Abraham, also known as Abram is most commonly known for being the Father of
the Jewish people. The majority of the information found on Abraham is located
in the Old Testament’s Book of Genesis. Abraham is most famous for making his
Covenant with God.
Abraham would have lived somewhere between the years of
2000 and 1500 BC. He was born in the city of Ur. Abraham’s real name was Abram.
The father of Abram, Terach, had two other sons, Haran and Nachor. While living
in the city of Ur, Abram married his half-sister, Sarai who later took on the
name of Sarah. The newlyweds later learned that Sarai was unable to have
children. They then traveled north to Charan, accompanied by Abraham’s father
Terach. While in Charan, Terach died. It was in Charan where God made his first
of a series of revelations to Abram. God spoke to Abram, and told him that He
would promise to bless him and make a great nation of him. Abram willingly
decided to follow God to the city of Canaan. Abram not only traveled with his
wife on this journey, but he also picked up his nephew, Lot. He lived his life
in Canaan as a Nomad. Famine eventually struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram
and his family to move on to Egypt.
In Egypt, Abram was fearful that the
Egyptians would kill him and take his wife Sarai if they were to discover that
the two were married. Abram attempted to cover this up by telling everyone that
he and Sarai were just brother and sister. The Pharaoh demanded that Sarai be
brought to his palace, and as result, God sent down plagues that devastated all
of Egypt. In a desperate attempt to save his kingdom, Pharaoh decided it would
be best to send Abram and Sarai away.
Abram and his family returned to
Canaan after the Famine had ended. Both Lot and Abraham had great wealth in
Canaan. The two both owned livestock, and large quantities of silver and gold.
Eventually Abram and Lot found that the land could no longer provide the
resources that the two men required of it. The two went their separate ways, Lot
going to the Jordan Plain near Sodom, and Abram staying in Canaan. God once
again appeared to Abram and revealed the land that he would some day give to
Abram and his children. This time, God promised Abram that his offspring would
be of so many that no one would be able to count them, just like the dust of the
earth.
By this time a great war had started up in the Jordan Plain. As a
result of the war, Lot was imprisoned by King Chedorlaomer of Elam. When Abram
got word that his cousin Lot was being held prisoner, he and a group of his
servants went to battle the captors. The army was able to successfully rescue
Lot and several other prisoners. Abram was then blessed by priest Melchizedek
the king of Salem, for his brave heroic actions.
By this point, Abram and
Saraia still did not have any children. Saria told Abram to go and wed their
slave Hagar, and to have children with her. Abram does so, and has a son,
Ishmael. While Hagar was pregnant, fights between Hagar and Saria began to break
out questioning each other on who was the real mistress of the house. Abram
showed no favoring judgment over the two women, and restored order in the
household. Hagar eventually fled to the desert due to the poor treatment that
Sarai was giving her. God eventually came down to Hagar and told her to return
home.
Once Abram reached 99 years old, God made a covenant with him
promising to make him the father of nations and to give Canaan to him and his
offspring. As part of the agreement of the Covenant, God required the
circumcision of Abram and his male descendants, This was to seal the covenant.
God then made another promise to Abram. God promised Abram that Sarai would soon
bear a son, and that she would some day be the mother of nations. Abram was said
to have found God’s last promise rather amusing. It was probably because Sarai
was 90 years old and incapable of bearing children anymore. Sarah was also
witness to the promise of a child, for God sent angels to her promising that she
would have a male son. The last part of God’s covenant was that the name Abram
be changed to Abraham, and Sarai changed to Sarah. Abraham means "Noble Father".
Through this covenant, God was planning to send his Savior.
God once again
confided in Abraham by telling him that he was plotting to soon destroy the
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah due to the corruptness of their inhabitants. Upon
hearing this, Abraham pleads with God telling him that there are many innocent
people that do not deserve to die. God reconsidered, and agreed that if he could
find 50 innocent people he would not destroy the two cities. Under pressure from
Abraham, he reduced the number to just 10 innocent people. God sent his Angels
out in search of just 10 righteously guided people. Upon reporting back to God,
the angels were only able to find Lot to be innocent and good. God then appeared
to Lot and told him to take his entire family and to leave. Lot’s wife later
disobeys God’s orders to leave, and she is turned into a pillar of salt.
Abraham’s family then migrated to Negev. While traveling through the city of
Gerar, he once again is fearful of Sarah being taken from him, so he and Sarah
tell everyone that they are brother and sister. This time, Abimelekh, the King
of Gerar, took Sarah away. God then appeared to King Gerar in a dream. King
Gerar later returns Sarah to Abraham and gave him extra compensation to make up
for his mistake of taking Sarah away.
Some time later, Sarah had the son
that God promised her. Sarah laughed upon the birth of the child so they named
the child Isaac. The term Issac means "laughter" in Hebrew. Sarah finds that
Ishmael is a terrible influence on Isaac, so she tells Abraham to send him away
with his mother. Abraham at first is very reluctant to send away his firstborn
son, but God suggests that Abraham listens to what his wife Sarah has asked. God
also promised that some day Ishmael would have his own nation.
Once Isaac
was slightly older, God commanded Abraham to take Isaac to a mountain and to
sacrifice him at the top. This was an ultimate test that God gave to Abraham.
Being God’s servant, Abraham went as he was told with Isaac to the top of a
mountain in order to sacrifice his son. Abraham prepared to cut Isaac’s throat,
but just in the nick of time God’s angels stopped him. Seeing that there was a
ram caught in some bushes, Abraham sacrificed that to God instead.
Sarah
later died in Hebron. Abraham decided to buy the Makhpelah Cave and the
adjoining field from Ephrom the Hittite for a burial site. Abraham then realized
that Isaac should have a wife. Abraham sent one of his servants back to his
homeland to search out a wife for Isaac. The servant was able to find Rebecca,
Isaac’s cousin, and was able to get her to come back and marry Isaac. Abraham
also found himself marrying Keturah, a concubine. Abraham and Keturah had 6
children. Abraham died at the age of 175 years old. Isaac and Ishmael buried
their father in the Makhpelah Cave next to their mother, Sarah.
In the end,
God kept his promise with Abraham. Abraham was father to a new nation, that’s
how he got the title of Father to the Jewish people. Abraham is therefore one of
the most important early characters mentioned in the bible.