Abraham, originally Abram, is the first of the three patriarchs of Judaism and a prophet of God.
Overview[]
He is widely considered to be one of the very first prophets of the Lord in history. His story features in the holy texts of all the Abrahamic religions and Abraham plays a prominent role as an example of faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. His life, told in the narrative in the Book of Genesis, revolves around the themes of posterity and land.
In Judaism he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews and God; in Christianity, he is the spiritual progenitor of all believers, Jewish or gentile (non-Jewish); and in Islam he is a link in the chain of prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Muhammad. In modern times he is seen as a key figure in Christianity, Judaism and Islamic, the three major faiths that follow the one true God. These three faiths are usually also called the "Abrahamic faiths".
History[]
Background[]
Nimrod would have come to know of a child that would bring down the idolatry ruling of not just him but all kings who endorse polytheistic religions. He would know of this through the portent of stars as told by his astrologers. In response, he ordered his men to find this child. From there, Terah, Abraham's father, and Abraham's mother fled to where the latter secretly gave birth to him in the fields of Ur Kasdim with some divine aid.
From a young age, Abraham was aware of God and began to worship him. After the biblical flood, Abraham was the only one among the pious who solemnly swore never to forsake God, studied in the house of Noah and Shem to learn about the "Ways of God," continued the line of High Priest from Noah and Shem, and assigning the office to Levi and his seed forever.
When Nimrod's forces were closing in on Abraham and his family years later, God told Abraham, then known as Abram, to leave his country and kindred and go to a land that he would show him, and promised to make of him a great nation, bless him, make his name great, bless them that bless him, and curse them who may curse him. They settle in the land originally given to Canaan, but which God now promises to Abraham and his progeny. Various candidates are put forward who might inherit the land after Abraham, but all are dismissed except for Isaac, his son by his half-sister Sarah.
Sarai[]
Abraham purchases a tomb (the Cave of the Patriarchs) at Hebron to be Sarah's grave, thus establishing his right to the land, and in the second generation his heir Isaac is married to a woman from his own kin, thus ruling the Canaanites out of any inheritance. Abraham later marries Keturah and has six more sons, but on his death, when he is buried beside Sarah, it is Isaac who receives "all Abraham's goods", while the other sons receive only "gifts".
There was a severe famine in the land of Canaan, so that Abram and Lot and their households traveled to Egypt. On the way Abram told Sarai to say that she was his sister, so that the Egyptians would not kill him. When they entered Egypt, the Pharaoh's officials praised Sarai's beauty to Pharaoh, and they took her into the palace and gave Abram goods in exchange. God afflicted Pharaoh and his household with plagues, which led Pharaoh to try to find out what was wrong. Upon discovering that Sarai was a married woman, Pharaoh demanded that Abram and Sarai leave. News of such information was relayed to Nimrod whose spies informed him of a man named Abram being involved in the plagues that affected Egypt.
Conflicts with Lot[]
When they lived for a while in the Negev after being banished from Egypt and came back to the Bethel and Ai area, Abram's and Lot's sizable herds occupied the same pastures. This became a problem for the herdsmen, who were assigned to each family's cattle. The conflicts between herdsmen had become so troublesome that Abram suggested that Lot choose a separate area, either on the left hand or on the right hand, that there be no conflict amongst brethren. Lot decided to go eastward to the plain of Jordan, where the land was well watered everywhere as far as Zoar, and he dwelled in the cities of the plain toward Sodom. Abram went south to Hebron and settled in the plain of Mamre, where he built another altar to worship God.
Battle with Nimrod[]
Nimrod would at some point finally apprehended Abraham, mainly after the prophet bravely destroyed the idols of the Chaldeans into pieces. Abraham only traveled to Mesopotamia due to the fact that the destruction of the Tower of Babel severely thinned Nimrod's resources and weakened his political power over the land thus providing Abraham with enough opportunities to strike back. He confronts Nimrod and tells him face-to-face to cease his idolatry, whereupon Nimrod orders him burned at the stake. In some versions, Nimrod has his subjects gather wood for four whole years, so as to burn Abraham in the biggest bonfire the world had ever seen. Yet when the fire is lit, Abraham walks out unscathed.
