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Abraham

ABRAHAM (c. 1500BCE - c. 2000 BCE)

According to Jewish tradition, Abraham was born under the name Abram in the city of Ur in Babylonia in the year 1948 BCE from Creation.He was the son of Terach, an idol merchant, but from his early childhood, he questioned the faith of his father and sought the truth.

Abram tried to convince his father, Terach, of the folly of idol worship. One day, when Abram was left alone to mind the store, he took a hammer and smashed all of the idols except the largest one. He placed the hammer in the hand of the largest idol. When his father returned and asked what happened, Abram said, "The idols got into a fight, and the big one smashed all the other ones." His father said, "Don't be ridiculous. These idols have no life or power. They can't do anything." Abram replied, "Then why do you worship them?"

The true God called to him, and made him an offer he could not refuse after he had been thrown into the fire with his brother who died, : if Abram would leave his home and his family, then God would make him a great nation and bless him. Abram accepted this offer, and the b'rit (covenant) between G-d and the Jewish people was established. (Gen.12).

The idea of b'rit is fundamental to traditional Judaism: we have a covenant, a contract, with G-d, which involves rights and obligations on both sides. We have certain obligations to G-d, and G-d has certain obligations to us. The terms of this b'rit became more explicit over time, until the time of the Giving of the.Torah. Abram was subjected to ten tests of faith to prove his worthiness for this covenant. Leaving his home is one of these trials.

Abram, raised as a city-dweller, adopted a nomadic lifestyle, traveling through what is now the land of Israel for many years. G-d promised this land to Abram's descendants. Abram is referred to as the first Hebrew (Ivri), possibly because he was descended from Eber or possibly because he came from the "other side" (eber) of the Euphrates River.

But Abram was concerned, because he had no children and he was growing old. Abram's beloved wife,Sari, knew that she was past child-bearing years, so she offered her maidservant, Hagar, as a wife to Abram. This was a common practice in the region at the time. According to tradition, . Hager despised Sari and subsequently ill-treated her. As a result she ran away from home into the desert where an angel found her near a spring, the angle told her" You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ismael,
He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and will live in hostility towards all his brothers.
Hagar bore , Ishmael, who, according to both Muslim and Jewish tradition, is the ancestor of the Arabs. (Gen.16)

When Abram was 100 and Sarai 90, G-d promised Abram a son by Sarai. G-d changed Abram's name to Abraham (father of many), and Sarai's to Sarah (from "my princess" to "princess"). Sarah bore Abraham a son, Isaac. Isaac was the ancestor of the Jewish people.

[Abraham died at the age of 175.]

Abraham

Extracts From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia etc.

Abraham is known to be the first Hebrew and the ancestor of the Jews.

There is no known account of his life independent of Genesis, so it is not possible to know if he was a historical or fable figure. If he was, he probably lived between 1500 BC and 2000 BC : Around the same time as the birth of the ancient Indian indus valley , Hindu religion ,Brahman could intelligently spell Abraham .

Judaism, Christianity and Islam ( Tulmud , Bible and Quran ) are sometimes referred to as the "Abrahamic religions",,due there origins Abram or later known as Abraham the father of the People of Israel the Jews through his son Isaac; and his son Ishmael the Arabs. In Islam, Abraham is considered to be one of the most important of the many prophets sent by God.

His original name was Abram ;. Later in life he went by the name Abraham. (See Genesis 17).
often glossed as "father of many (nations)" per Genesis 17:5,

According to the Bible, Abraham was brought by God from Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan. There he entered into a covenant: in exchange for sole recognition of Yahweh as supreme universal deity and authority, Abraham will be blessed with innumerable progeny. ( children )

Abraham origins

The account of his life is found in the Book of Genesis, beginning in Chapter 11, at the close of a genealogy of the sons of Shem (which includes among its members Eber,

His father Terah came from Ur of the Chaldees, the ancient city in southern Mesopotamia which was under the rule of the Chaldeans — They also say "Chaldees" refers to a group of gods called Khaldis. Yahweh called Abram to go to "the land I will show you", and promised to bless him and make him a great nation. Trusting this promise, Abram journeyed down to Shechem, and at the sacred tree received a new promise that the land would be given unto his seed (descendant or descendants). Having built an altar to commemorate and called upon the name of Yahweh (Gen. 12:1-9).

