Abraham

亚伯拉罕

Abraham is the first biblical patriarch of the Israelites and, by extension, the modern-day Jewish people. His name at birth was Abram. God directed Abram to go to Canaan, where God gave that land to Abram and his descendants, establishing a covenant to make them a great nation that would be a blessing to all humanity. Because his wife, Sarai, was barren, Abram fathered a son, Ishmael, by her handmaiden, Hagar; God promised Hagar that Ishmael would also be the father of a nation. God then promised Sarai a son to be named Isaac, who, God promised, would father a great nation. In return, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s to Sarah, and demanded that all males of Abraham’s line be circumcised from then on. As a test, God then commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham obediently attempted but was stopped by an angel. After Sarah’s death, Abraham fathered another six sons by a new wife, Keturah, before dying himself.