Abraham

We first meet this person in the Bible in Genesis 11:27 where we learn that his father was Terah. At this stage his name is Abram, meaning ‘exalted Father'. However, God calls him to leave his land and go to another country where certain things are promised to him. One of these is that from him a great nation will form. This was hard to believe at the time as he was already 75 years old and childless but with God anything is possible and 24 years, on the verge of the promise becoming true, in Genesis 17:5 God changes his name to Abraham. This name now means ‘father of many' and signifies that the son that was soon to born to him would be the first in a long line of descendants, eventually giving rise to the Jewish people, God's chosen people.

Archaeological Concerns

There are a number of details of Abraham's story that can be verified by investigating archaeology. For example, in Genesis 14:14, after Abraham's nephew Lot is kidnapped by four kings, we see that Abraham has a private army of 318 men at his disposition to send out in pursuit. This is an interesting detail which could be doubted. However, the Hebrew word ‘Hanikim' used to describe the group of men belonging to Abraham is also found written on clay figurines from ancient Egypt called ‘Execration Texts'. These figurines were created by the Egyptians with the names of their enemies written on them so that they could then be destroyed in a ritual thus symbolising a magical protection against these enemies. (In case you’re wondering, although destroyed, the fragmented pieces remained for archaeologists many centuries later to discover and put back together!) Thus, it can be established that this word ‘hanikim' is ancient and meant the same as in the Bible, a group of retainers i.e. men who fought to protect, or retain, a master's property.

It is also mentioned that Abraham had camels. In Genesis 12:16 we learn that he acquired camels in Egypt and in Genesis 24:10 we see that Abraham's servant took ten camels loaded with goods when he went to get a wife for Isaac. An argument is brought that in Abraham's day they didn't use domesticated camels and some claim that the earliest domesticated camel bones found were from much later than Abraham's day, around 930 B.C. However, this an argument by silence as the fact that bones haven't been found doesn't prove that camels weren't domesticated and in any case the dating methods used to date the bones that have been found are questionable.

In Genesis 23 we see Abraham buying a field from Ephron the Hittite. A detailed legal process is described. This is again good testimony to the accuracy of the Biblical account as how could the author have known the right legal details if he hadn't been around at the time!

Promises

Beyond these matters, there is much that we can learn from Abraham's life. When we first meet Abraham (or should I say Abram) in the Bible it is in connection with his nomadic lifestyle and the promises he receives. At the end of Genesis 11, we see that he has already travelled with his father, nephew Lot and wife Sarai to Harran. They were on their way to Canaan but for an ungiven reason didn't make it.

After Terah, Abraham's father passes away, the call comes again to head for Canaan and, in spite of being well settled where they are (they've accumulated possessions and people), Abraham obeys and sets off. At the beginning of Genesis 12 there are a number of promises made to Abraham. These are that he will become a great nation, have a great name and that he, and via him all peoples of the earth, will be blessed. Quite something, especially as he was already 75 years old and childless!

Later on, in Genesis 17:8 we see that the promise includes the whole land of Canaan becoming his possession. As already mentioned, Abraham was doing well where he was at so it probably wasn't easy to obey the command to up and move to an unknown land, however we begin to see Abraham's faith in God through the fact that he nevertheless does what God asks, even if it is hard. Abraham could have grumbled and questioned why he couldn't just stay where he was and be blessed but God had bigger plans and it necessitated Abraham's trust in Him to discover them. The land isn't mentioned in the first promise, which is maybe intentional as only after obeying God, does Abraham find out this part of the plan.

In other words, we can draw for ourselves the conclusion that God has big plans for us but to be fulfilled we need to trust in Him even when it's not easy or we can't see the final outcome.