General Notes

Departed Haran in abt 2031 [Gen 12:4] to go to the land of Canaan [Gen12:5].

Abraham or Abram, biblical patriarch, according to the Book of Genesis(see 11:27-25:10), progenitor of the Hebrews, who probably lived in theperiod between 2000 and 1500 BC. Abraham is regarded by Muslims, who callhim Ibrahim, as an ancestor of the Arabs through Ishmael. He was onceconsidered a contemporary of Hammurabi, king of Babylonia. Because thebiblical account of his life is based on traditions preserved by oraltransmission rather than by historical records, no biography in thepresent sense can be written.

Originally called Abram, Abraham was the son of Terah, a descendant ofShem, and was born in the city of Ur of the Chaldees, where he marriedhis half sister Sarai, or Sarah. They left Ur with his nephew Lot andLot's family under a divine inspiration and went to Haran. Receiving apromise that God would make him a "great nation," Abram moved on toCanaan, where he lived as a nomad. Famine led him to Egypt, but he wasdriven out for misrepresenting Sarai as his sister. Again in Canaan,after quarrels between Abram and Lot and their herdsmen, they separated,Lot remaining near Sodom and Abram continuing his nomadic life. He laterrescued Lot from the captivity of King Chedorlaomer of Elam and wasblessed by the priest Melchizedek, king of Salem. Then God promised Abrama son by his wife Sarai, repeated his earlier promises, and confirmedthese by a covenant.

When this covenant was later renewed, the rite of circumcision wasestablished, Abram's name became Abraham, and Sarai's became Sarah. Godsubsequently repeated his promise of a son by Sarah by means of visitingangels.

When God informed Abraham that he intended to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of the wickedness of their inhabitants, Abraham pleaded with himto spare the cities. Eventually it was agreed that God would spare thecities if he could find only ten righteous men. The ten men could not befound, and God destroyed both cities.

Ishmael, first son of Abraham, whose mother was Hagar, an Egyptian slave,was born when Abraham was 86 years old. Isaac, born to Abraham by Sarahin his 100th year, was the first of his legitimate descendants. Goddemanded that Abraham sacrifice Isaac as a test of faith, but because ofAbraham's unquestioning compliance, God permitted him to spare Isaac andrewarded Abraham with a formal renewal of his promise. After Sarah died,Abraham married Keturah and had six sons by her. He died at the biblicalage of 175 and was buried beside Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah, in whatis now Hebron, West Bank.

Christians, Muslims, and Jews accept Abraham as an epitome of the man of unswerving faith, a view reflected in the New Testament.
Source: "Abraham," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1997Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Departed Haran in abt 2031 [Gen 12:4] to go to the land of Canaan [Gen12:5].

Abraham or Abram, biblical patriarch, according to the Book of Genesis(see 11:27-25:10), progenitor of the Hebrews, who probably lived in the period between 2000 and 1500 BC. Abraham is regarded by Muslims, who call him Ibrahim, as an ancestor of the Arabs through Ishmael. He was once considered a contemporary of Hammurabi, king of Babylonia. Because the biblical account of his life is based on traditions preserved by oral transmission rather than by historical records, no biography in the present sense can be written.

Originally called Abram, Abraham was the son of Terah, a descendant of Shem, and was born in the city of Ur of the Chaldees, where he married his half sister Sarai, or Sarah. They left Ur with his nephew Lot and Lot's family under a divine inspiration and went to Haran. Receiving a promise that God would make him a "great nation," Abram moved on to Canaan, where he lived as a nomad. Famine led him to Egypt, but he was driven out for misrepresenting Sarai as his sister. Again in Canaan, after quarrels between Abram and Lot and their herdsmen, they separated, Lot remaining near Sodom and Abram continuing his nomadic life. He later rescued Lot from the captivity of King Chedorlaomer of Elam and was blessed by the priest Melchizedek, king of Salem. Then God promised Abrama son by his wife Sarai, repeated his earlier promises, and confirmed these by a covenant.

When this covenant was later renewed, the rite of circumcision was established, Abram's name became Abraham, and Sarai's became Sarah. God subsequently repeated his promise of a son by Sarah by means of visiting angels.

When God informed Abraham that he intended to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of the wickedness of their inhabitants, Abraham pleaded with him to spare the cities. Eventually it was agreed that God would spare the cities if he could find only ten righteous men. The ten men could not be found, and God destroyed both cities.

Ishmael, first son of Abraham, whose mother was Hagar, an Egyptian slave,was born when Abraham was 86 years old. Isaac, born to Abraham by Sarahin his 100th year, was the first of his legitimate descendants. God demanded that Abraham sacrifice Isaac as a test of faith, but because of Abraham's unquestioning compliance, God permitted him to spare Isaac and rewarded Abraham with a formal renewal of his promise. After Sarah died, Abraham married Keturah and had six sons by her. He died at the biblical age of 175 and was buried beside Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah, in whatis now Hebron, West Bank.

Christians, Muslims, and Jews accept Abraham as an epitome of the man of unswerving faith, a view reflected in the New Testament.
Source: "Abraham," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved