ABRAHAM AS EPIC EXEMPLAR IN LATE LATIN POETRY

Abraham stands at the beginning. Not quite the beginning—after all, he doesn’t appear in Genesis until chapter 11. Yet it is clear in late antiquity that he is seen as the start of something. It is he who makes the covenant with God, securing his place as the common patriarch of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Abraham also bridges the divide between the “primeval” and “patriarchal” Genesis—introduced in the last primeval chapter, Genesis 11, Abraham takes center stage as the first patriarch in Genesis 12. Abraham is the ancestor and exemplary predecessor of all believers, something that contributes significantly