A series of 12 programmes Written and presented by Magnus Magnusson
2: The Abraham Years
Was Abraham a nomad or a wealthy caravaneer? This was the burning question among Bible scholars 20 years ago. Abraham's famous journey from Ur in Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan (Genesis chapters 11 and 12) was confidently dated to 2,000 BC.
Today, scholars are asking a differ. ent question. Was Abraham, Father of the Hebrew people, an historical figure at all? Perhaps the answer to this and many other questions lies in Western Syria where Italian archaeologists have made a sensational discovery - clay tablets written in a language which is the direct ancestor of Biblical Hebrew and full of Biblical names-used over 1,000 years before they appear in the Bible!
Bible reader Eric Porter
Film cameramen PETER HALL
PETER CHAPMAN , JOHN HOOPER Film editor IAN PITCH
Executive producer DAVID COLLISON Producer ANTONIA BENEDEK