . for now I k n o w that you fear God . ' (Gen. 22:12) In a nearby thicket Abraham saw a ram caught by the horns, and the animal was sacrificed instead o f the boy. This episode also served to symbolize the rejection in the Hebrew faith of child-sacrifice practised by pagan cults.

A b r a h a m Absalom

When Sarah died at Hebron at the I I , ( of one hundred and twenty-seven, Abraham sought a family burying place and purchased f rom Ephron the H i t t i t e 1 In- Cave o f Machpelah and the field in which it stood, for four hundred shekels ol silver. Here Sarah was laid to rest.

Abraham, now an aged man, con­cerned himself w i t h finding a wife for Isaac. He sent for the trusted o ld retainer who managed his household, and con­fided in h i m that he did not want Isaac to marry a local Canaanite g i r l . The servant was instructed to travel to the I laran area f rom which Abraham had come to Canaan, and to seek a bride for Isaac among his kindred there. He re­turned w i t h Rebekah, the young grand­daughter of one of Abraham's brothers.

Abraham took another wife, Keturah, and had a number of children by her. I le appointed Isaac the heir of his posses­sions, whi le making provision for his other children, including the sons of his concubines w h o m he sent to dwel l fur­ther to the east in order to protect Isaac. Abraham died at the age of one hundred and seventy-five and was buried w i t h Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah i n 1 lebron.

For Jews, the story of Abraham is of national importance, for i t marks their transitional beginning as a people and their divine charter to the Land o f Israel. In the religious sense, i t also symbolizes the break w i t h pagan idolatry and the commitment to monotheism.

In the N e w Testament, Abraham is held up as the example of the godfearing and righteous man.

Abraham is more revered by Moslems than any other biblical personage, and is known i n the Koran as El K h a l i l , the Friend o f God. The Arabs st i l l call I lebron 'El K h a l i l ' , and the Cave of Machpelah is sacred to the Moslems as well . The Jaffa Gate in the O l d City of Jerusalem, f rom which the road to Hebron started, is inscribed w i t h a verse h u m the K o r a n : 'There is no God but

Al lah, and Abraham is beloved o f H i m . ' [Gen. 11:26-25:10]

T H E C A V E O F M A C H P E L A H A N D T H E

O A K O F M A M R E

The tradi t ional Cave of Machpelah in Hebron is marked by a huge fort- l ike structure which was bui l t by K i n g Herod in the 1st century B C . Its outer walls are of great stone blocks rising to a height of more than forty feet. Several addi­tions were made during the Byzantine, Mameluke and Ottoman periods, for this Jewish burial shrine later became holy also to Christians and Moslems. The crenellated battlements and t w o square corner minarets are Mameluke. The southern part of the enclosure is now a mosque. I t was formerly a 12th-century Crusader church, and before that a Byzantine basilica. Six cenotaphs w i t h embroidered silk coverings are said to stand exactly above the bur ia l places in the cave beneath that of the patriarchs and their wives: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah. A seventh is held by some to mark the resting place of Joseph. T h r o u g h a grat­ing in the floor may be glimpsed the original cave.

There are fine examples o f stained-glass windows from the 12th century A D made o f the famous Hebron glass.

A mile away f rom Machpelah, along a road running off the Bethlehem-Hebron highway, is an o ld oak tree, barely alive, its branches supported by i ron stakes. I t has been k n o w n since the 12th century A D as Abraham's Oak or the Oak of Mamre . After leaving Lot near Bethel, Abraham 'came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre , which are at H e b r o n ; and there he bui l t an altar unto the L o r d ' (Gen. 13:18). The oak stands in the grounds of the Russian H o l y T r i n i t y Church, monas­tery and hospice, bui l t at the end o f the last century. [Gen. 11-25; I s a - 4 I : & ]

Absalom (Heb. ' [my] father is peace') i.e. 10 century B C . T h i r d son o f King David.

1 1