Abraham's Lasting Impact on Ancient Cultures

The Torah does not detail how Abraham achieved victory over the four kings or its outcomes, yet many ancient cultures preserved varied memories of him. In the 4th century BCE, during the time of the Men of the Great Assembly, a writer named Hecataeus, living in Abdera, wrote numerous histories, one dedicated to Abraham, the father of the Jews. Although the book is no longer extant, it was commonly found in the 1st century BCE. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, who wrote a 40-volume history of humanity, quoted from it. Josephus also quotes from this book, writing: "The book is available in libraries and can be read by anyone." Additional authors, including the 3rd century BCE's Artapanus, Nikolaus of Damascus, and others, quoted memories of Abraham, father of the Jews.

In these texts, it's recounted that Abraham ruled Damascus. After the four kings retreated and returned to Babylon, Abraham was regarded as the ruler of the Syrian region. According to them, the inhabitants of Syria can point to where Abraham lived at that time, a place called "Abraham's Dwellings." An early Babylonian writer named Berossus, who collected Babylonian traditions, writes that the progenitor of the Hebrews was known in ancient Babylon and was the tenth generation after the flood. In the 13th century CE, 700 years ago, the Syrian bishop Bar Hebraeus discovered an ancient library in Baghdad containing ancient Babylonian writings describing Abraham from their perspective. He quoted from these in his own writings. That library was shortly burned during the Mongol conquest of the region. According to these books, Abraham met with Egyptian priests and taught them various things, imparting to many the knowledge of astronomy and conduct.

It is possible that among the idol worshipers in Canaan, Abraham was even considered a god, as Philo of Byblos, who wrote Canaanite myths, tells of a deity who lived in Canaan and sacrificed his son. Some of those later considered 'gods' were extraordinary individuals whose stories evolved over time into myths of 'gods.' As Malbim explains the verse in the Torah about "sons of God" – "These are the mighty men of old, men of renown." These are not truly "gods," but mere heroic men of the past whose tales made them seem godlike.

Undoubtedly, Abraham was a father of many nations and adored by all the peoples in the area long before Christianity and Islam emerged. Interestingly, although in ancient Israel during the biblical period it was not customary to name people after the patriarchs, nor do we find places named after Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob, there was in the Negev a place called "Hagger Abraham." Pharaoh Shishak, who invaded the land in the 10th century BCE, after Solomon's death, mentions finding in the Negev between Yeruham and Arad a place called "Hagger Abraham." Hagger – wall, a walled place named after Abraham. Intriguingly, the location retained the name Abraham before Hashem renamed him Abraham, or Shishak did not grasp the precise name of the place. This place might be Be'er Sheva, the city founded by Abraham.