Abraham in the Bible

Meaning: father of a great multitude

Exact Match

Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers,

Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David [are] fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon [are] fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ [are] fourteen generations.

Verse ConceptsBabylon, Israel Exiled ToGenerationsThe Number FourteenFourteenExile Of Judah To BabylonChrist's OriginNativity of Jesus ChristJesus Birth

But touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac,

Verse ConceptsReadingReading The ScripturesThe Resurrection

But as to the dead coming back to life; have you not seen in the book of Moses, about the burning thorn-tree, how God said to him, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

Verse ConceptsBurning bushReading The ScripturesBook of the Law

His help he has given to Israel, his servant, so that he might keep in mind his mercy to Abraham and his seed for ever,

Verse ConceptsServants Of The LordGod Remembering His Covenant

Then the rich man said, 'I beg you therefore, forefather [Abraham], that you would send Lazarus to my father's house,

Verse ConceptsBeggarslazarus

Abraham replied, if they disregard Moses and the prophets, they will not believe any one, though he rose from the dead.

Verse ConceptsPrejudiceRoses

"It happened in a similar way in the days of Lot [i.e., Abraham's nephew]. People were eating and drinking and buying and selling and planting and building.

Verse ConceptsLiteral PlantingEating And DrinkingDaysEnd Of Daysalcoholism

But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the place concerning the Bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

Verse ConceptsBurning bushThe Dead Are Raised

You are doing the works of your father. They said to him, We are true sons of Abraham; we have one Father, who is God.

Verse ConceptsImitating Wicked PeopleAvoid Immorality

"The glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. God told him, "Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land I'll show you.'

Verse ConceptsAbrahamPilgrimsSeparating From Relativesland

On this, Abraham left the country of the Chaldaeans and settled in Haran; and from there, after his father's death, God caused him to migrate into this very country, in which you are now living.

He did not give any of it to him for an inheritance, not even a foot of ground, yet God promised to give it to him as his possession, and to his descendants after him, even though Abraham as yet had no child.

Verse ConceptsGod Gave The LandGod's Promise To AbrahamNo Earthly Inheritance

And God had spoken about this [beforehand] by saying that Abraham's descendants would live in a foreign country and that they would [eventually] be ill-treated as slaves for four hundred years.

Verse ConceptsGod, Human Descriptions Of100 Years And MoreThose OppressedReckoned As ForeignersGroups Of SlavesStrangers in israelslaveryoppression

since indeed it is one [and the same] God who will justify the circumcised by faith [which began with Abraham] and the uncircumcised through [their newly acquired] faith.

Verse ConceptsCircumcision, spiritualMonotheismJustification Under The GospelGod Is OneNecessity Of CircumcisionRighteous By FaithThe Gospel To Jew And Gentile

And father of circumcision - unto them who are not of circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of the faith, while yet uncircumcised, of our father Abraham.

Verse ConceptsThose Who Had Faithfootprints

just as it is written [Gen. 17:5], "I [i.e., God] have made you [i.e., Abraham] forefather of many nations." He received this promise in the presence of God, in whom he believed, and who gives life [back] to dead people and who refers to things [promised] as though they were [already] fulfilled.

Verse ConceptsExistenceFaithChaosGod, The CreatorThe Existence Of ThingsExistence Through GodNon ExistenceThe Dead Are RaisedGod's CallCalling

Abraham's faith did not become weak [even though] he was about one hundred years old and considered his body almost dead and Sarah's womb incapable of conceiving a child.

Verse ConceptsBodyWeakness, SpiritualThe Age At FatherhoodWombLimitations Of The BodyGrace Verse LawWeaknesschildbearing

Now it was credited to him was not written for Abraham alone,

Verse ConceptsRighteousness imputedNot Being Alone

Now if the first-fruits of the dough Abraham and the Patriarchs are holy, so also is the whole mass their descendants. And if the root of a tree Abraham is holy, so also are the branches his descendants.

Verse ConceptsBranches, Figurative UsesFullness Of The KingdomBranches Of ChristMetaphorical FirstfruitsFirst fruitsTrinity

Here is what I am saying: The Agreement originally made by God [with Abraham], with its attending promises, was not canceled when the law of Moses was given some four hundred and thirty years later.

Verse Concepts100 Years And MoreGod's Covenant With The PatriarchsThe Law Given To Israelthe Law of moses

Now the mediator or go-between [in a transaction] is not [needed] for just one party; whereas God is only one [and was the only One giving the promise to Abraham, but the Law was a contract between two, God and Israel; its validity depended on both].

Verse ConceptsGod, Unity OfUnity, God's Goal OfGod Is One

Now, brothers, you [Christians] are children of the promise [made to Abraham. See 3:29] just like Isaac, [Abraham's son] was.

Verse ConceptsGod, Faithfulness OfNames And Titles For The ChristianGod's Promise To Abraham

What does the Scripture say about this matter? [It says, Gen. 21:10-12], "Get rid of the slave woman [Hagar], with her son [Ishmael]; for the son of the slave woman [Ishmael] will not inherit [what God promised to Abraham and his descendants], along with the son of the free woman [i.e., Isaac]."

Verse ConceptsConcubinesInheritance, MaterialRevenge, Examples Ofdiscriminationsonship

Now indeed those of the sons of Levi who receive the priesthood have commandment to collect tithes from the people according to the law, that is, of their brothers, although having come out of the loins of Abraham.

Verse ConceptsTithesBringing In The Tithe

for Levi was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met Abraham.

