Before Israel became a nation, before God made the covenant…..who was Abraham?In this episode of the Buried Bible Podcast, we return to Genesis to set the stage for one of the strangest covenant rituals in the Bible — Genesis 15:17. But before we dive into the mystery of the smoking firepot and flaming torch, we take a step back to explore the backstory of Abraham himself & Abraham's calling in Genesis 12–15. .Dr. Mark Chavalas, ancient Near East scholar, reveals what the Bible doesn’t spell out plainly: Abraham likely wasn’t a monotheist when God called him. So why was he chosen? And what exactly did he understand about the God who made him a promise? In This Episode: Was Abraham still a pagan when God called him? What gods did Abraham’s Amorite ancestors worship? The literary and historical backdrop to Genesis 15 Abraham's connection to the Amorites and the moon god How Genesis 14 prepares us for the covenant in Genesis 15:17 What happened between Babel and the call of Abraham Why Abraham’s faith is a model of slow, loyal obedience Why This Episode Matters:This episode reframes the story of Abraham in its ancient Near Eastern context, revealing how God's covenant didn’t begin with perfect theology but with loyal relationship. It reminds us that faith often begins with a step—not certainty. Understanding Abraham’s background helps us better grasp the radical nature of God's promise and the mystery of divine election. Let’s Talk in the Comments:Do you think Abraham understood who God truly was when he was first called? How do you relate to his slow journey of trust and faith? Like, Subscribe & ShareIf you’re enjoying these deep dives, hit the like button and share this episode. Subscribing helps spread biblical literacy rooted in historical context!Watch the full episode now — and don’t miss part two, where we uncover the shocking truth behind the smoking firepot and flaming torch!Sources & Further Reading:- The World Around the Old Testament (ed. Bill Arnold & Brent Strawn) — featuring Dan Fleming’s authoritative chapter on the Amorites- Apocalypse of Abraham (Jewish pseudepigrapha) — a fictional yet insightful window into how early Jewish thinkers imagined Abraham’s pre-call life- Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages, Vol. 51 (2024) — featuring Hugo At-Ross’s article on Amorite grammar and verb structure- Andrew George & Manfred Krebernik’s article: “Two Remarkable Vocabularies: Amorite–Akkadian Bilinguals” in Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie orientale, Vol. 116 (2022)- Moshe Weinfeld, “The Covenant of Grant in the Old Testament and in the Ancient Near East” in Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 90, No. 2 (1970), pp. 184–203- Genesis 12–15, Joshua 24:2, Hebrews 11, Romans 4, Galatians 3#BuriedBible #Abraham #Genesis15 #BiblicalHistory #AncientNearEast #DrMarkChavalas #FaithJourney #BiblePodcast #HistoricalContext #Monotheism #BibleStudy #oldtestament