Some Dwelling Sites of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Jay M. Todd
Few
names in scripture evoke such respect and interest as do those of the
father-son-grandson combination of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To
Latter-day Saints, the interest is theological and sacred, because it is
through the promises of the Abrahamic covenant (promises reconfirmed
through Isaac and Jacob) that we are given the blessings of the gospel,
the priesthood, celestial marriage, and eternal life. All persons who
accept the gospel plan and do its works become heirs with Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob of all the joyous promises that pertain to both
mortality and beyond.
An
accelerated interest in these three ancient patriarchs is largely the
result of the Sunday School Gospel Doctrine classes’ current study of
the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Each Sunday adult members
throughout the Church open their scriptures and study together the
accounts of these remarkable patriarchs.
To
help give a visual appreciation for the lands and places inhabited by
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the following selected photographs are
presented. The locales shown are discussed frequently in Gen. 12–37 and Abr. 2.
Shechem
ABRAHAM:
Into this “strange land” came Abraham, after the Lord appeared to him
and counseled him to leave Haran. The area of Shechem is west of the
River Jordan, midway between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee.
JACOB: In this general area, Jacob lived for a while following his return from working twenty years with Laban.
Plains of Moreh
ABRAHAM:
Moving southward, Abraham came to the plains of Moreh. Here the Lord
again appeared to him and reconfirmed his promises.
Hebron
ABRAHAM:
After the separation of the flocks with Lot, Abraham moved south to
Hebron. In this general area, he spent much of his life and again saw
the Lord and received guidance and further promises. It is here that all
three men—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—were buried, as well as their
wives, Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah.
ISAAC: It was here at Hebron that Isaac spent his last years.
JACOB:
Israel died in Egypt, but his son Joseph led the burial entourage from
Egypt up to Hebron and buried his father with Isaac and Abraham.
Bethel
ABRAHAM:
Here Abraham again built an altar and called upon the name of the Lord.
But because of famine in the land, he journeyed southward into Egypt,
precursory to the destiny of his grandson Jacob. Following his stay in
Egypt, Abraham again returned to the general area of Bethel, where he
and Lot prospered greatly.
JACOB:
It was at Bethel that Jacob stopped en route to Haran in his escape
from Esau’s anger. Here the Lord appeared in a dream and reconfirmed to
him the promises of Abraham. Many years later, after Jacob had labored
twenty years in Haran and after he had prospered in other areas in
Canaan, including Shechem, he was directed by the Lord to move to Bethel
and “dwell there.” (Gen. 35:1.) While living here, his name was reconfirmed by the Lord as Israel.
Salem
ABRAHAM:
It was Salem (later known as Jerusalem) where Abraham visited
Melchizedek and paid tithes. Later in his life it was to the general
area of the hill Moriah that he was tested by receiving the instructions
to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering to the Lord.
Wilderness of Paran
ABRAHAM: Abraham was directed to send Hagar and Ishmael into this area.
Gerar
ABRAHAM:
Abraham was sent southward on a mission to Sodom, and then he settled
at Gerar, where Isaac, the son of his birthright, was born. It was here
at Gerar that Abraham’s wife Sarah was captured by King Abimelech.
ISAAC:
South of this area Isaac developed his flocks, both during Abraham’s
life and after his death. But following a serious famine in the south,
Isaac returned to Gerar, where, as did his father, he encountered King
Abimelech.
The “South Country” (Negev)
ISAAC:
In this general area, south of Gerar and toward Sinai, Isaac lived
prior to his marriage. However, famine eventually drove him northward
and back to Gerar.
Dothan
JACOB:
In this valley Jacob’s son Joseph went, at his father’s request, to
find his brothers. But the brothers, jealous of Joseph’s apparent
future, threw him into a pit and then sold him for twenty pieces of
silver to a company of Ishmaelites en route to Egypt with “camels
bearing spicery and balm and myrrh. …” (Gen. 37:25.)
The
events that occurred in this valley eventually prompted Jacob to take
his herds and his sons southward into Egypt, where their descendants
would live for generations until Moses would be called to lead them up to the land of their fathers—the land of their promises.
Beersheba
ABRAHAM:
Here is where Abraham and King Abimelech made a peace covenant. Here
Abraham dwelt “many days,” and here he “planted a grove” and “called …
on the name of the Lord.”
ISAAC:
After Isaac’s confrontation with King Abimelech (similar to that of his
father), he withdrew his herds from Gerar to this area to avoid
conflict with the people of Gerar.
