The story of the life of Abraham, as told in the narrative of theBook of Genesis in theHebrew Bible, revolves around the themes of posterity and land.[12] He is said to have been called by God to leave the house of his fatherTerah and settle in the land ofCanaan, which God now promises to Abraham and his progeny. This promise is subsequently inherited byIsaac, Abraham's son by his wifeSarah, while Isaac's half-brotherIshmael is also promised that he will be the founder of a great nation. Abraham purchases a tomb (theCave of the Patriarchs) atHebron[13] 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 to earn his parents' approval. Abraham later marriesKeturah 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".[14]
Most scholars view thepatriarchal age, along withthe Exodus and the period of thebiblical judges, as a late literary construct that does not relate to any particular historical era.[15] It is largely concluded that theTorah, the series of books that includes Genesis, was composed during thePersian period, as a result of tensions between Jewish landowners who had stayed inJudah during theBabylonian captivity and traced their right to the land through their "father Abraham", and the returning exiles who based their counterclaim onMoses and the Exodus tradition of theIsraelites.[16]
The Abraham Cycle
Structure and narrative programs
The Abraham cycle (Genesis 11:27–Genesis 25:11) unfolds as a narrative of mounting tension, centered on the conflict between God's promise that Abram would father a lineage and become the ancestor of numerous nations, and a succession of crises that jeopardize this divine commitment. The storytelling method used here is the “obstacle story,” aliterary device renowned for its enduring and universal popularity across cultures and eras.[17]
The Abraham cycle is not structured by a unified plot centered on a conflict and its resolution or a problem and its solution.[18] The episodes are often only loosely linked, and the sequence is not always logical, but it is unified by the presence of Abraham himself, as either actor or witness, and by the themes of posterity and land.[19] These themes form "narrative programs" set out inGenesis 11:27–31 concerning the sterility of Sarah andGenesis 12:1–3 in which Abraham is ordered to leave the land of his birth for the land God will show him.[19]
Origins and calling
Abraham's Journey to Canaan according to the Book of Genesis.
Terah, the ninth in descent fromNoah, was the father of Abram,Nahor,Haran (Hebrew:הָרָןHārān) andSarah.[20] Haran was the father ofLot, who was Abram's nephew; thefamily lived inUr of the Chaldees. Haran died there. Abram marriedSarah (Sarai). Terah, Abram, Sarai, and Lot departed forCanaan, but settled in a place namedHaran (Hebrew:חָרָןḤārān), where Terah died at the age of 205.[21] According to some exegetes (likeNahmanides), Abram was actually born in Haran and he later relocated to Ur, while some of his family remained in Haran.[22]
God had told 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. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and their possessions and people that they had acquired, and traveled toShechem in Canaan.[23]
There was a severe famine in the land of Canaan, so that Abram, Lot, and their households traveled toEgypt. 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 toPharaoh, 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.[24] Upon discovering that Sarai was a married woman, Pharaoh demanded that Abram and Sarai leave.[25]
When they lived for a while in theNegev after being banished from Egypt and came back to theBethel andAi 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 between them.[26] Lot decided to go eastward to the plain ofJordan, where the land was well watered everywhere as far asZoara, and he dwelled in the cities of the plain towardSodom.[27] Abram went south toHebron and settled in the plain ofMamre, where he built another altar to worshipGod.[28]
During the rebellion of the Jordan River cities,Sodom and Gomorrah, againstElam, Abram's nephew, Lot, was taken prisoner along with his entire household by the invading Elamite forces. The Elamite army came to collect the spoils of war, after having just defeated the king of Sodom's armies.[29] Lot and his family, at the time, were settled on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Sodom which made them a visible target.[30]
One person who escaped capture came and told Abram what happened. Once Abram received this news, he immediately assembled 318 trained servants. Abram's force headed north in pursuit of the Elamite army, who were already worn down from theBattle of Siddim. When they caught up with them atDan, Abram devised a battle plan by splitting his group into more than one unit, and launched a night raid. Not only were they able to free the captives, Abram's unit chased and slaughtered the Elamite KingChedorlaomer at Hobah, just north ofDamascus. They freed Lot, as well as his household and possessions, and recovered all of the goods from Sodom that had been taken.[31]
