The First Father Abraham The Psychology and Culture of A Spiritual Revolutionary

by Abramovitch, Henry Hanoch

• ISBN13: 9780819190277
• ISBN10: 0819190276
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1993-12-22
• Publisher: UPA

Summary

This book discusses the adult development of the Biblical Patriarch, Abraham, as a 'Spiritual Revolutionary' (based on Genesis 11-25). It begins with the image of the 'akeda,' the binding of Isaac in which a father is ready to murder his son, and asks what significance this disturbing scene holds for us today. Focusing on the Hebrew text, and with the help of life-cycle psychology and cultural anthropology, the author argues that the 'sacrifice of the most beloved son' must be viewed not as an isolated act, but against the background of his personal and spiritual development, using the Biblical text as a life history. Abramovitch applies several approaches: theory of adult development; Robert Jay Lifton's 'death and continuity of life'; themes of revolutionary continuity; psychology of birth order; name change, identity, and disguise; ethics of survival and post traumatic stress syndrome; and the nature of biography, life history, and life story. Abramovitch relates how Abraham was able to 'solve for all what he was unable to solve for himself alone.'

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction	p. 1
Abraham in Context	p. 19
Life With Father	p. 37
Abram as Wanderer	p. 55
Abram the Founder	p. 73
Abram Reborn as Abraham	p. 87
Crises of Growth	p. 101
Akeda	p. 115
Final Reconciliation	p. 125
Conclusion: The Psychology of Spiritual Revolution	p. 133
Epilogue: Abraham and the Paths of Peace	p. 137
Epilogue: Psalm of the Jealous God	p. 139
Appendix: The Common Cultural-Ecological Background of the Patriarchs	p. 141
Notes	p. 149
Bibliography	p. 171
Index	p. 185
Biblical Index	p. 188
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