Per kviman biography of abraham

God declared Sarai's new name: " Sarah ", blessed her, and told Abraham, "I will give thee a son also of her". Not long afterward, during the heat of the day, Abraham had been sitting at the entrance of his tent by the terebinths of Mamre. He looked up and saw three men in the presence of God. Then he ran and bowed to the ground to welcome them.

Abraham then offered to wash their feet and fetch them a morsel of bread, to which they assented. Abraham rushed to Sarah's tent to order ash cakes made from choice flour, then he ordered a servant-boy to prepare a choice calf. When all was prepared, he set curds, milk and the calf before them, waiting on them, under a tree, as they ate. One of the visitors told Abraham that upon his return next year, Sarah would have a son.

While at the tent entrance, Sarah overheard what was said and she laughed to herself about the prospect of having a child at their ages. The visitor inquired of Abraham why Sarah laughed at bearing a child at her age, as nothing is too hard for God. Frightened, Sarah denied laughing. After eating, Abraham and the three visitors got up. They walked over to the peak that overlooked the 'cities of the plain' to discuss the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah for their detestable sins that were so great, it moved God to action.

Because Abraham's nephew was living in Sodom, God revealed plans to confirm and judge these cities. At this point, the two other visitors left for Sodom. Then Abraham turned to God and pleaded decrementally with Him from fifty persons to less that "if there were at least ten righteous men found in the city, would not God spare the city?

When the two visitors arrived in Sodom to conduct their report, they planned on staying in the city square. However, Abraham's nephew, Lot, met with them and strongly insisted that these two "men" stay at his house for the night. A rally of men stood outside of Lot's home and demanded that Lot bring out his guests so that they may "know" v.

However, Lot objected and offered his virgin daughters who had not "known" v. They rejected that notion and sought to break down Lot's door to get to his male guests, [ 39 ] thus confirming the wickedness of the city and portending their imminent destruction. Early the next morning, Abraham went to the place where he stood before God.

He "looked out toward Sodom and Gomorrah" and saw what became of the cities of the plain, where not even "ten righteous" v. Abraham settled between Kadesh and Shur in what the Bible anachronistically calls "the land of the Philistines ". While he was living in Gerar , Abraham openly claimed that Sarah was his sister. Upon discovering this news, King Abimelech had her brought to him.

God then came to Abimelech in a dream and declared that taking her would result in death because she was a man's wife. Abimelech had not laid hands on her, so he inquired if he would also slay a righteous nation, especially since Abraham had claimed that he and Sarah were siblings. In response, God told Abimelech that he did indeed have a blameless heart and that is why he continued to exist.

However, should he not return the wife of Abraham back to him, God would surely destroy Abimelech and his entire household. Abimelech was informed that Abraham was a prophet who would pray for him. Early next morning, Abimelech informed his servants of his dream and approached Abraham inquiring as to why he had brought such great guilt upon his kingdom.

Abraham stated that he thought there was no fear of God in that place, and that they might kill him for his wife. Then Abraham defended what he had said as not being a lie at all: "And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife. Further, Abimelech gave Abraham a thousand pieces of silver to serve as Sarah's vindication before all.

Abraham then prayed for Abimelech and his household, since God had stricken the women with infertility because of the taking of Sarah. After living for some time in the land of the Philistines, Abimelech and Phicol , the chief of his troops, approached Abraham because of a dispute that resulted in a violent confrontation at a well. Abraham then reproached Abimelech due to his Philistine servant's aggressive attacks and the seizing of Abraham's Well.

Abimelech claimed ignorance of the incident. Then Abraham offered a pact by providing sheep and oxen to Abimelech. Further, to attest that Abraham was the one who dug the well, he also gave Abimelech seven ewes for proof. Because of this sworn oath, they called the place of this well: Beersheba. As had been prophesied in Mamre the previous year, [ 46 ] Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham, on the first anniversary of the covenant of circumcision.