Upon Abram's return, Sodom's king came out to meet with him in theValley of Shaveh, the "king's dale". Also,Melchizedek king of Salem (Jerusalem), a priest ofEl Elyon, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram and God.[32] Abram then gave Melchizedek atenth of everything. The king of Sodom then offered to let Abram keep all the possessions if he would merely return his people. Abram declined to accept anything other than the share to which his allies were entitled.[33]
The voice of the Lord came to Abram in a vision and repeated the promise of the land and descendants as numerous as the stars. Abram and God made a covenant ceremony, and God told of the future bondage of Israel in Egypt. God described to Abram the land that his offspring would claim: the land of theKenites,Kenizzites,Kadmonites,Hittites,Perizzites, Rephaims,Amorites,Canaanites,Girgashites, andJebusites.[34]
Abraham,Sarah andHagar, Bible illustration from 1897
Abram and Sarai tried to make sense of how he would become a progenitor of nations, because after 10 years of living in Canaan, no child had been born. Sarai then offered her Egyptian slave,Hagar, to Abram with the intention that she would bear him a son.[35]
After Hagar found she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress, Sarai. Sarai responded by mistreating Hagar, and Hagar fled into the wilderness. An angel spoke with Hagar at the fountain on the way toShur. He instructed her to return to Abram's camp and that her son would be "a wild ass of a man; his hand shall be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the face of all his brethren." She was told to call her sonIshmael. Hagar then called God who spoke to her "El-roi", ("Thou God seest me:" KJV). From that day onward, the well was called Beer-lahai-roi, ("The well of him that liveth and seeth me." KJV margin), located betweenKadesh and Bered. She then did as she was instructed by returning to her mistress in order to have her child. Abram was 86 years of age when Ishmael was born.[36]
Sarah
Thirteen years later, when Abram was 99 years of age, God declared Abram's new name: "Abraham" – "a father of many nations".[37] Abraham then received the instructions for thecovenant of the pieces, of whichcircumcision was to be the sign.[38]
God declared Sarai's new name: "Sarah", blessed her, and told Abraham, "I will give thee a son also of her".[39] Abraham laughed, and "said in his heart, 'Shall achild be born unto him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear [a child]?'"[40] Immediately after Abraham's encounter with God, he had his entire household of men, including himself (age 99) and Ishmael (age 13), circumcised.[41]
Three visitors
Abraham and the Three Angels, watercolor byJames Tissot,c. 1896–1902
Not long afterward, during the heat of the day, Abraham had been sitting at the entrance of his tent by theterebinths ofMamre. 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 orderash 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.[42]
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.[43]
Abraham Sees Sodom in Flames, watercolor byJames Tissot,c. 1896–1902
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 ofSodom 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?" For the sake of ten righteous people, God declared that he would not destroy the city.[44]
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. 18:32) had been found, as "the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace."[47]
Abraham settled betweenKadesh andShur in what the Bible anachronistically calls "the land of thePhilistines". While he was living inGerar, Abraham openly claimed that Sarah was his sister. Upon discovering this news, KingAbimelech 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.[48]
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 indeedshe is my sister; sheis the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife."[49] Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham, and gave him gifts of sheep, oxen, and servants; and invited him to settle wherever he pleased in Abimelech's lands. 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.[50]
After living for some time in the land of the Philistines, Abimelech andPhicol, 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 ofAbraham'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. After Abimelech and Phicol headed back toPhilistia, Abraham planted atamarisk grove in Beersheba and called upon "the name of the LORD, the everlasting God."[51]
Isaac
As had been prophesied in Mamre the previous year,[52] 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 namedIsaac was born; and he circumcised him when he was eight days old.[53] For Sarah, the thought of giving birth and nursing a child, at such an old age, also brought her much laughter, as she declared, "God hath made me to laugh, so that all who hear will laugh with me."[54] Isaac continued to grow and on the day he was weaned, Abraham held a great feast to honor the occasion. During the celebration, however, Sarah found Ishmael mocking; an observation that would begin to clarify the birthright of Isaac.[55]
Ishmael was fourteen years old when Abraham's son Isaac was born to Sarah. 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."[56] He also said Ishmael would make a nation, "because he is thy seed".[57]
