ABRAHAM THE FIRST PATRIARCH According to the Hebrew Bible, Abraham is a figure mentioned in Genesis, the first of the Five Books of Moses, and the Qur'an. His life as narrated in Genesis 11-25 may reflect various traditions. Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions regard him as the founding patriarch of the Israelites, Ishmaelites and Edomite peoples. In what is thus called Abrahamic religious tradition, Abraham is the forefather of these people. His original name was Abram meaning either "exalted father" or "my father is exalted" (compare Abiram). For the later part of his life, he was called Abraham (see retroactive nomenclature), often glossed as av hamon (goyim) "father of many (nations)" per Genesis 17:5, although it does not have any literal meaning in Hebrew. Abraham was the son of Terah and the grandson of Nahor. Abraham's brothers were named Nahor and Haran. According to Genesis, Abraham was brought by God from Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) to the land of Canaan. This is thought to have occurred around 2000-1700 BCE. There Abraham entered into a covenant: in exchange for sole recognition of YHWH as supreme universal deity and authority, Abraham will be blessed with innumerable progeny. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are sometimes referred to as the "Abrahamic religions", because of the progenitor role Abraham plays in their holy books. In the Jewish tradition, he is called Avraham Avinu or "Abraham, our Father". God promised Abraham that through his offspring, all the nations of the world will come to be blessed (Genesis 12:3), interpreted in Christian tradition as a reference to Christ. Jews, Christians, and Muslims consider him father of the people of Israel through his son Isaac (cf. Exodus 6:3, Exodus 32:13). For Muslims, he is a prophet of Islam and the ancestor of Muhammad through his other son Ishmael. By his second wife, Hajar. Abraham is also a progenitor of the Semitic tribes of the Negev who trace their descent from their common ancestor Sheba (Genesis 10:28). Josephus, Islamic tradition, and Jewish authorities like Maimonides all concur that Ur of the Chaldees was in Northern Mesopotamia — now southeastern Turkey (identified with Urartu, or claiming Abraham was born in Urfa), or the nearby Urkesh, which others identify with “Ur of the Chaldee." Abram migrated to Haran, apparently the classical Carrhae, on a branch of the Habor. Thence, after a short stay, he, his wife and half-sister Sarai, Lot (the son of Abram's brother Haran), and all their followers, departed for Canaan. Moreover, the names of Abram's forefathers Peleg, Serug, Nahor, and Terah, all appear as names of cities in the region of Haran suggesting that these are eponymous ancestors of these communities. God called Abram to go to "the land I will show you", and promised to bless him and man. In the Old Testament, when applied, to the patriarch, the name appears as 'Abhram, up to Genesis 17:5; thereafter always as 'Abhraham. Two other persons are named 'Abhiram. The identity of this name with 'Abhram cannot be doubted in view of the variation between 'Abhiner and 'Abhner, 'Abhishalom and 'Abhshalom, etc. Abraham also appears in the list at Karnak of places conquered by Sheshonk I. God made his covenant with Abram thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael, when Abram was 99 years old (Genesis 17:1-5). Abram's name was changed to Abraham and Sarai's to Sarah. The covenant was sealed by Abraham's circumcision (Genesis 17:11-14) and the first commandment relating to circumcision. Ishmael was also circumcised on that day, at the age of 13, as were the other men of Abraham's household. The Lord said to Abraham “ go from the country and your kindred and your fathers house to the land that I will show you.” And I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. And by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves. At this time Abraham was promised not only many descendants, but descendants through Sarah specifically, as well as the land where he was living, which was to belong to his descendants. The covenant was to be fulfilled through Isaac, though God promised that Ishmael would become a great nation as well. The covenant of circumcision (unlike the earlier promise) was two-sided and conditional: if Abraham and his descendants fulfilled their part of the covenant, Yahweh would be their God, give them the land, and make a great nation and kings out of Abraham's line. The promise of a son to Abraham made Sarah "laugh," which became the name of the son of promise, Isaac. Sarah herself "laughs" at the idea because of her age, when Yahweh (God) appears to Abraham at Mamre (Genesis 18:1- 15, ) and, when the child is born, cries "Yahweh has made me into laughter; every one that hears will laugh at me" (Genesis 21:6). Abraham lived a long time after these events. After the death of Sarah, who died when he was 137 years of age, and while in bad health (Gen 24:1), he took another wife, a concubine named Keturah and she bore Abraham six sons, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. (Genesis 25:1-6). He died at the age of 175 years. Jewish legend says that he was meant to live to 180 years, but God purposely took his life because he felt that Abraham did not need to go through the pain of seeing Esau's wicked deeds. He was buried by his sons Isaac (aged about 76 years) and Ishmael (aged about 89 years), in the Cave of the Patriarchs, where he had deposited the remains of his beloved Sarah. HOME RETURN TO PAGE Source : Wikipedia |