History of Israel’s Continuing Conflict Since the Time of the Prophet Until Now
Author: Jacob Ereste
Freelance Journalist
Israel began with the story of the Prophet Jacob who received a title or nickname from God to mark a person who had wrestled with an angel as a spiritual symbol and had a special relationship with God. So Israel has conflict even though it remains connected to God.
Likewise with the son of the Prophet Jacob named the Prophet Yusuf who was hated by his own siblings until he was sold as a slave in Egypt, even though he eventually became an advisor to the King and vice king because of his ability to interpret dreams. His story is contained in the Letter of Yusuf Al-Qur’an and is even in the Book of Genesis.
So the historical and spiritual roots for the term Israel and its relevance to the Prophet Yusuf reflect the internal family conflict that has occurred since the time of the Prophet. The father of the Prophet Jacob was Isaac and the grandfather of the Prophet Jacob was the Prophet Ibrahim who is often also referred to as Abraham, as the forerunner who became the reference for the Abrahamic religions, namely Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Abrahamic itself is a reference that recognizes Prophet Ibrahim as the spiritual ancestor of Jews, Christians and Muslims who adhere to history and revelation and holy books. This theological and historical relationship is close, although there are differences, especially in interpretation, law and religious practice.
So the straight line of descendants of Ibrahim – Isaac – Jacob (Israel) will always be related in betrayal, honesty and sincerity that continues to be tested by time.
Prophet Ibrahim can only be estimated to have been born between 2,000 – 1900 BC in Ur, Mesopotamia, now part of Southern Iraq. Prophet Ibrahim is considered the Father of the Prophets because of his lineage. Prophet Isaac himself was born around 1850 – 1800 BC. He was born after Ismail as a brother of the same father but different mother in the Canaan region which is now part of Palestine.
Prophet Ismail who is older than Prophet Isaac is the lineage of Prophet Muhammad SAW. While Isaac is the Ancestor of the Children of Israel to the lineage of Prophet Moses and Prophet David. Prophet Isaac was the son of Prophet Ibrahim from his marriage to Sarah. While Prophet Ismail was the son of Prophet Ibrahim from his marriage to Siti Hajar. The story of Prophet Ismail and Siti Hajar is related to various major events in Islamic history. This means that the historical and spiritual values are clearly linked to religious teachings, conflicts and genealogies of the prophets that have occurred for thousands of years, but are still relevant to be studied and understood to be a comparison of life in order to be wiser in behaving in the global era that is increasingly difficult to understand as a reality that cannot be ignored.
The three books in the Abrahamic tradition are the Land or what is called the Old Testament in Christianity. While the Torah or Torah are the first five books, such as Genesis, Exodus, then Nevi’in and Ketuvim such as Psalms and Proverbs.
While in Christianity there is the Old Testament and there is also the New Testament which contains the life story of Jesus (Prophet Isa in the Islamic faith). While Islam itself believes that the Qur’an is a refinement of the books that existed previously. Therefore, only Islam recognizes the Torah which was revealed to the Prophet Moses, the Zabur to the Prophet David and the Gospel to the Prophet Isa. So the Abrahamic books are the Torah, Zabur, Gospel and Al Qur’an. So all these books remain as references. It’s just that specifically these books are not used as the main reference for mankind, because there are differences in interpretation or changes in tahrif due to the process of the passage of time.
As in Islam, which fully believes in the Qur’an as the final and most perfect revelation, the Qur’an becomes the main reference, without the slightest doubt.
Interestingly, the father of Prophet Ibrahim is mentioned in the Qur’an (Al An’am 74. So the name of the father of Prophet Ibrahim is Azar. While in the belief of the Year and Christianity the name of the father of Prophet Ibrahim is Terah or Tareh (Book of Genesis 11: 26). Therefore, some scholars consider Azar to be a nickname for a call only, not his real name. Even so, Prophet Ibrahim is the leader of monotheism, the father of the Prophets and is known as Khalilullah – the lover of Allah – because he plays a role as the founder of the teachings of monotheism and the Imam for all mankind.
The prayer of Prophet Ibrahim at an age that is very old can have a child from Zarah who is very old, where previously he had a child from Siti Hajar. So, Prophet Ibrahim is the father of two lines of Prophet Isaac, Jacob to Moses and David to Solomon and Jesus. While through the descendants of Prophet Ibrahim named Ismail, is there anyone who descends the Prophet Muhammad from several generations to later. **
Banten, June 22, 2025
—
