Texts · 16 · Isaac and Rebekah
Rival ancestors became father and son
The prophet Amos calls the northern kingdom both 'Israel' and 'the house of Isaac.' Isaac and Jacob may once have been competing ancestral figures.
Scribes joined rivals into one family.
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Instead of choosing between Isaac and Jacob, scribes made them father and son, and did the same with Abraham and Sarah. The result is richer and sometimes contradictory: Isaac names Beersheba even though Abraham already had.
Bible reference: Amos 7:9, 16
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 260–261
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