|
|
| Birth: | |
| Death: | |
| Sex: | M |
| Father: | Terah |
| Mother: | |
| | |
| Changed: 30 Dec 1998 14:56 |
| |
 | Spouses & Children |  | |
| | |
 | |  |
|
| |
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
|
| |
|
| |
| Notes | | |
| | |
| | |
|
| |
Individual:
Abraham or Abram, biblical patriarch, according to the Bookof Genesis (see 11:27-25:10), progenitor of the Hebrews,who probably lived in the period between 2000 and 1500 BC.Abraham is regarded by Muslims, who call him Ibrahim, as anancestor of the Arabs through Ishmael. He was onceconsidered a contemporary of Hammurabi, king of Babylonia.Because the biblical account of his life is based ontraditions preserved by oral transmission rather than byhistorical records, no biography in the present sense canbe written.
Originally called Abram, Abraham was the son of Terah, adescendant of Shem, and was born in the city of Ur of theChaldees, where he married his half sister Sarai, or Sarah.They left Ur with his nephew Lot and Lot's family under adivine inspiration and went to Haran. Receiving a promisethat God would make him a "great nation," Abram moved on toCanaan, where he lived as a nomad. Famine led him to Egypt,but he was driven out for misrepresenting Sarai as hissister. Again in Canaan, after quarrels between Abram andLot and their herdsmen, they separated, Lot remaining nearSodom and Abram continuing his nomadic life. He laterrescued Lot from the captivity of King Chedorlaomer of Elamand was blessed by the priest Melchizedek, king of Salem.Then God promised Abram a son by his wife Sarai, repeatedhis earlier promises, and confirmed these by a covenant.
When this covenant was later renewed, the rite ofcircumcision was established, Abram's name became Abraham,and Sarai's became Sarah. God subsequently repeated hispromise of a son by Sarah by means of visiting angels.
When God informed Abraham that he intended to destroy Sodomand Gomorrah because of the wickedness of theirinhabitants, Abraham pleaded with him to spare the cities.Eventually it was agreed that God would spare the cities ifhe could find only ten righteous men. The ten men could notbe found, and God destroyed both cities.
Ishmael, first son of Abraham, whose mother was Hagar, anEgyptian slave, was born when Abraham was 86 years old.Isaac, born to Abraham by Sarah in his 100th year, was thefirst of his legitimate descendants. God demanded thatAbraham sacrifice Isaac as a test of faith, but because ofAbraham's unquestioning compliance, God permitted him tospare Isaac and rewarded Abraham with a formal renewal ofhis promise. After Sarah died, Abraham married Keturah andhad six sons by her. He died at the biblical age of 175 andwas buried beside Sarah in the Cave of Machpelah, in whatis now Hebron, West Bank.
Christians, Muslims, and Jews accept Abraham as an epitomeof the man of unswerving faith, a view reflected in the NewTestament.
"Abraham," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia. (c)1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
|
| - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
|
| |
|
|
|
