101 Myths of the Bible: how ancient scribes - Conscious Evolution TV

118 101 Myths of the Bible
the Bible give a different translation. They say that Abraham traveled not “into the
south” but“into the Negev,” the vast desert region in southern Canaan.
This alternative translation resulted from the idiomatic meaning of “south” for
“Negev,” in much the same way that Americans use the term “south” to define the
southeastern United States. For example, if one flies north from Mexico to Florida,
one flies“into the south” because Florida is part of the American South.
But there are some problems with this alternative translation. First, the Hebrew
word used is not “negev” but “negevah.” The first form is a noun and could be used in
an idiomatic way to refer to Southern Canaan. The second form, however, is an
adverb, referring specifically to a direction of movement. Abraham wasn’t traveling
“into the South,” which could refer to the Negev, but in a “southerly direction,” which
means towards southern Egypt.
Second, a route through the Negev desert makes no sense. Abraham departed his
Egyptian locale with great wealth and a large cattle herd. One doesn’t drive cattle into
a vast waterless desert waste, especially when there is a major highway leading from
Egypt to Canaan that goes along the Mediterranean coast, avoids the desert and provides
water for the cattle. The Egyptians called this highway“The Way of Horus” and
the Bible refers to it as“The Way of the Philistines.”
Third, the name Beth-el didn’t exist in the time of Abraham, at least according to
the Bible. The city received that name from Jacob, long after Abraham died, and the
Bible usually indicates that the city used to be called Luz, although that gloss is missing
in the present story. Beth-el simply means“House of God” and could easily refer to
any place where there is an altar or temple dedicated to any of the deities, in Egypt or
in Canaan. Abraham could have built an altar anywhere and called it Beth-el.
In context then, the King James Version has it right and the alternative translations
are wrong. Abraham headed into southern Egypt and not to Canaan. This raises some
interesting questions about the roots of ancient Israel.
Prior to Abraham’s arrival in Egypt, we have hardly any information about his
background. The Bible says that in Abraham’s seventy-fifth year God told him to
move from his home in Mesopotamia to Canaan, where he would“make of thee a great
nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.”