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, anangel 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 skilledarcher living in the wilderness ofParan. Eventually his mother found a wife for Ishmael from her home country, the land of Egypt.[58]
At some point in Isaac's youth, Abraham was commanded by God to offer his son up as a sacrifice in the land ofMoriah. 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 asJehovah-jireh. For his obedience he received another promise of numerous descendants and abundant prosperity. After this event, Abraham went to Beersheba.[59]
Sarah died, and Abraham buried her in theCave of the Patriarchs (the "cave of Machpelah"), near Hebron which he had purchased along with the adjoining field from Ephron theHittite.[60] After the death of Sarah, Abraham took another wife, aconcubine namedKeturah, by whom he had six sons:Zimran,Jokshan,Medan,Midian,Ishbak, andShuah.[61] According to the Bible, reflecting the change of his name to "Abraham" meaning "a father of many nations", Abraham is considered to be the progenitor of many nations mentioned in the Bible, among others theIsraelites,Ishmaelites,[62]Edomites,[63]Amalekites,[64]Kenizzites,[65]Midianites andAssyrians,[66] and through his nephew Lot he was also related to theMoabites andAmmonites.[67] Abraham lived to see Isaac marryRebekah, and to see the birth of his twin grandsonsJacob and Esau. He died at age 175, and was buried in the cave of Machpelah by his sons Isaac and Ishmael.[68]
In the early and middle 20th century, leading archaeologists such asWilliam F. Albright andG. Ernest Wright and biblical scholars such asAlbrecht Alt andJohn 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.[69] However, in the 1970s, new arguments concerning Israel's past and the biblical texts challenged these views; these arguments can be found inThomas L. Thompson'sThe Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives (1974),[70] andJohn Van Seters'Abraham in History and Tradition (1975).[71] Thompson, a literary scholar, based his argument on archaeology and ancient texts. 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 wereIron Age creations.[72] Van Seters' and Thompson's works were aparadigm shift in biblical scholarship and archaeology, which gradually led scholars to no longer consider the patriarchal narratives as historical.[73] Some conservative scholars attempted to defend the Patriarchal narratives in the following years, but this has not found acceptance among scholars.[74][75] By the beginning of the 21st century, archaeologists had stopped trying to recover any context that would make Abraham, Isaac or Jacob credible historical figures.[76]
Abraham's story, like those of the other patriarchs, most likely had a substantial oral prehistory[77] (he is mentioned in theBook of Ezekiel[78] and theBook of Isaiah[79]). As withMoses, Abraham's name is apparently very ancient, as the tradition found in theBook of Genesis no longer understands its original meaning, which is likely "father is exalted" – the meaning offered inGenesis 17:5, "Father of a multitude", is afolk etymology.[80] At some stage theoral traditions became part of the written tradition of thePentateuch; a majority of scholars believe this stage belongs to the Persian period, roughly 520–320 BCE.[81] The mechanisms by which this came about remain unknown,[82] but there are currently at least two hypotheses.[83] The first, called Persian Imperial authorisation, is that the post-Exilic community devised the Torah as a legal basis on which to function within the Persian Imperial system; the second is that the Pentateuch was written to provide the criteria for determining who would belong to the post-Exilic Jewish community and to establish the power structures and relative positions of its various groups, notably the priesthood and the lay "elders".[83]
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.[84] In the Book of Ezekiel,[85] written during the Exile (i.e., in the first half of the 6th century BCE),Ezekiel, an exile in Babylon, tells how those who remained in Judah are claiming ownership of the land based on inheritance from Abraham; but the prophet tells them they have no claim because they do not observe Torah.[86] The Book of Isaiah[87] similarly testifies of tension between the people of Judah and the returning post-Exilic Jews (the "gôlâ"), stating that God is the father of Israel and that Israel's history begins with the Exodus and not with Abraham.[88] The conclusion to be inferred from this and similar evidence (e.g.,Ezra–Nehemiah), is that the figure of Abraham must have been preeminent among the great landowners of Judah at the time of the Exile and after, serving to support their claims to the land in opposition to those of the returning exiles.[88]
Amorite origin hypothesis
