Alisios theluji biography of abraham

Abraham

Hebrew patriarch according to the Hebrew Bible

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Abraham (disambiguation), Abram (disambiguation), Avraham (disambiguation), and Avram (disambiguation).

Abraham
Abraham Casting out Hagar and Ishmael () by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri
Born	Ur of the Chaldees, Mesopotamia
Died	Hebron, Canaan
Known&#;for	Namesake of the Abrahamic religions: traditional founder of the Jewish nation, spiritual ancestor of Christians, major Islamic prophet,Manifestation of God and originator of monotheistic faith in Baháʼí Faith, third spokesman (natiq) prophet of Druzes
Spouses
Children
Parents
Relatives

Abraham^[a] (originally Abram)^[b] is the common Hebrewpatriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

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, whether Jewish or non-Jewish;^[c] and in Islam, he is a link in the chain of Islamic prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Muhammad. As the namesake of the Abrahamic religions, Abraham is also revered in other Abrahamic religions, such as the Druze faith and the Baháʼí Faith.

The story of the life of Abraham, as told in the narrative of the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible, revolves around the themes of posterity and land.

He is said to have been called by God to leave the house of his father Terah and settle in the land of Canaan, which God now promises to Abraham and his progeny. This promise is subsequently inherited by Isaac, Abraham's son by his wife Sarah, while Isaac's half-brother Ishmael is also promised that he will be the founder of a great nation.

Alisios theluji biography of abraham maslow For his obedience he received another promise of numerous descendants and abundant prosperity. Tyndale Bulletin. For discussion of the dating for the Exodus and the time of the patriarchs see Merrill F. Click Image to Download.

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 to earn his parents' approval. 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".

Most scholars view the patriarchal age, along with the Exodus and the period of the biblical judges, as a late literary construct that does not relate to any particular historical era, and after a century of exhaustive archaeological investigation, no evidence has been found for a historical Abraham.^[12] It is largely concluded that the Torah, the series of books that includes Genesis, was composed during the early Persian period, c.&#; BC, as a result of tensions between Jewish landowners who had stayed in Judah during the Babylonian captivity and traced their right to the land through their "father Abraham", and the returning exiles who based their counterclaim on Moses and the Exodus tradition of the Israelites.

The Abraham cycle in the Bible

Structure and narrative programs

The Abraham cycle is not structured by a unified plot centered on a conflict and its resolution or a problem and its solution.

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. These themes form "narrative programs" set out in Genesis –31 concerning the sterility of Sarah and –3 in which Abraham is ordered to leave the land of his birth for the land God will show him.

Origins and calling

Terah, the ninth in descent from Noah, was the father of Abram, Nahor, Haran (Hebrew: הָרָןHārān) and Sarah.^[16] Haran was the father of Lot, who was Abram's nephew; the family lived in Ur of the Chaldees.

Haran died there. Abram married Sarah (Sarai). Terah, Abram, Sarai, and Lot departed for Canaan, but settled in a place named Haran (Hebrew: חָרָןḤārān), where Terah died at the age of ^[17] According to some exegetes (like Nahmanides), Abram was actually born in Haran and he later relocated to Ur, while some of his family remained in Haran.^[18]

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 to Shechem in Canaan.^[19] Then he pitched his tent in the east of Bethel, and built an altar which was between Bethel and Ai.

Sarai

There was a severe famine in the land of Canaan, so that Abram, 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.^[20] Upon discovering that Sarai was a married woman, Pharaoh demanded that Abram and Sarai leave.^[21]

Abram and Lot separate

Main article: Abraham and Lot's conflict

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 between them. Lot decided to go eastward to the plain of Jordan, where the land was well watered everywhere as far as Zoara, and he dwelled in the cities of the plain toward Sodom.^[22] Abram went south to Hebron and settled in the plain of Mamre, where he built another altar to worship God.^[23]

Chedorlaomer

Main article: Battle of Siddim

During the rebellion of the Jordan River cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, against Elam, 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.^[24] Lot and his family, at the time, were settled on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Sodom which made them a visible target.^[25]

One person who escaped capture came and told Abram what happened. Once Abram received this news, he immediately assembled trained servants.

