Abraham

Not to be confused with Arambam.

For other people of the same name, see Abraham (name).

Sacrifice of Isaac is a painting by Rembrandt, that shows Abraham, among others.

Abraham (originally Abram) is a man in the Book of Genesis and the Qur'an. There, he is said to be the father of all Jews. This is because he is their ancestor. Abraham is part of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions. Abraham is considered the father of these three religions, which are called Abrahamic religions.

Abraham is the father of Isaac with his wife Sarah. He also has Ishmael with Hagar, Sarah's handmaid, and he has other children with Keturah, whom he marries after Sarah's death. He is the grandfather of Jacob and Esau. Abraham is believed to be the founding patriarch of the Israelites, Ishmaelites and Edomites. Abraham was the son of Terah and the grandson of Nahor (son of Serug). Abraham's older brothers were named Nahor (son of Terah) and Haran.

The Covenant of Abraham

In the Book of Genesis and the Quran, Abraham leaves his home in Mesopotamia for Canaan because the Almighty told him to go there and become the ancestor of a great nation. At the time, his name was Abram but then the Almighty told him to circumcise himself and all his sons and that “the uncircumcised male who dwells among you, his soul shall be cut off, for he has rejected my covenant” and after his circumcision Abram changed his name to Abraham.

The Binding of Isaac

When Abraham was circumcised, the Almighty told him that his wife Sarah would give birth to a son but Abraham laughed because of how old he was and asked the Almighty to give a blessing to Ishmael. The Almighty told Abraham that he would bless Ishmael and that Sarah would give birth to a son whose children would inherit what the Almighty promised Abraham.

After Abraham’s circumcision three angels pretending to be humans came to him and told him that in one year his wife Sarah would give birth to a son but she laughed since Abraham was 100 years old (and she was 90) but the angels said that nothing is impossible for the Almighty. One year later, Sarah gave birth to a son. Abraham circumcised him and named him Isaac because of the laughter. Years after Hagar and Ishmael were sent away, the Almighty told Abraham “take your son, your only one, whom you love Isaac and sacrifice him” and Abraham took Isaac to a mountain to be a human sacrifice but then the Almighty sent an angel to Abraham to stop him from killing Isaac and said that “I have seen that you are indeed a God fearing man since you have not withheld your son, your only one from me” so Abraham sacrificed a ram instead of Isaac. And Abraham named the place Yireh.

Later life

After Abraham’s wife Sarah died when she was 127 years old, Abraham bought the Cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite for 400 shekels and buried Sarah there. He then sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac. Then Abraham married Keturah and became the father of many children. Abraham died when he was 175 years old and Isaac and Ishmael buried him next to Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah.

Abraham and the Idol Shop

According to a midrash in the Talmud, when Abraham was young, his father Terah told him to take care of his store selling idols but instead Abraham destroyed them except the biggest one and told Terah that it had destroyed the rest and Terah told him that idols are mindless statues and not deities so they couldn’t have done that. Then Abraham asked Terah why he worshipped them so Terah took him to King Nimrod who tried to kill him by burning him in a furnace but a miracle saved Abraham. So Nimrod asked Abraham’s brother Haran what he believed and Haran said he believed in the deity of Abraham because He would save him with a miracle. Then Nimrod threw Haran to the furnace and he died and Nimrod sent away Terah and his family. And then the Almighty told Abraham to go to Canaan.

Other websites

• "Journey and Life of the Patriarch Abraham" is an old map from 1590 that is about Abraham