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We Were Not Looking reconstructs the world assumed by the patriarchal narratives through the environmental and political realities of the Middle Bronze Age Near East. Drawing on ancient Near Eastern geography, hydrology, land law, and tribal anthropology, the study examines how the movements of the patriarchs reflect the territorial and ecological dynamics of the Levantine corridor.
Rather than treating biblical and Qur'anic traditions as isolated textual worlds, the book approaches them as parallel witnesses to a shared historical environment. When read through this geographic lens, familiar narratives surrounding Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob emerge as fragments of a coherent historical landscape shaped by water sources, migration routes, and jurisdictional boundaries.
By integrating archaeological data, ancient Near Eastern comparative sources, and close textual analysis, We Were Not Looking offers a new framework for understanding the patriarchal traditions and their place within the wider history of the ancient Near East.
