one ever written. The King James Bible proclaims itself authorized and original. But that does not mean genuine, authentic, or even true.”
“Are there any Hebrew Bibles?” Pam asked.
Haddad nodded. “The oldest surviving one is the Aleppo Codex, saved from destruction in Syria in 1948. But that’s a tenth-century CE manuscript, produced nearly two thousand years after the original text from who-knows- what.”
Malone had seen that manuscript’s crisp, cream-colored parchment, with faded brown ink, in Jerusalem’s Jewish National Library.
“In my article,” Haddad said, “I hypothesized how certain manuscripts could help resolve these questions. We know that the Old Testament was studied by ancient philosophers at the Library of Alexandria. Men who actually understood Old Hebrew. We also know they wrote about their thoughts. There are references to these works, quotations and passages, in surviving manuscripts, but unfortunately the original texts are gone. Further, there may well be ancient Jewish texts-we know the library accumulated many of those. Mass destruction of Jewish writings became common later in history, especially Old Testaments in Hebrew. The Inquisition alone burned twelve thousand copies of the Talmud. Studying just one of those could prove decisive to resolving any doubts.”
“What does it matter?” Pam asked.
“It matters a great deal,” Haddad said. “Especially if it’s wrong.”
“In what way?” Malone asked, becoming impatient.
“Moses parting the Red Sea. The Exodus. Genesis. David and Solomon. Since the eighteenth century archaeologists have dug in the Holy Land with a vengeance-all to prove that the Bible is historical fact. Yet not one shred of physical evidence has been unearthed that confirms anything in the Old Testament. Exodus is a good example. Supposedly thousands of Israelites trekked across the Sinai Peninsula. They camped at locations specifically identified in the Bible, locations that can still be found today. But not a shard of pottery, not a bracelet, not anything has ever been found from that time period to confirm Exodus. This same evidentiary void is present when archaeology has tried to corroborate other biblical events. Don’t you think that odd? Wouldn’t there be some remnant of at least one incident depicted in the Old Testament still lying in the earth somewhere?”
Malone knew that Haddad, like many people, bought into the Bible only so much as history. That school of thought believed there was some truth there, but not much. Malone, too, possessed doubts. From his own reading he’d come to the conclusion that those who defended the narrative as history formed their conclusions far more from theological than from scientific considerations.
But still, so what?
“George, you’ve said all this before, and I agree with you. I need to know what’s so important that your life is at stake?”
Haddad rose from the table and led them to where the maps adorned the walls. “I’ve spent the past five years collecting these. It hasn’t been easy. I’m ashamed to say, I actually had to steal a few.”
“From where?” Pam asked.
“Libraries, mainly. Most don’t allow photocopying of rare books. And besides, you lose details in a copy, and it’s the details that matter.”
Haddad stepped to a map that depicted the modern state of Israel. “When the land was carved out in 1948 and the Zionists given their supposed portion, there was much talk about the Abrahamic covenant. God’s word that this region-” Haddad pressed his finger onto the map. “-this precise land, was supposedly Abraham’s.”
Malone noted the boundaries.
“Being able to understand Old Hebrew has given me some insight. Maybe too much. About thirty years ago I noticed something interesting. But to appreciate that revelation, it’s important to appreciate Abraham.”
Malone was familiar with the story.
“Genesis,” Haddad said, “records an event that profoundly affected world history. It may well be the most important day in all human history.”
Malone listened as Haddad spoke of Abram, who traveled from Mesopotamia to Canaan, wandering among the population, faithfully following God’s commands. His wife, Sarai, remained barren and eventually suggested that Abram couple with her favorite handmaiden, an Egyptian slave named Hagar, who’d stayed with them since the clan’s expulsion from Egypt by the pharaoh.
“The birth of Ishmael,” Haddad said, “Abram’s first son, from Hagar, becomes critical in the seventh century CE, when a new religion formed in Arabia. Islam. The Koran calls Ishmael
“Good, Cotton, I see you’ve studied your Koran since we last talked.”
He smiled. “I gave it a reading or two. Fascinating stuff.”
“The Koran makes clear that
“The Kaaba,” Pam said. “Islam’s holiest shrine.”
Malone was impressed. “When did you learn about Islam?”
“I didn’t. But I watch the History Channel.”
He caught her grin.
“The Kaaba is in Mecca. Adult Muslims have to make a pilgrimage there. Problem is, when they gather each year so many people come that several hundred are trampled to death. That’s in the news all the time.”
“The Arabs, particularly Muslim Arabs, trace their heritage to Ishmael,” Haddad said.
Malone knew what came next. Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael, Abram was told by God that he would be father to a multitude of nations. First he was ordered to change his name to
“The day of that birth may well be the most important day in human history,” Haddad said. “Everything changed after that. The Bible and the Koran differ on many points relative to Abram. Each recounts a separate tale. But according to the Bible, the Lord told Abraham that all the land surrounding him, the land of Canaan, would belong to Abraham and his heir, Isaac.”
Malone knew the rest. God reappeared to Isaac’s son Jacob and repeated the promise of the land, saying that through Jacob would come a people to whom the land of Canaan would everlastingly belong. Jacob was told to change his name to
“Abraham is the father of all three of the world’s main religions,” Haddad said. “Islam, Judaism, and Christianity trace their roots to him, though the story of his life differs in each. The entire conflict in the Middle East, which has endured for thousands of years, is simply a debate over which account is correct, which religion has the divine right to the land. The Arabs through Ishmael. The Jews from Isaac. The Christians by Christ.”
Malone recalled the Bible and said,
“You say the words with conviction,” Pam said.
“They have meaning,” Haddad said. “Jews believe they are what grant them exclusive ownership of Palestine. I’ve spent most of my adult life studying the Bible. It’s an amazing book. And what separates it from all other epic tales is simple. Nothing mystical or magical. Instead, human responsibility is its focus.”
“Do you believe?” Pam asked.
Haddad shook his head. “In religion? No. I’ve seen its manipulation too clearly. In God? That’s another matter. But I’ve seen His neglect. I was born a Muslim. My father was Muslim, as was his. After the war in 1948, though, something overtook me. That’s when the Bible became my passion. I wanted to read it in its original form. To know what it truly meant.”
