(A teaser for Rolf Gompertz' novel Abraham The Dreamer)

The story of Abraham is full of questions.

-- What traumatic event happened that made him turn his back on the gods that he knew and worshiped and follow a new and different God?

--What did God promise him, and what was Abraham obsessed with, from the start?  A son!  Descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens.

--Who was Sarah?  Did she believe in that God, and, if not, what did she believe in?  There is scholarly evidence now that Sarah may have been a high priestess in service to Inanna, the great pagan goddess of love and war.  It meant that she conducted The Sacred Marriage Rite, a sexual fertility rite with the king, once a year.  It meant that she could be married, as she was, to Abraham, but that she could not have children.  It meant that if a child was born accidentally, it had to be killed.

--They were husband and wife.  They spent the first 10 years in Canaan, without a son; yet Abraham was promised a son by God, over and over again, but he could not have one with his wife.  What did that do to their relationship and their marriage?  Did they still have a sex life?  How good was it?  Had their marriage dried up?  Had physical, emotional, spiritual alienation resulted?

--Why, after 10 years of this in Canaan, did Sarah suddenly offer Abraham her slave, Hagar, as a concubine, so that there would be an heir, a son?  How did that play out physically, emotionally, spiritually?  Did this involve just a physical act, a one-night stand?  Or did something deeper happen between Abraham and Hagar?  Had Abraham been deprived of physical, emotional, human love and found this now, with Hagar?  Did a transfer of affection occur?  If so, how did this affect Sarah?

--Thirteen years after Hagar's son, Ishmael, was born, Sarah conceives and gives birth to Isaac.  Did she give up Inanna for God?  What caused the change?  How did she an Abraham get together again sexually, emotionally, spiritually?  How did that go for them?  What made Sarah drive Hagar and Ishmael away?  How did that affect Abraham, and how, years later, did that lead to the Akedah, the near-sacrifice of Isaac?

-- And the underlying, central questions:  What is the will of God; how can we know it; and, if we can't, what can we know and do?  That is the big question that Sarah and Abraham finally confront; and it is Sarah who gives him the profound, humbling, answer!

(To explore these issues further, 

read Gompertz' book, Abraham The Dreamer)

© 2004 Rolf Gompertz

Rolf Gompertz is the author of  eight books, including two  recently published biblical novels, 1) Abraham, The Dreamer -- An Erotic and Sacred Love Story; 2) A Jewish Novel about Jesus; and 3) a spiritual self-development book, Sparks of Spirit −How to Find Love and Meaning in Your Life 24 Hours a Day.  The books may be inspected and ordered at www.iUniverse.com or  www.amazon.com.  Gompertz lives in North Hollywood, CA. Mailto:  rolfgompertz@yahoo.com.  His Jesus novel and Sparks of Spirit were published originally by his company, The Word Doctor Publications. 

Read David Herrle's review of A Jewish Novel About Jesus.