Abraham in the Bible

Meaning: father of a great multitude

Exact Match

And thy name shall no more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of a multitude of nations have I made thee.

Verse ConceptsAbraham, Calling And LifeTypes Of ChristChanged NamesGod Renaming People

And God said to Abraham, And as for thee, thou shalt keep my covenant, thou and thy seed after thee in their generations.

Verse ConceptsAbraham, Testing And Victory

And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all who were born in his house, and all who were bought with his money every male among the people of Abraham's house and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on that same day, as God had said to him.

Verse ConceptsForeskinsAt The Same TimeGroups Of Slaves

And Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

Now the Lord appeared to Abraham by the terebinth trees of Mamre [in Hebron], while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day.

Verse ConceptsHeatNoonRevelation, In OtSittingTentsAbraham, Testing And VictoryOaksHot WeatherGod Appearing

he glanced up and saw three men standing there, not far from him. As soon as he noticed them, Abraham ran from the tent entrance to greet them and bowed low to the ground.

Verse ConceptsAngel of the LordBowingSalutationsThree MenIndividuals RunningTrinity

Then Abraham took curds and milk, and the calf that he had prepared, and set them before the men. He served them as they ate under the tree.

Verse ConceptsButterMilkDairyCompanionshipPeople EatingRich Food

and Abraham and Sarah are aged, entering into days -- the way of women hath ceased to be to Sarah;

Verse ConceptsHumourPeople Wearing OutSoliloquyThe Promise Of A BabysexHaving A Babysarah

And Jehovah said to Abraham, Why is this, that Sarah laughs, saying, Shall I indeed bear, when I am become old?

Verse ConceptsWhy Do Others Do This?The Promise Of A Babysarah

And Jehovah saith unto Abraham, 'Why is this? Sarah hath laughed, saying, Is it true really -- I bear -- and I am aged? Is any thing too wonderful for Jehovah? at the appointed time I return unto thee, about the time of life, and Sarah hath a son.'

Verse ConceptsAll Things Being PossibleGod, Power OfGod's OmnipotencePower, Of GodArriving On TimePossibilities For GodEasy For GodPossible For GodThe Time Appointedimpossible

And the men turned thence, and went towards Sodom; and Abraham remained yet standing before Jehovah.

Abraham spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose [only] forty are found there.” And He said, “I will not do it for the sake of the forty [who are righteous].”

Verse ConceptsFortiesNumbers Of Righteous People

Then Abraham said [to Him], “Oh, may the Lord not be angry, and I will speak; suppose thirty [righteous people] are found there?” And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

Verse ConceptsThirtyLet Not God Be AngryNumbers Of Righteous PeopleSpeaking To God

"Look," Abraham said, "I've presumed to speak to my LORD" so what if 20 are found there?" "For the sake of those 20," the LORD responded, "I won't destroy it."

Verse ConceptsTwentyNumbers Of Righteous PeopleSpeaking To God

Finally, Abraham inquired, "I hope my LORD will not be angry if I speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" He replied, "For the sake of those ten I won't destroy it."

Verse ConceptsGod, Patience OfTen PeopleLet Not God Be AngryNumbers Of Righteous PeopleSpeaking To GodWorth

And it came to pass when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.

Verse ConceptsMemoriesRememberingAbraham, Testing And VictoryAbraham, Calling And LifeDivine RemembranceDestruction Of CitiesGod Remembering His PeopleBringing People Out Of Other Places

And Abraham departed thence towards the south country, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned at Gerar.

Verse ConceptsAbraham, Testing And VictorySojourningParticular Journeys

Did Abraham not say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' I have done this with a clear conscience and with innocent hands!"

Verse ConceptsMisrepresentationPlea Of Innocence

And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, What hast thou done to us? And in what have I sinned against thee, that thou hast brought on me, and on my kingdom, a great sin? Thou hast done to me deeds that ought not to be done.

Verse ConceptsWhat Do You Do?Kings SummoningWe Have SinnedWhat Sin?

And Abraham said, Because I said, Surely the fear of God is not in this place, and they will kill me for my wife's sake.

Verse ConceptsFailureNo Fear Of GodWhy People Did Things

And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.

Verse ConceptsPeople Naming Peoplesarah

And she said to Abraham, Cast out this handmaid and her son; for the son of this handmaid shall not inherit with my son with Isaac.

Verse ConceptsInheritance, MaterialFamilyQuarrelsOld Testament People As Typessarah

And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son.

