Studying Abraham

Finding the Biblical Truth

Objective

The purpose of this study is to understand Abraham according to Biblical testimony. Its premise is that one must comprehend the events and details of Abraham’s life before one can properly interpret any and all references to him. Once the foundational record of Abraham is established, the Biblical references will be analyzed.

Session One: God’s Command

The Context

Abraham, originally called Abram, is first mentioned in Genesis 11:26. The dating of Abraham’s birth is an interesting subject. There are some who argue that Abraham was born prior to the dispersion after the tower of Babel. Otherwise, he would have been born shortly afterward.

At this point, men were given the assurance of seedtime and harvest. They were also promised that God would not destroy the world by flood again. After the flood, God established the function of government upon the earth. Men now had the authority to administer capital punishment.

Concerning hope for men, God had revealed a few key pieces of information. Genesis 3:15 is well-known as the first promise of hope. Men knew there was a seed of a woman that would bruise the head of the serpent. From Genesis chapter four, it is understood that a sacrificial offering was performed by men and they were given the simple instruction to do well. Finally, Genesis 9:26 recorded that God designated Shem to receive unique blessings.

The Son of Terah

Abraham’s father was named Terah. The Bible does not have a lot to say about Terah, but what it does record is actually quite interesting. First of all, Genesis has a pattern of using the phrase, “the generations of,” when a significant person is introduced. For example, Genesis 5:1 uses this phrase for Adam. The next example is found in Genesis 6:9, referring to Noah. Genesis 11:10 uses this phrase for Shem. The next time this phrase is used is for Terah. This is somewhat curious because Abraham is the famous one. Why would Terah receive such honorable mention?

Genesis chapter 12 is well known for being the passage in which Abraham left to go to Canaan. However, in Genesis 11:31, Terah had already departed with his family to travel to Canaan. There is no mention of God giving this command, but there is some speculation that perhaps Terah was initially the one instructed to go to Canaan. Some Jewish Rabbi’s suggest that Abraham had received the command from God and Terah had determined to come with him.

Terah is also mentioned in Joshua 24:2, in which he and his father, Nahor, were revealed to be idol worshippers. Jewish tradition also says that Terah actually made idols. Ultimately, this is the extent of Abraham’s background as can be verified in the Biblical text.

God’s Command to Abraham

In Genesis 12:1, the Bible records God’s command to Abraham. He was instructed to leave his country and his father’s house, and to travel to Canaan. At this point, he had already travelled to Haran. He was now departing to go to what would become Israel.

It is important to note the language used for Genesis 12:1. This was a command given by God. One should consider the words of Joshua 1:1-3, in which God told the prophet to go to Nineveh. However, unlike Abraham, Jonah did not comply. Therefore, this was a command to which Abraham had to respond.

The land of Canaan was mentioned in the verse that promised God’s blessings upon Shem. The Lord said that Canaan would be Shem’s servant. This was the first hint of the land of Canaan being a part of God’s future plans for creation. This does beg the question as to which Canaan? This question will mostly lead to speculation. Perhaps it has to do with the land’s location.

Some passages suggest the land of Israel is in the center of the earth. For starters, Genesis 2:8 described the garden of Eden as being eastward. This could just be in reference to Israel, but is worth note. Furthermore, Ezekiel 5:5 described Jerusalem as being in the midst of the nations. This can be interpreted to be in the middle. Modern geographical calculations often find the center of the earth to be in Turkey. This is relatively close in proximity to Israel. In another sense, Israel is an important piece of land for travelling. It connects the Asian and African continent. In session two, the purpose of the command will be investigated.