50 Facts About Abraham

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

Abraham 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.

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".

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

Abraham then did as she was instructed by returning to her mistress in order to have her child.

Abraham then received the instructions for the covenant of the pieces, of which circumcision was to be the sign.

Not long afterward, during the heat of the day, Abraham had been sitting at the entrance of his tent by the terebinths of Mamre.

Abraham looked up and saw three men in the presence of God.

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.

Early the next morning, Abraham went to the place where he stood before God.

Abraham settled between Kadesh and Shur in what the Bible anachronistically calls "the land of the Philistines".

Abimelech had not laid hands on her, so he inquired if he would slay a righteous nation, especially since Abraham had claimed that he and Sarah were siblings.

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.

Abraham then prayed for Abimelech and his household, since God had stricken the women with infertility because of the taking of Sarah.

Abraham then reproached Abimelech due to his Philistine servant's aggressive attacks and the seizing of Abraham's well.

Further, to attest that Abraham was the one who dug the well, he gave Abimelech seven ewes for proof.

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.

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.

Abraham 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.

Early the next morning, Abraham brought Hagar and Ishmael out together.

Abraham gave her bread and water and sent them away.

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.

Abraham then commanded the servants to remain while he and Isaac proceeded alone into the mount.

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.

Sarah died, and Abraham buried her in the Cave of the Patriarchs, near Hebron which he had purchased along with the adjoining field from Ephron the Hittite.

Abraham lived to see his son marry Rebekah, and to see the birth of his twin grandsons Jacob and Esau.

Abraham died at age 175, and was buried in the cave of Machpelah by his sons Isaac and Ishmael.

Abraham's 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.

Abraham is given a high position of respect in three major world faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

In Jewish tradition, Abraham is called Avraham Avinu, "our father Abraham," signifying that he is both the biological progenitor of the Jews and the father of Judaism, the first Jew.

Abraham's story is read in the weekly Torah reading portions, predominantly in the parashot: Lech-Lecha, Vayeira, Chayei Sarah, and Toledot.

Hiyya bar Abba taught that Abraham worked in Terah's idol shop in his youth.

Abraham is generally credited as the author of the Sefer Yetzirah, one of the earliest extant books on Jewish mysticism.

Abraham is the patron saint of those in the hospitality industry.

Abraham is mentioned in the Divine Liturgy of Basil the Great, just before the Anaphora, and Abraham and Sarah are invoked in the prayers said by the priest over a newly married couple.

Abraham is called both a hanif and muslim, and Muslims regard him as a prophet and patriarch, the archetype of the perfect Muslim, and the revered reformer of the Kaaba in Mecca.

In Islam, Abraham holds an exalted position among the major prophets and he is referred to as "Ibrahim Khalilullah", meaning "Abraham the Beloved of God".

Abraham is among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history according to the Druze faith.

In Mandaeism, Abraham is mentioned in Book 18 of the Right 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.

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.

Additionally, Martin O'Kane, a professor of Biblical Studies, writes that the parable of Lazarus resting in the "Bosom of Abraham", as described in the Gospel of Luke, became an iconic image in Christian works.

Several artists have been inspired by the life of Abraham, including Albrecht Durer, Caravaggio, Donatello, Raphael, Philip van Dyck, and Claude Lorrain.

Abram, the original name of the biblical Abraham, is the name of Dylan's own father.