Abraham's family tree
Encyclopedia
Though his forefathers were from southern Mesopotamia
, Yahweh
leads Abram
on a journey to the land of Cannan
, which he promises to Abram’s descendants. For a while, Abram lives in the region of Hebron
, after which he is described as a “Hebrew.” Abraham’s family tree is connected by interesting stories. He is known as the patriarch of the Jewish people of today through Isaac
, the son born to him and Sarah
in their old age in fulfillment of a promise from God. Many Arabic people are also descended from Abraham through his son Ishmael
, born to Abraham and his wife’s servant Hagar
.
. Ur was an important Sumerian
city that is now known as Tell el-Mukayyar. Terah took his son Abraham and his grandson Lot (son of Haran) to the city of Haran. The people here were not related to those of Mesopotamia.
tells him to move to a new place he will show him. Yahweh tells Abram that he will make Abram a great nation, that his descendants will multiply greatly and that whoever blesses Abram will be blessed and whoever curses him will be cursed. One of Abram’s first stopping places is the land of Canaan
. There God promised the land to Abram’s descendants. However when there is a famine there, Abram moves to Egypt for a while.
is Abram’s wife, and the account in Genesis says that she was beautiful. There are two occasions (years apart) when Abram lies about being married to her because he fears that a local king will kill him and take Sarai for his own wife. The first occasion occurs when they reach Egypt
; Abram says that Sarai is his sister and Pharaoh takes her into his harem. When Pharaoh discovers Sarai is really Abram’s wife, he is appalled and he sends back Sarai along with wealth to Abraham and they move on.
Abraham is quoted as saying that actually Sarai is his half-sister since they have the same father but not the same mother. (Though the Law of Moses
prohibited marriage between close relatives hundreds of years later, there is no indication that the marriage between Abram and Sarai was considered inappropriate at that time.)
The second occasion is years later, after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
. Abraham settles in the Negev
and a local king takes Sarah as his wife – in good conscience since Abraham does not disclose her married status. God appears to this king in a dream and tells him to give Sarah back to Abraham. Again Sarah is returned with gifts.
Until the birth of Isaac
, the account says that Sarah has no children, and when the promise of Isaac is given, it says she laughs at the idea because she is well past her childbearing years.
Abram has a large estate with many people. When neighboring kings defeat some local tribes, they take Lot captive as well. Abram raises 318 soldiers from his household and defeats the kings to rescue Lot.
Lot settles in the city of Sodom and prospers until, years later, the sinfulness of the city as a whole reaches the limit of God’s patience and he sends angels to destroy it. At this time Abram is 99 years old and he has a hand in rescuing Lot again. God has mercy in response to Abram’s concern about the coming judgment, and angels give Lot a chance to evacuate the city before the destruction comes. Reluctantly, Lot leaves with his wife and daughters (their fiancees stay behind). They escape with just their lives, except for Lot’s wife. Against the angel’s warning, she looks back while the destruction is happening and the account states that she turns into a pillar of salt.
Lot became the father of the Moab
ites and the Ammonites, nations who were sometimes friendly, sometimes antagonistic toward Abraham’s descendants.
is born. This situation brings strife rather than happiness between Hagar and Sarah. Nevertheless, God sees Hagar’s suffering and promises that though this was not the child promised Abraham, he will nevertheless make Ishmael’s descendents into a great nation also, though Ishmael will be a wild, unfriendly man.
to see whether he could find a wife for Isaac. The servant meets Rebekah
at a water well outside of town and when he discovers she is a relative, he asks permission to take her as a wife for Isaac. Rebekah’s father Bethuel and brother Laban
agree. So at age 40, Isaac marries Rebekah, who gives birth to twin sons Esau and Jacob twenty years later.
was born first, God indicated that Jacob
would be the one to receive the greater inheritance and would be the father of a nation. Jacob and Esau make an infamous bargain in which Esau sells his rights to extra inheritance as the firstborn son to Jacob for a bowl of stew. Combined with some deception, Jacob ends up getting his father’s blessing as if he were firstborn. This angers Esau so much that Jacob flees for his life to his uncle Laban. He meets and later marries Laban’s daughters Leah and Rachel. Jacob stays in Haran for 20 years and works for Laban before returning to his homeland.
Jacob became the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, and ultimately the kingdom of Israel (and later Judah, which split off).
, who bears him six more sons – Zimran
, Jokshan
, Medan
, Midian
, Ishbak
and Shuah
.
's son Shem
, through Abraham
to Jacob
and his sons.
