The ten commandments allegedly come from Moses, not Abraham.
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M*W: Actually, the Ten Commandments were of a much earlier origin and part of the Code of Hammurabi. There were many more than just ten listed in the Code.
An Abrahamic religion would by definition be based on the religion of Abraham as its foundation, regardless of how many stories were built on top of it.
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M*W: Abraham was the son of an Egyptian pharaoh. His wife, Sarah, was also his half-sister and an Egyptian princess. Abraham's religion was based on Egyptian paganism as was his father Terah's. It wasn't until Abraham was 13 years old that he abandoned idol worship.(1)
During the time of Abraham (c. 1800 BCE), the locals did NOT worship Yahweh, the God of Moses (c. 1400 BCE) or the ancient Israelites after the time of Moses.(1)
Tracing the roots of Abraham, Muhammad argued that Abraham had not been Jewish, because he lived long before God gave the Torah to Moses (or Hammurabi), so Muhammad proclaimed Abraham to be a Muslim.(1)
According to Ernest Busenbark's records, he refers to the books of Judges, Samuel and Kings that cover at least 1,000 years of Jewish history, there are no references made to Yahweh's talks with Moses. They say nothing about the miracles of Moses that he performed in Egypt, his passage of the Red Sea, or his wanderings in the Wilderness. The names of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses are mentioned, but nothing is said about their actual existence and they are treated as if they are legendary figures.(2)
Although Genesis Chapters 1 and 2 do not elaborate on the numbers, I think it is quite telling when Abraham was promised by Yahweh that he would have seed as "numerous as the stars of heaven for multitudes."(2)
I believe this statement alludes to amore astro-theological interpretation of "multitudes."
The word for an Hebrew in the Hebrew language of the OT is "ibri." Scholars believe the most common view is that the word is related to the Hebrew preposition "ibr" meaning "across," and that it was modified to describe Abraham. Similar words to "ibr" which have the same meanining are Ibrihim, Habiru and Kabiru or the "one who travels across."(3) I also believe this has a connotation of something that travels across the sky (a planet, a comet, a meteorite, etc.).
With that said, the "Ibiru" (Hebrews) made their first appearance in the fifteenth century, who Osman regards as the time of Abraham. He also asserts that "Abraham has been regarded by Jews and Christians alike as the founding fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. In this chapter I shall argue that Abraham's patriarchy is by no means actual: rather it is of symbolic importance to the Israelites and to their descendants, and, indeed, to Christians."(4)
The story of Hagar's and Ishmael's banishment from Abraham's tent is apparently not mentioned in the Qur'an, but Islamic tradition agrees with the Bible on this story which represents Ishmael as a baby, carried by his mother Hagar and was unable to crawl from the spot where she placed him when the water fountain suddenly gushed beneath his feet. "The sources of Islamic tradition are mainly biblical, Talmudic and other Jewish literature. They are reliable in showing how old Jewish accounts were different from biblical ones in some cases, but they cannot be regarded as historical."(4)
In my astro-theological interpretation, I believe that our Abraham represents the Sign of Aries (similar to "Brahman," "Ibrahim," "ram," "lamb," "Ramadan," etc.), and coincidently, it was a "ram" that Abraham took to sacrifice instead of Isaac.
Darlison comments on the astro-theological meanings of Abraham: "The whole story of Abraham seems to reflect the movement of the equinoctial point from Taurus to Aries ("the bull" (or "golden cow") that was worshipped by the ancient Habiru who lived down in Egypt during the time (but, I am not referring to the actual existence of Moses). Taurus is also a reflection on Mithriac worship. To continue Darlison's comments, "He (Abraham) is supposed to have lived around 2000 BCE, at the beginning of the Arien Age, and he is instructed by God to move out of the familiar territory of his homeland and go to an unknown country. His (Abraham's) experience is representative of all new beginnings (Spring), when we are called to proceed "in faith" to an unknown future with no certainties and few landmarks. It is the ram of Aries that Abraham finds in the thicket as he prepares to sacrifice Isaac."(5)
But whom do Ishmael and Isaac represent? I believe they represent the Age of Pisces (the fish) and the end of Winter which Abraham (Aries) symbolically aims to sacrifice.
My point to this long post is to show the many different meanings of who Abraham might have been and who he was to many cultures and faiths. The story of Abraham ranges from being a pagan moon worshipper (later Moses worshipped the sun as the only deity), to becoming the patriarch of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Unfortunately, a man named "Abraham/Ibrihim" may not have existed in ancient history at all but may just be a fictional character in really old gossip rags (probably owned by Rupert Murdoch).
However, my take on it is and always will be astro-theological, because it's been stated many times, "There is nothing new under the sun." The only true connection between all three faiths is the fact that Abraham is an astro-logical myth created by the ancients from their interpretations of the night skies (moon worship).
References:
(1) Panati, Charles:
Sacred Origins of Profound Things: The Stories Behind the Rights and Rituals of the World's Religions, Penguin Books, 1996.
(2) Busenbark, Ernest:
Symbols, Sex, and the Stars in Popular Beliefs: Origins of Moon and Sun Worship, Astrology, Sex Symbolism, Mystic Meaning of Numbers, the Cabala, and Many Popular Customs, Myths, Superstitions and Religious Beliefs, Truth Seeker, Co., Inc, 1949.
(3) Osman, Ahmed:
Moses and Akhenaten: The Secret History of Egypt at the Time of the Exodus, Bear & Company, 2002.
(4) Osman, Ahmed:
Christianity: An Ancient Egyptian Religion, Bear & Company, 2005.
(5) Darlison, Bill:
The Gospel & the Zodiac: The Secret Truth About Jesus, Duckworth Overlook, 2007.