According toNissim Amzallag, the Book of Genesis portrays Abraham as having anAmorite origin, arguing that the patriarch's provenance from the region ofHarran as described inGenesis 11:31 associates him with the territory of the Amorite homeland. He also notes parallels between the biblical narrative and the Amorite migration into theSouthern Levant in the2nd millennium BCE.[89] Likewise, some scholars likeDaniel E. 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 ofMari, suggesting that the Genesis stories retain historical memories of the ancestral origins of some of the Israelites.[90][91]Alan Millard argues that the name Abram is ofAmorite origin and that it is attested in Mari asʾabī-rām. He also suggests that the Patriarch's name corresponds to a form typical of the Middle Bronze Age and not of later periods.[92]
Canaanite origin hypothesis
The earliest possible reference to Abraham may be the name of a town in theNegev listed in theBubastite Portal inscription of PharaohSheshonq I (biblicalShishak), which is referred as "the Fortress of Abraham", suggesting the possible existence of an Abraham tradition in the 10th century BCE.[93][94] The orientalistMario Liverani has proposed to see in the name Abraham the eponymous ancestor of a 13th-century BCEtribe, the Raham, mentioned in a stele ofSeti I found atBeth-Shean and dating back to around 1289 BCE. The tribe probably lived in the area surrounding or close to Beth-Shean, inGalilee (the stele in fact refers to battles that took place in the area). Liverani hypothesized that the members of the tribe of Raham called themselves "sons of Raham" (*Banu-Raham), so that the name of their eponymous ancestor would have been "father of Raham" (*Abu-Raham), that being the name of the patriarch Abraham.[95]Israel Finkelstein andThomas Römer suggested that the oldest Abraham traditions originated in the Iron Age (monarchic period) and that they contained anautochthonous hero story, as the oldest biblical references to Abraham outside the book of Genesis (Ezekiel 33 andIsaiah 51) 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.[96] Finkelstein and Römer considered Abraham as ancestor who was worshiped in Hebron, with the oldest tradition of him possibly being about the altar he built in Hebron.[96]
Religious traditions
Abraham is given a high position of respect in three major world faiths,Judaism,Christianity, andIslam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the covenant, the special relationship between the Jewish people and God—leading to the belief that theJews are the chosen people of God. In Christianity,Paul the Apostle taught that Abraham's faith in God—preceding theMosaic law—made him the prototype of all believers, Jewish orgentile; and in Islam, he is seen as a link in thechain of prophets that begins withAdam and culminates inMuhammad.[5]
Judaism
In Jewish tradition, Abraham is calledAvraham Avinu (אברהם אבינו), "our father Abraham", signifying that he is both the biological progenitor of the Jews and the father of Judaism, the first Jew.[2] His story is read in the weeklyTorah reading portions, predominantly in theparashot:Lech-Lecha (לֶךְ-לְךָ),Vayeira (וַיֵּרָא),Chayei Sarah (חַיֵּי שָׂרָה), andToledot (תּוֹלְדֹת).[97]
InLegends of the Jews, God created heaven and earth for the sake of the merits of Abraham.[102] After thebiblical flood, Abraham was the only one among the pious who solemnly swore never to forsake God,[103] studied in the house ofNoah andShem to learn about the "Ways of God",[104] and continued the line ofHigh Priest from Noah and Shem, assigning the office toLevi andhis seed forever. Before leaving his father's land, Abraham was miraculously saved from the fiery furnace ofNimrod following his brave action of breaking the idols of theChaldeans into pieces.[105] During his sojourning in Canaan, Abraham was accustomed to extend hospitality to travelers and strangers and taught how to praise God also knowledge of God to those who had received his kindness.[106]
Along withIsaac andJacob, he is the one whose name would appear united with God, asGod in Judaism is calledElohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak, vEilohei Ya'akov ("God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob").[107] He was also mentioned as the father of thirty nations.[108]
Mandaeism
InMandaeism, Abraham (Classical Mandaic:ࡀࡁࡓࡀࡄࡉࡌ,romanized: Abrahim) is mentioned inBook 18 of theRight Ginza as the patriarch of the Jewish people.Mandaeans consider Abraham to have been originally a Mandaean priest, however they differ with Abraham and Jews regarding circumcision which they consider to be bodily mutilation and therefore forbidden.[109][110][111][112][113]: 18, 185
InChristianity, Abraham is revered as theprophet to whom God chose to reveal himself and with whom God initiated acovenant (cf.Covenant Theology).[11][114]Paul the Apostle declared that all who believe in Jesus (Christians) are "included in the seed of Abraham and are inheritors of the promise made to Abraham."[11] InRomans 4, Abraham is praised for his "unwavering faith" in God, which is tied into the concept of partakers of the covenant of grace being those "who demonstrate faith in the saving power of Christ".[115][114]
Throughout history, church leaders, following Paul, have emphasized Abraham as the spiritual father of all Christians.[116]Augustine of Hippo declared that Christians are "children (or "seed") of Abraham by faith",Ambrose stated that "by means of their faith Christians possess the promises made to Abraham", andMartin Luther recalled Abraham as "a paradigm of the man of faith."[e]
