Abraham

This article deals with the progenitor - for other meanings see Abraham (disambiguation).

Abraham (Hebrew אֲבִירָם / אַבְרָהָם Avraham / Aviram folk etymological: "father of the many [nations]" [Genesis 17:4 f.] from אַבְרָם Avram "(The) father is exalted", Aramaic ܐܒܪܗܡ Abrohom, Old Yiddish Awroham, Arabic إبرَاهِيم Ibrāhīm) is a central figure of the Tanakh or Old Testament as the progenitor of Israel. He is also considered the progenitor of the Arabs; the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, is said to be descended from his son Ishmael (see Abraham in Islam). Abraham's story is told in the biblical book of Genesis or Bereshit (Gen 12-25 EU). According to it, he belongs together with his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob to the Archfathers, from whom, according to biblical tradition, the Twelve Tribes of the people of Israel emerged.

Since both Judaism, Christianity and Islam refer to Abraham as their progenitor, they are also called the three Abrahamic (world) religions.

Abraham's spring in Be'er ShevaZoom
Abraham's spring in Be'er Sheva

Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek, oil painting by Dierick BoutsZoom
Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek, oil painting by Dierick Bouts

The bosom of Abraham - representation from the Hortus Deliciarum of Herrad of Landsberg (12th century)Zoom
The bosom of Abraham - representation from the Hortus Deliciarum of Herrad of Landsberg (12th century)

Rembrandt: "The Angel Prevents the Sacrifice of Isaac"Zoom
Rembrandt: "The Angel Prevents the Sacrifice of Isaac"

Historical classification

Outside of the biblical narratives and traditions dependent on them, there is no evidence for the existence of Abraham. The historical circumstances mentioned in the Abraham narratives also do not allow any clear conclusions to be drawn about the contemporary historical background of the biblical narratives. The archaeologists Israel Finkelstein and Neil A. Silberman point to some anachronisms in the text that suggest that the narratives may have been written in a late period. The time in which the Abraham narratives of the Tanakh take place is generally placed at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE.

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Terach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

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Milka

 

 

 

Nahor

 

 

Haran

 

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Hagar

 

Abraham

 

 

 

Sarah

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Betuël

 

 

 

Unknown

 

Lot

 

 

 

 

 

Ishmael

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Laban

 

 

 

 

 

Rebekka

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaac

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lea

 

 

 

 

 

Rachel

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacob

 

 

 

 

Bilha

 

  

Silpa

 

Esau

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Ruben

Simeon

Levi

Judah

Issachar

Sebulon

Dina

Josef

Benjamin

Dan

Naftali

GadAscher

In Islam

Main article: Abraham in Islam


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