And God said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad and because of thy handmaid: in all that Sarah hath said to thee hearken to her voice, for in Isaac shall a seed be called to thee.

Verse ConceptsAbrahamProphecies Concerning ChristPay Attention To People!sarah

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a flask of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder and the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

Verse ConceptsShouldersBottle, UsesDeserts, SpecificThe HomelessWater ContainersWanderersThose Who Rose EarlyCarrying Other LoadsExamples Of Love For Children

And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water that Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.

Verse ConceptsServants, BadWellsDishonesty, Examples Of

And Abimelech said to Abraham, What mean these seven ewe-lambs, these which thou hast set by themselves?

Verse ConceptsSeparating AnimalsWhat Is This?

And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up and went to the place that God had told him of.

Verse ConceptsAbrahamDonkeysMorningAnimals, Types OfRising EarlySplitting WoodFirewoodThose Who Rose EarlyPreparing To TravelSaddling DonkeysTwo Other Men

And Abraham said to his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

Verse ConceptsBowing Before God

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and the knife, and they went both of them together.

Verse ConceptsAbrahamKnifesGoing TogetherBurning SacrificesFirewoodCarrying Other Loads

And Isaac spoke to Abraham his father, and said, My father! And he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the sheep for a burnt-offering?

Verse ConceptsFireLambsBurning SacrificesFirewoodBehold Me!Sheep And GoatsWhere Are Things?

And they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built the altar there, and piled the wood; and he bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

Verse ConceptsAltarsAbrahamBindingPutting In OrderBuilding AltarsFirewoodTying Up

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind was a ram caught in the thicket by its horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt-offering instead of his son.

Verse ConceptsAbrahamHornsRamsSubstitutionNames Of GodHorns Of AnimalsVicarious Substitution

And Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba. And Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba.

And it came to pass after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, Behold, Milcah, she also has borne sons to thy brother Nahor:

Verse ConceptsAbraham, Testing And Victory

(And Bethuel begot Rebecca.) These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

Verse ConceptsEight People

And Sarah died in Kirjath-Arba: that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.

Verse ConceptsGriefLossSorrowWeepingMourning The Death Of OthersDeath

And Abraham rose up, and bowed down to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth,

Verse ConceptsSalutations

And Ephron was dwelling among the sons of Heth. And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham, in the ears of the sons of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,

Verse ConceptsempiresCitiesBusiness At The GatewayIn Men's Presence

And Abraham said to Ephron, in the hearing of the people of the land, If only you will give ear to me, I will give you the price of the field; take it, and let me put my dead to rest there.

Verse ConceptsThe Cave Of MachpelahIn Men's Presence

And Abraham hearkened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the money that he had named in the ears of the sons of Heth four hundred shekels of silver, current with the merchant.

Verse ConceptsAgreement, Making AgreementsMerchantsTradeWeighingIn Men's PresenceAgreeing With One Anotherhumor

Thus was the field of Ephron wherein the double cave is before Mamre - even the field and the cave that is therein, and all the trees of the field which grow in all the borders round about - made sure unto Abraham for a possession,

Verse ConceptsCaves For Burying

were assured to Abraham for a possession before the eyes of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

Verse ConceptsBusiness At The GatewayIn Men's Presence

And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field at Machpelah, opposite to Mamre: that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan.

Verse ConceptsTombsCaves For BuryingThe Cave Of MachpelahBurying placessarah

And Abraham said to his servant, the eldest of his house, who ruled over all that he had, Put thy hand, I pray thee, under my thigh,

Verse ConceptsThighsinvesting

And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore unto him concerning that matter.

Verse ConceptsServants, GoodThighsSwearing Oaths

Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels, and set out, taking some of his master’s good things with him; so he got up and journeyed to Mesopotamia [between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers], to the city of Nahor [the home of Abraham’s brother].

Verse ConceptsDeparturesTen AnimalsGiving Good Things

And he said, Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, meet me, I pray thee, with thy blessing this day, and deal kindly with my master Abraham.

Verse ConceptsGod Of The FathersGrace, In OtAdventureSuccess Through GodguidanceHaving A Good Day

Now, may the girl to whom I say, Let down your vessel and give me a drink, and who says in answer, Here is a drink for you and let me give water to your camels: may she be the one marked out by you for your servant Isaac: so may I be certain that you have been good to my master Abraham.

Verse ConceptsDrinksWater ContainersRequesting FoodMan Providing WaterSeeking A SignGod Appointing OthersGiving In Marriage

And it came to pass before he had ended speaking, that behold, Rebecca came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother; and she had her pitcher upon her shoulder.

