1. This story is told in the Torah (The Sacred text of Judaism)
The Story of Abraham
This story is told in the Torah (The Sacred text of Judaism)

2. Abraham was originally from the city of Ur
Abraham was originally from the city of Ur. Ur was located close to the Euphrates river in ancient Mesopotamia.
The people of Mesopotamia worshiped many gods. They built large temples called Ziggurats to worship these gods.

3. Abraham moved from Ur to Haran with his father Terah, his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot.
Terah made and sold idols (fake gods) to the people of Haran. His customers would worship these idols.

4. While in Haran, Abraham had an encounter with God
While in Haran, Abraham had an encounter with God. Abraham and God then made a covenant. (Contract or agreement)
God promised to make Abraham the father of a great people and said that Abraham and his descendants must obey God.
In return God would guide them and protect them and give them the land of Canaan.

5. Abraham and his family then left Haran to journey to the land of Canaan (the promised land). When they arrived, there was a terrible drought, so they continued on to Egypt.
After being kicked out of Egypt, Abrahams family returned to Canaan to begin their life.

6. Abraham and his wife Sarai were unable to give birth to a child, so Sarai gave her maid Hagar to her husband.
Hagar later gave birth to Abraham’s first son, Ishmael.
14 years later, Sarai gave birth to Abraham’s second son, Isaac.

7. When Sarai noticed Ishmael treating her son Isaac unkindly, she asked Abraham to banish Hagar and her son. Sarai did not want Ishmael to share in the inheritance of Isaac.
Abraham sent them to the wilderness and they eventually settled there.
Ishmael had 12 sons and is believed by many to be the descendent of the Arab tribes.

8. In order to test Abrahams faith, God asked him to sacrifice his son Isaac.
Abraham bound Isaac, and prepared to sacrifice him.
Just before the sacrifice, an angel stopped Abraham and said “now I know that you truly fear god.”
Abraham found a ram nearby and sacrificed the ram in place of his son.

9. Abraham died in the town of Hebron, but his legacy lived on through his family.
His grandson Jacob had 12 sons who formed the 12 tribes of Israel.

10. The members of these twelve tribes collectively became known as the “Israelites”.
The land of Canaan was divided between them and their descendants still claim ownership of this land today.
The nation of Israel was established in 1948.

11. In Judaism, Abraham is considered the first ancestor of all Jews
In Judaism, Abraham is considered the first ancestor of all Jews. As well as being their biological “father”, he was the first to make the covenant with God that gave them the land of Canaan.
In Christianity, it is believed that Jesus is a descendent of Abraham through Isaac. Jesus was born to Jewish parents. The first half of the Christian bible is the Torah, with the second half being added after the life of Jesus.
In Islam, Abraham is believed to have built the Kaaba with his son Ishmael. All 25 prophets mentioned in the Quran are related to Abraham. The prophet Muhammad is believed to be a descendent of Ishmael. When Muhammad destroyed the idols in the Kaaba, he was restoring the faith originally taught by Abraham.