• Theology – “words about God”
• Philosophy – “love of wisdom”
• Covenant – an agreement between two parties where each promises to do their part no matter what the other party does
• Drama – stories with dialogue, action, and characters that represent groups or types
• Ancestor – a family member from the distant past
• Descendent – a family member from a future generation
• Patriarch – “father,” male leader or head of the family
• Abrahamic Faiths – name given to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam who all claim Abraham as an ancestor
• Zionism – 19th/20th Century movement to reestablish a Jewish state in Palestine
• Circumcision – surgically removing a male’s foreskin, especially as a religious practice
• Well of Zamzam - in Mecca, thought by Muslims to be the well God showed to Hagar and Ishmael, the ancestors of Muhammad
• Dramatic Irony - where the audience knows more than the characters
• “Fear of God” – phrase in the bible that means obedience or respect more than being afraid of God
• Edom – represented by Esau, a country neighboring ancient Israel that was often under Jewish control
• Primogeniture – “first born,” leadership of the family and extra property rights given to the firstborn son
• Mandrakes – a root used as a fertility drug in the ancient world
• “Israel” – “one who wrestles with God,” name given to Jacob after his encounter with the angel
• “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” – a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice that tells the story of Joseph from Genesis 37-50.
Character Identifications
• Abram/Abraham – “the father is exalted,” husband to Sarah and Hagar, father of Ishmael and Isaac, forms a covenant with God where he is promised land, a nation, and a blessing
• Sarah – “princess,” Abraham’s wife, Isaac’s mother, thought to be sterile, encourages Abraham to take Hagar as a