What is the biblical account of Abraham?

from the old testament

• About 1,900 years after the creation of the world, and about 2,150 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, Abram was born to Terah, descendant of Noah's son Shem, in the land of Ur, about 220 miles southeast of modern Baghdad, Iraq (Genesis 11:27–32).
• Abram (meaning "exalted father") and his wife Sarai were childless (Genesis 11:30).
• While still in Ur, God called Abram to leave his homeland and travel west to the land of Canaan, in modern-day Israel (Genesis 12:1–6). God promised to make Abram into a great nation, that He would bless him, and that “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3).
• Terah and Lot joined Abram, and God reiterated His call to Abram (Genesis 11:31; 12:4–7).
• Abram, Sarai, Lot, and their extended families continued traveling to Shechem near modern Nablus, about thirty miles north of Jerusalem, where Abram built an altar to God. They continued southwest to the Negev, spending time in Egypt to escape a famine in Canaan. While in Egypt, Abram deceived the Pharaoh, telling him that his beautiful wife was his sister (which was only half-true; according to Genesis 20:12, she was Abram's half-sister). The Pharaoh took Sarai for himself and paid Abram richly for her. But God sent plagues until the Pharaoh realized he'd taken another man's wife and sent Sarai back to Abram (Genesis 12:10–20).
• Abram and Lot parted ways with Lot moving to the valley of the Jordan, near Sodom and Abram to the oaks of Mamre in Hebron, twenty-two miles south of Jerusalem (Genesis 13). When Sodom and Gomorrah went to war, Lot was carried off as well since he was living in Sodom (Genesis 14:12). Abram rescued Lot, recovered all that had been taken, and defeated Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and the kings allied with him.
• After Abram defeated the Chedorlaomer, Abram encountered Melchizedek in the Valley of Shaveh (or King's Valley) (Genesis 14:17–24). Melchizedek is described as the king of Salem (Jerusalem) and a priest outside of Abram's line (Hebrews 7). Some believe him to be an appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ, while others say he was just a righteous king in a wicked land. Whoever he was, Melchizedek honored Abram's noble deed by providing rations for him and his troops. Abram submitted to him by giving ten percent of the spoils they had taken in battle.
• Abram had the opposite relationship to the king of Sodom. When the king came to meet Abram, the king of Sodom demanded Abram take the spoils but leave the people (Genesis 14:21). Abram revealed his faith in the “Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth” as he spoke to the king of Sodom and took nothing (Genesis 14:22–24).
• In Genesis 15, God appeared to Abram and revealed Himself as his shield and great reward (Genesis 15:1). Abram asked God about being childless, and God promised that his offspring would be as great as the stars in the sky (Genesis 15:2–5). Genesis 15:6 tells us that Abram “believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”
• Abram also asked about God’s promise to give Abram the land of Canaan. At this, God asked Abram to bring “a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon” (Genesis 15:9). The larger animals were cut in two and laid in rows. When Abram fell asleep, God again promised that Abram's tribe would inherit Canaan—but not yet. God revealed that two things had to happen first: Abram's descendants would be enslaved for four hundred years and escape with many possessions and the natives of the land would reach a point where the evil they chose was so abominable that total destruction was the only appropriate measure. Then God passed between the pieces of the sacrifice and laid out the exact borders of Abram's inheritance. Although the first part of the prophecy came true with the exile in and escape from Egypt, Israel has never held those specific borders and probably won't until Jesus' millennial kingdom (Genesis 15:9–21).
• Not trusting in God’s promise, Sarai convinced Abram to bear a child with her Egyptian handmaid, Hagar (Genesis 16). Hagar bore a son, Ishmael, which led to much tension.
• Thirteen years later, God again reiterated His promise to Abram, changed his name to Abraham ("father of many"), and instituted circumcision as a mark that he and his descendants were set apart to worship God alone (Genesis 17). God also promised that Sarah (whose name was also changed) will bear a son who would fulfill this promise. That day, Abraham circumcised Ishmael and all the men of the household.
• When God punished Sodom and Gomorrah for their depravity, Abraham interceded for the city in what sounds like a negotiation. God sent angels to rescue Lot and his family (Genesis 18:16—19:29).
• When Abraham continued on to the Negev, again, Abraham feared and told the king, known by the title Abimelech, the half-truth that Sarah was his sister. God protected Sarah and warned Abimelech, and all was restored (Genesis 20).
• A year after Abraham's circumcision, Sarah gave birth to a son, Isaac (Genesis 21:1–7). Sarah banished Hagar and Ishmael permanently.
• Abraham and Abimelech made a truce, and Abraham gained legal custody of the well he had dug at Beersheba in the middle of the Negev (Genesis 21:22–34).
• When Isaac was older, although we do not know exactly what age, God called Abraham to take Isaac and sacrifice him (Genesis 22). Abraham obeyed and trusted God’s promise that Isaac would be the heir by whom God’s promises would come to pass. At the last minute, God provided a substitute ram (Genesis 22:13).
• Sometime between Isaac's almost-sacrifice and his marriage to Rebekah, Sarah died at the age of 127. To bury her, Abraham legally bought a field which contained a cave (Genesis 23). Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob would all be buried here (Genesis 49:29–33).
• After Sarah's death, Abraham took a concubine, Keturah. (A concubine was like a wife whose sons could not inherit position or property from their father.) She gave birth to six sons. Abraham outfitted them, and Ishmael, with what they needed, then made sure they settled far from Isaac so there wouldn't be any problems. Abraham died at 175 years old and was buried by Isaac and Ishmael (Genesis 25:1–11).
• Abraham is recognized as one of the patriarchs, along with his son, Isaac, and his grandson, Jacob. God revealed Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and reminded the people of the covenant He had made with them (Exodus 2:24; 3:6, 15; 4:5; 6:3; 33:1; Leviticus 26:42; Deuteronomy 1:8; 34:4).
• God’s covenant to Abraham is repeated throughout the Old Testament (Psalm 105:9, 42; Isaiah 29:22; Ezekiel 33:24; Micah 7:20).

