Big Ideas · 1 · Abraham and Sarah
There are two Israels in the Bible
'Israel' can mean the northern kingdom that Assyria destroyed. It can also mean the nation descended from Abraham and Sarah. The difference is crucial.
A kingdom can fall while a people endures.
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Much of the biblical narrative originated in the northern kingdom and was later reshaped by southern scribes in Judah. Their shared aim: to show that two rival, defeated kingdoms could be one people.
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 26–27
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