Abram's force headed north in pursuit of the Elamite army, who were already worn down from the Battle of Siddim. When they caught up with them at Dan, 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 King Chedorlaomer at Hobah, just north of Damascus.

They freed Lot, as well as his household and possessions, and recovered all of the goods from Sodom that had been taken.^[26]

Upon Abram's return, Sodom's king came out to meet with him in the Valley of Shaveh, the "king's dale". Also, Melchizedek king of Salem (Jerusalem), a priest of El Elyon, brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram and God.^[27] Abram then gave Melchizedek a tenth 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.

Covenant of the pieces

Hagar

Sarah

Thirteen years later, when Abram was 99 years of age, God declared Abram's new name: "Abraham"&#;– "a father of many nations".^[31] Abraham then received the instructions for the covenant of the pieces, of which circumcision was to be the sign.^[32]

God declared Sarai's new name: "Sarah", blessed her, and told Abraham, "I will give thee a son also of her".^[33] Abraham laughed, and "said in his heart, 'Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old?

and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear [a child]?'"^[34] Immediately after Abraham's encounter with God, he had his entire household of men, including himself (age 99) and Ishmael (age 13), circumcised.^[35]

Three visitors

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.^[36]

One of the visitors told Abraham that upon his return next year, Sarah would have a son.

Alisios theluji biography of abraham lincoln Abraham's Bosom? It was common during Abrahamic times for merchant caravans, envoys and others to travel back and forth to Egypt and Mesopotamia. Translated by Shoghi Effendi. Retrieved 31 October

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.^[37]

Abraham's plea

Main articles: Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot (biblical person)

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?" For the sake of ten righteous people, God declared that he would not destroy the city.^[38]

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. 5) them. However, Lot objected and offered his virgin daughters who had not "known" (v. 8) man to the rally of men instead.

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.^[40]

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.

) had been found, as "the smoke of the land went up as the smoke of a furnace."^[41]

Abimelech

See also: Endogamy and Wife–sister narratives in the Book of Genesis

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.

Alisios theluji biography of abraham According to these laws a man could adopt a servant or slave as his legal heir if he did not have a son. When Lot and the kings of the Jordan valley had the misfortune of being taken captive by invaders from the N, Abram and his allies overtook them at Dan, routing them beyond Damascus to rescue the captives. Winnipeg Tribune. On the way Abram told Sarai to say that she was his sister, so that the Egyptians would not kill 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.^[42]

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."^[43] 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.^[44]

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.

After Abimelech and Phicol headed back to Philistia, Abraham planted a tamarisk grove in Beersheba and called upon "the name of the LORD, the everlasting God."^[45]

Isaac

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.^[47] 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."^[48] 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.^[49]

Ishmael

See also: Ishmael in Islam §&#;The sacrifice

Ishmael was fourteen years old when Abraham's son Isaac was born to Sarah.

Biography of abraham bible

Alisios theluji biography of abraham hamilton

Biography of jacob

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."^[50] He also said Ishmael would make a nation, "because he is thy seed".^[51]

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.^[52]

Binding of Isaac

Main article: 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.

Biography of abraham bible: Abraham then came to "these regions", that is, to the Holy Land. If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, know that today is the day of salvation Acts Thus in Santa Maria Maggiore , Rome, a 5th-century mosaic portrays only the visitors against a gold ground and puts semitransparent copies of them in the "heavenly" space above the scene. Journal of Biblical Literature.

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.

Biography of isaac Archived from the original on 13 September In the course of these appearances Abraham and God spoke face to face. Is my tattoo a sin? Further, Abimelech gave Abraham a thousand pieces of silver to serve as Sarah's vindication before all.

