Brief Biblical History of Abraham (Genesis 12-25)

Abram was born in Ur of the Chaldees (Chaldea) in Mesopotamia. His father was Terah. He had two brothers, Nahor and Haran. All three boys married. Abram married Sarai who was actually his half sister (the daughter of his father). She was a woman "most fair." Sarai was barren. Nahor married Milcah. The name of Haran's wife is not mentioned. Haran died while still in Chaldea. Abram's father Terah left Chaldea with his family to travel toward Canaan. On the way they resided in Haran. Those in the group included Abram, Sarai, and Lot, the son of Haran and therefore Abram's nephew. Abram's father Terah died in Haran at age 205.

The Lord spoke to Abram and commanded him to leave Haran and move to a place he would be shown by the Lord. Abram was 75 years of age when he left. He took with him his family and his nephew Lot and traveled south toward Canaan. He stopped in Bethel which means "house of God." There he built an altar and called upon God. Because of a grievous famine in Canaan, Abram and his family (including his nephew Lot) passed right on through Canaan and traveled on to Egypt. As they approached Egypt, Abram feared the Egyptians would kill him in order to take his particularly lovely wife Sarai. He therefore had Sarai claim the half truth that she was Abram's sister. In Egypt, the Pharaoh took Sarai into his house and treated Abram especially well because Abram didn't protest. Pharaoh gave Abram sheep, oxen, asses, camels, menservants, and maidservants. Lot was also given much by Pharaoh. The Lord sent plagues upon the house of Pharaoh because of his relationship with Sarai. The Pharaoh learned that Sarai was Abram's wife and surmised that the plagues were related to his relationship with her. The Pharaoh sent Abram and his family away.

Abram and his family returned to Canaan and to Bethel. Abram was now a rich man because of all he had been given by the Pharaoh. The area in which they lived turned out to be too small for both Abram and Lot and all of their cattle and possessions. Strife occurred between the herdsmen of Abram and Lot. Abram wished to avoid further strife between the two of them, so Lot traveled to the east to the plain of Jordan and settled at a place near the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abram remained in Canaan but moved to Hebron.

Lot was caught up in a war between the kings of the area, and he and all his possessions were taken captive by an outside king after the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled. Abram learned of Lot's capture and took 318 of his own trained men, rescued Lot and his family, and took back all of Lot's possessions. Abram was honored for his rescue by the king of Sodom. He was also honored and blessed by Melchizedek, the king of Salem and the priest of God. The king of Sodom offered the spoils of war to Abram, but he refused them. Abram paid tithing to Melchizedek.

Abram became concerned that he had no legitimate heir, and he prayed and made sacrifices to the Lord. The Lord promised Abram, by covenant, numerous offspring. In a dream, Abram was shown that eventually his offspring would languish in captivity in a foreign land for 400 years. The Lord's covenants with Abram included Abram's receiving the land of Canaan for his offspring.

Because Sarai was barren, she urged Abram to "go in unto" her handmaid Hagar, and he did so. Hagar conceived and apparently resented becoming pregnant. Hence, she came to despise Sarai who was ultimately responsible for her condition. Accordingly, Sarai dealt with her most sternly, and Hagar ran away because of the harsh treatment. The Lord spoke to Hagar through an angel who found Hagar by a well in the wilderness. The Lord instructed her to return to Sarai. He further told her that she would bear a son whom she should call Ishmael. He would be an aggressive, "wild man" who would contend with all those around him. Hagar did return and gave birth to Ishmael when Abram was 86 years old.

When Abram was 99 years old the Lord appeared to him, reiterated to him the covenants the two had entered into, and changed his name to Abraham which means "the father of many nations." Abraham's covenants with the Lord were to apply to all of Abraham's progeny. The Lord instructed that circumcision become the sign of the covenant in all the offspring of Abraham. Specifically, the Lord commanded that all male offspring of Abraham be circumcised at age eight days. The Lord also changed Sarai's name to Sarah and promised Abraham that Sarah would become the "mother of nations." Abraham laughed and reminded the Lord that Sarah was 99 years old. The Lord then specifically promised Abraham that Sarah would bear a son and that his name should be Isaac. Isaac would become Abraham's heir and all of Isaac's descendants would fall under the covenant between God and Abraham. God then departed, and Abraham had himself and all the men in his household circumcised.

Shortly thereafter, three holy men came to Abraham's tent door. Abraham perceived they were messengers from God, and he received them graciously. They reiterated the Lord's promise that Sarah would bear a son. Sarah overheard the promise and was skeptical. As the three men departed, they "looked toward Sodom." Abraham discerned that the Lord had sent the three men to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. He was concerned about Lot and the other few righteous that lived in Sodom, and he bargained with the Lord. Initially he asked if the Lord might spare Sodom if fifty righteous people there could be identified. When the Lord agreed, Abraham continued to bargain and eventually the Lord agreed to spare the city if only ten righteous could be found there. It could not be demonstrated there were even ten.

