Blenkinsopp J. Abraham as Paradigm in the Priestly History in Genesis

JBL 128, no. 2 (2009): 225–241.The intent of this essay is to argue that the story of Abraham, as an important segment of the Priestly History in the Hexateuch (Genesis to Joshua),1 was composed with the purpose of providing those who survived the disaster of 586 B.C.E. with a religious basis on which they could rebuild their lives. More specifically, the component of the History dealing with Abraham was intended to provide a paradigm or model for those who aspired to return, or actually did return, to Judah once this became possible after the fall of the Babylonian empire in 539 B.C.E.