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.^[53]

Later years

Historicity and origins of the narrative

Main article: Historicity of the Bible

Historicity

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.^[63] But, in the s, new arguments concerning Israel's past and the biblical texts challenged these views; these arguments can be found in Thomas L.

Thompson's The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives (),^[64] and John Van Seters' Abraham in History and Tradition ().^[65] 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 were Iron Age creations. Van Seters' and Thompson's works were a paradigm shift in biblical scholarship and archaeology, which gradually led scholars to no longer consider the patriarchal narratives as historical.^[67] Some conservative scholars attempted to defend the Patriarchal narratives in the following years, but this has not found acceptance among scholars.^[68]^[69] 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.^[70]

Origins of the narrative

Abraham's story, like those of the other patriarchs, most likely had a substantial oral prehistory (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). At some stage the oral traditions became part of the written tradition of the Pentateuch; a majority of scholars believe this stage belongs to the Persian period, roughly – BCE.

The mechanisms by which this came about remain unknown, but there are currently at least two hypotheses. 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".

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.

In the Book of Ezekiel,^[79] 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.

The Book of Isaiah^[81] 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. 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.

Amorite origin hypothesis

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.^[83] Likewise, some scholars like Daniel 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 of Mari, suggesting that the Genesis stories retain historical memories of the ancestral origins of some of the Israelites.^[84]^[85]Alan Millard argues that the name Abram is of Amorite origin and that it is attested in Mari as ʾabī-rām.

He also suggests that the Patriarch's name corresponds to a form typical of the Middle Bronze Age and not of later periods.^[86]

Palestine origin hypothesis

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.

The orientalist Mario Liverani proposed to see in the name Abraham the mythical eponym of a Palestinian tribe from the 13th century BCE, that of the Raham, of which mention was found in the stele of Seti I found in Beth-She'an and dating back to 'around BCE.^[88] The tribe probably lived in the area surrounding or close to Beth-She'an, in Galilee (the stele in fact refers to fights that took place in the area).

The semi-nomadic and pastoral Semitic tribes of the time used to prefix their names with the term banū ("sons of"), so it is hypothesized that the Raham called themselves Banu Raham. Furthermore, many interpreted blood ties between tribe members as common descent from an eponymous ancestor (i.e., one who gave the tribe its name), rather than as the result of intra-tribal ties.

The name of this eponymous mythical ancestor was constructed with the patronymic (prefix) Abū ("father"), followed by the name of the tribe; in the case of the Raham, it would have been Abu Raham, later to become Ab-raham, Abraham. 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.^[89] Yet, unlike Liverani, Finkelstein considered Abraham as ancestor who was worshiped in Hebron, which is too far from Beit She'an, and the oldest tradition of him might be about the altar he built in Hebron.^[89]

Religious traditions

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.

Judaism

In Jewish tradition, Abraham is called Avraham 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.

His story is read in the weekly Torah reading portions, predominantly in the parashot: Lech-Lecha (לֶךְ-לְךָ), Vayeira (וַיֵּרָא), Chayei Sarah (חַיֵּי שָׂרָה), and Toledot (תּוֹלְדֹת).

Hanan bar Rava taught in Abba Arikha's name that Abraham's mother was named ʾĂmatlaʾy bat Karnebo.^[90]^[d]Hiyya bar Abba taught that Abraham worked in Teraḥ's idol shop in his youth.^[93]

In Legends of the Jews, God created heaven and earth for the sake of the merits of Abraham.

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. 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.

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.

Along with Isaac and Jacob, he is the one whose name would appear united with God, as God in Judaism was called Elohei Abraham, Elohei Yitzchaq ve Elohei Ya'aqob ("God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob") and never the God of anyone else.^[99] He was also mentioned as the father of thirty nations.^[]

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.^[] The Binding of Isaac is specified in the Bible as a test;^[] the other nine are not specified, but later rabbinical sources give various enumerations.^{[citation needed]}

Christianity

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).^[]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." In Romans 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".^[]^[]

Throughout history, church leaders, following Paul, have emphasized Abraham as the spiritual father of all Christians.