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
, Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
leads Abram
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
on a journey to the land of Cannan
Cannan
Cannan is a surname, and may refer to:* David Cannan* Denis Cannan* Edwin Cannan, British economist* Gilbert Cannan* James Harold Cannan* Joanna Cannan*John Cannan, a British convicted murderer* May Wedderburn Cannan* Ron Cannan-See also:...
, which he promises to Abram’s descendants. For a while, Abram lives in the region of Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
, after which he is described as a “Hebrew.” Abraham’s family tree is connected by interesting stories. He is known as the patriarch of the Jewish people of today through Isaac
Isaac
Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...
, the son born to him and Sarah
Sarah
Sarah or Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai...
in their old age in fulfillment of a promise from God. Many Arabic people are also descended from Abraham through his son Ishmael
Ishmael
Ishmael is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, and was Abraham's first born child according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born of Abraham's marriage to Sarah's handmaiden Hagar...
, born to Abraham and his wife’s servant Hagar
Hagar
-People:* Hagar , handmaid of Sarah and mother of Abraham's son Ishmael* Hagar Finer, Israeli WIBF bantamweight champion* Albert Hagar, Canadian politician* Mandy Hagar, New Zealand children's author...
.
Abram’s original homeland
The home of Abram’s father Terah was UrUr
Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...
. Ur was an important Sumerian
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
city that is now known as Tell el-Mukayyar. Terah took his son Abraham and his grandson Lot (son of Haran) to the city of Haran. The people here were not related to those of Mesopotamia.
Abram’s migration
When Abram is 75 years old, YahwehYahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
tells him to move to a new place he will show him. Yahweh tells Abram that he will make Abram a great nation, that his descendants will multiply greatly and that whoever blesses Abram will be blessed and whoever curses him will be cursed. One of Abram’s first stopping places is the land of Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
. There God promised the land to Abram’s descendants. However when there is a famine there, Abram moves to Egypt for a while.
Abram and Sarai
SaraiSarah
Sarah or Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai...
is Abram’s wife, and the account in Genesis says that she was beautiful. There are two occasions (years apart) when Abram lies about being married to her because he fears that a local king will kill him and take Sarai for his own wife. The first occasion occurs when they reach Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
; Abram says that Sarai is his sister and Pharaoh takes her into his harem. When Pharaoh discovers Sarai is really Abram’s wife, he is appalled and he sends back Sarai along with wealth to Abraham and they move on.
Abraham is quoted as saying that actually Sarai is his half-sister since they have the same father but not the same mother. (Though the Law of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
prohibited marriage between close relatives hundreds of years later, there is no indication that the marriage between Abram and Sarai was considered inappropriate at that time.)
The second occasion is years later, after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
. Abraham settles in the Negev
Negev
The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...
and a local king takes Sarah as his wife – in good conscience since Abraham does not disclose her married status. God appears to this king in a dream and tells him to give Sarah back to Abraham. Again Sarah is returned with gifts.
Until the birth of Isaac
Isaac
Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...
, the account says that Sarah has no children, and when the promise of Isaac is given, it says she laughs at the idea because she is well past her childbearing years.
Abram and Lot
Lot is Abram’s nephew, the son of his brother Haran. After God’s call to Abram, Abram and Lot leave (the land of) Haran together with all of their belongings, including flocks of animals. It seemed that their flocks are too large to graze the same land, so Abram has Lot choose between the lush plain of Sodom and Canaan. Lot chooses the better looking land in the plain of the Jordan and Abram lives in Canaan again. Specifically, he settles in Hebron – which leads to him (and his descendants) being called Hebrew.Abram has a large estate with many people. When neighboring kings defeat some local tribes, they take Lot captive as well. Abram raises 318 soldiers from his household and defeats the kings to rescue Lot.
Lot settles in the city of Sodom and prospers until, years later, the sinfulness of the city as a whole reaches the limit of God’s patience and he sends angels to destroy it. At this time Abram is 99 years old and he has a hand in rescuing Lot again. God has mercy in response to Abram’s concern about the coming judgment, and angels give Lot a chance to evacuate the city before the destruction comes. Reluctantly, Lot leaves with his wife and daughters (their fiancees stay behind). They escape with just their lives, except for Lot’s wife. Against the angel’s warning, she looks back while the destruction is happening and the account states that she turns into a pillar of salt.
Lot became the father of the Moab
Moab
Moab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over...
ites and the Ammonites, nations who were sometimes friendly, sometimes antagonistic toward Abraham’s descendants.
