II. A new chapter in Bible history opens at Gen. 12. 1. Here we find one
family of the race is selected and made the subject of the divine
revelation. This was not because God loved one family more than others,
but because the world's salvation was to be wrought through that family
(Gen. 12. 2, 3). Hence we call this the =Period of the Chosen Family=.
1. This period extends from the =Call of A'bra-ham= (Gen. 12. 1), B. C.
2280?, to the =Exodus from E'gypt=, B. C. 1270?.
2. In this period we notice the recognition of _the family_. God deals
with each family or clan through its head, who is at once the priest and
the ruler (Gen. 17. 7; 18. 19; 35. 2). We call this period, therefore,
that of the =Patriarchal Administration=.