Abraham is the figure the Bible places at the headwaters of Israel — the man first called Abram, whom the narrative presents as the father of the Hebrew nation and the one with whom God strikes a lasting covenant.
As the story opens — he is first named at Genesis 11:26 — God calls him out of Ur of the Chaldees to the land of Canaan, with the promise that his descendants will become a great nation. That covenant is marked in his own body through circumcision, and his new name, Avraham, “father of a multitude,” carries the promise forward.
His faith is tested most sharply when God commands him to sacrifice his son Isaac. The episode is known in Jewish tradition as the Aqedah, the Binding of Isaac, and it holds a central place in Jewish theology and liturgy.
From this one called-out family, the Bible traces the whole covenant story that follows.
Explore Abraham and related terms in the full glossary → a.fortt.com/glossary-app
How this is made · A Fortt Media project, created & edited by Jon Fortt. Grounded in a curated Scripture database and carefully drafted and audited with the help of AI — described plainly, and written to assume no particular denomination or doctrine. Read the full approach → · Report a correction →
