Abstract:
This article deals with some aspects of the historical Abraham. Reference is made to an Afrikaans author, Karel Schoeman, and his novel,
"Verliesfontein". In this work Schoeman attempts to enter the history of a town and its people. This, however, is not possible and he therefore
says that history is another country. A country which is totally inaccessable. It is, however, also true of Abraham. Since the nineteenth century
it has been emphasized that we can never determine the historical Abraham. There are no reliable written sources about him (Wellhausen).
Even if one tries to get behind the sources and determine the oral tradition (like Gunkel), Abraham still evades one. Through markers in the
text and ancient near eastern parallels some scholars even sought to date and describe the era of Abraham. These attempts also failed. It is
argued that we should rather refrain from dating Abraham. This, however, is not the end of the story. We can still try to determine how Abraham
was interpreted in faith through the ages. In this regard Von Rad's usage of "Usage" can be of great assistance. In a next article this topic is
discussed futher.
