Ellen F. Davis

Although I must tell you in starting off that this is not a widely held theorem, I think because most people have not actually considered it.

I will be quoting a Bible scholar by the name of Ellen Davis, who's a professor at Duke.

This has been my theory for several decades, and it seems to be quite clearly that it's the original intent of this story.

And the reason, by the way, that the rabbis included it.

good place to start.

Because first, from a scholarly perspective, the first 11 chapters of the book of Genesis are, of course, primeval history.

Afterwards, as you pointed out with Abram, which actually begins towards the end of chapter 11 rather than waiting for chapter 12.

We see from chapters 12 through 50, the end of the book of Genesis, we have the establishment of the tribes of Israel, the tribes of the Hebrew people.