Abram and Ishmael
Abram and Sarah prosper materially but have no children. Abram plans to leave his estate to a trusted servant, but God promises him a son and heir. When he is 86 years old, Sarah suggests and Abraham agrees that a practical way to have a child is through Sarah’s servant Hagar. Hagar conceives right away and in time IshmaelIshmael
Ishmael is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, and was Abraham's first born child according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born of Abraham's marriage to Sarah's handmaiden Hagar...
is born. This situation brings strife rather than happiness between Hagar and Sarah. Nevertheless, God sees Hagar’s suffering and promises that though this was not the child promised Abraham, he will nevertheless make Ishmael’s descendents into a great nation also, though Ishmael will be a wild, unfriendly man.
Abram to Abraham
In Genesis chapter 17: 4-6 Yahweh changes Abram’s name to Abraham, for Yahweh has told him that he has made Abraham into many great nations.Abraham and Issac
Three visitors come to Abraham and say that he will have a son. Sarah believes she is too old to have a child and laughs. Yet she does conceive and in Genesis chapter 21: 1-7, Sarah has a baby named Isaac, which means laughter, just as the three visitors told her. Later, Abraham’s loyalty to Yahweh is tested when he is asked to give up Isaac as a sacrifice. The account in Genesis suggests that Abraham expected that Yahweh would give Isaac back to him somehow. A ram, caught in a thicket, is provided in lieu of Isaac.Isaac and Rebekah
When Abraham was very old, and shortly after the death of Sarah, he sent his servant back to the clan of his nephew BethuelBethuel
Bethuel , in the Hebrew Bible, was an Aramean man, the youngest son of Nahor and Milcah, the nephew of Abraham, and the father of Laban and Rebekah....
to see whether he could find a wife for Isaac. The servant meets Rebekah
Rebecca
Rebecca a biblical matriarch from the Book of Genesis and a common first name. In this book Rebecca was said to be a beautiful girl. As a name it is often shortened to Becky, Becki or Becca; see Rebecca ....
at a water well outside of town and when he discovers she is a relative, he asks permission to take her as a wife for Isaac. Rebekah’s father Bethuel and brother Laban
Laban
Laban may refer to:* Laban , a character in the Book of Genesis.* Laban , a character in The Book of Mormon.* Laban , a 1980s Eurodance duo....
agree. So at age 40, Isaac marries Rebekah, who gives birth to twin sons Esau and Jacob twenty years later.
Jacob and Esau
Rebecca became the mother of twins. Though EsauEsau
Esau , in the Hebrew Bible, is the oldest son of Isaac. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and by the minor prophets, Obadiah and Malachi. The New Testament later references him in the Book of Romans and the Book of Hebrews....
was born first, God indicated that Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
would be the one to receive the greater inheritance and would be the father of a nation. Jacob and Esau make an infamous bargain in which Esau sells his rights to extra inheritance as the firstborn son to Jacob for a bowl of stew. Combined with some deception, Jacob ends up getting his father’s blessing as if he were firstborn. This angers Esau so much that Jacob flees for his life to his uncle Laban. He meets and later marries Laban’s daughters Leah and Rachel. Jacob stays in Haran for 20 years and works for Laban before returning to his homeland.
Jacob became the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, and ultimately the kingdom of Israel (and later Judah, which split off).
Abraham and Keturah
After the death of Sarah, Abraham marries a woman named KeturahKeturah
According to the Hebrew Bible, Keturah or Ketura was the woman whom Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, married after the death of his wife, Sarah. Keturah bore Abraham six sons, Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah....
, who bears him six more sons – Zimran
Zimran
Zimran , also known as Zambran. was according to the Hebrew Bible the first son of Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, and Keturah whom he wed after the death of Sarah...
, Jokshan
Jokshan
Jokshan ; most probably Josephus' Jazar. According to the Bible he was the second son of Abraham and his concubine Keturah, whom he wed after the death of Sarah...
, Medan
Medan
- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....
, Midian
Midian
Midian , Madyan , or Madiam is a geographical place and a people mentioned in the Bible and in the Qur'an. It is believed to be in northwest Saudi Arabia on the east shore of the Gulf of Aqaba and the northern Red Sea...
, Ishbak
Ishbak
Ishbak , also spelt Jisbak and Josabak. According to the Bible he was the fifth son of Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, and Keturah whom he wed after the death of Sarah...
and Shuah
Shuah
Shuah , also known as Sous, was, according to the Bible, the sixth son of Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, and Keturah whom he wed after the death of Sarah...
.
Family tree
The following is a family tree for the descendants of the line of NoahNoah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
's son Shem
Shem
Shem was one of the sons of Noah in the Hebrew Bible as well as in Islamic literature. He is most popularly regarded as the eldest son, though some traditions regard him as the second son. Genesis 10:21 refers to relative ages of Shem and his brother Japheth, but with sufficient ambiguity in each...
, through Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
to Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
and his sons.