43 Facts About Abraham

1.

Abraham's life, told in the narrative of the Book of Genesis, revolves around the themes of posterity and land.

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2.

Abraham is 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.

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3.

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".

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4.

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

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5.

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

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6.

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

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7.

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

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8.

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

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9.

Abraham then offered to wash their feet and fetch them a morsel of bread, to which they assented.

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10.

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.

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11.

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

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12.

Abimelech was informed that Abraham was a prophet who would pray for him.

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13.

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.

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14.

Abraham stated that he thought there was no fear of God in that place, and that they might kill him for his wife.

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15.

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

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16.

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

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17.

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

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18.

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.

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19.

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

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20.

Abraham's declared that Ishmael would not share in Isaac's inheritance.

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21.

Abraham was greatly distressed by his wife's words and sought the advice of his God.

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22.

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.

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23.

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

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24.

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".

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25.

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.

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26.

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.

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27.

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

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28.

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

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29.

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.

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30.

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

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31.

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.

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32.

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

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33.

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

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34.

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

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35.

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.

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36.

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.

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37.

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".

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38.

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

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39.

In Mandaeism, Abraham is mentioned in Book 18 of the Right Ginza as the patriarch of the Jewish people.

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40.

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.

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41.

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.

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42.

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.

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43.

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

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