Hagar The Egyptian...Not the Arab
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By Gerald A. Honigman
So, what does this all have to do with Abraham’s wife, Sarah’s, servant, Hagar?
Firstly, keep in mind that we know of Abraham, in general, and of this story, in particular, comes via the Hebrew Bible. That is our one and only original source.
We have good corroborative evidence from contemporary, non-Hebraic sources that Asiatic Semitic Habiru /‘Apiru were on the move, causing headaches for Canaanites, Egyptian Pharaohs, and so forth about three and a half to four millennia ago.
We also know that around that time Semitic “Shepherd Kings” (the 15th Dynasty) conquered Egypt…probably kin to the Hebrews. One of the names mentioned in Hyksos records was Yacub…Jacob.
The Biblical story of the Hebrew patriarch, Jacob (later Israel), gaining permission to enter the Nile Valley most likely occurred during this time. And he was the grandson of the original Hebrew patriarch, Abraham.
Yes, you say, but others will claim that Muslims have their own version as well.
True, but, keep the following in mind…
When Muhammad, the Arabian Prophet of Islam, fled Mecca to Medina in 622 C.E. (the Hijrah), the mixed population of Jews and pagans welcomed him. Medina had been developed centuries earlier as a thriving date palm oasis by Jews fleeing the Roman assault (the banu-Qurayzah and banu-al-Nadir tribes, etc).
Muhammad learned much from the Jews. He listened to their prayers, their Biblical stories, and so forth.. And while the actual timing of his decision on the direction of prayer may never be known, during his long sojourn with the Jews of Medina, his followers were instructed to pray towards Jerusalem. Early prominent Arab historians such as Jalaluddin came right out and stated that this was done primarily as an attempt to win support among the influential Jewish tribes (the "People of the Book") for Muhammad's religio-politcal claims.
It is from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem where Muslims believe Muhammad ascended to Heaven on his winged horse. A mosque, the Dome of the Rock, would later be erected on this Jewish holy site after the Arab imperial conquest of the land in the 7th century C.E.
There is no doubt among objective scholars that Jews had an enormous impact on both Muhammad and the religion that he founded.
Hebraic Biblical stories are prominent in the Koran, and the holy sites for Muslims in Jerusalem (i.e. the mosques erected on the Temple Mount of the Jews) are now deemed "holy" precisely because of the critical years Muhammad spent after the Hijrah with the Jews.
The Temple Mount, Biblical stories of Abraham, and such had no prior meaning to pagan Arabs.
While there was some early Christian influence as well, intense scholarship has shown that the Holy Law (Halakha) and Holy Scriptures of the Jews had a tremendous influence on the Koran, Islamic Holy Law (Shari'a), and so forth.
Muhammad's "Jerusalem connection" was most likely not established until after his extended stay with his Jewish hosts. This was no mere coincidence...Muslim religious beliefs regarding Muhammad's alleged conversations with the Angel Gabriel, etc,. notwithstanding. And, as with Jerusalem, so with Islam’s subsequent supplanting of the Hebraic son of Abraham, Isaac, with the allegedly “Arab” son of Hagar, Ishmael.
When the Jews refused to recognize Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets, he turned on them with a vengeance. Before long, with the exception of Yemen, there were virtually no Jews left on the Arabian Peninsula. And the direction of prayer was changed away from Jerusalem and towards the Kaaba in Mecca instead.
Okay…Now we’re ready to deal with the notion that Arabs are the Jews cousins since they’re allegedly descendants of Abraham’s son with Hagar the Egyptian servant of Sarah.
Article continued at url above.
So, what does this all have to do with Abraham’s wife, Sarah’s, servant, Hagar?
Firstly, keep in mind that we know of Abraham, in general, and of this story, in particular, comes via the Hebrew Bible. That is our one and only original source.
We have good corroborative evidence from contemporary, non-Hebraic sources that Asiatic Semitic Habiru /‘Apiru were on the move, causing headaches for Canaanites, Egyptian Pharaohs, and so forth about three and a half to four millennia ago.
We also know that around that time Semitic “Shepherd Kings” (the 15th Dynasty) conquered Egypt…probably kin to the Hebrews. One of the names mentioned in Hyksos records was Yacub…Jacob.
The Biblical story of the Hebrew patriarch, Jacob (later Israel), gaining permission to enter the Nile Valley most likely occurred during this time. And he was the grandson of the original Hebrew patriarch, Abraham.
Yes, you say, but others will claim that Muslims have their own version as well.
True, but, keep the following in mind…
When Muhammad, the Arabian Prophet of Islam, fled Mecca to Medina in 622 C.E. (the Hijrah), the mixed population of Jews and pagans welcomed him. Medina had been developed centuries earlier as a thriving date palm oasis by Jews fleeing the Roman assault (the banu-Qurayzah and banu-al-Nadir tribes, etc).
Muhammad learned much from the Jews. He listened to their prayers, their Biblical stories, and so forth.. And while the actual timing of his decision on the direction of prayer may never be known, during his long sojourn with the Jews of Medina, his followers were instructed to pray towards Jerusalem. Early prominent Arab historians such as Jalaluddin came right out and stated that this was done primarily as an attempt to win support among the influential Jewish tribes (the "People of the Book") for Muhammad's religio-politcal claims.
It is from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem where Muslims believe Muhammad ascended to Heaven on his winged horse. A mosque, the Dome of the Rock, would later be erected on this Jewish holy site after the Arab imperial conquest of the land in the 7th century C.E.
There is no doubt among objective scholars that Jews had an enormous impact on both Muhammad and the religion that he founded.
Hebraic Biblical stories are prominent in the Koran, and the holy sites for Muslims in Jerusalem (i.e. the mosques erected on the Temple Mount of the Jews) are now deemed "holy" precisely because of the critical years Muhammad spent after the Hijrah with the Jews.
The Temple Mount, Biblical stories of Abraham, and such had no prior meaning to pagan Arabs.
While there was some early Christian influence as well, intense scholarship has shown that the Holy Law (Halakha) and Holy Scriptures of the Jews had a tremendous influence on the Koran, Islamic Holy Law (Shari'a), and so forth.
Muhammad's "Jerusalem connection" was most likely not established until after his extended stay with his Jewish hosts. This was no mere coincidence...Muslim religious beliefs regarding Muhammad's alleged conversations with the Angel Gabriel, etc,. notwithstanding. And, as with Jerusalem, so with Islam’s subsequent supplanting of the Hebraic son of Abraham, Isaac, with the allegedly “Arab” son of Hagar, Ishmael.
When the Jews refused to recognize Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets, he turned on them with a vengeance. Before long, with the exception of Yemen, there were virtually no Jews left on the Arabian Peninsula. And the direction of prayer was changed away from Jerusalem and towards the Kaaba in Mecca instead.
Okay…Now we’re ready to deal with the notion that Arabs are the Jews cousins since they’re allegedly descendants of Abraham’s son with Hagar the Egyptian servant of Sarah.
Article continued at url above.