Abraham was "an hundred years old", when his son whom he named Isaac was born; and he circumcised him when he was eight days old. During the celebration, however, Sarah found Ishmael mocking; an observation that would begin to clarify the birthright of Isaac. Ishmael was fourteen years old when Abraham's son Isaac was born to Sarah. 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. 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, and will be "living on his sword". 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. 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. Sarah died, and Abraham buried her in the Cave of the Patriarchs the "cave of Machpelah" , near Hebron which he had purchased along with the adjoining field from Ephron the Hittite.

He died at age , and was buried in the cave of Machpelah by his sons Isaac and Ishmael. In the early and middle 20th century, leading archaeologists such as William F. Albright and G. Ernest Wright and biblical scholars such as Albrecht Alt and John Bright believed that the patriarchs and matriarchs were either real individuals or believable composites of people who lived in the " patriarchal age ", the 2nd millennium BCE.

His thesis centered on the lack of compelling evidence that the patriarchs lived in the 2nd millennium BCE, and noted how certain biblical texts reflected first millennium conditions and concerns. Van Seters examined the patriarchal stories and argued that their names, social milieu, and messages strongly suggested that they were Iron Age creations.

Abraham's story, like those of the other patriarchs, most likely had a substantial oral prehistory [ 71 ] he is mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel [ 72 ] and the Book of Isaiah [ 73 ]. As with Moses , Abraham's name is apparently very ancient, as the tradition found in the Book of Genesis no longer understands its original meaning probably "Father is exalted" — the meaning offered in Genesis , "Father of a multitude", is a folk etymology.

The completion of the Torah and its elevation to the centre of post-Exilic Judaism was as much or more about combining older texts as writing new ones — the final Pentateuch was based on existing traditions. According to Nissim Amzallag , the Book of Genesis portrays Abraham as having an Amorite origin, arguing that the patriarch's provenance from the region of Harran as described in Genesis associates him with the territory of the Amorite homeland.

He also notes parallels between the biblical narrative and the Amorite migration into the Southern Levant in the 2nd millennium BCE. Fleming and Alice Mandell have argued that the biblical portrayal of the Patriarchs' lifestyle appears to reflect the Amorite culture of the 2nd millennium BCE as attested in texts from the ancient city-state of Mari , suggesting that the Genesis stories retain historical memories of the ancestral origins of some of the Israelites.

He also suggests that the Patriarch's name corresponds to a form typical of the Middle Bronze Age and not of later periods. The earliest possible reference to Abraham may be the name of a town in the Negev listed in a victory inscription of Pharaoh Sheshonq I biblical Shishak , which is referred as "the Fortress of Abraham", suggesting the possible existence of an Abraham tradition in the 10th century BCE.

Furthermore, many interpreted blood ties between tribe members as common descent from an eponymous ancestor i. Abraham's Journey from Ur to Harran could be explained as a retrospective reflection of the story of the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile. Indeed, Israel Finkelstein suggested that the oldest Abraham traditions originated in the Iron Age monarchic period and that they contained an autochthonous hero story, as the oldest mentions of Abraham outside the book of Genesis Ezekiel 33 and Isaiah 51 : do not depend on Genesis 12—26; do not have an indication of a Mesopotamian origin of Abraham; and present only two main themes of the Abraham narrative in Genesis—land and offspring.

Abraham is given a high position of respect in three major world faiths, Judaism , Christianity , and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the covenant, the special relationship between the Jewish people and God—leading to the belief that the Jews are the chosen people of God. In Christianity, Paul the Apostle taught that Abraham's faith in God—preceding the Mosaic law —made him the prototype of all believers, Jewish or gentile ; and in Islam, he is seen as a link in the chain of prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Muhammad.

In Legends of the Jews , God created heaven and earth for the sake of the merits of Abraham. Before leaving his father's land, Abraham was miraculously saved from the fiery furnace of Nimrod following his brave action of breaking the idols of the Chaldeans into pieces. Abraham is generally credited as the author of the Sefer Yetzirah , one of the earliest extant books on Jewish mysticism.

According to Pirkei Avot , Abraham underwent ten tests at God's command. In Christianity , Abraham is revered as the prophet to whom God chose to reveal himself and with whom God initiated a covenant cf. Covenant Theology. Throughout history, church leaders, following Paul, have emphasized Abraham as the spiritual father of all Christians.