Verse ConceptsShouldersequipping, physicalWater ContainersWhile Still SpeakingCarrying Other Loads

Then Abraham's servant ran to meet her and asked her, "Please, let me have a sip of water from your jug."

Verse ConceptsWater ContainersIndividuals RunningRequesting FoodMan Providing Water

and said, Blessed be Jehovah, God of my master Abraham, who has not withdrawn his loving-kindness and his faithfulness from my master; I being in the way, Jehovah has led me to the house of my master's brethren.

Verse ConceptsJourneyKindnessGod Has GuidedBless The Lord!God Showed His Lovingkindness

So Abraham's servant went to the house and unloaded the camels. Straw and feed were given to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet.

Verse ConceptsBathing, For CleansingGuestsMangersStrawWaterFeet WashingThings StrippedEntering HousesFeeding AnimalsMan Providing WaterClean FeetCare Of Feet

Thematic Bible














So it is conditioned on faith, that it might be in accordance with God's unmerited favor, so that the promise might be in force for all the descendants of Abraham, not only for those who belong to the law party but also for those who belong to the faith group of Abraham. He is the father of us all, as the Scripture says, "I have made you the father of many nations." That is, the promise is in force in the sight of God in whom he put his faith, the God who can bring the dead to life and can call to Himself the things that do not exist as though they did. Abraham, building on hope in spite of hopeless circumstances, had faith, and so he actually became the father of many nations, just as it had been told him, "So numberless shall your descendants be."

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and so the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham put his faith in God, and it was credited to him for uprightness, and he was called God's friend."




the oath which He swore to our forefather Abraham,

For the promise made to Abraham and his descendants, that he should own the world, was not conditioned on the law, but on the right standing he had with God through faith.

Yes, I mean that Christ has become a servant to Israel to prove God's truthfulness, to make valid His promises to our forefathers,

For when God made His promise to Abraham, He took an oath by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom He could take it, saying: "I will certainly bless you over and over again, I will extensively increase your numbers."

just as "Abraham put his faith in God, and it was credited to him as right standing with God"? So you see, it is the men of faith who are the real descendants of Abraham. Because the Scripture foresaw that God would bring the heathen into right standing with Himself on condition of faith, He beforehand proclaimed the good news to Abraham in the promise, "It is through you that all the heathen will be blessed." read more.
So the men of faith are blessed as partners with trusting Abraham. For those who depend on what the law commands are under a curse, for the Scripture says, "Cursed be everyone who does not continue in all the commands that are written in the book of the law, to do them." Now it is evident that through the law no man is brought into right standing with God, for "The man in right standing with God will live by faith," and the law has nothing to do with faith, but it says, "It is the man who does these things that will live by doing them." Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us -- for the Scripture says, "Cursed be everyone who is hanged on a tree" -- that the blessing promised to Abraham might through Jesus Christ come to the heathen, so that through faith we might receive the promised Spirit. Brothers, I am going to use a human illustration: Even a human contract, once it has been ratified, no one can annul or change. Now the promises were made to Abraham and his descendant. It does not say, "and to your descendants," in the plural, but in the singular, "and to your descendant," that is, Christ. I mean this: The law which was given four hundred and thirty years later could not annul the contract which had already been ratified by God, so as to cancel the promise. For if our inheritance depends on the law, it can no longer depend on the promise. But it was by promise that God so graciously bestowed it upon Abraham.

And if you belong to Christ, then you are real descendants of Abraham, and heirs in accordance with the promise made to him.

For the Scripture says that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave girl, the other by a free woman. But the child of the slave girl was born in the ordinary course of nature, while the child of the free woman was born to fulfill the promise. This is spoken as an allegory. For these women are two covenants, one coming from Mount Sinai, bearing children that are to be slaves; read more.
that is, Hagar (and Hagar means Mount Sinai, in Arabia) and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for Jerusalem is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For the Scripture says: "Rejoice, you childless woman, who never bore a child; break forth into shouting, you who feel no birth pangs; for the desolate woman has many children, even more than the married one." Now we, brothers, like Isaac, are children born to fulfill the promise. But just as then the child born in the ordinary course of nature persecuted the one born by the power of the Spirit, so it is today. But what does the Scripture say? "Drive off the slave girl and her son, for the slave girl's son shall never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman." So, brothers, we are children, not of a slave girl but of a free woman.



