Abraham

• Who was Abraham?

  Born 1800 BCE in the Land of Ur

  The Jewish Patriarch

  Born into a polytheistic age, was the first to question this and teach monotheism
• What is a patriarch?

  Male head of a family or tribe
• What biographical information do we know about Abraham?

  Very little, he lived a nomadic lifestyle as a shepherd
• Why did God change Abraham's name?

  Abram became Abraham

  Means 'father of many' so he became the Father of the Jewish people
• What is a covenant?

  An agreement made between two people, common at the time

  In Genesis Chapter 12, God called upon Abraham to make one

  God had made two universal covenant previously
• What was the Abrahamic covenant?

  If Abraham would leave his home and family, God made three promises

  1. He'd be the father of a great nation
  2. He'd have many descendants
  3. H'ed be given land to live, Promised Land

  It would establish the Abrahamic community under God's protection
• Why did Abraham have to leave his home?

  Symbol of him moving away from worshiping idols

  Showed God saw him as a spiritual and physical leader

  Although he was concerned to do so as he and his wife were old and had no children
• What happens at a covenant ritual?

  Animals are sacrificed and cut in half

  The two parties would pass between the two parts

  A symbol of what would happen if you broke the terms
• What happened at the Abrahamic ritual?

  God alone moved between the two halves which were represented by a flaming torch and smoking furnace

  Showed that only God was bound to it and that it's eternal and everlasting

  Recorded in Genesis 15
• What is Brit Milah?

  In Genesis 17, God commands Abraham to circumcise himself and all his male descendants

  A outward, physical symbol of the covenant between God and his chosen people

  "every male among you shall be circumcised... it will be a sign of the covenant between me and you"
• Is Brit Milah still practiced today?

  Abraham was circumcised at age 99 and since then it is still practiced

  Links them back to a long line leading back to Abraham

  A Mohel performs it 8 days after birth
• Did Abraham have a son?

  Yes, at age 100 and Sarah 99, they had a son called Issac

  Issac means "laughter", shows joy of having a son at an old age
• How was Abraham's faith tested?

  In Genesis 22, God asks him to sacrifice his son

  Abraham took Isaac up the mountain and was willing to slay him

  At the last minute, God intervened and provided a lamb for sacrifice then reminded him of the three promises
• Why is Abraham's faith significant?

  Through him, God established a special relationship which offered unconditional future blessings

  Abraham became the way God could create a group of people who lived by a certain set of values