Babel, Suspense, and the Introduction to the Terah-Abram Narrative.

Many Genesis interpreters view Gen. 11.27-12.9 as the foundation of the Abraham narrative (Gen. 11.27-25.11) and the opening response to the Primeval History (Gen. 1-11). Employing a narrative critical approach that is sensitive to diachronic issues, this article proposes that 11.27-12.9 also functions as a response to the preceding Tower of Babel episode (11.1-9). The Tower of Babel scene leaves readers with substantive gaps in their knowledge about the fate of the divine-human relationship. The suspense generated by such knowledge gaps is initially resolved in the introduction to the Terah-Abram narrative (11.27-12.9). This article first offers a literary rationale for reading Gen. 11.27-12.9 in light of 11.1-9, and then considers how suspense and partial resolution are expressed through verbal repetition of 'reputation', plot equivalencies, and contrasts related to migration and settlement, and a variation on the theme of capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]