Then what are we to say about our forefather Abraham? For if he was considered in right standing with God on the condition of what he did, he has something to boast of, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham put his faith in God, and it was credited to him as right standing with God." read more.
Now when a workman gets his pay, it is not considered from the point of view of a favor but of an obligation; but the man who does no work, but simply puts his faith in Him who brings the ungodly into right standing with Himself, has his faith credited to him as right standing. So David, too, describes the happiness of the man to whom God credits right standing with Himself, without the things he does having anything to do with it: "Happy are they whose transgressions have been forgiven, whose sins were covered up; Happy the man whose sin the Lord does not charge against him!" Now does this happiness come to the Jews alone, or to the heathen peoples too? For we say, "Abraham's faith was credited to him as right standing." Under what circumstances was it credited to him as right standing? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? Not after but before he was circumcised. Afterward he received the mark of circumcision as God's seal of his right standing with Him on condition of faith which he had before he was circumcised, that he might be the forefather of all who have faith while still uncircumcised, that they might have their faith credited to them as right standing with God; and the forefather of those Jews who not only belong to the circumcision but also follow in the footsteps of our forefather Abraham in the faith he had before he was circumcised. For the promise made to Abraham and his descendants, that he should own the world, was not conditioned on the law, but on the right standing he had with God through faith. For if the law party is to possess the world, then faith has been nullified and the promise has been made null and void. For the law results in wrath alone, but where there is no law, there can be no violation of it. So it is conditioned on faith, that it might be in accordance with God's unmerited favor, so that the promise might be in force for all the descendants of Abraham, not only for those who belong to the law party but also for those who belong to the faith group of Abraham. He is the father of us all, as the Scripture says, "I have made you the father of many nations." That is, the promise is in force in the sight of God in whom he put his faith, the God who can bring the dead to life and can call to Himself the things that do not exist as though they did. Abraham, building on hope in spite of hopeless circumstances, had faith, and so he actually became the father of many nations, just as it had been told him, "So numberless shall your descendants be." Because he never weakened in faith, he calmly contemplated his own vital powers as worn out (for he was about one hundred years old) and the inability of Sarah to bear a child, and yet he never staggered in doubt at the promise of God but grew powerful in faith, because he gave the glory to God in full assurance that He was able to do what He had promised. Therefore, his faith was credited to him as right standing with God.

just as "Abraham put his faith in God, and it was credited to him as right standing with God"? So you see, it is the men of faith who are the real descendants of Abraham. Because the Scripture foresaw that God would bring the heathen into right standing with Himself on condition of faith, He beforehand proclaimed the good news to Abraham in the promise, "It is through you that all the heathen will be blessed." read more.
So the men of faith are blessed as partners with trusting Abraham.

By faith Abraham, on being called, obeyed in starting off for a country which he was to receive as his own, and he did it in spite of the fact that he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his temporary home in the land that God had promised him, although a land inhabited by others, living merely in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were to share the promise with him. For he was confidently looking forward to that city with the solid foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered Isaac as a sacrifice; that is, he who had received the promise was starting to offer as a sacrifice his only son, of whom it had been said, "Through Isaac your offspring must be traced." For he considered the fact that God was able to raise people from the dead; and so from the dead, in a figure, he did receive him back.

Was not our forefather Abraham shown to be upright by his good deeds, namely, by offering Isaac his son upon the altar? You see that faith cooperated with his good deeds, and by his good deeds faith was made complete; and so the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham put his faith in God, and it was credited to him for uprightness, and he was called God's friend." read more.
You see that a man is shown to be upright by his good deeds, and not merely by his faith.






He answered: "Listen, brothers and fathers. The glorious God appeared to our forefather Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia before he ever made his home in Haran, and said to him, 'Leave your country and your kinsmen and come to Whatever country I may show you.'

By faith Abraham, on being called, obeyed in starting off for a country which he was to receive as his own, and he did it in spite of the fact that he did not know where he was going.


and do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our forefather? For I tell you, God can raise up descendants for Abraham even out of these stones.

And so was it not right for this woman, a descendant of Abraham, whom Satan has for eighteen years kept bound, to be freed from this bond on the Sabbath?"

There you will weep and grind your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves being driven away on the outside.

Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this home, for he too is a real descendant of Abraham.

They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants and we never have been anybody's slaves. How can you say to us, 'You will be set free'?" Jesus answered them, "I most solemnly say to you, everyone who lives in sin is a slave of sin. Now a slave does not live permanently in a household, but a son does. read more.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be really free. I know that you are Abraham's descendants, and yet you are trying to kill me, because there is no room in you for my teaching. I am telling you what I have seen in my Father's presence, and you are practicing what you have learned from your father." They answered Him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, you must be practicing what Abraham did. But right now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that He has learned from God. Abraham never did that.








