Abraham

Abraham [according to the Book of Genesis, Heb.,=father of many nations] or Abram [Heb.,=exalted father], in the Bible, progenitor of the Hebrews; in the Qur'an, ancestor of the Arabs. As the founder of Judaism , he is said to have instituted the rite of circumcision as a sign of the covenant between God and the Jews, who are descended from Isaac , son of Abraham's old age. Abraham also received the promise of Canaan for his people. In response to divine command, Abraham left Haran, taking his wife Sara and his nephew Lot to Canaan, where God promised him many descendants who would become a great nation. His devotion and trust in God and his promises are exemplified pre-eminently in Abraham's preparedness to sacrifice his son Isaac. The Book of Joshua confesses Abraham as a one-time worshiper of other gods before he entered Canaan.

Muslims believe that Arabs are descended from Abraham and Hagar through their son Ishmael . Abraham is further regarded as an ancestor of Muhammad. According to the Qur'an, Abraham and Ishmael built the Kaaba in Mecca and instituted pilgrimages there. The Qur'an depicts him destroying the idols of his father and of his clan; hence, Islam is the restoration of the religion of Abraham.

Other Abraham traditions are to be found in the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha , especially in the Book of Jubilees. See also Josephus' Jewish Antiquities. Modern biblical scholarship has revealed anachronisms in Genesis that cloud attempts to place chronologically Abraham's historical existence.

Bibliography: See T. L. Thompson, The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives (1974); J. van Seters, Abraham in History and Tradition (1975); A. R. Millard and D. J. Wiseman, ed., Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives (1983).

Abraham In the Old Testament, progenitor of the Hebrews and founder of Judaism. God tested his loyalty by demanding he sacrifice his son, Isaac. He is esteemed by Muslims who regard him as the ancestor, through his son Ishmael, of the Arabs.

Abraham Also known as Abram; first of the patriarchs of Israel. His kind of life, depicted in Gen. 11–25, might be that of about 2000 to 1500 BCE, but the Abraham of the stories is an individual merchant from the Hittite realm typical of a people who migrated from the urban civilization of Ur into Palestine. So also, the account of Abraham's agreement with Lot (Gen. 13: 8) about their respective choice of land (Lot settled for the valley of Sodom) is meant to explain the origin of the Moabites. This story is thought by some scholars to reflect the historical fact that there was a change of occupation when the decline in trade necessitated entry into stock-breeding. But throughout the events recorded of Abraham there runs the theological motif of God's promise of the land of Canaan, and of Abraham's faith in response. This faith was put to the test when he was ordered to sacrifice his son Isaac, who was essential for the fulfilment of the promise; but at the last moment a divine intervention saved Isaac and a ram trapped in an adjacent pile of scrub was offered instead. The Abraham patriarchal history ends with his buying a plot of ground for his burial and with his death (Gen. 25: 10). All three strands in Gen. contribute to the saga. For J, he is a father of all nations; for E, a model of faith; for P, the pledge of the nation's survival. After Gen., Abraham is only mentioned in the later parts of the OT. But in the NT Abraham is venerated as a pioneer in the OT of trust in God (e.g. Rom. 4; Heb. 7: 1–10), second only to Moses. By Muslims Abraham is revered as a prophet, and throughout the Islamic world Eid al-Adha, commemorating the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son, is the second great annual festival. See also aqeda.

Abraham was acceptable to God in virtue of his faith long before the Law was given (Gal. 3: 7), so that his true sons are not the Jews who claim descent from Abraham (Matt. 3: 9, John 8: 33) and live by the Law, but Christians who live by faith in Christ.