4A -- Post Flood to 2000 BC (Week Two)

 Week two: Abraham

1. Lesson Pages from Supplemental Materials:

·         From Adam to Us: p. 75-79, down to where Sarah is buried in a cave (additional activities for these pages are in the accompanying Map Book and Student Workbook)

·        The Story of the World, vol. 1: p. 35-38, 88-90, NOTE: remember that the world calls the period between the Old Kingdom and Middle Kingdom in Egypt an Intermediate Period and describe it as a time of turmoil in the kingdom. We know that the Old Kingdom ended with the Flood, and then their was a time of rebuilding and repopulating the kingdom before the advent of the Middle Kingdom. (additional activities for these pages are in the accompanying The Story of the World: Activity Book One)

2. Study material for family discussion (older students can read on their own, parents can read and summarize for younger students):

Genesis 11-23

Book of Abraham

Sarai, or Sarah, was probably Abraham’s niece (see Abraham 2:1-2). It was common to use the term sister for cousins, nieces, and other close female relatives. Abraham chapter 2 also tells us that Abraham’s father stayed in Haran because he went back to idolatry, Abraham left Haran at age 62, and that the Lord told Abraham to tell the Egyptians that Sarah was his sister. In the Bible we learn that the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his household so that he would not take Sarah as his wife. At this point he was happy to send her away with Abraham.

 There have been LDS people who have left the church with the excuse that the facsimiles in the book of Abraham are not accurate Egyptian. Interestingly, Abraham does not claim them to be Egyptian and the only time he refers to hieroglyphs is in conjunction with Chaldean, meaning they were probably a Chaldean script based on Egyptian, while some of his pictures were just his own descriptive sketches.

 Emphasize that Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son was symbolic of God’s willingness to sacrifice His Son Jesus Christ.

Most likely Noah and Shem and Eber (or Heber, for whom the Hebrews are named) were alive when Abraham was young, and it is possible that Abraham spent time with these patriarchs, who would have taught him not to believe as his idol-worshipping father. (See this site which has interesting possible ideas about dating information and some good charts: https://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2003/abraham.html)

This site has some maps that you could bring up on the screen while you discuss this lesson:  https://scripturescript.wordpress.com/2014/02/23/abram-of-ur/

 

3. Attention Getter: Ask your child to return one of their favorite Christmas presents that they wanted for a long time. Tell them to think how this relates to the lesson as they go along.

4. Videos:

           Children: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/children/videos/scripture-stories/old-testament/8-abraham?&lang=eng

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/children/videos/scripture-stories/old-testament/9-abraham-and-the-sacrifice-of-isaac?&lang=eng

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEwxLO-Z29c (Taking Isaac to the sacrifice)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU-MJELwvMA (Sodom and Gomorrah destruction—extremely dramatized, definitely preview and decide whether or not to use—teen boys will love it)

 Amenemhet I was most likely the pharaoh when Abraham visited. This video is images of sculptures of the pharaoh. It has weird music, so you can just mute it and look at the images: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep3cDXgJkhY

Amenemhet was part Nubian, but as the Egyptian pharaoh, he pushed Egyptian territory into northern Nubia. The two countries were intertwined throughout history. Watch this video on Nubia through 8:43, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnoqlCV__z4&pp=QADQAwE%3D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG7GcpOqCPE (Nubia/Kush, may not keep interest of younger students)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqbD8lmd7QQ (Nubia today, good views of the area)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqY-_wAH4Wg (Overview of Egypt)

 

5. Mapping: Map 4 in From Adam to Us Map Book. After you complete the activities for this map, keep it for the future chapter about Abraham’s descendants. Find the areas on this map on a modern-day world map.

 If you kept your salt dough map of Egypt, paint the Fayum Oasis blue. This is where Amenemhet built his capital.

 6. Write your name in hieroglyphs. Story of the World, Activity Book One has a chart of hieroglyphs on Student Page 10.

 7. Poster: Draw a storyboard for the life of Amenemhet I. Put each of these events in a separate square:

            He was the son of a commoner woman and a priest.

            He was born on Elephantine, an island in the Aswan area, which means it was actually in the country of Nubia. His mother was a Nubian.

            He was most likely the vizier (highest official after the pharaoh) of the previous pharaoh, Mentuhotep IV.

                On a journey to Wadi Hammamt, at least partly made to retrieve a stone lid for the sarcophagus (stone container for a coffin) of the Pharaoh Mentuhotep IV, he saw two omens that he said showed that he was chosen by the gods to be the next Egyptian ruler. The first was when a gazelle gave birth to a fawn on the stone that would be the lid of the sarcophagus. The second was when a well full of water appeared after a rainstorm in the dry wadi. The well was about 15 feet on each side, which was a lot of water for this arid spot.

                He was a good military leader, and under Amenemhet I, Egypt grew wealthier and more unified. He built barriers to protect the country from invasion. 

                He ruled for 30 years. During the last 10 years, he had his son, Senusret I, rule with him.

                He built a new capital by the Fayum oasis, called Itj-tawy. He had a pyramid built there for him. It was not as good as the Old Kingdom pyramids, but its ruins can still be seen.

                If he was the Pharaoh when Abraham visited Egypt, he and his court learned science and astronomy from Abraham, who had learned many things from Heavenly Father.

                Amenemhet I was most likely murdered while his son was on a military campaign. Senusret claimed his father came to him in a dream and told him that a bodyguard had killed him. Senusret, a strong young man who was over six feet tall, hurried back to claim the throne. Senusret became a legendary leader and stories were passed down and created about him for many generations in many countries.

                Amenemhet I was the first ruler in the 12^th dynasty of Egypt. A dynasty is when the leadership of a kingdom is passed on to members of the same family.

8. Weekly History Reading:

·         Time-Life Student Library Ancient Civilizations 3000 BC – AD 500, p. 24-25, 28-29, 38-45

·        Again, the books about ancient Egypt cover hundreds of years, but the book If I Were a Kid in Ancient Egypt is a fun introduction to a lifestyle that didn't really change much for most of Egypt's history.