By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered Isaac as a sacrifice; that is, he who had received the promise was starting to offer as a sacrifice his only son,

Was not our forefather Abraham shown to be upright by his good deeds, namely, by offering Isaac his son upon the altar?









and so the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham put his faith in God, and it was credited to him for uprightness, and he was called God's friend."


There you will weep and grind your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves being driven away on the outside.

I tell you, many will come from the east and from the west and take their seats at the feast with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, 'in the kingdom of heaven,

One day the beggar died and was carried away by the angels to be Abraham's bosom companion, and the rich man too died and was buried. And in Hades he looked up, in constant tortures as he was, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus his bosom companion. So he called and said, 'Father Abraham, take pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool off my tongue, because I am ceaselessly tortured in this flame.' read more.
But Abraham said, 'My child, remember that you received in full your blessings in your lifetime, and Lazarus his hardships in his, but now he is continuously comforted here, while you are continuously tortured there. Besides all this, between you and us there stands fixed a great chasm, so that those who want to cross from this side to you cannot, nor can they cross from your side to us.' Then he said, 'For this reason, I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house (for I have five brothers) to warn them, that they too may not come to this place of torture.' But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them.' But he pleaded, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone went to them from the dead, they would repent.' Then he answered, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.'"














So he left the country of the Chaldeans and for a time made his home in Haran. Then after the death of his father, God had him move to this country in which you now live.







For the Scripture says that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave girl, the other by a free woman. But the child of the slave girl was born in the ordinary course of nature, while the child of the free woman was born to fulfill the promise. This is spoken as an allegory. For these women are two covenants, one coming from Mount Sinai, bearing children that are to be slaves; read more.
that is, Hagar (and Hagar means Mount Sinai, in Arabia) and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for Jerusalem is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For the Scripture says: "Rejoice, you childless woman, who never bore a child; break forth into shouting, you who feel no birth pangs; for the desolate woman has many children, even more than the married one." Now we, brothers, like Isaac, are children born to fulfill the promise. But just as then the child born in the ordinary course of nature persecuted the one born by the power of the Spirit, so it is today. But what does the Scripture say? "Drive off the slave girl and her son, for the slave girl's son shall never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman."



For this man Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was coming back from the defeat of the kings, and put his blessing on him, to whom Abraham contributed a tenth of all his spoils, who first of all, in accordance with the meaning of his name, is king of righteousness, and then king of Salem, which means king of peace; with no father, no mother, no ancestry; no beginning to his days, no end to his life, but, like the Son of God, as priest continues on and on with no successor. read more.
Now see how great this man must have been that even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of his spoils. And those of the descendants of Levi who accept the priesthood are authorized by the law to collect a tenth from the people; that is, from their own brothers, though they have sprung from Abraham. But in this case, the man whose ancestry is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham, and put his blessing on the man who had the promises from God. Now beyond any contradiction, it is always the inferior that is blessed by the superior. In the one case, mortal men collect the tenth, in the other, one who, as the witness states, lives on. And I might almost say, Levi too, who now collects the tenth, through Abraham paid the tenth, for he was a vital part of his forefather though yet unborn, when Melchizedek met him.



For the Scripture says that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave girl, the other by a free woman. But the child of the slave girl was born in the ordinary course of nature, while the child of the free woman was born to fulfill the promise. This is spoken as an allegory. For these women are two covenants, one coming from Mount Sinai, bearing children that are to be slaves; read more.
that is, Hagar (and Hagar means Mount Sinai, in Arabia) and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for Jerusalem is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. For the Scripture says: "Rejoice, you childless woman, who never bore a child; break forth into shouting, you who feel no birth pangs; for the desolate woman has many children, even more than the married one." Now we, brothers, like Isaac, are children born to fulfill the promise. But just as then the child born in the ordinary course of nature persecuted the one born by the power of the Spirit, so it is today. But what does the Scripture say? "Drive off the slave girl and her son, for the slave girl's son shall never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman."






For this man Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was coming back from the defeat of the kings, and put his blessing on him,














So he left the country of the Chaldeans and for a time made his home in Haran. Then after the death of his father, God had him move to this country in which you now live.















