Bible Quiz #5 -- Abraham

Abraham

[See "Bible Quiz #4 -- Noah & the Flood"]

In addition to its obvious religious importance, the Bible is a significant work of literature. However, much of what we know about the Bible is through hearsay and forgotten lessons. The following is an educational lesson of sorts. It is in "quiz" format, but it will not affect your grade point average.

The Bible in this case refers to the Hebrew Scriptures: the TANACH. For the translation from Hebrew, I will use the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 version based on the Masoretic Hebrew text. This quiz will only cover the passages regarding Abraham in Genesis 10-17.

For atheists, don't slink away. This is not a religious or theological lesson, nor a conversion attempt. It's just a parsing of a unique piece of literature from a unique perspective.

QUESTIONS

1. Why does Abram (later called "Abraham") leave Ur to go to Caanan?

2. Does Abram actually ever see God, or does he just hear His voice?

3. What lie does Abram tell to the Pharaoh of Egypt?

4. After having been together in Ur, Haran, Caanan, and Egypt, why do Abram and Lot separate after returning to Canaan?
 

5. What does God promise to Abram at least four times?

6. When Sarai's maidservant Hagar (pregnant by Abram) flees the household, what creature makes its first appearance in the Bible?

7. How old is Abram when Ishmael is born?

8. God calls Himself by a name never mentioned before in the Bible. What is that name?

9. God changes Abram's and Sarai's names. Why?

10. God promises Abraham and his descendants something very important (see #5). What must Abraham and his descendants do as a sign of their part of the covenant?

 ANSWERS

Genealogy: According to the Bible, Noah was the 10th generation of Man (Adam being the first). Abraham was the 20th generation. In fact, Noah apparently lived for another 60 years or so after Abraham's birth. Perhaps they met?

1. His father takes him there.
Terah takes his son Abraham (then called "Abram" -- "Avram" in Hebrew) – along with Abram's wife (then called Sarai) and nephew (Lot) – and “they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan.” No reason for this move is given. After leaving Ur (near present-day Basrah, Iraq) they go as far as Haran (in present-day Turkey, near Syria), but Terah goes no further. Later, when Abram is 75 years old, God commands him to leave Haran and to go to a land that is not yet specified.
Genesis 11:31-12.1

2. He sees God more than once.

• When Abram enters Canaan and reaches Shechem (present-day Nablus), God appears to him to state that this is the land that He is giving to Abram's descendants. The specifics of the grant are not provided, and Abram himself is not mentioned as the recipient. [Genesis 12.7; see #5 below]

• Twenty-four years later, God appears before Abram again. [Genesis 17.1; see #5 below]

3. Abram tells the Pharaoh that his wife Sarai is his sister.
Abram fears that if it were known that Sarai is his wife, that he would be killed so Sarai could be taken as someone else's wife.
Genesis 12:12-13

4. The land cannot sustain both families.
Both families have grown so large that there is not enough water or pasture to provide for everyone. So, by mutual consent, Lot moves to Sodom in the Jordan Valley.
Genesis 13:6-12

5. God promises Abram lands in Canaan for him and his descendants forever.

• When Abram enters Canaan and reaches Shechem (present-day Nablus), God appears to him to state that this is the land that He is giving to Abram's descendants. The specifics of the grant are not provided, and Abram himself is not mentioned as the recipient. [Genesis 12.7]

•  After Lot departs with his tribe, God asks Abram to stand and observe the lands around him, and says that all that he can see in all directions will be the land that is given to him and his descendants "forever." [Genesis 13:14-17]

• God later is even more specific about the land, promising Abram's descendants "this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates...." The "river of Egypt" is believed to be Wadi al-Arish, which is near the border of present-day Gaza and Egypt; others believe it refers to the River Nile. [Genesis 15.18-21]

• When Abraham is 99 years old, God appears to him and promises to Abraham and his descendants "all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession." [Genesis 17.8]

6. An Angel.
An "Angel of God" finds Hagar and convinces her to return to the household. He predicts that she will bear a son named Ishmael ("God Heareth"), and that her descendants will become a great multitude. There is no description nor explanation of the Angel, besides the implication that he is a messenger of God.
Genesis 16.7-12

7. 86 years old.
Sarai convinces Abram to have a child via Hagar because Sarai was beyond child-bearing age, Abram himself was getting old, and he had no direct heir. He was 86 years old when Ishmael is born.
Genesis 16.15-16

8. Shaddai.
God has previously been referred to as "Elohim" (sometimes shortened to "El") or by the tetragrammaton that some render as "Yahveh" (Hebrew) or "Yahweh" (English). When meeting with Abram, God introduces Himself as "El-Shaddai." Shaddai is roughly translated as "Almighty," although it has roots that mean "Dispenser of Benefits." Therefore, El-Shaddai can be translated as God Almighty. In later instances in the Bible, Shaddai stands alone, without "El."
Genesis 17.1

9. God changes the names to reflect their roles as a great patriarch and matriarch.
God changes the name from Abram ("Avram" in Hebrew -- "Exalted Father") to Abraham ("Avraham" in Hebrew -- "Father of Multitudes") as a sign of his destiny to be the forefather of great nations of descendants. God changes the archaic name Sarai to Sarah ("Princess") because she will become the matriarch of many kings.
Genesis 17.5; 15

10. Circumcision.
God says that on the eighth day after birth, each male child must be circumcised as a sign of the covenant. Any male who is not circumcised shall be banished from the people. Abraham's son, Ishmael, is 13 years old when he is circumcised.
Genesis 17.10-14; 25