Another perhaps unrelated point is the fascinating elaborations on Abraham's story, as related by Josephus to his Roman audience, seems closer to the traditional (as opposed to scriptural) account, remembering the the author may or may not have had access to written records in the 1st century no longer extant (though not necessarily accurate - only interesting).
If I remember correctly, Josephus wrote Abram and his extended family's departure followed a dispute he had with the astrologers, the Chaldean priesthood of that particular epoch in Sumerian history. He held that the stars and planets themselves operated in obedience to a higher authority, and were therefore not likely to be worthy of worship as final arbiters of the fates of men. In other words, Abram broke with the astrologers and may be properly called the first astronomer, having recognized the stars and the wandering stars among them were created by the invisible One.
This elaboration, while unnecessary to a full understanding of the place held by Abram as chief among the Patriarchs and father of the faithful, always interested me, and had me wondering at what else in the history was lost to fire and neglect.