Microsoft Word Version

The Travels of Abraham

Desert Nomads

Part 1

Key Words and Concepts

Nomads	People without a set home, who travel from place to place
Mesopotamia	Old name for Iraq
Civilization	A stage of culture associated with city life
Patriarch	A father figure
Pastoral	Relating to herds and herding
Fertile Crescent	A region in the Middle East associated with early agriculture and civilization
Semitic	A language group associated with the Middle East and the Arabian peninsula

The Travels of Abraham: Desert Nomads, Part 1

NAME_________________________ DATE______________________

The story of Abraham is the story of _________________around the Fertile Crescent and into Egypt and Arabia. It’s a story of the nomadic _________________who traveled throughout the ancient Middle East seeking good pastures and _________________for trade. It’s also a story connecting different _________________and religions that are still making history today. Like many traditions of religion, nationhood, and civilization, this story begins in Ancient _________________.

tribes nations journeys Iraq opportunities

Abraham’s family had _________________living in or near Ur, one of the first city-states of ancient Mesopotamia. It was a time of wars and _________________there, and the biblical story has God ordering them to leave and return to their home in the North. This homeland, Haran, exists now in _________________Turkey. To get there the family group must have traveled North along the Euphrates River. In Haran Abraham became the family _________________when his father died. Of course, the name Abraham means “father of many” and Abraham is considered to be the patriarch of both the Jewish and Arab _________________. All we really know about Abraham comes from the religious _________________and writings of Hebrews (Jews) and Muslims.

been traditions modern nations invasions patriarch

Eventually, Abraham led his people west to the _________________area of the Mediterranean Sea. Then he turned _________________into Canaan. This same land would also be called Palestine, named after the Philistines – and Israel, _________________after one of Abraham’s grandsons. Traveling south through Canaan, Abraham _________________many alters to his God. His journey along the Fertile Crescent ended at the southern tip of _________________Israel.

modern south coastal built named

Then, because of a famine, Abraham’s group was forced to seek _________________in the rich and fertile land of Egypt. This was a _________________move. The Egyptians would surely seize his _________________, Sarah. They might even kill Abraham. The Bible says Sarah was so beautiful that she was _________________given to the Pharaoh. When the Pharaoh returned her, he also gave Abraham _________________ “sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.” Abraham left Egypt a _________________richer man.

many eventually refuge much wife dangerous

Bible stories tell us a great deal about the lives of _________________herders and their great chiefs like Abraham. At one point Abraham and his nephew, Lot, went their _________________ways because their herds had grown too large to stay together. In a later story, Mesopotamian wars spilled into the Jordan _________________. When the famous city of Sodom was taken, Lot and his whole _________________were captured too, and Abraham had to _________________his nephew with force and strategy.

separate rescue nomadic camp valley

Ancient civilized people had mixed feelings for nomadic _________________. They were often seen as _________________and dangerous barbarians, here one day and gone the next. Still, they could also be friendly visitors with who _________________livestock and valuable goods from far off lands. Sometimes they were _________________or just hungry mouths to feed. Sometimes they were driven away or _________________, or they were bribed to leave.

strange enslaved raiders tribes traded

Ancient _________________ often feared and distrusted people like Abraham. Modern civilizations remember Abraham a _________________for the nomads that helped spread and mold early civilization. _________________religions remember Abraham as a _________________to both the Jews and the Muslims, and to both Israel and the Arabs.

model civilizations patriarch Modern

The Travels of Abraham, Part 1

Across

2 chances for gain

4 (n) Customs, folkways, practices associated with daily life or national identity of a people

6 (n) A stage of cultural development that supports city life

7 (n) A father figure, the oldest male in a family or group

11 (n) Peoples who usually share a language and many traditions

13 (v, adj) To be put into a condition of slavery, to be owned or controlled by another

15 (n) a female spouse

17 (n) Travels

18 (v, adj) Offered money or goods in exchange for a favor

22 (adj) hazardous, not safe, presenting obvious threats

25 (adj, v) Constructed, erected

26 (n) A large peninsula to the south of Iraq

27 The father of Ishmael and Isaac, also the traditional patriarch of the Jewish and Arab nations

32 (n) a safe place, a shelter

33 (Adj) term used to describe the land areas near a sea or ocean

34 (adj) Relating to industrial systems and technology. Involving systems or methods supported by science instead of tradition. Having to do with the "new" or recent instead of the "old" and traditional

37 (n) Attackers, usually interested in plunder. People engaged in a surprise attack

38 (adj, v) Called or labeled

39 (adj) a language group including Arabic, Akkadian, Aramaic, and Hebrew

Down

1 Opposite of North

3 (n) An ancient title for the kings of Egypt

4 (n) Social groups in traditional societies often linked by customs or blood ties and having a recognized leader

5 (n) When large numbers of people arrive in a place, usually unwelcome or unexpected. When a large army crosses the border of a nation state, usually with hostile intentions.