Nimrod then challenges Abraham to battle. When Nimrod appears at the head of enormous armies, Abraham produces an army of gnats which destroys Nimrod's army. Some accounts have a gnat or mosquito enter Nimrod's brain and drive him out of his mind.
Ishmael and Hagar[]
Ishmael was fourteen years old when Abraham's son Isaac was born to a different mother, Sarah. Sarah had finally borne her own child, even though she had passed her child bearing period. When she found Ishmael teasing Isaac, Sarah told Abraham to send both Ishmael and Hagar away. She declared that Ishmael would not share in Isaac's inheritance. Abraham was greatly distressed by his wife's words and sought the advice of his God. God told Abraham not to be distressed but to do as his wife commanded. God reassured Abraham that "in Isaac shall seed be called to thee." He also said that Ishmael would make a nation, "because he is thy seed".
Early the next morning, Abraham brought Hagar and Ishmael out together. He gave her bread and water and sent them away. The two wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba until her bottle of water was completely consumed. In a moment of despair, she burst into tears. After God heard the boy's voice, an angel of the Lord confirmed to Hagar that he would become a great nation. A well of water then appeared so that it saved their lives. As the boy grew, he became a skilled archer living in the wilderness of Paran. Eventually his mother found a wife for Ishmael from her home country, the land of Egypt.
Binding of Isaac[]
At some point in Isaac's youth, Abraham was commanded by God to offer his son up as a sacrifice in the land of Moriah. The patriarch traveled three days until he came to the mount that God told him of. He then commanded the servants to remain while he and Isaac proceeded alone into the mount. Isaac carried the wood upon which he would be sacrificed.
Along the way, Isaac asked his father where the animal for the burnt offering was, to which Abraham replied "God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering". Just as Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, he was interrupted by the angel of the Lord, and he saw behind him a "ram caught in a thicket by his horns", which he sacrificed instead of his son. The place was later named as Jehovah-jireh. For his obedience he received another promise of numerous descendants and abundant prosperity. After this event, Abraham went to Beersheba.
Personality[]
At the start of his life, Abraham felt overwhelmed at the fact that God chose him to bring down the idolatry worship of false gods from one of the most powerful empires on Earth as well as one of the strongest kings. He did not have a high self-esteem of himself considering that he was a mere man that was meant to use the word of God to make Babylon crumble to the ground. However, despite all the odds, he succeeded, and this lead to Abraham having the need to please his God almost to the point of fanatic worship. He started to view Him as a tool to bring him happiness and meaning, leading him to become arrogant and put God first before everyone.
This isn’t to say that Abraham lost his sense of morality or that he is unable make his own choices, as Abraham was exceptionally kind and generous. He did question the choice of God when he was about to destroy the city of Sodom and he never stopped visiting Ishmael whenever he got the chance to ensure his son's safety and well being.
He is dedicated and loyal to his family, and would see to it that they are safe no matter what. Although, these dedications also fell in line with his loyalty to God as he also believed that under God's eyes they too would be safe, doing whatever the Almighty wants him to do as long as it pleases Him and benefits his family. Said dedication to his family is so great that Abraham would often at times lose sight of what's really important and at times, while still loving his family, may put the needs of God first which ends up inciting conflicts for his family while from his point of view he sees it as doing whatever it takes to bring them the best, ignoring their personal feelings.
Due to this, God decided to test him and open his eyes; the near killing of his son Isaac made Abraham see the error of his ways and that his fanatic worship led him astray from the importance of his life outside of God, and forget the others who also brought him happiness. God told Abraham that He will always be around, but that he should not be Abraham's whole life forever and after, after that Abraham continued to worship God and cherish him like how he used to but put an equal amount of love and dedication to his family.