TheRoman Catholic Church, the largest Christian denomination, calls Abraham "our father in Faith" in theEucharistic prayer of theRoman Canon, recited during theMass. He is also commemorated in thecalendars of saints of several denominations: on 20 August by theMaronite Church, 28 August in theCoptic Church and theAssyrian Church of the East (with the fulloffice for the latter), and on 9 October by the Roman Catholic Church and theLutheran Church–Missouri Synod.[117] In the introduction to his 15th-century translation of theGolden Legend's account of Abraham,William Caxton noted that this patriarch's life was read in church onQuinquagesima Sunday.[118]He is thepatron saint of those in the hospitality industry.[119] TheEastern Orthodox Church commemorates him as the "Righteous Forefather Abraham", with twofeast days in itsliturgical calendar. The first time is on 9 October (for those churches which follow the traditionalJulian Calendar, 9 October falls on 22 October of the modernGregorian 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 otherancestors of Jesus. Abraham is also mentioned in theDivine Liturgy ofBasil the Great, just before the Anaphora, and Abraham and Sarah are invoked in the prayers said by the priest over a newly married couple. A popularhymn sung in many English-speakingSunday Schools by children is known as "Father Abraham" and emphasizes the patriarch as the spiritual progenitor of Christians.[120]
Islamicminiature of Ibrahim's sacrifice of his son is stopped by the angel Jibril delivering a sheep instead from a Persian 1577Stories of the Prophets manuscript.
Islam regardsʾIbrāhīm (Abraham) as a link in the chain of prophets that begins with Adam and culminates inMuhammad viaʾIsmāʿīl (Ishmael).[5] Abraham is mentioned in 35chapters of the Quran, more often than any other biblical personage apart fromMoses.[121] He is called both ahanif (monotheist) andmuslim (one who submits),[122] and Muslims regard him as aprophet andpatriarch, the archetype of the perfectMuslim, and the revered reformer of theKaaba inMecca.[123] Islamic tradition considers Abraham the first "pioneer of Islam" (which is also calledmillat ʾIbrāhīm, the 'religion of Abraham'), and that his purpose and mission throughout his life was to proclaim theoneness of God. In Islam, Abraham holds an exalted position among the major prophets and he is referred to asKhalīlullāh, meaning 'Friend ofGod'.[124] BesidesIshaq andYaqub (Isaac and Jacob), Abraham is among the most excellent and honorable men in the view of God.[125][126] He is also mentioned in Quran as the "Father of Muslims", and is put forward as a role model for the community.[127]
Druze faith
TheDruze regard Abraham as the third spokesman (natiq) afterAdam andNoah, who helped transmit the foundational teachings of monotheism (tawhid) intended for the larger audience.[7] He is also among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history according to the Druze faith.[128][129]
Baháʼí Faith
Baháʼís considered Abraham as aManifestation of God, and as the originator ofmonotheistic religion.[6]ʻAbdu'l-Bahá states that Abraham was born inMesopotamia,[130] andBahá'u'lláh states that the language which Abraham spoke, when "he crossed theJordan", isHebrew ('Ibrání), so "the language of the crossing."[131] To ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, the Abraham was born to a family that was ignorant of the oneness of God.[132] Abraham opposed his own people and government, and even his own kin, he rejected all their gods, and, alone and single-handed, he withstood a powerful nation.[132] These people believed not in one Godbut in many gods, to whom they ascribed miracles, and hence they all rose up against Abraham. No one supported him except his nephewLot and "one or two other individuals of no consequence".[132] At last the intensity of his enemies' opposition obliged him, utterly wronged, to forsake his native land. Abraham then came to "these regions", that is, to theHoly Land.[132] To Bahá'u'lláh, the "Voice ofGod" commanded Abraham to offer upIshmael as a sacrifice, so that his steadfastness in the faith of God and his detachment from all else but him may be demonstrated unto men. The purpose of God, moreover, was to sacrifice him as a ransom for the sins and iniquities of all the peoples of the earth.[133]
In the Baháʼí texts, like the Islamic texts, Abraham is often referred to as "the Friend of God".[134] 'Abdu'l-Bahá described Abraham as the founder of monotheism.[135]
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá also suggested the "holy manifestations who have been the sources or founders of the various religious systems" were united and agreed in purpose and teaching, and the Abraham,Moses,Zoroaster,the Buddha,Jesus,Muhammad, theBáb and Bahá'u'lláh are one in "spirit and reality".[136]
Artistic depictions
Painting and sculpture
16th-century plaster cast of a late Roman-eraSacrifice of Isaac. The hand of God originally came down to restrain Abraham's knife (both are now missing).