from the new testament

• Abraham is mentioned in Jesus’ genealogies (Matthew 1:2; Luke 3:34).
• John the Baptist, preparing the way for Jesus, warned the Pharisees and Sadducees to repent. They could not think they were good simply because they were descendants of Abraham (Matthew 3:7–9; Luke 3:8).
• Abraham is confirmed as a patriarch since God referred to Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matthew 22:32).
• Abraham is used as evidence for a torment and paradise side after death where Abraham will be on the paradise side and evildoers will see him from the torment side (Luke 13:28; Luke 16:19–31).
• The Jews called themselves sons and daughters of Abraham (Luke 13:16; 19:9; John 8:33, 37, 39).
• Jesus declared Himself to be greater than Abraham for “before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). This was infuriating to the Jews.
• Peter and Stephen confirm Abraham’s significance as a patriarch and that God revealed Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with a covenant to Abraham (Acts 3:13, 25; 7:2, 5, 8, 16–17, 32).
• Romans 4 reveals that Abraham was justified by faith, not by works.
• Romans 9:7–8 reveals that physical descendants of Abraham are not automatically saved, but rather those who have faith.
• Galatians 3:6 confirms that Abraham’s faith in God counted for righteousness.
• Galatians 3:7–9 confirms God’s plan to bless all the nations through Abraham. These verses confirm that salvation was not just for the Jews but for the Gentiles, and that this was made possible through Abraham’s lineage by bringing the Messiah, Jesus (cf. Galatians 3:16, 27–29).
• Abraham’s meeting with Melchizedek is explained in Hebrews 7, revealing the connection with Jesus.
• Abraham’s faith is recounted in Hebrews 11:8–10 and 17–19.
• James 2:20–24 reveals that faith results in actions, just as Abraham believed God and took Isaac to be sacrificed.

implications for today

The story of Abraham is one of faith. In a world where we instantly have information at our fingertips and where we have so many conveniences immediately available to us, we struggle to wait. Waiting for God when He has not answered is hard; however, Abraham’s life reminds us that God is good, is at work, and will answer. Abraham left all he had and traveled from modern day Baghdad to Turkey to Jerusalem to Egypt and back with several stays in the Negev because he trusted in God’s call to him. For decades, he had no son and no homeland, and the only land he officially owned was one well and one field with a grave. Abraham was one hundred years old when his son and heir was born, even though God promised this many years before. Abraham trusted God even when He asked him to sacrifice this promised son. He trusted that God’s promise of having a son and heir was fulfilled in Isaac, so whatever God was calling him to do with Isaac would not negate His promise.

While alive, Abraham did not get to see the total fulfillment of all God had promised him, yet God was faithful, and His promises came true. As Hebrews 11:13–16 says, “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” When life becomes difficult and we must wait for God’s promises to be fulfilled, we can look to His fulfillment of His promise to Abraham through Jesus and know that He is faithful to accomplish His purposes in His timing and in His way for our good and His glory (Philippians 3:13–14).