Meanwhile two of the holy men came to Lot at the gates of Sodom. Lot urged them to stay in his house that night and go on their way in the morning. Initially they refused but finally accepted his hospitable offer. The wicked men of the city had discovered the third holy man and learned of the two in Lot's house. They wished to sexually abuse the three strangers and forcibly implored Lot to send them out. Lot refused and even offered his two virgin daughters to the Sodomites if they would spare the men the abuse. Those aggressively banging at Lot's door were stricken by the Lord with blindness. The holy men then warned Lot to take all of his family out of the city to avoid being killed in the destruction that would follow. Lot's sons in law, who lived with him, refused to believe that the threat was real. The next morning, the two angels urgently demanded that Lot take his wife and two daughters and flee the city. They further warned all of them not to look back at the destruction that would be occurring. Lot did flee to the neighboring town of Zoar. The Lord then rained fire and brimstone upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot's wife disobeyed the angels' warning and looked back upon the city. She "became a pillar of salt."

The next day, Lot fled the city of Zoar and lived with his two daughters in a cave. While there, the daughters feared that they would never marry and have seed. Therefore on two successive nights they conceived the plan to ply their father with wine and get him drunk. They would then lay with him, each in turn. The two thus conceived and the elder daughter gave birth to a son Moab, the father of the Moabites. The younger gave birth to a son Benammi, the father of the children of Ammon.

Some time later Abraham journeyed south to Gerar where Abimelech was king. Abimelech desired Sarah. Abraham again denied that Sarah was his wife and claimed she was his sister. Abimelech took Sarah. Abimielech then was warned by the Lord in a dream that Sarah was another man's wife and that Abimelech and all his people would be destroyed if he touched her. The Lord also had rendered Abimelech's wife and maidservants barren as the result of Abimelech's taking Sarah. Abimelech appealed to the Lord by saying he had not touched Sarah and had been deceived by Abraham. Abimelech reproved Abraham for decieving him. Abraham told Abimelech that he had feared for his life and that Sarah was actually his half sister as well as his wife. Abimelech then returned Sarah to Abraham and also gave to Abraham silver, sheep, oxen, menservants and maidservants. Abimelech's wife and maidservants were healed of their barrenness.

Sarah did conceive and bore Isaac who was circumcised at eight days of age. Abraham gave a great feast to celebrate the weaning of Isaac. Sarah noticed Ishmael mocking Isaac during the feast and urged Abraham to cast out Hagar and her son. She did not want Ishmael to share in Abraham's inheritance. Not wanting to part with his son Ishmael, Abraham was grieved. The Lord reassured Abraham that a great nation would come out of Ishmael. Abraham supplied Hagar with food and water and then did cast her out. In the wilderness, Hagar and Ishmael were about to die of thirst when an angel of the Lord appeared to her and showed her a well. Ishmael did eventually grow up and became a capable archer. He, his Egyptian wife, and his mother lived in Beer-Sheba, the land of King Abimelech. Initially Abimelech's men had refused to allow Hagar and Ishmael to reside in their land. Abraham gave sheep and oxen to Abimelech and made a covenant of brotherhood with him. Thereafter Hagar and Ishmael were allowed to live in Beer-Sheba.

Abraham was then commanded by the Lord to take his son Isaac into the land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah. Abraham obediently rose up early in the morning, saddled his ass, loaded the wood to make the fire, and took Isaac as instructed. Isaac became aware they were going to make a burnt offering and asked Abraham, "Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham answered, "God will provide." They arrived at the mountain, and Abraham built a fire on an altar that was there. As Abraham stretched forth his hand to slay Isaac with a knife, an angel stopped him by calling his name. When Abraham responded, the angel said, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me" (Genesis 22:12). Abraham then spotted a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. He offered up the ram. Shortly thereafter the Lord covenanted, yet again, with Abraham to multiply his seed "as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore" (Genesis 22:17). He also promised Abraham that his seed would be a blessing to all nations of the earth.

Sarah died at age 127 and was buried in a cave at Hebron. Abraham purchased the cave and the field as a burying place for his family. Abraham, by now, was very old. He asked his servant to swear that the servant would not allow Isaac to take a wife from among the Canaanites, but that the servant would obtain a wife for Isaac from Abraham's "own country." The servant traveled to Mesopotamia and stood by a well. He prayed that the Lord might show him the girl Isaac should marry by having her come to the well to fetch water. And when the servant asked her for water for himself and his camels, the girl would provide it. Rebecca came forth. She was the granddaughter of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham. When she readily acquiesced to the servant's request for water, the servant gave her a gift of an earring and bracelets. The servant then asked if the girl's father would provide him lodging. The girl replied that he would, and she ran to her house and reported the request to her family. Rebecca's brother Laban returned to the well to accompany the servant back to his house. The servant then returned to the house with Laban where he was offered a meal. He replied that he would not eat until he had reported the nature of his mission in full to Rebecca and her family. The servant did so, and Rebecca's father Bethuel and brother Laban perceived that the servant was, indeed, on the Lord's errand. They granted permission for Rebecca to return with the servant. After granting more precious gifts to Rebecca and her family, the servant and Rebecca returned to the house of Abraham and Isaac. As they approached, they saw Isaac who had gone out into the field to meditate. Rebecca covered her face, dismounted the camel, and greeted Isaac. The servant reported to Isaac all that he had done and all that had happened. Rebecca and Isaac married, and Rebecca was a great comfort to Isaac who had just lost his mother.

Abraham took yet another wife, Keturah who bore him sons. Abraham gave, as an inheritance, all that he had unto Isaac. Abraham also gave gifts to Keturah and her sons and sent them away from Isaac. Abraham died at age 175 and was buried on the plot of land he had purchased in Hebron.