Verse ConceptsAncestorsBodygrandfathers

By [having] faith, Sarah herself received the ability to have children, even though she was [sterile, being] past the age of child-bearing, since she considered God faithful to His promise. [Note: Some translations consider "Abraham" to be the subject of this highly controversial verse. See Lightfoot, pages 222-225].

Verse ConceptsGod, Faithfulness OfBarren WomendisabilitiesOffspringWeakness, SpiritualExploits Of FaithGod's Promise To AbrahamThe Promise Of A BabyPromises respectingHer Strengthfaith and strengthGod's FaithfulnessStrength And FaithWomen's Strengthsarahchildbearing

Therefore, from one man [Abraham], who was as good as dead [i.e., because of having a sterile wife], were born descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the [grains of] sand on the seashore.

Verse ConceptsAn Innumerable NumberStarsSeashoresOnly One PersonSand And Gravel

But the truth is that they were longing for a better country, that is, a heavenly one. For that reason God is not ashamed [of them or] to be called their God [even to be surnamed their God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob]; for He has prepared a city for them.

Verse ConceptsBeing A PilgrimCityNames For HeavenHeaven,  Redeemed CommunityNot AshamedThirstZion, As A SymbolWhat Heaven Will Be LikeSaints, As PilgrimsCity Of GodA Place PreparedTaken To HeavenHe Is Our GodCitizensMoving To A New Place

But, idle boaster, are you willing to be taught how it is that faith apart from obedience is worthless? Take the case of Abraham our forefather.

Verse ConceptsFutilityFools, Characteristics OfFaith That WorksUseless ReligionWorks Of FaithFutile Faith

Thematic Bible














Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all his descendantsnot only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all (as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls things that do not exist as though they did. In hope, he believed against hope, so that he became the father of many nations; as he had been told, "So shall your descendants be."

Show 3 more verses


and the scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness", and he was called the friend of God.




the oath which he swore to our father Abraham:

The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that he would be heir of the world, was not through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised to show God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,

For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, "I will surely bless you and multiply you."

Even so Abraham "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you will all the nations be blessed." read more.
So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to do them." Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith." But the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "He who does them shall live by them." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for usfor it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree" in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. To give a human example, brethren: even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ. What I mean is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance is based on the law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave and one by the free woman. But the son by the slave was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. read more.
Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; for the children of the desolate are more numerous than the children of her who has a husband." Now you, brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now. But what does the scripture say? "Cast out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave shall not inherit with the son of the free woman." So then, brethren, we are not children of the slave, but of the free woman.



What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." read more.
Now to him who works, his wages are not reckoned as a gift but as his due. And to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness. So also David describes the blessedness of the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon his sin." Is this blessedness only upon the circumcised, or also upon the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it reckoned to him? Was it after he had been circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be reckoned to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who are not only circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith which our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that he would be heir of the world, was not through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are to be the heirs, faith has no value and the promise is void, because the law brings wrath, for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all his descendantsnot only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all (as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls things that do not exist as though they did. In hope, he believed against hope, so that he became the father of many nations; as he had been told, "So shall your descendants be." And he did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why it was "reckoned to him as righteousness."

Even so Abraham "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you will all the nations be blessed." read more.
So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the man of faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your descendants be called." He considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead; from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and faith was completed by works, and the scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness", and he was called the friend of God. read more.
You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.






And he said: "Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, 'Leave your country and your relatives, and go into the land that I will show you.'

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.


and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

Then ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years, be loosed on the Sabbath day from this bond?"

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.

They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not continue in the house forever, but a son continues forever. read more.
So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's descendants, yet you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your Father." They answered him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the things Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.








By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son,

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?









and the scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness", and he was called the friend of God.


There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

So the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.' read more.
But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus received evil things; but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' And he said, ' Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead.'"














Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living.







For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave and one by the free woman. But the son by the slave was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. read more.
Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; for the children of the desolate are more numerous than the children of her who has a husband." Now you, brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now. But what does the scripture say? "Cast out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave shall not inherit with the son of the free woman."



For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. And to him Abraham gave a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest continually. read more.
See how great he was! Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the spoils. And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, though these also are descended from Abraham. But this man whose genealogy is not derived from them received a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without dispute the lesser person is blessed by the greater. In this case tithes are received by mortal men, but in that case by one of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.



For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave and one by the free woman. But the son by the slave was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. read more.
Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren woman who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; for the children of the desolate are more numerous than the children of her who has a husband." Now you, brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now. But what does the scripture say? "Cast out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave shall not inherit with the son of the free woman."






For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him.














Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living.















By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son,










































































nor are they all children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but, "Through Isaac shall your descendants be named." In other words, it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned as descendants. For this is what the promise said: "About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son." read more.
And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our father Isaac, though the twins were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might stand, not because of works but because of his call, she was told, "The older will serve the younger." As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."




You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'



To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham: to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, read more.
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.




By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your descendants be called." He considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead; from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.









Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad."








He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,













In hope, he believed against hope, so that he became the father of many nations; as he had been told, "So shall your descendants be."


Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad."


Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.


For surely it is not with angels that he is concerned, but with the descendants of Abraham.



























Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad."




Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?






and said to him, 'Leave your country and your relatives, and go into the land that I will show you.' Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, even though he had no child, he promised that he would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him. read more.
But God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be aliens in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. 'But I will judge the nation which they serve,' said God, 'and after that they will come out and worship me in this place.' And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. read more.
By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, because she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from a distance, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And if they had been thinking of that country from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son,





By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your descendants be called." He considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead; from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.







And so Abraham, having patiently endured, obtained the promise.


























Is this blessedness only upon the circumcised, or also upon the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.

That is why it was "reckoned to him as righteousness."















from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,








References