Abraham is a character in the Old Testament Book of Genesis.
He was the first prophet.
Father of Faith
Also, he was called so.
What kind of person was the prophet Abraham?
Let's take a peek into his life together!
Terah, heading for the land of Canaan
It all started with Terah, the father of Abraham (who was called Abram in his youth).
We're going to move to the land of Canaan!
One day, Terah decides to do this.
I am Abraham.
I'm Sarah, Abraham's wife. I'm also his half-sibling.
I am Lot, nephew of Abraham. Nice to meet you.
Terah leaves Ur, Abraham's birthplace, to move with them to the land of Canaan.
However, they ended up settling in a city called Haran, which is located halfway in the land of Canaan.
Although he was in the middle of his journey, he must have taken a liking to Haran...
The truth is not known, but Terah ended up in Haran for the rest of his life.
Abraham Receives Divine Revelation
Terah died in Haran, but after Terah's death, Abraham received a revelation from God.
Leave your father's house, where you were born, and go to the land I will show you. Then I will bless you as one of the great ones. All the peoples of the earth will be blessed by you.
Abraham received such the God's revelation.
Let us go again to the land of Canaan...!
He decides to go to the land of Canaan again.
Abraham was 75 years old.
He was a very old man, but he was able to reach the land of Canaan safely.
And God appears to Abraham again.
To your descendants I will give this land.
God promised to Abraham's descendants.
This is why the land of Canaan is also called the "Promised Land".
Abraham to God who appeared to him.
Thank you...!
Abraham thanked God for appearing and built a temple in the land of Canaan.
Abraham goes to Egypt
Abraham built a temple in the land of Canaan and lived happily ever after....
But Abraham's life did not end there!
The Canaanites were struck by a famine, and Abraham and his family were forced to flee to Egypt.
Then Abraham said to his wife Sarah,
You are too beautiful, and I, your husband, may be killed. So in Egypt, you will not be called my wife, but my sister.
Although I'm having a hard time understanding the part about the husband being killed if his wife is too beautiful,
Okay, I got it.
In the end, Sarah agreed with it.
In fact, Abraham and Sarah are half-siblings, so it's not a lie that she is his sister.
However, Abraham's prediction, which could be interpreted as a concern, is proven to be correct.
Sarah's beauty was well received in Egypt.
I will marry that beautiful Sarah.
Surprisingly, an Egyptian pharaoh (king) said so.
To tell the truth, Sarah was a fairly old woman at that time, but she must have been exceptionally beautiful.
Because Sarah was taken to the Egyptian court,
I don't know if it's right to get this much...
Abraham received an immense amount of wealth.
However, God brought repeated calamities upon the king and the royal family by making Sarah the wife of the king of Egypt.
This also makes the Egyptian pharaoh realize that Sarah is Abram's wife.
You're kidding me!
Pharaoh returned Sarah to Abraham and drove her out of Egypt.
But at this time, Pharaoh understood something.
God is on Abraham's side.
So he let Abraham go with all of his possessions.
I guess he was that afraid of God.
Anyway, Abraham and his family were going back to Canaan again.
Abraham and Lot Separate
Abraham, who had amassed sufficient wealth in Egypt, decided to separate his residence from his nephew Lot.
- Abram: Canaan
- Lot: The entire lowlands of the Jordan
Having chosen each in this way, Lot moved eastward.
Incidentally, when Lot chose the Jordan lowlands for his residence, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were still in existence.
However, these cities were destroyed by God's wrath.
To learn more about the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,
Here's a quick summary of the synopsis of "Sodom" and "Gomorrah!"
Please see this article.
Now, after parting with Lot, Abraham was rophesied by God again.
Now lift up your eyes and look from where you are to the east, west, north, and south. I will give you and your descendants all this land that you look over. Stand up and walk through it lengthwise and crosswise. For I will give you the land.
God often mentioned Abraham's descendants in prophecy, but the truth is that Abraham was not blessed with children.
Eventually, miraculous things happened and he was blessed with children.
You can read more about Abraham's child Isaac in this article.
What is "Binding of Isaac?
Please take a look if you like.
Abraham died at the age of 175, but he properly distributed his property to his children.
And his grave is in Hebron, West Bank, Palestine, which is a holy place for both Judaism and Islam.
In addition to the story of the prophet Abraham, there are also articles that summarize various stories from the Old Testament.
What is Book of Genesis?
If you'd like to read more, please click here!