Lesson plan

ISAAC

Isaac is the second Hebrew patriarch in Judaism and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, the Baháʼí Faith, and Rastafari. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in which he is the son of Abraham and Sarah, the father of Jacob and Esau, and the grandfather of the twelve tribes of Israel. Isaac's name means "he will laugh", reflecting the laughter of Abraham and Sarah when they were told that they would have a child at their advanced ages. He is the only patriarch whose name was never changed, and the only one who did not move out of Canaan. According to the narrative, he died aged 180, the longest-lived of the three patriarchs. Recent scholarship has discussed the possibility that Isaac could have originally been an ancestor from the Beersheba region who was venerated at a sanctuary.

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Article summary

Isaac is the second Hebrew patriarch in Judaism and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, the Baháʼí Faith, and Rastafari. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in which he is the son of Abraham and Sarah, the father of Jacob and Esau, and the grandfather of the twelve tribes of Israel. Isaac's name means "he will laugh", reflecting the laughter of Abraham and Sarah when they were told that they would have a child at their advanced ages. He is the only patriarch whose name was never changed, and the only one who did not move out of Canaan. According to the narrative, he died aged 180, the longest-lived of the three patriarchs. Recent scholarship has discussed the possibility that Isaac could have originally been an ancestor from the Beersheba region who was venerated at a sanctuary.

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Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.