He is also commemorated in the calendars of saints of several denominations: on 20 August by the Maronite Church , 28 August in the Coptic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East with the full office for the latter , and on 9 October by the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The first time is on 9 October for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar , 9 October falls on 22 October of the modern Gregorian Calendar , where he is commemorated together with his nephew "Righteous Lot".

The other is on the "Sunday of the Forefathers" two Sundays before Christmas , when he is commemorated together with other ancestors of Jesus. Abraham lived in Ur for a total of seventy years. He then accompanied his father and the entire family to the city of Haran. His older brother Haran, the father of Lot, died in Ur sometime before this migration took place.

Terah, after living in Haran for five years, dies at the age of Soon after this event God tells Abraham Genesis - 2 , who is now 75 years old, to leave Haran and take his family to the land of Canaan the land of promise. He then makes a startling promise to Abram. God says that he will bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him Genesis !

The Eternal's plan for man, through a single person, was so important that God personally promised to treat anyone the same way they treated Abram and his descendants! In Genesis 15 God promises Abram that his wife Sarai will no longer be barren, but will bare him a child to be his heir. Several years later, when he is 99, God again appears to him promising that he will soon have a son Isaac and that he will be the father of countless descendants.

It is at this time that God renames Abram to Abraham which means "father of a great multitude" and Sarai to Sarah which means "princess of the multitude". Isaac is born when he is and Sarah is Years later, when Isaac is 15 years old or a little older , God tests the faith of Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice his only son Genesis Share Tweet Save.

Mary Oelerich-Meyer. Updated September 22, Bible Articles Video Audio. Bible Bible Stories. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go! Genesis 12 Commentaries. John Gill's Exposition of the Bible. Genesis 13 1 So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him.

The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. The two men parted company:. There he built an altar to the LORD. Genesis 13 Commentaries. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshkol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram. He was priest of God Most High,. Let them have their share.

Genesis 14 Commentaries. Noah's Ark and the Flood - Bible Story. This grievous event forces the weary sojourners to Egypt in search of relief. Abraham, ever since leaving Haran, has feared his wife's beauty would get him killed. He therefore arranged for her to deceive those they met by stating he was her brother. Sarah, when the group enters Egypt, continues the practice of lying about her relationship with the patriarch.

The ruse works for a short time until Pharaoh discovers the deception and casts the travelers out of the country Genesis - 20! The group, after being tossed out of Egypt, heads north to Bethel and settles in the area.

Per kviman biography of abraham

Abraham's herdsmen, however, soon begin to have arguments with Lot's herdsmen over grazing rights. The disagreements end when Lot moves his family and livestock near the city of Sodom Genesis - Abraham, after separating from Lot, moves his family to near Hebron verse King Chedorlaomer of Elam, in the Bible's first series of wars, leads a coalition of three other monarchs in a campaign that seeks to conquer and pillage.

Battling while they travel south down the King's Highway, they end up at the southern end of the Dead Sea where they fight the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis Chedorlaomer's forces soundly defeat the Sodom-led army, taking Lot and his family as prisoners. Abraham gathers up his male servants, along with several allies, and pursues Chedorlaomer as he travels north.

He soon catches up with him at Dan and defeats him, saving the life of Lot. Upon his return he is greeted by Melchizedek, a physical manifestation of Jesus Christ, to whom he gives a tithe Genesis - God promises Abraham Abram , at age 85, that he will produce a son in his old age. The Eternal also makes a covenant with him and reveals his descendants will be afflicted for many years before being released with great wealth Genesis Abraham agrees to Sarah's proposal of him having a child through her Egyptian servant Hagar Genesis - 4.

Hagar, however, after becoming pregnant, begins to disparage and despise Sarah. This earns her a harsh response from her mistress that forces her to flee while still pregnant. The Lord steps in and, through an angel, commands her to go back verses 4 - At the age of 99 Abram is contacted by the Lord Genesis The Eternal makes a unilateral covenant with him, promising to bless him exceedingly through a child he will produce with Sarai.