THE STORY OF ABRAHAM, as told by Isaac (The Pell Bible Stories)

Abraham is a key figure in the religious texts of Judaism and Christianity (chapters 11:26-25:18 of the book of Genesis and scattered mentions elsewhere), as well as Islam's holy book the Quran.Originally called Abram, he is given the name Abraham at the Covenant ceremony in Genesis 17 (the two names are generally understood to be dialect variations on each other, although the longer form was understood in popular etymology to mean "father of multitudes"). His story is essentially the history of the establishment of the covenant between Abraham and God: God calls Abraham to leave his land, family and household in Mesopotamia in return for a new land, family and inheritance in Canaan, the promised land; threats to the covenant arise (difficulties in producing an heir, the threat of bondage in Egypt, of lack of fear of God); but all are overcome and the covenant is established.[2] Abraham's story ends with the death and burial of his wife Sarah in the grave which he has purchased in Hebron (a town in southern Judah), followed by the marriage of his heir Isaac to a wife from his own people: these two episodes signify first the right of his descendants to the land, and second the exclusion of the land's previous inhabitants, the Canaanites, from Israel's patrimony.