Abraham
Called to leave everything for a land he’d never seen.
Old Testament · c. 2000–1800 BC · Genesis, Romans, Hebrews · Also known as Abram, Father of many nations
About Abraham
Abram left his homeland when God called him, trusting a promise that his descendants would become a great nation and that through him all the families of the earth would be blessed. Renamed Abraham, "father of many nations," he waited decades for the promised son, Isaac. He is honoured as a father of faith by Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Abraham’s family came from Ur of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia and settled for a while in Haran before he travelled into Canaan. He lived as a semi-nomad, moving with flocks and tents. The New Testament repeatedly points to him as the model of faith: "Abraham believed God."
The story
Get thee out
"Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred… unto a land that I will shew thee." Abram was seventy-five. He went "not knowing whither he went."
Genesis 12:1-5
Count the stars
God brought him outside: "Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them… So shall thy seed be." "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."
Genesis 15:1-6
A new name
God renamed him: "Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee." Sarai became Sarah.
Genesis 17:1-16
Is anything too hard?
Three visitors came to Abraham’s tent in the heat of the day. One promised that Sarah would have a son. Sarah laughed. "Is any thing too hard for the LORD?" A year later, Isaac was born.
Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-3
The hardest test
God tested Abraham, asking him to offer Isaac on Mount Moriah. "God will provide himself a lamb," Abraham told his son. At the last moment, the angel of the LORD stopped him, and Abraham saw a ram caught in a thicket.
Genesis 22:1-14
Key moments
- Leaves Haran: At seventy-five, into the unknown. (Genesis 12:1-4)
- Counts the stars: Faith counted as righteousness. (Genesis 15:5-6)
- Renamed Abraham: "Father of many nations." (Genesis 17:5)
- Isaac is born: At the set time God spoke of. (Genesis 21:2)
- Mount Moriah: "God will provide." (Genesis 22:8-13)
Questions about Abraham
In meetBible these answers are given in Abraham’s voice. They are written by hand and checked against Scripture.
Why did you leave your home?
Because God called: "Get thee out of thy country… unto a land that I will shew thee." He promised to make of me a great nation and that in me "all families of the earth" would be blessed. Hebrews says I "went out, not knowing whither." I had a promise, not a map.
Did you ever doubt God’s promise?
Scripture is honest: I believed, and I struggled. Genesis says I "believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." But when God said Sarah would bear a son, I fell on my face and laughed ("Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed"), asking whether a man of a hundred could have a child. Faith in my story isn’t the absence of questions.
Connected people
- Sarah: Wife
- Hagar: Mother of his son Ishmael
- God: Covenant
- Noah: Ancestor
- Isaac: Son of the promise
- Ishmael: Firstborn son
- Lot: Nephew
Read it yourself
Start with Genesis 12–15.