The Patriarchal Period

The Patriarchal Period marks God’s new strategy: rather than dealing with all humanity, He chooses one family through whom to bless all nations. Abraham, called from Mesopotamia, becomes the father of faith, receiving promises of land, descendants, and blessing. His life is marked by tests of faith, most dramatically the near-sacrifice of Isaac. The covenant passes through Isaac to Jacob, whose twelve sons become the twelve tribes of Israel. Family dysfunction pervades—sibling rivalry, deception, favoritism—yet God works through flawed people. Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, rises to power in Egypt and saves his family from famine, setting the stage for Israel’s sojourn in Egypt.