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The priestess Meretites hugs her husband, the singer Kahai (Saqqara, Old Kingdom Egypt)

The priestess Meretites hugs her husband, the singer Kahai (Saqqara, Old Kingdom Egypt)

The story of Abraham is one where Abraham meets people from different cultures – the Sumerians, who live in cities and use irrigation agriculture, the Egyptians, who might kill Abraham to get his beautiful wife Sarah, and the Canaanites, who sacrifice their own children.

How would we feel in each of these situations? Can we write a poem or an essay exploring our feelings? Have we ever been in a situation where people of another religion or community were behaving in a way that seemed weird or wrong to us? What was that like? What are some possible ways to deal with these feelings without violence and without hurting anybody’s feelings?

Next, imagine that you are a Sumerian farmer, or an Egyptian, or a Canananite. How would you feel about Abraham’s arrival in your town? Would you stand up for the way your people did things? Why or why not?

More about Abraham

Bibliography and further reading about the history of Judaism:

  

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