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M*W: Sometime in the 15th century BCE, the story of Avram and Sarai and their journeys was first told. It was during a time of famine in ancient Palestine when Avram and Sarai set out to return to their royal house in Egypt. As they neared the royal palace, Avram feared he might be killed if Pharaoh took a liking to Sarai, his good-looking wife, so Avram came up with a lie saying that Sarai was his sister. When Pharaoh saw the fair Sarai, he took her into his royal house and married her, for which Avram was awarded sheep, oxen, donkeys and servants (Hagar being one of them). Then the plagues hit Pharaoh's house and, of course, Pharaoh blamed Avram for it. They were sent back to Canaan with many nice gifts. Pharaoh wanted to especially please Sarai, the knock-out sister-wife of Avram, so he specifically gave Sarai Hagar as her own handmaid. Sarai must have been one hot cookie in Pharaoh's bed, because when they got back to their primary tent, Sarai realized she was pregnant with Isaac.
Now, the bible would have us believing that Ishmael was born first then along came Isaac some 13 years later, but when one reads the ancient history of this story, Sarai would have had to have been knocked up by Pharaoh first, because she was not given Hagar until they left Pharaoh's royal house! This then begs the question: Who was the real father of Isaac?
The writers of Genesis tried to make it sound as if there had been years on end between Avram's and Sarai's return to Canaan from Egypt. The biblical writers also made a point to state that Sarai was unable to conceive. We are told that Avram was 86 when Ishmael was born. Then another 13 years passed before Avram's and Sarai's names were changed. With the changing of their names to Abraham and Sarah, it appears that Sarah conceives another child! Who was this child of Sarah's third pregnancy? Who did Hagar give birth to? Why is these bible stories so convoluted? If Ishmael is 14 years older than Isaac, who was the child Sarai and Pharaoh conceived?
This story is not mentioned in the Quran.
According to Ahmed Osman in Christianity: An Ancient Egyptian Religion, "the literal sense of the Hebrew text in this verse does not necessarily mean that Isaac was Abraham's physican son, but that he was the adoptive father. It is also significant that, from this time, and even to the present day, a child cannot be regarded as a Jew, no matter who the father may have been, unless the mother is herself Jewish."
That brings us to the question: Was Isaac a prince of Egypt? Osman also states, "Nonbiblical sources point to the fact that, in the case of Isaac, Abraham -- who had seven other sons (Ishmael by Hagar, and six by another wife, Keturah) -- was to be regarded as the ADOPTIVE father. The Talmud preserves a tradition that nobody who knew Abraham believed that Isaac was his son."
The Babylonian Talmud, by Isidore Epstein, London, 1952, says, "On the day that Abraham weaned his son Isaac, he made a great banquet, and all the peoples of the world derided him, saying: 'Have you seen that old man and woman who brought a foundling from the street, and now claim him as their son...?'"
Who was Isaac, and by whom was he conceived? Who was Ishmael, and by whom was he conceived? Who was adopted and who was not? Who was the Pharaoh who fathered Isaac?
There are just too many inconsistencies between the Old Testament and the Torah and Talmud.
M*W: Sometime in the 15th century BCE, the story of Avram and Sarai and their journeys was first told. It was during a time of famine in ancient Palestine when Avram and Sarai set out to return to their royal house in Egypt. As they neared the royal palace, Avram feared he might be killed if Pharaoh took a liking to Sarai, his good-looking wife, so Avram came up with a lie saying that Sarai was his sister. When Pharaoh saw the fair Sarai, he took her into his royal house and married her, for which Avram was awarded sheep, oxen, donkeys and servants (Hagar being one of them). Then the plagues hit Pharaoh's house and, of course, Pharaoh blamed Avram for it. They were sent back to Canaan with many nice gifts. Pharaoh wanted to especially please Sarai, the knock-out sister-wife of Avram, so he specifically gave Sarai Hagar as her own handmaid. Sarai must have been one hot cookie in Pharaoh's bed, because when they got back to their primary tent, Sarai realized she was pregnant with Isaac.
Now, the bible would have us believing that Ishmael was born first then along came Isaac some 13 years later, but when one reads the ancient history of this story, Sarai would have had to have been knocked up by Pharaoh first, because she was not given Hagar until they left Pharaoh's royal house! This then begs the question: Who was the real father of Isaac?
The writers of Genesis tried to make it sound as if there had been years on end between Avram's and Sarai's return to Canaan from Egypt. The biblical writers also made a point to state that Sarai was unable to conceive. We are told that Avram was 86 when Ishmael was born. Then another 13 years passed before Avram's and Sarai's names were changed. With the changing of their names to Abraham and Sarah, it appears that Sarah conceives another child! Who was this child of Sarah's third pregnancy? Who did Hagar give birth to? Why is these bible stories so convoluted? If Ishmael is 14 years older than Isaac, who was the child Sarai and Pharaoh conceived?
This story is not mentioned in the Quran.
According to Ahmed Osman in Christianity: An Ancient Egyptian Religion, "the literal sense of the Hebrew text in this verse does not necessarily mean that Isaac was Abraham's physican son, but that he was the adoptive father. It is also significant that, from this time, and even to the present day, a child cannot be regarded as a Jew, no matter who the father may have been, unless the mother is herself Jewish."
That brings us to the question: Was Isaac a prince of Egypt? Osman also states, "Nonbiblical sources point to the fact that, in the case of Isaac, Abraham -- who had seven other sons (Ishmael by Hagar, and six by another wife, Keturah) -- was to be regarded as the ADOPTIVE father. The Talmud preserves a tradition that nobody who knew Abraham believed that Isaac was his son."
The Babylonian Talmud, by Isidore Epstein, London, 1952, says, "On the day that Abraham weaned his son Isaac, he made a great banquet, and all the peoples of the world derided him, saying: 'Have you seen that old man and woman who brought a foundling from the street, and now claim him as their son...?'"
Who was Isaac, and by whom was he conceived? Who was Ishmael, and by whom was he conceived? Who was adopted and who was not? Who was the Pharaoh who fathered Isaac?
There are just too many inconsistencies between the Old Testament and the Torah and Talmud.