Finding friends in Genesis A

The concept of friendship is one barely touched on in the Book of Genesis. However, the AngloSaxon poet of Genesis A makes the ideal of friendship into one of the major themes of the poem, in a discourse focused on the difficulties faced by the patriarch Abraham as he wanders from kingdom to kingdom, after leaving his homeland at God’s command. There are two major impulses towards this modification in the poem: the naming of Abraham as a “friend of God” elsewhere in scripture; and the practice of amicitia among early medieval social elites. Ultimately, Abraham in Genesis A searches for a powerful friend who will give him land and wealth. He finds this formal relationship of amicitia in the generosity of Abimelech, king of Gerar.