Paintings on the life of Abraham tend to focus on only a few incidents: the sacrifice of Isaac; meeting Melchizedek; entertaining the three angels; Hagar in the desert; and a few others.[f] Additionally, Martin O'Kane, a professor of Biblical Studies, writes that the parable ofLazarus resting in the "Bosom of Abraham", as described in theGospel of Luke, became an iconic image in Christian works.[137] According to O'Kane, artists often chose to divert from the common literary portrayal of Lazarus sitting next to Abraham at a banquet in Heaven and instead focus on the "somewhat incongruous notion of Abraham, the most venerated of patriarchs, holding a naked and vulnerable child in his bosom".[137] Several artists have been inspired by the life of Abraham, includingAlbrecht Dürer (1471–1528),Caravaggio (1573–1610),Donatello,Raphael,Philip van Dyck (Dutch painter, 1680–1753), andClaude Lorrain (French painter, 1600–1682).Rembrandt (Dutch, 1606–1669) created at least seven works on Abraham,Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) did several,Marc Chagall did at least five on Abraham, Gustave Doré (French illustrator, 1832–1883) did six, andJames Tissot (French painter and illustrator, 1836–1902) did over twenty works on the subject.[f]
TheSarcophagus of Junius Bassus depicts a set of biblical stories, including Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac. These sculpted scenes are on the outside of a marbleEarly Christiansarcophagus used for the burial ofJunius Bassus. He died in 359. This sarcophagus has been described as "probably the single most famous piece of early Christian relief sculpture."[138] The sarcophagus was originally placed in or underOld St. Peter's Basilica, was rediscovered in 1597, and is now below the modern basilica in the Museo Storico del Tesoro della Basilica di San Pietro (Museum ofSt. Peter's Basilica) in theVatican. The base is approximately 4 ft × 8 ft × 4 ft (1.2 m × 2.4 m × 1.2 m).[139]
George Segal created figural sculptures by molding plastered gauze strips over live models in his 1987 workAbraham's Farewell to Ishmael. The human condition was central to his concerns, and Segal used the Old Testament as a source for his imagery. This sculpture depicts the dilemma faced by Abraham when Sarah demanded that he expel Hagar and Ishmael. In the sculpture, the father's tenderness, Sarah's rage, and Hagar's resigned acceptance portray a range of human emotions. The sculpture was donated to the Miami Art Museum after the artist's death in 2000.[140]
As early as the beginning of the 3rd century, Christian art followed Christiantypology in making the sacrifice of Isaac a foreshadowing of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, and its memorial in the sacrifice of the Mass. See for examplethis 11th-century Christian altar engraved with Abraham's and other sacrifices taken to prefigure that of Christ in the Eucharist.[141]
Some early Christian writers interpreted the three visitors as thetriune God. Thus inSanta Maria Maggiore, Rome,a 5th-century mosaic portrays only the visitors against agold ground and puts semitransparent copies of them in the "heavenly" space above the scene. In Eastern Orthodox art, the visit is the chief means by which the Trinity is pictured (example). Some images do not include Abraham and Sarah, like Andrei Rublev'sTrinity, which shows only the three visitors as beardless youths at a table.[142]
Literature
Fear and Trembling (originalDanish title:Frygt og Bæven) is an influential philosophical work bySøren Kierkegaard, published in 1843 under the pseudonymJohannes de silentio (John the Silent). Kierkegaard wanted to understand the anxiety that must have been present in Abraham when God asked him to sacrifice his son.[143]W. G. Hardy's novelFather Abraham (1935) tells the fictionalized life story of Abraham.[144] In her short story collectionSarah and After,Lynne Reid Banks tells the story of Abraham and Sarah, with an emphasis on Sarah's view of events.[145]
Music
In 1681,Marc-Antoine Charpentier released a Dramatic motet (Oratorio),Sacrificim Abrahae H.402 – 402 a – 402 b, for soloists, chorus, doubling instruments and continuo.[146]Sébastien de Brossard composed acantataAbraham ou le sacrifice d'Isaac between 1703 and 1708.[147]
In 1994,Steve Reich released an opera namedThe Cave. The title refers to theCave of the Patriarchs. The narrative of the opera is based on the story of Abraham, and his immediate family, as it is recounted in religious texts, and understood by individuals from different cultures and religious traditions.[148]