7 (adj) Having to do with herding domesticate animals (usually sheep or goats)

8 (v) To save from harm. To reclaim from danger or captivity.

9 (v) A past tense form of the verb "to be"

10 (adv) happening in a while

12 Business, exchange, marketing - sometimes across great distances

14 (n, adj) A name for ancient tribes who were later called Jews, also a language of the modern state of Israel

16 (n) Now an Arab country in Africa, but originally a very ancient civilization

19 (adj) Able to breed, able to produce new life

20 (adj) Not having a set or permanent home in one place. Traveling from place to place.

21 (adj) Not familiar, different

23 (v) To go in different directions, to come apart (adj) different, apart

24 (n) A temporary dwelling place

28 (n, adj) A label for people who live in Arabia or who speak Arabic

29 (n) A semicircular shape

30 (adj, pronoun) a large amount (adv) a great deal

31 (n, adj) An example. A specific example of a general concept or quality

35 (n) Low area between higher places. An area defined by the flow or drainage of a river system

36 (n) A modern nation state, and a modern name for Mesopotamia

WORD BANK (for Crossword Puzzle)

Nouns and Pronouns	Verbs	Adjectives	Adverbs
	Estrange	Strange	Strangely
	Been
	Separate	Separate	Separately
		pastoral	pastorally
Abraham
Arab		Arabic
Arabia		Arab
Bribe	Bribe	Bribed
Building, Builder	Build	Built
Camp	Camp	Camp
Civilization	Civilize	Civilized	civilly
Coast		Coastal	Coastally
Crescent
Danger	Endanger	Dangerous	Dangerously
Egypt		Egyptian
Event		eventual	Eventually
Fertility	Fertilize	fertile	Fertilely
Hebrew		Hebrew
Invasion	Invade
Iraq		Iraqi
Journeys	Journey
Model	Model	model
Modern, modernity	modernize	Modern
Much			Much
Name	Name	named
Nations		National	Nationally
Nomad		Nomadic
Opportunities		Opportunistic	Opportunistically
Patriarch		patriarchal
Pharaoh
Raiders	raid
Refuge
Rescue	Rescue	Rescue
Semite		Semitic
Slave	enslave	Enslaved
South		Southern	Southerly
Trade	Trade
Traditions		Traditional	Traditionally
Tribes		Tribal	Tribally
Valley
Wife		Wifely

Abraham	The father of Ishmael and Isaac, also the traditional patriarch of the Jewish and Arab nations
Arab	(n, adj) A label for people who live in Arabia or who speak Arabic
Arabia	(n) A large peninsula to the south of Iraq
Been	(v) A past tense form of the verb “to be”
Bribed	(v, adj) Offered money or goods in exchange for a favor
Built	(adj, v) Constructed, erected
Camp	(n) A temporary dwelling place
Civilization	(n) A stage of cultural development that supports city life
Coastal	(Adj) term used to describe the land areas near a sea or ocean
Crescent	(n) A semicircular shape
Dangerous	(adj) hazardous, not safe, presenting obvious threats
Egypt	(n) Now an Arab country in Africa, but originally a very ancient civilization
Enslaved	(v, adj) To be put into a condition of slavery, to be owned or controlled by another
Eventually	(adv) happening in a while
Fertile	(adj) Able to breed, able to produce new life
Hebrew	(n, adj) A name for ancient tribes who were later called Jews, also a language of the modern state of Israel
Invasion	(n) When large numbers of people arrive in a place, usually unwelcome or unexpected. When a large army crosses the border of a nation state, usually with hostile intentions.
Iraq	A modern nation state, and a modern name for Mesopotamia
Journeys	(n) Travels
Model	(n, adj) An example. A specific example of a general concept or quality
Modern	(adj) Relating to industrial systems and technology. Involving systems or methods supported by science instead of tradition. Having to do with the “new” or recent instead of the “old” and traditional
Much	(adj, pronoun) a large amount (adv) a great deal
Named	(adj, v) Called or labeled
Nations	(n) Peoples who usually share a language and many traditions
Nomadic	(adj) Not having a set or permanent home in one place. Traveling from place to place.
Opportunities	chances for gain
Pastoral	(adj) Having to do with herding domesticate animals (usually sheep or goats)
Patriarch	(n) A father figure, the oldest male in a family or group
Pharaoh	(n) An ancient title for the kings of Egypt
Raiders	(n) Attackers, usually interested in plunder. People engaged in a surprise attack
Refuge	(n) a safe place, a shelter
Rescue	(v) To save from harm. To reclaim from danger or captivity.
Semitic	(adj) a language group including Arabic, Akkadian, Aramaic, and Hebrew
Separate	(v) To go in different directions, to come apart (adj) different, apart