Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Abraham in the Law -- Abraham in the Former Prophets -- Abraham in the Latter Prophets -- Abraham in the Writings -- Ecclesiasticus -- The Book of Tobit -- The Book of Jubilees -- The additions to the Book of Daniel and the Book of Esther in the LXX -- The Dead Sea Scrolls -- The First Book of Maccabees -- The Third Book of Macabees -- The First Book of Enoch (or the Ethiopic Enoch) -- Fragments of Jewish writers -- The Psalms of Solomon -- The Book of Judith -- The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs -- The Wisdom of Solomon -- The Writings of Philo of Alexandria -- Other Jewish scholars in Alexandria -- The Fourth Book of Maccabees -- The biblical antiquities of Pseudo-Philo -- The Prayer of Manasseh -- The writings of Josephus -- The Fourth Book of Ezra (or 2 Esdras) -- The Second Book of Baruch (or the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch) -- The Apocalypse of Abraham -- The Testament of Abraham -- The Pirke Aboth (The Sayings of the Fathers).

"In this book, John Morgan-Wynne carefully examines the pivotal figure of Abraham in the Old Testament and Early Judaism. Our earliest literary evidence concerning Abraham is the stream of tradition known as J, the so-called Yahwist source (ca tenth century BCE), and also the Elohist stream of tradition (ninth to eighth century, or perhaps earlier). The subsequent eclipse of the Abrahamic tradition in the south is probably accounted for by the stress on the Davidic monarchy. However, Abraham's profile begins to rise again during and after the Babylonian exile when Jewish theologians had to come to terms with the traumatic events of the fall of the northern and southern kingdoms. He is frequently discussed in many non-canonical, early Jewish writings as he became a figure of identification, a pre-eminently righteous man, and an example to imitate, as Jews came to terms with being a subject people and with persecution." --From publisher's description