Monday, 12 January 2015

Judaism, the First Phase: the Place of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Origins of Judaism,
Joseph Blenkinsopp, Eerdmans, 2009, page 18

Building his case slowly, Blenkinsopp continues:

Common ancestry is a belief, a dogma, a shared subjective apprehension not necessarily open to historical verification. It is well known that myths of origin, including myths of ancestral paternity, can also be invented. This may well be the case with the claim to be "children of Abraham", since the traditions about Abraham do not begin to take shape until the time of the exile.

Although he starts cautiously enoung, "not necessarily", his "well known" clearly goes further. He does have a real destination and a point that we need to consider.