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Scriptural/theological reasoning for renaming: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

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1 answer
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I understand the significance of God's renaming. But I wonder if anyone has done any research as to why the writers of scripture (and consequently, Jews and Christians today) refer to AbraHAM (changed name), Isaac (never offered a new name) and then JACOB (the name BEFORE God changed it to Israel)? You never hear "Abram, Isaac, and Jacob" and you rarely hear "Abraham, Isaac, and Israel." (Though there are a few instances as pointed out below.) Why is Jacob not granted his new name when his covenant participation is referenced? Even in Genesis, once Abram is renamed Abraham in Gen 17:5, he is never again referred to as Abram, but "Jacob" and "Israel" continue to be used almost interchangeably throughout the Genesis narrative. Not simply looking for opinions, but rather if someone has had insight (possibly building upon the insight of others) that can shed light on this. The theory has been posed that it could be as simple as avoiding confusion between Israel the nation and Israel the person - which is verifiable because it can be assumed that "Israel" was a people group even if Moses wrote the pentateuch with his own hand. If no significant research has been done on this topic, I may endeavor to spend a few weeks/months on answering my own question because I do believe it is valid and I do believe it is appropriately a matter of scholarly research.
Asked by sss979 (334 rep)
May 24, 2018, 09:58 PM
Last activity: May 29, 2018, 11:28 PM