Abraham's Exit from Ur of the Chaldeans: New Interpretation

The article deals with the issue of Abraham's exit from the town Ur of the Chaldeans as it is traditionally interpreted in the Bible and suggests a new interpretation of this name. Up to now the town in question was supposed to be the town of Ur in the south of Mesopotamia. However, some experts placed this town in the north of Mesopotamia connecting it with a town of similar name. The author of this article believes that this narrative is based on the old tradition keeping alive the memory of the country from which the ancestors of Israel came. The author arrives at the conclusion that it could not have been the town of Ur in the south of Mesopotamia or any other town but an area in the north of Mesopotamia called in cuneiform texts uri. This suggestion rests on the biblical version and is also supported by LXX translaiting the name Ur by the word "region". However, the attribute "of the Chaldeans" shows that the latter author and/or editor must have had in mind the town of Ur in the south of Mesopotamia.

Keywords: Abraham; Patriarchs; Ur of the Chaldeans; Historicity of Patriarchs; Genesis