By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered Isaac as a sacrifice; that is, he who had received the promise was starting to offer as a sacrifice his only son,










































































nor are they all children of Abraham, because they are his descendants, but the promise was "In the line of Isaac your descendants will I be counted." That is, it is not Abraham's natural descendants who are God's children, but those who are made children by the promise are counted his true descendants. For this is the language of the promise, "About this time next year I will come back, and Sarah will have a son." read more.
Not only that but this too: There was Rebecca who was impregnated by our forefather Isaac. For even before the twin sons were born, and though they had done nothing either good or bad, that God's purpose in accordance with His choice might continue to stand, conditioned not on men's actions but on God's calling them, she was told, "The elder will be a slave to the younger." As the Scripture says, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated."




And you are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the sacred compact which God made with your forefathers, when He said to Abraham: 'All the families of the earth are to be blessed through your posterity.'



to show mercy to our forefathers, and carry out His sacred covenant, the oath which He swore to our forefather Abraham, to grant us deliverance from the dreaded hand of our foes, so that we could serve Him read more.
in holiness and uprightness In His own presence all our days.

Now the promises were made to Abraham and his descendant. It does not say, "and to your descendants," in the plural, but in the singular, "and to your descendant," that is, Christ.




By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered Isaac as a sacrifice; that is, he who had received the promise was starting to offer as a sacrifice his only son, of whom it had been said, "Through Isaac your offspring must be traced." For he considered the fact that God was able to raise people from the dead; and so from the dead, in a figure, he did receive him back.

By faith Abraham, on being called, obeyed in starting off for a country which he was to receive as his own, and he did it in spite of the fact that he did not know where he was going.









Your forefather Abraham exulted in the hope of seeing my day. He has seen it and is glad of it."








and yet he never staggered in doubt at the promise of God but grew powerful in faith, because he gave the glory to God













Abraham, building on hope in spite of hopeless circumstances, had faith, and so he actually became the father of many nations, just as it had been told him, "So numberless shall your descendants be."


Your forefather Abraham exulted in the hope of seeing my day. He has seen it and is glad of it."


Now the promises were made to Abraham and his descendant. It does not say, "and to your descendants," in the plural, but in the singular, "and to your descendant," that is, Christ.


For of course it is not angels but descendants of Abraham that He is to help.



























Your forefather Abraham exulted in the hope of seeing my day. He has seen it and is glad of it."




Was not our forefather Abraham shown to be upright by his good deeds, namely, by offering Isaac his son upon the altar?






and said to him, 'Leave your country and your kinsmen and come to Whatever country I may show you.' So he left the country of the Chaldeans and for a time made his home in Haran. Then after the death of his father, God had him move to this country in which you now live. He gave him no property in it, not even a foot of land, and yet He promised to give it to him and his descendants after him, as a permanent possession, although he had no child at that time. read more.
This is what God promised: 'His descendants will be strangers living in a foreign land, and its people will enslave and oppress them for four hundred years.' But God further promised: 'I will pass sentence on the nation that enslaves them, and after that they will leave that country and worship me on this very spot.' And with Abraham He made the sacred compact of circumcision, and he 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, on being called, obeyed in starting off for a country which he was to receive as his own, and he did it in spite of the fact that he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his temporary home in the land that God had promised him, although a land inhabited by others, living merely in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were to share the promise with him. For he was confidently looking forward to that city with the solid foundations, whose architect and builder is God. read more.
By faith Sarah received strength to become pregnant, and actually gave birth to a child, although she was past the time of life for it, because she thought that He who made her the promise was to be trusted. And so there sprang from one man, and that dead as to any prospects for offspring, a people as numberless as the stars in the sky and as the sands beside the seashore. These people all died victoriously as a result of their faith, although they did not receive the blessings promised; that is, because they really saw them in the far-off future and welcomed them, and so professed to be only foreigners and strangers here on earth. For people who make such a profession as this show that they are in search of a country of their own. And if they had been cherishing the memory of the country they had left, they would have had an opportunity to go back. But in reality they were aspiring for a better country, I mean, a heavenly one. This is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered Isaac as a sacrifice; that is, he who had received the promise was starting to offer as a sacrifice his only son,





By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, offered Isaac as a sacrifice; that is, he who had received the promise was starting to offer as a sacrifice his only son, of whom it had been said, "Through Isaac your offspring must be traced." For he considered the fact that God was able to raise people from the dead; and so from the dead, in a figure, he did receive him back.







And so by patiently waiting he obtained what God had promised him.


























Now does this happiness come to the Jews alone, or to the heathen peoples too? For we say, "Abraham's faith was credited to him as right standing."

Therefore, his faith was credited to him as right standing with God.















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








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