At some point in Jewish history, Abram became Abraham, the father of the Jewish people. The Old Testament tells us that until Abraham arrived, the ancestors of Israel "served other gods" (Joshua 24:2).
Abraham was probably prompted to leave his native city of Ur because along with sixteen other cities, Ur was sacked by Elamites. This defeat, like all others, was put down to the people failing their god in some way, and he turn leaving them unprotected.
During this period of decline the relationship between the Sumerians and the pantheon of the gods became strained and the concept of personal gods grew in importance.
Personal Gods
They were nameless and directly related to the individual like guardian angels. The personal gods were inherited through the family, so the statement, "worshipping god of his fathers" was not a general statement about the status of God, but expressing family identity.
A man's personal god looked after him and would take his cause to greater gods when necessary but demanded obedience in return- should the man behave badly, his god might desert him.
The man was the arbiter of what was right and wrong; if he felt he had done wrong he would be in fear of his god's reaction, but if he did something that all the world except himself thought was wicked, then he was safe. Rather like "let your conscience be your guide."
Abraham is generally considered to be the first historical figure in the Bible; by contrast, Adam,Eve, Cain, Abel and Noah are all representatives of the people and the times that embody early Hebrew ideas and traditions. The description of Abraham as a nomad like the Canaanites makes a lot of sense as he and the people who travelled with him were without a land to call their own.
The name Hebrew derives from the term Habiru which was a derogatory term used by the Egyptians to describe the Semitic tribes who wandered like the Bedouin.
History of the Jews
The Book of Genesis explains how, after the Flood, the sons of Noah gave rise to new tribes in each parts of the world. For Hebrews the most important of these sons was Shem, who gave rise to the peoples known as Semites (these included the Jewish nations). The land of Canaan was promised to the sons of Shem.
The Jewish nation claims descent from Shem, the son of Noah, who was himself a character from Sumerian legend, and later from Abraham who left Sumer to find "the promised land". Many Sumerians must have trekked north and west to become a significant part of the wandering peoples that became the Jewish nation.
Abraham is considered to be the key to the founding of Israel, with his god promising him a new home for his people in the land of Canaan. Given the nature of Sumerian deities, it is likely that Abraham was a priest with a particular god who was his companion and guardian.
Whilst nobody has so far managed to date Abraham's travels with any certainty,it is widely accepted that he existed no earlier than 1900 BCE. Abraham set out with his followers for Haran, a major city in modern Syria on the banks of the Balikh river which was on the trading route from Sumer, up the Euphrates river. From there he took his group into the land of Canaan, which is Israel.
Sources
Knight, Christopher and Lomas, Robert, The Hiram Key, Arrow Books, London, 1997
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