Theeponymous track onBob Dylan's 1965 albumHighway 61 Revisited[149] contains five stanzas, with someone in each describing an unusual problem that is ultimately resolved on Highway 61. In the first stanza,God tells Abraham to "kill me a son". God wants the killing done on Highway 61.Abram, the birth name of Abraham, is also the name of Dylan's father.[150] In 2004,Rolling Stone magazine ranked "Highway 61 Revisited" at number 364 in their500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[151]
^Jeffrey 1992, p. 10 writes "In the NT Abraham is recognized as the father of Israel and of the Levitical priesthood (Heb. 7), as the "legal" forebear of Jesus (i.e. ancestor of Joseph according to Matt. 1), and spiritual progenitor of all Christians (Rom. 4; Gal. 3:16, 29; cf. also theVisio Pauli)"
^MSS variants:bat Barnebo, bat bar-Nebo, bar-bar-Nebo, bat Karnebi, bat Kar Nebo. Karnebo (outpost ofNabu) is attested as aSumerian theophoric place-name inAkkadian inscriptions, including theMichaux stone. It referred to at least two separate cities in antiquity.[99] Rabbinic tradition connects Karnebo to theBiblical Hebrew Kar (כרlamb), translating itpure lambs.[100]
^Jeffrey 1992, p. 10 states "St. Augustine, following Paul, regards all Christians as children (or "seed") of Abraham by faith, although "born of strangers" (e.g. In Joan. Ev. 108). St. Ambrose likewise says that by means of their faith Christians possess the promises made to Abraham. Abraham's initial departure from his homeland is understood by St. Caesarius of Arles as a type of Christian leaving the world of carnal habits to follow Christ. Later commentators as diverse as Luther and Kierkegaard recall Abraham as a paradigm of the man of faith.
^Larsson, Gerhard (1983). "The Chronology of the Pentateuch: A Comparison of the MT and LXX".Journal of Biblical Literature.102 (3):401–409.doi:10.2307/3261014.ISSN0021-9231.JSTOR3261014.
^Dever 2001, p. 98: "There are a few sporadic attempts by conservative scholars to "save" the patriarchal narratives as history, such asKenneth Kitchen [...] By and large, however, the minimalist view of Thompson's pioneering work,The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives, prevails."
^Grabbe, Lester L. (2007). "Some Recent Issues in the Study of the History of Israel". In Williamson, H. G. M (ed.).Understanding the History of Ancient Israel. British Academy.doi:10.5871/bacad/9780197264010.001.0001.ISBN978-0-19-173494-6.Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved12 July 2021.The fact is that we are all minimalists – at least, when it comes to the patriarchal period and the settlement. When I began my PhD studies more than three decades ago in the USA, the 'substantial historicity' of the patriarchs was widely accepted as was the unified conquest of the land. These days it is quite difficult to find anyone who takes this view.
^Gelbert, Carlos (2011).Ginza Rba. Sydney: Living Water Books.ISBN978-0958034630.Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved17 February 2022.
^Drower, Ethel Stefana (1953).The Haran Gawaita and the Baptism of Hibil-Ziwa. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
^Drower, Ethel Stefana (1937).The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran. Oxford At The Clarendon Press.
^Smith, Andrew Phillip (2016).John the Baptist and the Last Gnostics: the Secret History of the Mandaeans. Watkins.
^abWaters, Reid & Muether 2020: "Paul also shows us how the Abrahamic covenant relates to the covenantal administrations that precede and follow it. ... There is, then, covenantal continuity between the inaugural administration of God's one gracious covenant in the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:15) and the subsequent administration of that covenant to Abraham and his family (Gen. 12; 15; 17). The Abrahamic administration serves to reveal more of the person and work of Christ and, in this way, continue to administer Christ to human beings through faith."
^Hitti, Philip K. (1928).The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings. Library of Alexandria. p. 37.ISBN978-1465546623.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^Dana, Nissim (2008).The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Michigan University press. p. 17.ISBN9781903900369.
^Allison, W. T. (26 January 1935)."Abraham's Quest For God".Winnipeg Tribune. Winnipeg, Manitoba. p. 39.Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved23 January 2020.
Pitard, Wayne T. (2001)."Before Israel". In Coogan, Michael D. (ed.).The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-513937-2.
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