Lesson plan
Epher
Epher ( ʿĒp̄er) was according to Gen. 25:4 a descendant of Abraham and the second son of Midian, therefore, a grandson of Abraham through his wife Keturah. According to the Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus, the descendants of Epher migrated westward and eventually conquered present-day Northwest Africa. Josephus claimed that the name 'Africa' itself was derived etymologically from the name Epher. In another layer of post-biblical tradition, the Hellenistic Judean historian Cleodemus Malchus, whose work is preserved in fragments by later writers such as Alexander Polyhistor and Eusebius, claimed that Epher’s daughter married the mythological hero Heracles.
Article summary
Epher ( ʿĒp̄er) was according to Gen. 25:4 a descendant of Abraham and the second son of Midian, therefore, a grandson of Abraham through his wife Keturah. According to the Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus, the descendants of Epher migrated westward and eventually conquered present-day Northwest Africa. Josephus claimed that the name 'Africa' itself was derived etymologically from the name Epher. In another layer of post-biblical tradition, the Hellenistic Judean historian Cleodemus Malchus, whose work is preserved in fragments by later writers such as Alexander Polyhistor and Eusebius, claimed that Epher’s daughter married the mythological hero Heracles.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.