J9: Identity

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Introduction

Everybody has heard of Abraham. In childhood we are told simple stories about his life and so as we grow up our image of him often remains simplistic: a quaint long bearded man with sandals on who listened to God. But the real Abraham was much more than a one dimensional storybook character and the nearly 4000 year gap between his time and ours must be bridged if we are to learn from this ancient figure. Abraham's story has been faithfully passed down from generation to generation for a reason. Understanding his life and getting a glimpse of the world through his eyes is the key to understanding Jewish identity.

Abraham - A Brief Biography

The Torah gives us many details about the life and times of Abraham. (Dates are BCE, Abraham's age in brackets, names are transliterations of the Hebrew):

1812 (0)	Avram, son of Terach, is born in the vicinity of Ur by the Euphrates river near the Persian Gulf (modern day Iraq or Kuwait)
1742 (70)	Moved to Haran with his family. By now Avraham is married to Sarai, ten years his junior. They cannot have children.
1737 (75)	First communication with God. Avraham is told to begin his journey to a promised land - the future Land of Israel.
1726 (86)	Ishmael, Avram's son by his maidservant Hagar, is born.
1713 (99)	God changes Avram's name to Avraham, and Sarai to Sarah. On God's command Avraham and his son are circumcised, but God promises him that his future lies with another child who will be born to Sarah.
1712 (100)	Isaac, the only child of Avraham and Sarah, is born as promised.
1675 (137)	The aborted sacrifice of Isaac. Sarah dies. Soon after Avraham marries Keturah and has a further six sons.
1637 (175)	Avraham dies "full of years" and is buried with his wife in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron.

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