Jewish authorities like Maimonides all concur that Ur-Of-The-Khaldis was in Northern Mesopotamia — now southeastern Turkey (identified with Urartu, Urfa, and Kutha respectively). This is in accord with the local tradition that Abraham was born in Urfa, or with the nearby Urkesh, which others identify with “Ur of the Chaldees”.

Kid Sacrificial Offering

Some time after the birth of Isaac, 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 showed him, Isaac carrying the wood upon which he would be sacrificed. Along the way, Isaac repeatedly asked Abraham where the animal for the burnt offering was. Abraham then replied that God would provide one. Just as Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, he was prevented by an angel, and given on that spot a ram which he sacrificed in place of his son. As a reward for his obedience he received another promise of a numerous seed and abundant prosperity

The near sacrifice of Isaac is one of the most challenging, and perhaps ethically troublesome, parts of the Bible. Although not un heard of, human sacrifice in canaanis is rare, animal sacrifice for religious purposes are made frequently by many tribes .According to Josephus, Isaac was 25 years old at the time of the sacrifice or Akedah, while the Talmudic sages teach that Isaac was 37. In either case, Isaac was a fully grown man, old enough to prevent the elderly Abraham (who was 125 or 137 years old) from tying him up had he wanted to resist. Early Christian bishops taught that this story foreshadowed Jesus' carrying his cross to the place of sacrifice, willing to do Gods will.

Driven by a famine to take refuge in Egypt (26:11, 41:57, 42:1), . But when Yahweh "plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues" Abram and Sarai left Egypt.

.As Sarai was infertile, in accordance with custom, gave to Abram her Egyptian handmaid Hagar, Sarai, unable to endure the reproach of barrenness (cf. the story of Hannah, 1 Samuel 1:6), dealt harshly with her and forced her to flee (16:1-14). [ Later Hager is found in the desert by an Angel near a spring and was told " you are now with a child you should name him Ismael, he will be a wild donkey of a man and his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand.against him, and will live in hostility towards all. ]

Harger son Ishmael thus was Abram's firstborn (and Islamic doctrine holds that he was the rightful heir). Hagar and Ishmael were eventually driven permanently away from Abram by Sarah (chapter 21).

In addition, Abraham's next wife, Keturah, is said to have borne him a son named Midian who became father of the Midianites[2]. The Midianites are also identified with the Arabs as they are said to have settled east of the Jordan River. Citation needed In recent times some Christian polemical writers have insisted these claims are spurious and entirely made up by Muslims, although, they existed long before Islam arrived. Some have claimed that all of Ishmael's descendants in fact died out; and that most Arabs are descended from Joktan. The subject continues to be a source of controversy.


Abraham in Judaism

Abraham is considered the father of the Jewish nation, as their first Patriarch, and having a son (Isaac), who in turn gave birth to Jacob, and from there the Twelve Tribes. To father the nation, God "tested" Abraham with ten tests, the greatest of which being the sacrifice of his son Isaac. God promised the land of Israel to his children, and that is the first claim of the Jews to Israel.

The name Abraham was given to Abram and the name Sarah to Sarai at the same time as the covenant of circumcision (chapter 17), which is practiced in Judaism and Islam to this day. At this time Abraham was promised not only many descendants, but descendants through Sarah specifically, as well as the land where he was living, which was to belong to his descendants. The covenant was to be fulfilled through Isaac, though God promised that Ishmael would become a great nation as well. The covenant of circumcision (unlike the earlier promise) was two-sided and conditional: if Abraham and his descendants fulfilled their part of the covenant, Yahweh would be their God and give them the land.

Jewish tradition teaches the origins of Abraham's monotheism. His father Terah owned a store that sold idols. Abraham, at the age of three, started to question their authenticity. This culminated in Abraham destroying some idols.
Abraham was then brought to the king, and sentenced to death, along with his brother Haran, unless they recanted their position. Abraham did not, and was thrown into a fire. When Abraham exited unscathed, Haran also would not recant, and was thrown into the fire. Haran, who did not truly believe, died in the fire. This is hinted to in Genesis 11:28.Abraham started a school for teaching his beliefs in God.