Biblica_2:Layout 1 21-11-2011 13:02 Pagina 439 439 THE DECEPTIVE PEN OF SCRIBES later Judean claim to its right to reclaim supremacy in Israel. If so, both pre-P Genesis and DtrH contribute in overcoming the dominant memory of the past by providing a powerful countermemory as the basis for a new identity with which they define themselves in a new era 44. In addition to this genealogical reworking, there is another hint of an implicit polemic against the idea of Jacob as the founder of Israel. In the beginning of his narrative and immediately after receiving the grand divine commission (Gen 12,1-3), Abraham makes his journey to the land of Canaan. Coming out of Haran, Abraham settles at Shechem and builds an altar there (Gen 12,7); he moves down to Bethel and builds an altar between Bethel and Ai (Gen 12,8) 45. After a brief sojourn in Egypt, he comes back to Bethel and eventually moves down to Hebron (Gen 12,4- 13,18). Markedly, this repeats precisely Jacob’s itinerary in his journey back home when he comes out of Haran (Gen 33-35) 46. Perhaps what we see is Abraham’s conquest of the lands that Jacob owned—not in reality but in literature, by the tips of the scribes’ styluses. As Assyrian kings march through town after town in a palū campaign 47, Abraham marches through Jacob’s land. Subtle though it may be, the skillful pen of the scribes establishes a ground for the Judean claim to Abraham’s founding role in the Israelite heritage. As a result, Abraham is now remembered as the founder of Israel, though Jacob still may retain the position as the father of the twelve tribes of Israel: Abraham is the re- ceiver of the promise and blessing (12,1-3), the holder of the covenant (15,18), and the founder of the major cultic sites (12,6-9; 13,18). 44 In this regard, Clements’s claim that Abraham narrative was used to serve Davidic kingdom has to be modified. Traditions of both Abraham and David appear to represent two contemporary attempts of the later period, responding to the demand of their time, to legitimize Judeans’ rightful heirship of Israel. 45 On the significance of the altar building, see W. ZWICKEL, “Der Altarbau Abrahams zwischen Bethel und Ai (Gen 12f.). Ein Beitrag zur Datierung des Jahwisten”, BZ NF 36 (1992) 207-219; ID., “Die Altarbaunotizen im Alten Testament”, Bib 73 (1992) 533-546; S. RIECKER, “Ein theologischer Ansatz zum Verständnis der Altarbaunotizen der Genesis”, Bib 87 (2006) 526-530. 46 Scholars have long noted that the Abraham tradition parallels the Jacob story. That parallel nature has normally been accounted for as a redactional device used to mold the Abraham tradition into the Jacob story. E.g., A. DE PURY, Promesse di- vine et légende cultuelle dans le cycle de Jacob. Genèse 28 et les traditions pa- triarcales (Paris 1975) 82. Yet the striking level of parallel suggests that below the surface of the text lies an implicit polemic against Jacob’s founding role. 47 See H. TADMOR, “The Campaigns of Sargon II of Assur: A Chronological- Historical Study”, JCS 12 (1958) 22-40, 77-100. My thanks go to Professor M. Sweeney for bringing my attention to this article and its implications on Abraham’s itinerary in Gen 12-13.